Educator Guide: Types of Research Design and VR Taste

May 1, 2025

About this guide

Pair these lesson plans with articles from the May issue of Science News to have students compare observational and experimental study designs and propose their own research topic for one of them, and explore how scientists are developing taste-mimicking virtual-reality (VR) technology.

This Guide Includes:

Technically tasty

Virtual reality (VR) has expanded people's ability to experience visual and auditory sensations in virtual worlds. What about our other senses? Learn how chemical-detection capabilities of the tongue allow us to taste cake as being sweet and lemonade as being sour. Explore how scientists used this understanding to develop taste-mimicking VR technology, all while answering questions about how this tasty research might one day help people.

Observations vs. Experiments: Two types of research design

In this lesson, students will compare and contrast observational studies with experimental studies and practice identifying the study types from provided examples. Then, they will apply that knowledge to two studies outlined in Science News articles. As an optional assignment, students will be asked to create an example of a possible study.