[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-594639-105":59,"doc-detail-594639-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","exploring-experimental-design-an-excel-based-simulation-using-steller-sea-lion-behavior","Exploring Experimental Design - An Excel-Based Simulation Using Steller Sea Lion Behavior","","Experimentation is essential for science learning, yet it is hard to teach within semester time and resource limits. An interactive, freely accessible Excel simulation helps students practice designing experiments, testing hypotheses, and analyzing results with near-instant feedback. It highlights how sample size and variability affect usefulness and accuracy, and shows that repetition may not yield exact replication due to natural variation. Flexible inputs let students build questions about Steller sea lion behavior and explore parameters such as sex, specific behaviors, and sampling intervals ranging from hourly to annually.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/exploring-experimental-design-an-excel-based-simulation-using-steller-sea-lion-behavior/594639/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/exploring-experimental-design-an-excel-based-simulation-using-steller-sea-lion-behavior/594639.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Ben ","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-17","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the simulation designed to help students learn?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Students use the simulation to design experiments and test hypotheses, and to analyze and interpret graphical data with attention to variation and sample size.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the simulation support iterative experiment design?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It provides near instantaneous feedback so students can revise their input selections when their design needs adjustment to enable accurate hypothesis evaluation.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What factors can students manipulate in the simulation?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Students can change sample size, the sex of the animals, and the timeframe of data collection, including time of day, month, and year, and can explore specific Steller sea lion behaviors.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},594639,1792273910,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":34,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144},2336478951081,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_276721f389ce27ea32af1340a28f341c","Exploring Experimental Design: An Excel-Based Simulation Using Steller Sea  \nLion Behavior  \nWendy L. Ryan* and Ezry St. Iago-McRae  \nDepartment of Biology, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA 19530  \n*Corresponding Author: [ryan@kutztown.edu](ryan@kutztown.edu)  \nAbstract: Experimentation is the foundation of science and an important process for students to understand and experience. However, it can be difficult to teach some aspects of experimentation within the time and resource constraints of an academic semester. Interactive models can be a useful tool in bridging this gap. This freely accessible simulation provides a unique opportunity for students to practice designing experiments and analyzing their results. The effects of sample size and variability on the usefulness and accuracy of experimental data are an important component of these exercises. In addition, students can easily repeat their experiments, demonstrating that repetition doesn’t necessarily lead to exact replication due to natural variability. Lastly, the simulation provides a range of flexible input categories that allow students to develop their own experimental questions about Steller sea lion behavior, and to explore a range of parameters, including various specific behaviors, the sex of the animals, and various sampling intervals such as hourly, daily, seasonally, or even annually. While this exercise does not replace first-hand experience with experimentation, it provides a good foundation for students to build on as they begin the process of designing and implementing their own research projects.  \nKey words: Hypothesis testing, sample size, scientific method, Steller sea lion  \nINTRODUCTION  \nThis exercise has two primary goals and one secondary goal. One primary goal is for students to gain experience designing experiments and testing hypotheses. Although this process is the foundation of science, it can be challenging to teach without defaulting to a static, formulaic description. The use of real data that can be quickly and easily “sampled”by students makes the process of designing experiments and interpreting outcomes more accessible to both students and instructors. The simulation also provides near instantaneous feedback, which is particularly useful when a student’s experimental design (i.e. selection of input values) needs to be revised to produce data that will allow accurate evaluation of their hypothesis. The second primary goal is for students to develop basic skills in the analysis and interpretation of graphical data with particular attention to variation and sample size. This is another aspect of designing good experiments that can be difficult to teach in the lab or field because of the practical constraints of repeated sampling and also because it requires some statistical savvy. This simulation can stretch beyond these constraints to provide students with concrete research data to observe and evaluate, thereby gaining valuable insights into a critical component of good research. In addition, since the emphasis is on the graphical representation of the data for both statistical analysis and overall interpretation, students will become proficient in graphical analysis. This is a skill whose  \nvalue extends into many aspects of their professional and personal lives.  \nThe secondary goal of this activity is to provide a vehicle for students to investigate Steller sea lions and some circumstances under which specific behaviors may vary. This is a unique opportunity for students not only to “observe” the behaviors ofa marine mammal, but to “see” how specific behaviors might be influenced by aspects of the animal’s environment. The ability to manipulate observation parameters provides students with insights into the complexity of this research and the dynamic responses of these animals to the parameters represented in the simulation. This complexity is visible in spite of the fact that these data were collected under the relatively contro","cbCairS3BPuzDrSR","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairS3BPuzDrSR","pdf",580548,"English","# Introduction\n## Primary goals: designing experiments and testing hypotheses\n## Primary goals: graphical data analysis and interpretation\n## Secondary goal: investigating Steller sea lion behavioral variation\n## Simulation implementation and interface design\n## Data source and study context","[{\"question\":\"What is the simulation designed to help students learn?\",\"answer\":\"Students use the simulation to design experiments and test hypotheses, and to analyze and interpret graphical data with attention to variation and sample size.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the simulation support iterative experiment design?\",\"answer\":\"It provides near instantaneous feedback so students can revise their input selections when their design needs adjustment to enable accurate hypothesis evaluation.\"},{\"question\":\"What factors can students manipulate in the simulation?\",\"answer\":\"Students can change sample size, the sex of the animals, and the timeframe of data collection, including time of day, month, and year, and can explore specific Steller sea lion behaviors.\"}]","Exploring Experimental Design - An Excel-Based Simulation Using Steller Sea Lion Behavior | PDF",1792079544,18]