Director Christine Shaw
The student by now should have gained an appreciation of the differences in the nature of factors which influence the outcome of experiments, through these pages and the paper The Nature of Experiment in Archaeology. Therefore, this introduction will merely remind students of the division of factors into controlled and uncontrolled, which forms the basis of this and the companion page.
The key feature of uncontrolled factors is that the level of the relevant properties is set, at least initially, wholly by the selection of an experimental site. However, there may be room for some limited manipulation of some such factors, so as to influence any given outcome. For example Ploughing, Weed Control and Manuring will all modify the underlying properties of a Soil, as a growing medium, to some degree.. In a similar way, these three procedures may modify the background weed population and their impact (Arable Weed Communities).
Climate and Weather (see Weather Station)
Created 01 August 2001 - Updated 21 January 2002