Week 08 — Thursday Workshop: Project Progress, Peer Review & Method Justification
Week: 8
Topic: Project Progress, Peer Review & Method Justification
1 Part 1: Timeline Self-Assessment (15 min)
1.1 Step 1 — Individual Review (5 min)
Open your project README and finish and review your Expected Timeline.
Answer the following:
What did you plan to have done by next week?
Be aware that you are NOT expected to work on this over break
Moving forward, you should answer the followign each week
Where are you:
⬜ 🟢 On track or ahead
⬜ 🟡 Slightly behind; I know what I need to do
⬜ 🔴 Significantly behind; need help re-planning
If Yellow or Red: one concrete thing I will do this week:
Updated timeline for remaining weeks: Update or leave your timeline as needed. Please, if possible, start working on Github so you can share this with me
2 Part 2: Start working on your methods
In your project (RSTUDIO or Github or Word) start a “Methods” section. Write two sentences there. Examples: - I chose X methods because … - A key limitation of my analysis is … so we …
3 Part 3: Peer Feedback - We will be doing this most weeks
Pair with someone outside your immediate research area.
⏱ ~7 minutes per person
| Time | Task |
|---|---|
| 4 min | Explain your project: question, data, and why it matters |
| 1 min | Show your current work: code, figures, or written sections |
| 2 min | Receive feedback from your reviewer |
3.1 Reviewer Feedback Guide
Use this structure when reviewing your partner’s project:
Strengths (at least one): > “One thing that is working well is…”
One Idea: > “One thing you might consider is…”
One Hard Question: > Ask one question the presenter may not have considered yet.
3.2 After Both Rounds
Write down:
- One piece of feedback I received that I will act on:
- One idea I gave my partner that also applies to my own work:
4 Part 3: Method Justification — Written Exercise (15 min)
Write a new section on your methods:
Method justification
Your paragraph can address:
⬜ What is your response variable and what distribution does it follow?
⬜ What is your data structure (independent, nested, repeated, blocked)?
⬜ Why is a simpler analysis insufficient?
⬜ Why is a more complex analysis not warranted?
⬜ What assumptions does your method make? List ALL OF THEM!
5 Part 4: Check your assumptions
Based on the assumptions you wrote, check your assumptions. You can do this by hand, on a piece of paper or on your project. list every assumption your chosen model requires. Then rate each one:
| Assumption | Status |
|---|---|
| (e.g., independence of residuals) | 🟢 Checked: and it holds |
| (e.g., normality of random effects) | 🟡 Haven’t checked yet: but I could by next class |
| (e.g., no spatial autocorrelation) | 🔴 Can’t fully check: need to acknowledge it and discuss it |
The goal is not to have all green. Red assumptions are ok! they are honest limitations (all studies have them) that belong in your discussion section.