Program Overview

Experimental Methods and Design of Experiments

Course Description

The course deals with experimental work, both theoretical and practical. It studies when experiments can be effective and the requirements in terms of processes and resources. The course discusses how much time and money are spent, how experiments are used in research, and how experiments are designed when a random run order is difficult to accomplish. Students will work with experimental theory and practical experimentation that they, or in a group with others, design, conduct, and analyze.

Course Details

• ECTS/HP: 7.5 hp
• Course code: FOR045F
• Educational level: Third-cycle course
• Entry requirements: Admitted to third-cycle studies at LTU. If there is room for more participants in the course, the course examiner can decide whether the course is open for application by doctoral students admitted to other universities than LTU.

Learning Outcomes

After completing the course, the student should be able to:

• Identify strengths and weaknesses of different experimental designs
• Propose the design of an experiment by applying established designs from the field of design of experiments
• Analyze experiments based on a given design and collected response variables
• Explain and justify the assumptions underlying the choice of analysis methods
• Discuss and, in some cases, adjust analyses when data deviate from the statistical assumptions of the methods
• Describe problems related to, and ways of mitigating, the effects of non-random experimental order
• Design, carry out, and analyze their own experiments

Course Content

Experimental designs include standard experiments such as simple comparative experiments, factorial designs, and response surface designs. Analysis methods include standard tests such as t-test, ANOVA, and linear regression.

Course Methods

The course consists of seminars, and students shall perform individually planned experiments. The seminars are based partly on the course book and on homework assignments, discussion of scientific articles, and the presentation and discussion of their experiments.

Examination Form

The course's learning objectives are examined through:

• Solutions to book assignments
• Literature overview presentations
• The students' experiments
• The exam The final exam format will be decided at the start of the course. The standard approach is an oral exam at the end of the course.

Grading Scale

• Pass/Fail

Course Literature

• D.C. Montgomery, Design and Analysis of Experiments, latest ed., Wiley

Education Cycle

• Lp 1-2, 2027

Course Schedule

• The course is given periodically: Yes. Next time: HT29.

Tuition

• The course is free of charge for doctoral students admitted at LTU.

Qualitative Targets

The course addresses the following qualitative targets for a Degree of Doctor according to the Higher Education Ordinance: 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, and 2.5.