Introduction to Agricultural Systems

Assessment #3 – Major Experimental Report

Over the past few weeks you have worked hard to complete your pot experiment. It is now time to
put all the data together and to prepare your final report.
The report is to be written as a mini scientific paper. This requires that the report:
 is in the format of a scientific paper (use the journal references you have found to provide
guidance on format)
 Includes full information on the experimental design, methods used for the experiment and
for data analysis and data for both plant species that were used by your practical class group
(either 9-11 OR 11-1).
 Presents results in either table or graph format. Data should be analysed using suitable data
analysis methods where appropriate. These might include means and standard errors and t-
tests for significance. You will need to decide which is appropriate for the data you have.
 Contains a discussion that provides an explanation of the results that is supported by
information from literature. The discussion must address the key questions that were posed
at the start and the hypothesis presented for the experiment. Review the journal papers you
have found to gain a better understanding of the role and format of the discussion. The
discussion should also include explanations of missing and odd data. The discussion should
also include the relevance of your findings to potential grain yield and grain quality.
On completion of your report you should review your work before submission – check for:
 Flow of information and ideas
 Spelling and grammar
 References are in the text and the bibliography (reference list)
 Table and graph captions and information
 Originality report (Turnitin)
Ask yourself the following questions:
 Does the title relate closely to the research question and aim of the experiment?
 Is the reader provided with sufficient background information in the introduction to help them
understand the experiment and its results?
 Could the reader repeat the experiment exactly as it was run? The methods section must
provide sufficient detail to enable this to potentially occur.
 Are the results presented in such a way that the reader could understand both the
experimental design and the results without needing to read a lot of the text?
 Does the discussion provide the reader with a clear scientific explanation of the results and
their relevance to the crop production system?
The report must be presented in Arial 11 font with 1.5 line spacing. The report should be no longer
than 6 A4 pages excluding the reference list. Graphs and tables must not exceed 2 pages.
Reference style is Chicago 17th author-date format.
https://libguides.library.curtin.edu.au/referencing/chicago
Submission Date: Saturday 2nd November, 5.00 pm (17.00)
Submission: Blackboard via Turnitin
 Introduction to Agricultural Systems
Criteria Needs Improvement
Title  Does not reflect the aim and research questions
Max 3 marks  Is not brief and/or is not grammatically correct
 Contains few or no keywords relevant to the topic
Introduction  Limited or no information on the issue and does
not address the relevance and significance to crop
production
 Includes limited or no information and findings
from relevant published information
Max  Is not supported by relevant, recent references
9 marks  Does not include an hypothesis
Methods  Information is limited and would not allow the
experiment to be repeated
Max  Includes a lot of information that is not relevant
15 marks to the experimental methodology.
 Methodology is not presented in chronological
order
 Information on experimental design and data
analysis methods have not been included
Results  Results for one plant species are provided
 Data provided is incomplete and/or irrelevant
Max  Presentation of results is incomplete and in poor
24 marks format
 Standard errors are not provided for results
 Result section presented as text
Satisfactory
 Reflects the aim and research questions in part
 Is brief but not grammatically correct
 Contains some keywords relevant to the topic
 Includes a statement of the issue and limited
information on the relevance and significance to crop
production
 Includes some information and findings from
relevant published information
 Is supported by few relevant, recent references
 May include an hypothesis
 Is longer than 2 paragraphs
 Provides detailed information that would enable part
of the experiment to be repeated
 Includes some information that is not relevant to the
experimental methodology.
 Methodology is generally presented in chronological
order
 Includes limited information on experimental design
and on data analysis methods
 Most results for both plant species are provided
 Summarises most of the relevant data
 Generally uses tables and figures for data
 Some information missing from data presentation
 Standard errors are provided for some results
 Result section includes results repeated as text
Excellent
 Reflects the aim and research questions clearly
and accurately
 Is brief and grammatically correct
 Contains keywords relevant to the topic
 Includes a clear statement of the issue and its
relevance and significance to crop production
 Includes a summary of findings from relevant
published information
 Is supported by relevant, recent references
 Ends with the hypothesis
 Is no longer than 2 paragraphs
 Provides detailed information that would enable
the experiment to be repeated in full
 Does not includes information that is not
relevant to the experimental methodology.
 Methodology is presented in chronological order
 Includes detailed information on experimental
design and on data analysis methods
 Results for both plant species are provided
 Summarises all relevant data
 Uses tables and figures to present data
 Tables and figures include titles and units
 Standard errors are provided where appropriate
 Result section does not include a discussion or
explanation for the results.
 Introduction to Agricultural Systems
Discussion  Does not interpret or compare results
 Few/no links between the results and
Max information in the literature have been
30 marks demonstrated.
 No linkage of the results to crop production and
management
 Is not by relevant, current references
 Does not addrss the hypothesis proposed for the
experiment.
References  References are drawn from sources that have
limited relevance to the topic.
Max 9 marks  Few or no references are sources from scientific
journals.
 References are not formatted in-text and/or in
the reference list using Chicago 17th format
 There is poor agreement between the in-text
references and the reference list.
Format and  Report does not demonstrate ideas logically
organisation sequenced through the sections.
 Links are unclear and the flow of ideas is poor.
Max  Tenses are inconsistent and incorrect through the
10 marks report
 Personal pronouns used in the report
 Report uses numerous quotations from
references.
 There are > 5 spelling and/or grammatical errors.
 The report exceeds the required length by more
than 5% and is not formatted correctly or is
inconsistent
Total Marks = 100 Your mark =
 Limited interpretation of results
 Some links between the results and information
in the literature have been demonstrated.
 Limited linkage of the results to current
knowledge on crop production and management
 Is supported by some relevant references
 Addresses in part the hypothesis proposed for
the experiment.
 References are drawn from a number of sources
relevant to the topic.
 Some references are sources from scientific
journals.
 References are formatted in-text and/or in the
reference list using Chicago 17th format
 Most references in the reference list have been
used in the body of the report.
 Report is written in a clear manner with most
ideas logically sequenced through the sections.
 Paragraph structure shows collation of
information within topic areas
 Tenses are generally correct
 Limited use of personal pronouns
 Report uses some quotations from references.
 There < 5 spelling or/or grammatical errors.
 The report does not exceed the required length
by more than 5% and the format is correct and
generally consistent
/100
 Interprets and compares the results
 The links between the results and information in
the literature are clearly demonstrated.
 Relates the results to current knowledge on crop
production and management.
 Is supported by relevant, current references
 Addresses the hypothesis that was proposed for the
experiment.
 References are drawn from a wide range of sources
relevant to the topic.
 Most references are sources from scientific
journals.
 References are formatted in-text and the reference
list using Chicago 17th format
 All references in the reference list have been used
in the body of the report.
 Report is written in a clear manner with ideas
logically sequenced through the sections.
 Tenses are used correctly through the report
 Report does not use quotations from references.
 There are no spelling or grammatical errors.
 The report is within the required length and the
format is correct and consistent