A. Introduction
The project consists of two parts. In the first part you are asked to perform some preliminary calculation and plotting, and to write the introduction for your project in a Tech memo format, see part B. In the second part you are asked to finalize all the calculations and plotting, and to write a formal engineering report, see part B.
The introduction portion of an engineering report requires you to develop a basis for the work that is described throughout the report. It includes the background information, the importance of the work, your predictions and assumptions going into the assignment, and outlines what will be included in the rest of the report. .
Just to give you some background information for what your report will entail, you will be asked to take a survey of the students in the class asking 6 questions. The questions are:
- What is your class level?
- How many semesters have you been in college?
- How many units are you enrolled in this semester?
- What is your commute time to school in minutes?
Using the survey information you are asked to:
1. Explore the correlation between the various survey data, and explain your findings.
2. In the first part of the project you were asked to perform various calculations and plots in order to identify the possible correlation between the survey questions. In the second part you have to identify the groups of data with a confidence level of at least 99%, and calculate the standard error for a group of data that gives you the highest confidence level. To calculate the standard error you can use any software of your choice. In addition, discuss the significance of this calculation, and clearly label this part in the report as "Part 2".
This will require you to combine the information in different ways in order to draw different conclusions, with the ultimate goal of giving meaning to your data.
B. Instructions
1. General
In the second part, a formal report is to be written covering the experiment and conclusions. The report should include a title page, table of contents, body of report with listed topics, references, and appendices. The pages must be numbered starting after the Table of Contents. The title of the report and your name must appear on all pages as footer after the Table of Contents. The Final Project must be submitted to me in class no later than the deadline listed below. Graphs and diagrams must be generated in Matlab and be properly labeled. All the Matlab scripts should be attached in the appendix of the report. A graph diagram or table must always be referenced ("blah, blah, blah, see Figure 1 ") in your report, see the Guidelines for Technical Memos and Laboratory Reports posted on ILearn. The report should be written so that the reader who has never seen this experiment can methodically follow your report from start to finish. Be detail oriented and organized.
You have to complete part 1 individually, but you are allowed to form groups of maximum 2 students for part 2. The numbers of pages for the final project assignment is not set, but please recognize that it is an engineering report, so it must be as thorough and long as necessary.
2. Format
2.1 Part 1
Submit as a Tech memo. The memo must include the following sections:
- Discussion and significance of expected results
part tw0
2.2 The Final Report must include the following topics:
- Theoretical Background (explain and show examples):
oCorrelation of experimental data
oLeast-Squares Linear Fit
oOther methods of statistical analysis, if used
oSample of data
oGraphs of experimental data
oExplain the differences between the calculated and the expected results from part 1
- Summary of Calculations :
oDetermine the correlation coefficient of the experimental data, and find the percent certainty/ confidence level of the accuracy of your experiment.
- Discussion and Conclusion
3. Notes for Final Report
Format requirements:
For the body of your document, please use a standard font at 11 point type and standard 1 inch margins. You may use your own judgment in fonts and spacing for headings and subheadings, but ensure that the hierarchy of information is clear to the reader.
I) Title Page:
Use a balanced layout, and include a title, name of person writing report, semester that project was performed. "San Francisco State University" and "School of Engineering" should be at the top center.
2) Table of Contents
Heading at top should read Table of Contents. Topics should be spaced to fill the page.
3) Abstract
State precisely what the experiment is about. This should be more detailed than your title. You should attempt to describe the experiment: how the experiment was conducted and what you hope to achieve. This section should be about four five sentences long, and serves as the introduction.
4) Theoretical Background
Example:
a. Mathematical Justification as to why the data are in good correlation
b. Mathematical Justification of the Coefficient of determination
For a. and b.:
i. Graphical model
ii. How formula relates to graphical model
iii. Mathematical example that shows the calculation procedure
5) Experimental data (extend principles of simple theoretical to actual data)
a. Data Sample: explanation that includes a print of spreadsheet collected data
b. Matlab Graphs of data properly annotated.
7) Discussion and Conclusion
a. Summarize your results
b. Determine the correlation coefficient of the experimental data, and find the percent certainty/ confidence level of the accuracy of your experiment.
c. Summarize your goals and results. Did you achieve the goal of the experiment? Discuss the important things you observed while doing the project. Difficulties encountered, recommended improvements, etc.
8) References
a. Books, articles, etc.
9) Appendices
a. Matlab scripts, notes, hand calculations, data sheets, miscellaneous material used.