What does Experiment Design mean?

Experiment design is an iterative process, meaning that improvement is attained incrementally. The goal of good experiment design to get good data that will tell what is most likely true. To reach that goal, one must employ experiment design by systematically planning, executing, analyzing, and reporting an experiment.

Some Benefits of using Experiment Design:

1. Data will tell the experimenters what is most likely true. 2. The data and experimental process will get better after successive iterations. 3. It is one of the best ways to learn engineering. The student engineer gets the opportunity to apply theory and work hands on. 4. The process is quick; reduces time to reach a bigger goal. 5. Using the scientific method enhances credibility, openness in the experimental methods and honesty in data presentation.

Short Summary of Experimental Design Process

Step 1- Ask the question, Why?
The first step of great experimental design is to determine what the overall goal of the experiment is. Ask you and your team, What do we want to get out of this experiment? What do we hope to learn? Is the goal to validate a math model, or is to see if performance specifications are being met? It is a good idea to ask these questions so you can align your actions and experiment design with your goals.

Step 2 - Find existing knowledge on the topic.

Determine what other information may be available to your to help you solve the problem you are looking to solve. Chances are others may have already solved it for you. If you cannot find the answers, you may at least be able to find useful tools at this step. The point is to look to the literature and gather all pertinent information.

Step 3 Predict your outcome (Hypothesis), possible outcomes.

At step 3, it is useful to make a prediction about the outcome of your experiment. This way you will have datum for which to base your analysis and conclusion on. You will be able to ask yourself at the end of the experiment, How well did we do in predicting this outcome; how well do we understand what is happening here?

Step 4 Design the experiment. Document the process.

It is important to figure out the key aspects of your experiment before performing it. While planning the experiment, document your work in order to retrieve it quickly later. a. Remember to keep your experimental methods aligned with the goals of the experiment. b. Generate Ideas about how you will measure data, what are the sensitivities of any involved sensors/transducers, what can muddy the data, etc.

c. Analyze and select the best ideas by performing a diamond activity (quick brainstorming of multiple ideas, selecting strongest). d. Create a step by step plan for executing the experiment. e. Assemble the necessary equipment, materials, instruments, team members, etc.

Step 5 Execute the Experiment

This is the step in which you take your step by step plan and execute it. It is important to document as you go in order to review later. Process the data and produce a sound analysis using critical and reflective thinking. Compare your analysis and conclusion to the initial hypothesis you proposed. How close did you come? Ask yourself, What did I learn from this experiment?

Step 6 Iteration
Go back to the beginning. It is rare to get it right in one step; therefore it is most likely there will be much benefit from improving the methods and returning to the start.

Two belief systems: Science vs. Alchemy

Belief systems can be roughly categorized into two fields, scientific and alchemy. The Scientific belief system is hinged on using data, evidence, and reasoning to discover the truths about nature. It is critical that scientific believers be skeptical, because it is under scrutiny that knowledge is discovered and conventions are challenged. The alchemy belief system is based on personal beliefs and the intuition of the individual. When alchemists are presented with data evidence that does not support their previously held world view, they typically reject it. It is common to allow tradition and convention to determine the thoughts, opinions, and conclusions of an alchemist. Most people tend to be alchemistic in nature, due to built-in functions of the human body and brain. When humans feel that their world view is challenged, it is natural to respond with fight or flight behaviors. Defensive reasoning usually follows, and people continue to drive down the progress of learning by rejecting new ideas. In the past, we can observe many instances of scientific advances that were rejected by a society that didnt care to understand them because it required a change in worldview.

Benefits of a Science Based Belief System

A science based belief system can open up many doors for the learner. Progress can be made more quickly because learning can be accomplished directly from real-world data.

Examples of Using the Scientific Method

Learning A great historical example of the application of the scientific method and the subsequent learning process that resulted is when the speed of light was first theoretically derived and experimentally verified.

When it was discovered that a changing magnetic field could induce an electric field and vice versa, scientists wondered if these fields could self-induce each other cyclically. The speed was theoretically derived from mathematical models. It was found to be strikingly similar to previous experiments measurement of the speed of light. It came as a surprise to some that the speed of light is the same in all reference frames and this challenged the world views of many individuals. It wasnt after an immense amount of evidence has been amassed that their world views were changed. Product Design In the semiconductor industry, it is often asked how the conductivity of the semiconductor can be controlled within a great degree of accuracy. To achieve the goal (discover method and biggest factors affecting conductivity), experiment design was implemented. Scientists performed countless experiments to learn which doping processes and doping materials worked best to achieve the material properties desired. Building Math Models While basic projectile motion problems can be solved very quickly, the model becomes very unwieldy when attempting to incorporate drag. After using a computer to solve the math model for projectile solutions, we compared our computer outputs to the real world data we had collected. After finding a decent degree of accuracy, we conclude the math model to be reasonably accurate. To be more confident in the math model, I would have liked to perform more iterations of the experiment. That is what experimental design suggests; iteration will teach you more.