critically appraise the reported experimental design and statistical
analysis methods for the article: Hardy JL, Nelson RA, Thomason ME, Sternberg DA, Katovich K, Farzin F, et al. (2015) Enhancing
Cognitive Abilities with Comprehensive Training: A Large, Online, Randomized, Active-Controlled
Trial. PLoS ONE 10(9): e0134467. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134467
Page 1 of 2 INFS 2049 – UO Experimental Design Assessment 1.3 – Critical Review Due: Monday in Week 8 at 12PM Instructions: • This assessment is worth 20% of your final grade. It is due no later than 12 pm on Monday in Week 8. • You will need to submit your assignment via learnonline. The file you submit needs to be in a pdf format. • Your submission will be marked out of 20. • The word limit for this assignment is 900 words +/- 10%. Marks will be deducted if the assignment is too short (min 810 words) or too long (max 990 words). Assessment Task Overview: Read the following paper and critically appraise the reported experimental design and statistical analysis methods: Hardy JL, Nelson RA, Thomason ME, Sternberg DA, Katovich K, Farzin F, et al. (2015) Enhancing Cognitive Abilities with Comprehensive Training: A Large, Online, Randomized, Active-Controlled Trial. PLoS ONE 10(9): e0134467. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134467 Assessment Task Details: 1. (2 marks) Summarise the objectives of the study conducted by the authors. What did they set out to show? 2. (6 marks) Summarise the experimental design reported in the paper: • What are the experimental units? How many are there and how they were selected? • What are the treatment factors? How many levels do they have? Are they categorical or quantitative? • What are the response variables? How are they measured? • What are the key features of the experimental protocol? 3. (2 marks) State the types of statistical analyses employed to analyse the data from the reported experiment. 4. (2 marks) Briefly describe the outcomes of the analyses presented in the paper. 5. (8 marks) Critically appraise the experimental design and analysis methods. Are there any issues with the design that influence or limit the drawing of meaningful conclusions from this study? Is there any way in which the design of this study could be improved? https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0134467 Page 2 of 2 Key assessment criteria for this assessment: You will be assessed on your ability to: • Summarise an experiment discussed in a research paper. • Critically evaluate the merits of that experiment and point out any issues with the design. • Suggest improvements to the experiment based on your critique. • Clearly communicate your appraisal and any suggestions for improvement. Grade How it may be earned High Distinction All requested points have been addressed; excellent quality discussion indicating high level of reflection and excellent understanding of all study design aspects; very well written; excellent presentation. Distinction All requested points have been addressed; good quality discussion indicating very good understanding of all study design aspects; well written; very good presentation. Credit Most requested points have been addressed; good discussion indicating solid understanding of most study design aspects; reasonably well written; good presentation. Pass Only some requested points have been addressed; poor quality discussion indicating understanding of only some study design aspects; discussion rushed or not well written; too much direct quoting from the paper with minimal attempts at discussion; lacking in presentation. Fail Most requested points addressed poorly or not at all; poor quality discussion indicating little to no understanding of study design aspects; at best some direct quoting from the paper without any attempt at analysis; written discussion rushed; poor presentation. Assessment 1.3 – Critical Review Due: Monday in Week 8 at 12PM