Assignment 5a: Designing an experiment – Footwear Analysis: Identifying the Characteristics
• What kind of factors would you need to control for, and how would you accomplish that? The factors to be controlled would need to be for the general characteristics by having the same make, size and model worn by each member of the male group and female group. The way to ensure this control would be to distribute the shoes to the identified participants that fit the general characteristics.
• What would be the treatments in your experiment? The treatments for 2 conditions (wet and dry) and similar speed would be walking on: • Paved asphalt • Walking trail with crushed rock • Sand • Dirt road with gravel
• What would the units be? The units would be the individual pairs of shoes (same brand, size, and model).
• What would the responses be? How would you measure those responses? The responses would be the individual wear patterns from the participants displaying identifying characteristics from the shoes worn. The measurements would be the recording of the identifying characteristics such as knicks, tears, and groves in shoe soles from wear and activity.
• How would you utilize randomness within your experiment? The randomness would be utilized by selecting from a diversified group to acquire 500 female and 500 male participants (without regard to age) to accomplish the treatments listed.
• How would you achieve replication in your experiment? Replication could be achieved by keeping the controls (units and treatments) strictly monitored and controlled to minimize / eliminate the possibility of outliers.