4BBL1061: Data Interpretation Coursework
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4BBL1061: Data Interpretation Coursework
This coursework is worth 30% of the overall module mark.
Before attempting this coursework, you should have:
Studied L9: ‘Introduction to physiology practicals’ and L10: ‘Lung function’ .
Attended Practical 2: ‘Respiratory Physiology’ and read the associated worksheet. Watched my short video on how to use Excel and Word to complete the coursework.
Attended L14: ‘Coursework preparation’
It will also help to have studied 4BBY1050 content relating to statistics, data presentation and scientific writing.
Overall aims and learning objectives
This coursework will test your knowledge of how to handle data, draw tables and how to use simple statistical analysis as well as your scientific writing skills and your understanding of physiology to interpret the data.
On KEATS, you are provided with measurements of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) collected during Practical 2: respiratory physiology. The data is sorted by sex (male vs. females).
You must:
Using the FEV1 and FVC values provided, calculate forced expiratory ratio (FER) for each subject, calculate mean and SEM for males and females, and compare females against males statistically using a t-test.
Describe the methods used to record/collect and analyse the data.
Describe the results and present them in a table (with title and legend).
Discuss and explain the results.
Detailed instructions: what you need to do
1: Analysing the data
Download and open the Excel spreadsheet provided:
File name: ‘ Lung Volumes Data 2023-4’
This contains the measurements of FEV1 and FVC taken from student volunteers. Note that the data from male and female subjects have been sorted into separate columns. You can assume that subjects were all young and healthy (age 18-22 years).
There are four columns of data, showing ‘ FEV1’ and FVC values for female subjects (columns B & C) and for male subjects (columns F & G). The units of measurement for volume are indicated.
a) In the two empty columns provided (D for females and H for males), calculate for each subject Forced Expiratory Ratio (FER). You will need to know the formula for calculating FER from measurements of FEV1 and FVC.
b) Calculate the mean and standard error of the mean (SEM) for FEV1 , FVC and FER. Do this for both the female and the male subjects separately. This should result in a total of six sets of mean ± SEM values: female FEV1 , female FVC, female FER, male FEV1 , male FVC and male FER.
c) Assuming the data is normally distributed and of unequal variance, use Excel to perform t-tests to compare females against males for FEV1 , FVC and FER. This should result in three p values, one for FEV1 , one for FVC and one for FER.
It is part of the exercise for you to decide for yourself which type of t-testis most appropriate to use for these comparisons: paired (dependent) or unpaired (2-sample, independent)? 1-sided (1- tailed) or 2-sided (2-tailed)? You will be asked to justify your choice of test in the discussion section.
2. Presenting and discussing the data
Download and save to your device/Onedrive folder the Word template document provided:
File name: ‘data interpretation template 2024’
The coursework will be marked out of 25 and the total converted to a % grade.
The template contains the headings of the sections of the report that you must complete . Indicated here is guidance on what should be included in each section, the maximum word count for each section, the mark out of 25 and the % of the overall grade awarded for each section:
a) Title/aim (50 words max). Give your submission a title and/or state the aim of the experiment.
[1 mark = 4%].
b) Methods section (180 words max) [6 marks = 24%]
Describe how the data was collected: the subjects used , the equipment used in the practical to record FEV1 and FVC and how the FVC manoeuvre was performed, how you calculated FER and which type of statistical test was used to compare females against males.
c) Results section (120 words max, excluding contents of the table) [7 marks = 28%, including 3 for table data and labels, 1 for table format/layout and 3 for title and legend]
Draw in this section a single table that summarises the female - male comparisons for the three measures of lung function (FEV1 , FVC and FER). It should show the mean and SEM values and the results of your statistical analysis. Raw data (individual volume measurements from the excel file) is NOT required. There should be a title and a legend that describes the data presented and the results of the statistical analysis.
Note: The table should include column and row headings, sample sizes and units of measurement. Unless already defined in the methods, you should define any abbreviations/acronyms used, either in the table itself or in the results text/legend.
Do not copy/paste your table from elsewhere as an image file.
Mean & SEM values should be rounded up to an appropriate number of decimal places.
Reminder: You need to decide for yourself whether it is appropriate for your statistical comparisons to use a paired or unpaired, 1-sided or 2-sided, t-test.
In this section, you just need to indicate the level of significance obtained from the t-tests for each comparison: p>0.05 (not significant), p<0.05, p<0.01, p<0.001, p<0.0001 etc. You will be asked for the exact p values and to justify your choice of test in the discussion section.
d) Discussion (300 words max) [10 marks = 40%]
This is in three sections. Answer each one separately.
1) Explain your choice of statistical test. Paired or unpaired? 1-sided or 2-sided?
[2 marks = 8%]
2) Comment on the data. What are the exact p values? How confident are you in the results of the t-tests and why? What do you conclude about the effect of being male or female on FEV1 , FVC and FER? [3 marks = 12%]
3) Explain the results based on your understanding of the physiology. Is/are the
observed effect/s of sex on FEV1 , FVC and FER what you might expect? What
explains the observed differences (or lack of differences)? What can you conclude about the overall respiratory health of the subjects? Are the averages representative of the population as a whole? [5 marks 20%]
Note: expected values are quoted in the practical booklet and Lecture 10.
e) Keeping within the stated word limits [1 mark = 4%]
3. Guidance on using Excel and Word to complete the coursework
See the short video I have recorded on the 4BBL1061 KEATS page. It provides a step-by-step guide on how to use Excel to create and copy simple formulae and run t-tests. It also explains how you can create and format tables in Word.
4. Referencing
You are NOT required to do further reading outside of CYO lecture notes or the core textbook. You therefore are NOT required to cite your sources. However, see below information on poor academic practice and plagiarism.
5. Submitting your coursework
The tables and figures should be submitted to KEATS/Turnitin as a single document using the template provided, either in the original Word format or as a PDF.
Submit this part of the coursework via the ‘Coursework submission’ section of the 2023/24
4BBL1061 KEATS page.
On KEATS, marking will be anonymised, so please do NOT include your name/student number in the document or as part of the file name.
The submission deadline is 3:59:59 PM on 15th Feb 2023. The submission time and date are automatically recorded, and a receipt emailed to you.
Plagiarism, MCFs and feedback
1) Poor academic practice, plagiarism, collusion, and other forms of cheating
Note that your coursework will be checked by Turnitin. Turnitin is a plagiarism detection software. Any student work submitted via Turnitin will be stored in a database (along with the student’s name, email address, programme/module details and institution) and will form part of the body of student work against which future submissions from this and other institutions will be compared. Copying text from lectures, practical worksheets or internet sources and pasting it into your submission without first rewriting it in your own words is a form of poor academic practice. It will be detected by Turnitin and will lose marks.
Taking work prepared by another student and passing it off as your own or sharing your work with another student is collusion (a form of plagiarism). It will be detected by Turnitin and may result in disciplinary action for both students involved.
Pasting text into your submission as any form of image file (to avoid being read by Turnitin) is a form of cheating and will result in disciplinary action.
2) Late submission & mitigating circumstances guidance
You are strongly advised to regularly back-up your work on cloud storage or external hard drive. You are strongly advised to submit your work well before the deadline.
Work submitted ON the deadline will be marked as late and late penalties will apply. For example, if the deadline is 4.00 pm, then you must have completed submitting your assignment by 3.59.59 at the latest.
Work submitted up to 24 hours after the deadline will be marked, however a deduction of 10 % points will be applied. If the deduction takes a student below the pass mark, the mark will be capped at the pass mark. More information on the late submission policy can be found online https://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/acservices/academic-regulations.
Work submitted more than 24 hours after the deadline will receive a mark of zero.
Submission deadline extensions will only be granted pending the submission of a valid mitigating circumstances form (MCF). Module organisers do not decide on the outcome of submitted MCFs.
IT and/or computer failure. It is your responsibility to ensure that all work which is electronically stored, generated and/or submitted is sufficiently backed up and the correct piece of work is submitted before the deadline. Loss of or damage to devices resulting in loss of non-backed up files will NOT be considered valid mitigation. Screenshots of apparently stalled devices or internet failure on or shortly before the deadline must be properly date-stamped to be considered valid mitigation.
Remember to follow the procedures for the submission of MCFs as described in student services online. https://self-service.kcl.ac.uk/article/KA-01037/en-us
3) Date of feedback
You will receive your provisional mark and feedback within four working weeks of submission. You will be able to view this online. You will receive an email containing instructions on how to access your marks and view your feedback.
2024-02-19