STAT0022: ICA 2 Instructions Term 2, 2024-25
1 Introduction
Please carefully read and understand these instructions before you begin the ICA. For the rest of the document, “I/me” refers to the module leader (Alessandra).
Please read these instructions carefully, as failure to do so may lead to marks being not awarded.
The deadline to submit ICA 2 is 28th March 2025 at 12:00 UK time. The intention of the assess- ment is for you to critically read and develop a general understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the published paper: Navigation-Related Structural Change in the Hippocampi of Taxi Drivers, Maguire, E. A., Gadian, D. G., Johnsrude, I. S., Good, C. D., Ashburner, J., Richard S. J. Frack- owiak, and Frith, C. D. (2000), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, 97(8), 4398–4403. Rather than typing out the full reference of the paper, these instructions will refer to it as Maguire2000. A hyperlink to the pdf of Maguire2000 is available on the course Moodle page within the “Assessments” section, “ICA 2” sub-section. Please note that your report should contain sections with headings as described in Section 2 below. ICA 2 contributes 25% of your module mark for STAT0022.
2 Structure
You should structure your submission according to the headings below.
2.1 Data collection [5 marks]
Maguire2000 includes information on their study design, meaning eg. decisions on which participants to select for the study, which quantitites and observables should be measured in each participant, how to measure the desidered quantities etc.
• Summarise these decisions in your own words. [2 marks]
• Identify two study design decisions that you believe were beneficial in facilitating the study and two study design decisions that you believe were detrimental in the study. For the latter two decisions suggest an improvement. [3 marks]
2.2 Application of techniques studied as part of STAT0022 [8 marks]
In this Subsection, as well as in Subsection 2.3, “technique” refers to a statistical and/or mathematical way to carry out a particular task (eg. the sample mean is not a technique!).
Maguire2000 includes analysis techniques which were studied in STAT0022. Discuss at least one technique covered in STAT0022 which was discussed in the study. Include the following:
• The name of the technique you considering. [1 mark]
• State specifically the measurements to which the technique was applied. [1 mark]
• List the assumptions of the technique, and for each of these assumptions a process which you would use to verify the satisfaction of the assumption (you are not expected to verify the as- sumptions, but it should be plausible that your suggestion would prove that the assumption is satisfied). [3 marks]
• Indicate the final outputs of your technique and which conclusions these values would yield with respect to the study. For the suggested technique, you do not need to produce any numerical output but you need to outline the different conclusions which would arise from the different ranges of the output. [3 marks]
It goes without saying (since they should have been seen in STAT0022) that the techniques must be of statistical and /or mathematical nature and not of other sciences (eg. biological, chemical, sociological techniques are not included).
2.3 Application of techniques not studied as part of STAT0022 [8 marks]
Maguire2000 mentions techniques and values not covered as part of the STAT0022 course. Select one or more techniques in Maguire2000 which have not been discussed in STAT0022 up to the day of the release of these instruction. Include the following:
• State the name of the technique. [1 mark]
• State specifically the measurements to which the technique could have been applied. [1 mark]
• Describe the methodology in your own words, researching some information about it. Target your description for a typical STAT0022 student. [3 marks]
• State the final numerical output(s) of your technique and how the possible value(s) of this output (these outputs) would influence your conclusions with respect to the research question. [3 marks]
Note that explaining more techniques does not necessarily imply a higher mark (see also end of Section 4).
2.4 Main results, conclusions and limitations [6 marks]
Like all analyses, Maguire2000 have some main results and there are some limitations to the study.
• Summarize the results of the paper, and interpret the conclusions of the study in your own words. In so doing, you must refer to at least one numerical value indicated in the study and that you analyzed in one of the previous sections. [3 marks]
• Discuss the most important limitations of the Maguire2000 study from a statistical viewpoint. Explain in particular how these limitations may have affected the paper. [3 marks]
2.5 General [6 marks]
Marks will be given to groups who:
• correctly follow the submission format instructions; [2 marks]
• respond to the requested tasks specifically, and without giving unnecessary information; [2 marks]
• provide a coherent submission that is well presented with accurate and precise use of the English language. [2 marks]
3 Submission format
Your group should submit a single file, saved as a pdf and named as “ICA 2 Group [your group number]”. For example, if you are in group 4 then your submission should be a single pdf file named “ICA 2 Group 4”.
Your submission should contain your group number and the UCL student numbers of all group members. This information can appear at the top of the first page or in the header/footer, there is no need for a title page. The file must not contain your names.
Only pdf’s are allowed for the upload.
4 Submission length
You must not exceed the maximum between 1500 words and 3 A4 pages (eg. it is fine to write 2 pages with 1500 words, but 3 pages with 1550 words will be penalized). Include the word count in your document. The font size must be no less than 11 pt Arial and margin no less than 2 cm. Any plots, graphs, formulae, tables or diagrams you choose to include (if necessary) may be included on a single page, additional to the max {1500 words, 3 pages} count, with each plot or diagram clearly labelled and referenced from within the main discussion text. Details of any references (if necessary) may be included on a single page, additional to the max {1500 words, 3 pages} allowed for your discussion and the one page allowed for plots or diagrams. There is no limitation on the number of pages, if necessary, of references covering your use of AI tools. You should include in these references the minimum requirements outlined by UCL, but also a copy of the prompts submitted to any AI tool and the entire output obtained from the AI tools. Do not use footnotes.
Any submission for which any one of the four submission components outlined above exceeds the corresponding permitted length will suffer a penalty of 10 percentage points, although any such penalty will not reduce a mark below the pass mark of 40%.
Each report must contain a table or a list indicating the tasks carried out by each member of the group. This table or list does not count towards the word count and must be included after the references. Refer to each member in the table by using their student number, not their names (names must appear nowhere in the document). The amount of work is expected to be shared equally between group members, and all members must read the entire report and understand it in all its parts.
The permitted length is an upper limit, not a guide for how much you are expected to submit. If you can clearly explain your understanding more concisely then shorter submissions will not auto- matically be marked lower.
5 Use of GenAI tools
According to UCL’s three tiers for AI use, ICA 2 is a second-tier assessment: GenAI tools can be used in an assistive role. You can use generative AI tools to support you in completing this assessment. For example, you might use a large language model to summarise for you a paper that you found online.
However, some uses of generative AI are forbidden. You must not use generative AI tools to write any part of your submission for you. All text and mathematics appearing within your report must be written in your own words. You must not use generative AI tools to write code for you, or to perform. data analysis.
You must not upload the data or any part of the assignment text to a generative AI tool. Doing so breaches UCL intellectual property rights.
If you use AI tools, you must follow UCL guidelines on acknowledging AI in assessments. The above restrictions do not preclude the use of third-party Language and Writing review tools as outlined in chapter 6, section 9.2 of the Academic Manual.
6 Submission procedure and deadline
You must complete your submission only via the “ICA 2: submit your report here” link within the “Assessments” section of the STAT0022 course Moodle page before the deadline. Note that submis- sion must be completed by all members in the group before this deadline. Moodle is set up to allow a student in the group to upload a file, all other students then need to confirm this submission. There are standard non-negotiable penalties for late submissionswhich you can read about in the UCL Aca- demic Manual. Any extension to the deadline can only be granted where a student has a Summary of Reasonable Adjustments (SoRA) or has successfully claimed extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances and SoRAs are handled by your parent department and not by the teaching department. should be submitted through Portico. I will be notified and will act on extensions approved via these routes, but the deadline displayed in the submission portal will not update instantly.
6.1 Non-submission
Non-submission (in the absence of any valid extenuating circumstances) will mean that your mark for this component is recorded as 0.00% and you will be deemed to have made an attempt.
6.2 SoRA
Extensions to the submission deadline can only be granted where a student has been issued with a SoRA or has made a valid claim for extenuating circumstances. The standard extension length for this assessment type is five working days. If you are in receipt of a SoRA which entitles you to extensions for coursework deadlines you should have received an email from me to ask you to confirm that the extension be applied to your group’s submission for this assessment. If you confirmed, your extension should be setup automatically and you should see it reflected in the deadline displayed in the submission portal. If you think that your SoRA adjustment has not been applied even if you requested it, please contact me at the earliest opportunity.
7 Technical failure
As you have a number of weeks or months to complete coursework, technical issues will not be considered as valid grounds for missing the deadline. All work must be submitted through the Moodle assessment platform; you must not submit work via email or any other channel. Students reporting technical difficulties should contact the central IT services Help & Support resources. If I become aware of a significant technical issue or outage affecting Moodle during the assessment, a message will be circulated to explain what has happened and the steps being taken to mitigate the issue.
8 Groups
All group members will receive identical marks. Allowing you to choose your own groups should mean that there is no conflict within groups, and you should be able to negotiate amongst yourselves a fair distribution of work (see also Section 4). If any group issues do arise and you have exhausted all efforts for resolving these issues within the group, please contact me as soon as possible. It is highly unlikely that I will be able to take any meaningful action if you contact me shortly before, or after, the deadline.
9 Plagiarism, collusion and referencing
Every student completing the submission agrees to having read and understood the “Department of Statistical Science’s guidelines on academic integrity” document. Quotes from Maguire2000 may be simply included in quotation marks – the absence of a specific reference will be taken to indicate that they are from Maguire2000. References to any other sources should be included using your choice of a standard referencing system. Submissions will be run through Moodle Assignment, in particular part of your submission may be scanned using similarity detection software.
Working together and discussing solutions within a group is encouraged. However, you must not exchange information, especially solutions, with anybody outside your registered group (except the lecturer). Doing so may constitute collusion or plagiarism. If a case of misconduct is suspected, the entire group will be held responsible.
By clicking the “Submit” button you are agreeing to the following declaration: “I have read the Department of Statistical Science’s guidance on academic integrity and understand what constitutes academic misconduct. I hereby affirm that the work I am submitting for this assessment is entirely my group’s own, except where indicated by referencing”.
This assessment paper is the intellectual property of UCL and subject to copyright. It must not be reproduced or shared with any third party without prior permission of UCL.
10 Queries
Any queries about ICA 2 should be posted on the Moodle ICA 2 Forum. This is to ensure that no group receives an undue advantage via private email communications. The Forum is closing on March 21, 12:00. I will not answer any query which I receive in my personal email. Emails should only be used for matters that cannot be shared on the forum eg. due to privacy issues.