Visual Sample
Plan Training Course, Version 3.0
Course
Description
The Visual Sample Plan Training
Course provides practical, hands-on training in the use of the Visual
Sample Plan (VSP) software in the context of the Data Quality Objectives
(DQO) approach. The course is scheduled for 3 hours and is basically
a hands-on computer-training course, wherein after a short introduction,
the students are given a course handout containing several in-class
exercises which they then complete at their own pace. The course instructor(s)
serves essentially to answer any questions that may arise during the
class. The course consists of:
- A short instructor-led
overview of the VSP software menu structure
- A short instructor-led
computer demonstration of the key tasks required to use VSP
- A set of self-guided
Introductory Exercises that take the student on a step-by-step
tour of many of the key features in VSP, with a goal to introduce
the student to working with VSP
- A set of self-guided
Student Exercises with solution to each Exercise in the back
of the handout. Topics currently covered are:
- The Effects of Alpha,
Beta, and Sigma on Sample Size
- Judgmental Sampling
versus Simple Random Sampling
- Parametric versus
Nonparametric Statistics
- One-Sample Proportion
Test
- Finding Hot Spots
Previous students have very
quickly become familiar with VSP using this course's well-received self-guided
learning approach. The detailed, step-by-step instructions found in
the VSP course handout and in conjunction with the availability of instructors
for questions has proven to be a most effective method in helping new
users become comfortable with VSP.
This course requires the
use of a computer (PC). The VSP software must be installed on each PC
as well as six VSP files (.vsp) for use in the Student Exercises. All
this is available from the DOE Hanford DQO web site (http://www.hanford.gov/dqo/VSP_Training/install_options.html).
With a high-speed Internet connection, downloading and installing VSP
onto each PC takes about 30 seconds. The VSP file is a self-extracting
executable which creates a VSP directory on the "C" drive
of the PC and installs the software in that directory. The Student Exercises
files can be downloaded as a Zip file and must be expanded into the
C: Visual Sample Plan directory in order to access the files during
the class exercises. Alternatively, each Student Exercise file can be
downloaded individually and saved into the C: Visual Sample Plan directory.
Note that this software and accompanying .vsp files were created for
the US Department of Energy and have been verified, validated, tested,
and re-tested by DOE and EPA. The software and files are virus free
and are do not pose any security problem. After use, they can simply
be deleted from each PC. This course has been presented multiple times
on PCs at numerous facilities to date, such as US DOE, US Army, US EPA,
State of California, State of Washington, etc. No problems have been
encountered by installing and using the software on these government
computers.
|
