Over the last couple weeks, I have been continuing my field data collection activities by visiting my observation site twice daily on days when the high and low tides occur at reasonable observation times (i.e., during daylight hours), and counting the number of seagulls present. So far, I have sampled 13 replicates of my intended 20 total replicates.
I haven’t encountered any major problems implementing my sampling design. It has been a bit tedious to visit my observation site so often, but the data for each replicate takes very little time to obtain and I’m hoping to finish my data collection by the end of October to allow ample time to complete my report.
I am beginning to see clear patterns that support my hypothesis, as there are consistently more seagulls during low tide than high tide, although the difference is more distinct on some days than others. I feel it is necessary to obtain more data to be more confident in my conclusions, however, so I will continue my data collection for the remaining 7 replicates.
Attached below is a preliminary table of the field data I have collected thus far:
Hi there!
This seems like an elegant research question with a solid and falsifiable hypothesis, and measurable predictor and response variables. You do note that though there are consistently more seagulls during low tide than high tide (lending credence to your hypothesis) “the difference is more distinct on some days than others”. It might be worth considering which confounding variables might be contributing to these differences, and attempting to control for them when carrying out your statistical tests.
Best of luck,
Eytan