Hypothesis
Each year when students and staff return from summer vacation, the
year's new
versions of colds and the flu are introduced and reintroduced into the school population. Many of us may enjoy the novelty of visits to exciting and sometimes far off
exotic places or come into contact with those who have. Inconspicuously, along with
our friends and associates we are confronted with new viruses, ones that are not
recognizable to our immune system's memory. The above account is anecdotal yet, most would agree that it bares some resemblance to what occurs year after year in our school. The variables suggested above are plausible and raise interesting questions about what is really happening and why. Can we identify any cause and effect here? How can we collect enough data to adequately tell the story? Who can we consult that may help us to become competent researchers? How can it be assured that our data and conclusions are trustworthy or at least reasonable? To begin we must collect some data that will help us to see clearly what is going on and to think far enough in advance about correlation and possible causation to ask the right questions and pay attention to important details while the window of opportunity is still open. It is also important to consider how much data must be collected to be able make valid generalizations later. What are the best methodologies that will enable us to acquire the kind of data that we will need to figure out just what is going on here? Please explore our website as we attempt to gather answers to these and other questions. |