Aging and Frailty Lab Notebook (ELN 1)
Instructions
- Lab notebooks are completed digitally using the Crowdmark platform. You will submit your lab notebook before the end of the lab time.
- The amount of work expected for these lab notebooks is reflective of the time available! Labs run for 3 hours – we have therefore designed the lab activities and the lab notebook prompts in such a way that they will be able to be completed within the 3 hour window of provided time.
- It is strongly advised that you read the lab outline BEFORE the lab starts to ensure you will be prepared to manage your time effectively and complete all protocols during the lab.
- This lab notebook will be completed as PAIRS
- This lab notebook (and completion of the lab) is pass/fail
- Assignment Deadlines
- Policies on Submitting Work, Absences and Missed Work
- Specifications guidelines for Electronic Lab Notebooks
Part 1: Pre-lab
- What is the purpose of today’s lab activity?
- What protocols will you be completing in the lab?
- Are there any safety precautions to be aware of before starting?
- You were asked to draft an “if/then” research hypothesis and prediction for the short-performance physical battery (SPPB) tests. Provide your if/then statement in the textbox provided.
Part 2: Raw Data
- Attach your downloaded copy of the excel tables from the lab outline, filled in with your results from the lab activities. (Save the excel file as a .pdf file for upload – ensure all three tables for the physical battery tests and the MMSE scores are present).
- Don’t forget to add your raw data to the class dataset before moving on to the analysis! Your TA will tell you how to input your data to the spreadsheet.
Part 3: Processed Results – Figure 1
- Prepare figure 1, a bar graph comparing mean frailty assay total scores of your lab section with and without aging simulation equipment.
- This figure can be prepared in Microsoft Excel and then formatted as a figure in Microsoft Excel or Powerpoint for saving as a .jpg image file. The .jpg file of the figure (and caption) can be submitted to the Crowdmark lab notebook field for this question.
- You will be given access to the class dataset for your lab section which contains the individual scores from the short performance physical battery tests. Use this data set to prepare a bar graph that compares the TOTAL mean score (/12) from your lab section with and without the aging simulation equipment.
- Report the means for your lab section +/- the standard deviation. The SD can be represented visually on your graph by adding error bars.
Refer to the ‘Results: Figures and Tables‘ section of the lab report writing guide for details on how to prepare a figure and caption
- Click for an example of a figure of a graph
- Remember – a figure includes both the image and a caption!
Refer to Appendix A: Microsoft Excel for a demonstration on how to use Microsoft Excel to analyze data sets and prepare graphs. This appendix was covered in an earlier online tutorial.
Part 4: Trends Observed
- Briefly summarize the results/trends seen in figure 1
- Do you observe any trends in the change in time to complete the gait speed test and the chair stand test in your raw data?
- Would looking at the Δt for the gait speed and chair stand tests be a better way of analyzing the data compared to looking at the scores for these two tests? Why or why not?