Level 6 · Research preparation teaching kit · Doctoral and independent-research pathway
Precision propulsion metrology
Use the learner record during the live investigation, then use the instructor guide to facilitate comparison, address misconceptions, and assess evidence-bounded reasoning.
Learner lab record
Blinded propulsion round-robin adjudication
Can multiple laboratories recover calibrated injections, reject shams, and agree within declared heterogeneity before interpreting an unknown force residual?
Setup
Use the propulsion round-robin workspace. Freeze each laboratory's calibration and uncertainty model, test hidden injections and shams, then combine only qualified laboratory results with a declared heterogeneity rule.
Predict first
- 1. Declare injection-recovery and sham-rejection thresholds before unblinding.
- 2. Predict the adjudication if one laboratory is a high-significance outlier.
| Variable | Role | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Injection and sham states | blinded validation inputs | hidden category/force |
| Laboratory calibration and uncertainty | measurement inputs | N and N |
| Recovered residuals | dependent | N |
| Heterogeneity and qualification | adjudication diagnostics | χ²/dof and pass/hold |
Observation columns
Analyze
- 1. Does every lab recover the same traceable injection?
- 2. Which artifact model explains any orientation or timing dependence?
- 3. Is cross-lab heterogeneity acceptable?
- 4. Why is calibration validation distinct from a propulsion-effect meta-analysis?
Conclusion frame
Of ___ laboratories, ___ qualified; χ²/dof was ___, injection recovery ___, and sham rejection ___, so unknown-effect adjudication is ___.
Instructor guide · 80–110 minutes
Teach the investigation, not the interface
Learning target: Researchers validate calibration, artifact rejection, blinding, and cross-laboratory agreement before attributing precision force residuals.
Prepare
- • Freeze calibration and qualification thresholds.
- • Prepare hidden injections, shams, and one outlier.
- • Define the heterogeneity action rule.
Facilitation moves
- • Unblind validation states before unknown effects.
- • Require mechanism-specific reversals.
- • Do not average an unqualified outlier into apparent consensus.
Accessibility and participation
- • Provide a lab-by-lab adjudication table.
- • Use labels and symbols in addition to residual colors.
- • Translate χ²/dof into a plain-language agreement statement.
Evidence of learning
- • Prespecified qualification thresholds
- • A blinded lab-level adjudication
- • A justified pool/hold decision
Misconception checks
Several positive point estimates constitute replication.
Laboratories must recover traceable injections, reject shams, control artifacts, and agree under a prespecified model.
An outlier with the smallest p-value deserves the most weight.
Unexplained heterogeneity can reveal calibration or artifact failure and may invalidate pooling.
Extension
Design a second-round protocol that swaps hardware and analysis teams to localize laboratory versus apparatus effects.