Experimental Design: Apply It 2

  • Identify the key components of experimental design
  • Use experimental design to create a hypothetical experiment to answer a research question

Coral Bleaching

In 2005, the United States lost half of its coral reefs in the Caribbean in one massive bleaching event.[1] When scientists first saw massive coral bleaching events around the world, they thought warming ocean temperatures might be causing the bleaching, but they needed to do more research to find the true cause. Because the scientists wanted to know about cause and effect, experimental design was the best tool for their research.

For more information about coral, visit these National Ocean Service websites:

Statistics is an investigative process that can allow us to answer questions about our world. We need to consider what makes a good statistical question and how we can match appropriate data with those statistical questions. Two key qualities of a good statistical question are:

  1. There is not an exact answer, and
  2. The question anticipates variability.