Guidelines for Writing Good Asphalt Related

Research Papers
by
Prithvi S. Kandhal and Rajib B. Mallick
[Published in the Indian Roads Congress Highway Research Journal
Volume 6, No. , July ! "ecember #$%&
ABS!RA"!
Re'iew o( numerous as)halt related technical )a)ers )ublished in India has re'ealed
that their *uality is generally not u) to international standards. +his )a)er gi'es
guidelines (or im)ro'ing the *uality o( research )a)ers on as)halt technology.
Com)rehensi'e guidelines ha'e been gi'en (or 'arious ty)ical sections generally
contained in research )a)ers such as abstract, introduction, sco)e o( study and
ob,ecti'es, re'iew o( literature, materials, testing )rocedures and e-)eriment )lan,
construction data .i( any/, test data and statistical analyses, conclusions and
recommendations, ac0nowledgements, re(erences, and a))endices. 1any o( the
guidelines are also a))licable and use(ul (or research )a)ers on other areas o(
trans)ortation.
#. BA"KGR$%&'
It has been obser'ed (rom the re'iew o( numerous technical )a)ers related to as)halt
technology )ublished in India that their *uality is generally not u) to international
standards. +his also a))lies to research )a)ers2re)orts )roduced by )remier
institutions in India.
+he (ollowing guidelines ha'e been )re)ared based on the authors3 e-)erience (or
im)ro'ing the *uality o( )a)ers on as)halt technology. 4uidelines are gi'en in order
o( 'arious ty)ical sections generally contained in a research )a)er such as abstract,
introduction, sco)e o( study and ob,ecti'es, re'iew o( literature, materials, testing
)rocedures and e-)eriment )lan, construction data .i( any/, test data and statistical
analyses, conclusions and recommendations, ac0nowledgements, re(erences ,and
a))endices.
(. ABS!RA"!
+he abstract .or syno)sis/ should be 'ery brie( generally not e-ceeding 5## words.
+he reader should get a general idea about what is contained in the )a)er. It needs to
6 Res)ecti'ely, 7ssociate "irector 8meritus, National Center (or 7s)halt +echnology,
9:7 .pkandhal)g*ail.co*/ and Pro(essor, ;orcester Polytechnic Institute,
;orcester 9:7 .rajib)+pi.edu/
$
ha'e (our )rimary segments< introduction2im)ortance o( the sub,ect .=% sentences/>
ob,ecti'e .one sentence/> sco)e o( the study or 'ariables e-amined .=% sentences/>
and main conclusions .=% sentences/.
,. -&R$'%"!-$&
+he introduction should be brie(. It should mention the im)ortance o( the s)eci(ic
research to)ic 0ee)ing in )ers)ecti'e the general (ield and2or needs o( India. +he
introduction should lead into the ne-t section o( ob,ecti'e.s/.
.. S"$P/ $0 S!%'1 A&' $B2/"!-3/4S5
?rie(ly outline the sco)e o( this study so that the reader clearly understands its
limitations. +hen gi'e the )rimary and secondary .i( any/ ob,ecti'es o( this study. It
has been obser'ed that sometimes many ob,ecti'es are gi'en but some are not
re)orted later in the )a)er. +his usually ha))ens i( the research )a)er has been
)re)ared (rom a large research re)ort by @co)y and )asteA.
6. R/3-/W $0 7-!/RA!%R/
?e(ore (ormulating an e-)erimental research )lan it is necessary to re'iew the
literature on the sub,ect to determine what wor0 has been done in the )ast by other
researchers and what results2conclusions were drawn. +his is necessary to a'oid
re)etitions or )it(alls. 7ll )a)ers which ha'e re)orted either )ositi'e or negati'e
(indings on a new technology should be included. :ometimes, when the researchers
ha'e obtained )ositi'e results (rom a )rocess or a )roduct .such as any additi'e/, they
tend to e-clude those )a)ers which re)orted negati'e results on a similar )roduct. It is
not unusual and should be acce)ted that researchers sometimes get di((erent results
when similar )roducts or technologies are in'estigated.
+he re'iew o( literature can be re)orted either in a chronological order or can be
subdi'ided into subsections o( the larger sub,ect i( deemed a))ro)riate. Bor e-am)le,
i( a )roduct has been e'aluated in the laboratory as well as (ield it can be subdi'ided
into laboratory and (ield )er(ormance.
+he researchers must use the internet to access literature on the sub,ect being
researched. +here are many research engines such as 4oogle and Cahoo. Howe'er, the
most im)ortant and com)rehensi'e highway related database is< .a/ 9: +rans)ortation
Research ?oard .+R?/Ds +rans)ortation Research In(ormation :er'ices .+RI:/
"atabase and .b/ the Erganisation (or 8conomic Coo)eration and "e'elo)ment
.E8C"/3s Joint +rans)ort Research Centre3s International +rans)ort Research
"ocumentation .I+R"/ "atabase.
+rans)ortation Research In(ormation "atabase .+RI"/ is a newly integrated database
that combines the records (rom +R?Ds !R-S "atabase and the E8C"Ds -!R'
"atabase. +ogether, +RI" )ro'ides access to o'er F##,### records o( trans)ortation
research. +RI", released in #$$, is the worldDs largest and most com)rehensi'e
bibliogra)hic resource on trans)ortation research in(ormation. It is )roduced and
maintained by the +rans)ortation Research ?oard o( the National 7cademies with

s)onsorshi) by state de)artments o( trans)ortation, the 'arious administrations at the

9.:. "e)artment o( +rans)ortation, and other s)onsors o( +R?Ds core technical
acti'ities. I+R" is )roduced by I+R" member organiGations under the s)onsorshi) o(
the Joint +rans)ort Research Centre .collecti'ely J+RC/ o( the International +rans)ort
Borum and the Erganisation (or 8conomic Coo)eration and "e'elo)ment .E8C"/.
+he +rans)ortation Research ?oardDs +RI" website is a leading tool (or trans)ortation
)ro(essionals to stay u)dated on the status o( world=wide trans)ortation research.
+RI" co'ers all modes and disci)lines o( trans)ortation and contains more than
F##,### records o( re(erences to boo0s, technical re)orts, con(erence )roceedings, and
,ournal articles in the (ield o( trans)ortation research. 7lmost 5## serial titles are
regularly scanned and inde-ed (or +RI". 1ore than 6H,### records contain lin0s to
(ull=te-t documents.
+RI" can be accessed at the (ollowing lin0<
http899trid.trb.org9search.asp:
7lthough the +RI" search will not gi'e the whole )a)er, it will gi'e a (ull record o(
each )a)er2re)ort containing the title, authors3 name.s/, name o( ,ournal, its 'olume
number, and an abstract. ?y reading the abstracts, the researchers can determine
which )a)ers are worth obtaining (rom technical library.
9se o( )ro)er 0ey words and their combinations thereo( is essential to get the
o)timum results (rom a literature search on the internet. Bor e-am)le, a literature
search is needed on @Bield Per(ormance o( :teel :lag in ?ituminous 1i-turesA. I( one
0ey word @bituminous mi-tureA is used it will )roduce a large number o( re(erences.
+he literature search can be narrowed down (urther by including @steel slagA as
additional 0eyword. +hat is, use @bituminous mi-tureA and @steel slagA. I( needed, it
can be (urther narrowed down by adding @(ield )er(ormanceA 0eyword.
Iuire o(ten, we also ha'e to use @orA when there are other synonyms (or a term or 0ey
word. Bor e-am)le, try @bituminous mi-A or @as)halt mi-A or @hot mi- as)haltA to get
ma-imum number o( re(erences. Bor e-am)le, in the )re'ious e-am)le we can try<
@bituminous mi-A or @as)halt mi-A or @hot mi- as)haltA and @steel slagA or @o)en
hearth slagA.
:elect the desired )a)ers (rom the +RI" search and )rint out (ull records .including
abstract/ be(ore beginning the research. I( the (ull )a)er is not a'ailable in the nearby
technical library, send an e=mail to authors. ;ith good luc0, they may )ro'ide a so(t
co)y 'ia e=mail. 1any (ull )a)ers on as)halt technology )ublished by a s)eci(ic
author are also sometimes a'ailable on the internet, (or e-am)le at the (ollowing lin0<
htt)<22www.scribd.com2doc2HJ%%$FK2Landhal=7s)halt=Miterature=;ith=;eb=Min0s
Binally, do search on 4oogle and Cahoo search engines. :ur)risingly, additional
re(erences to )a)ers2re)orts2trade ,ournals can be a'ailable.
%
;. MA!/R-A7S
7ll materials used in laboratory and2or (ield e'aluation should be characteriGed,
documented and re)orted. Re(erences should be made to standard tests used such as
7:+1 and ?I: .?ureau o( Indian :tandards/. I( non=standard e-)erimental or
research tests are used they should be described brie(ly and re(erences should be made
to )ublished )a)ers where such tests ha'e been described in detail.
8-am)les o( some materials used in as)halt research are gi'en below.
;.# Bitu*en as a binder
?itumen binder should be classi(ied as )er )re'ailing grading system in India. Bor
e-am)le, 'iscosity graded .V4/ bitumen such as V4=%# and V4=$# should be used
rather than old )enetration graded bitumen such as 6#2J# and K#2$##. :ometimes,
researchers ,ust re)roduce the test data su))lied by the re(ineries. +his should be
discouraged. ?itumen binder should actually be tested es)ecially 'iscosity at 6# C by
the researchers3 laboratory. In case o( modi(ied bituminous binders, its ty)e such as
elastomer and )lastomer and the ty)e o( )olymer should be re)orted. In case o(
Crumb rubber modi(ied ?itumen .CR1?/, the siGe and amount o( crumb rubber used
should be re)orted together with the details o( its manu(acturing )rocess such as
blending tem)erature and digestion time.
;.( Aggregates
+he geological ty)e o( the aggregate such as limestone, granite and sandstone should
al+a<s be re)orted because it can in(luence mi- test results such as moisture
susce)tibility .stri))ing/. ?esides standard tests non=standard tests which are germane
to the research should also be conducted to (ully characteriGe the aggregates used.
+est 'alues should not be re)orted to many unnecessary decimal 'alues because that
ma0es them rather incom)rehensible to reader.
Bor e-am)le, s)eci(ic gra'ity 'alues .bul0, a))arent or e((ecti'e/ should be re)orted
to three decimal )laces .not less or more/ and gradation should be rounded o(( to
whole number e-ce)t the )ercentage )assing #.#J5 mm sie'e should be re)orted to
one decimal )lace. +able $ gi'es ty)ical aggregate test 'alues rounded o((
a))ro)riately.
!able #. Aggregate test values 4e:a*ple5
!est Rounded off value
?ul0 s)eci(ic gra'ity .6J
;ater absor)tion $. N
Bla0iness and elongation inde- H.5 N
7ggregate im)act 'alue $J.K N
Mos 7ngles abrasion 'alue K.% N
:odium or magnesium soundness K.% N
H
;., Additive
I( an additi'e is used (or the bituminous binder or bituminous mi-, it should at least
be described generically i( it is not ad'isable to mention its brand name. :ome
researchers do not do it and ,ust state @certain additi'eA was used. :uch research is
hardly use(ul to other researchers and the technical community at large i( they cannot
)rocure that @certain additi'eA to re)licate the research in their laboratory.
1any times there is no harm in mentioning the brand name o( the additi'e i( it is
ac0nowledged under the 7c0nowledgement :ection with the (ollowing statement<
@+he research s)onsoring organiGation and the authors do not endorse any )ro)rietary
)roducts or technologies mentioned in this )a)er. +hese a))ear herein only because
they are considered essential to the ob,ecti'e o( this )a)erA. +his is )ermitted by the
9: +rans)ortation Research ?oard.
;.. Bitu*inous Mi:es
+he )rocedure used in )re)aring the bituminous mi-es such as mi-ing tem)erature
and the )rocedure used in com)acting the bituminous mi- such as 1arshall and
:u)er)a'e gyratory com)action, should be described. 7gain, the test 'alues obtained
(or com)acted bitumen mi-es should be rounded o(( a))ro)riately as shown in +able
. Bor e-am)le, it is o( no use to re)ort air 'oids as 5.$J%N which rather ma0es it
incom)rehensible to reader> it should be re)orted as 5. )ercent.
!able (. Mi: design test data
Propert< Rounded off
value
:)eci(ic gra'ity o( bitumen $.#K
?ul0 s)eci(ic gra'ity o( aggregate .6J
8((ecti'e s)eci(ic gra'ity o( aggregate .J$5
1a-imum s)eci(ic gra'ity o( mi- .5F
?ul0 s)eci(ic gra'ity o( com)acted s)ecimen .H#F
N 7ir 'oids H.K
N V17 $%.J
N VB7 65.F
:tability, 0g ,$#
Blow, unit H.
=. 7AB$RA!$R1 A&'9$R "$&S!R%"!-$& !/S! 'A!A
It is a normal )ractice to conduct laboratory or (ield tests in tri)licate and a'erage
'alues re)orted. It should always be mentioned whether the re)orted test 'alues are
indi'idual test results or a'erages o( du)licate or tri)licate s)ecimens.
Construction details should be documented and re)orted> (or e-am)le, )re'ailing
ambient tem)erature, lay down mi- tem)erature, com)action tem)erature, ty)e and
number o( rollers used. Construction test data such as core density should be obtained
at random locations. 7ir 'oids in com)acted mat ha'e highly signi(icant e((ect on
)a'ement )er(ormance. Bor e-am)le, i( control test section has $#N air 'oids at the
5
time o( construction and the e-)erimental test section has 6N air 'oids at the time o(
construction, the (ield )er(ormance o( the (ormer is e-)ected to be worse than the
latter. +here(ore, ,ust re)orting the relati'e (ield )er(ormance without re)orting
)ercent air 'oids in the mat at the time o( construction may be misleading.
Eb'iously all )ertinent test in(ormation which has a direct e((ect on )er(ormance
should be re)orted. I( some in(ormation is not a'ailable it should be ac0nowledged in
the )a)er.
7ny unusual circumstances and2or beha'iour o( the mi- during construction .such as
tenderness, harshness and di((iculty in )lacing 2handwor0/ should be documented
because these (actors also a((ect the )er(ormance o( the test sections.
Relati'e costs o( construction (or control and e-)erimental sections, i( a'ailable,
should also be re)orted so that li(e2cycle costs can be determined later.
>. S!A!-S!-"A7 A&A71S/S $0 !/S! 'A!A
:tatistical analyses o( test data cannot be done success(ully unless there is an
e-)erimental )rogram which lists all inde)endent 'ariables and all de)endent
'ariables> tests to be conducted> number o( sam)les to be tested> and re)licates o(
each test. 7s a minimum such an e-)erimental )rogram would yield means and
standard de'iations (or the test 'alues.
+here are two basic necessities o( writing a success(ul research )a)er< what we say
should be @newA and, it should be @con'incingA. :tatistical analyses hel) the author
in writing the )a)er in a con'incing manner. :uch analysis can be carried out by
'arious so(tware such as :P::. Bor e-am)le, see the (ollowing lin0<
htt)<22www=$H.ibm.com2so(tware2)roducts2in2en2s)ss=stats=standard
Commonly used statistical methods are described below, with e-am)les. 7ll *uoted
e*uations ha'e been ta0en (rom the (ollowing te-tboo0< :teel, Robert 4. and James
H. +orrie. Principles and Procedures of Statistics. New Cor0< 1c4raw, $F6#.
+he reasons (or conducting each statistical method are also )resented.
>.# Anal<sis of 3ariance 4A&$3A5
Ene 'ery common item in research )a)ers is the )resentation o( a new material or a
construction )rocess, and the discussion on its e((ect on a measured test )ro)erty. In
such a case, 7nalysis o( Variance .7NEV7/ must be carried out be(ore ma0ing the
conclusion regarding the a))licability o( the new material2method. Ene way 7NEV7
will hel) to determine what )ro)ortion o( 'ariance is accounted (or by the systematic
e((ect and what )ro)ortion is not accounted (or> this hel)s us to determine whether
there is a signi(icant e((ect o( - .inde)endent 'ariable/ 'alues on the y .de)endent/
'alues. 7n e-am)le is as (ollows.
:u))ose researchers use (our di((erent treatments o( (iber to reduce the draindown o(
as)halt binder in stone matri- as)halt .:17/ mi-es. "raindown tests were carried out
using wire bas0ets and the total draindown at $# minutes was recorded (or three
6
re)licates (or each treatment )lus one case .termed control/ in which no (iber was
used. +est results are shown in Bigure $.
0igure #. Plot of additive t<pe and a*ount versus draindo+n
+o ma0e con'incing conclusions regarding the e((ect o( the (ibers, the (irst *uestion
that needs to be answered is the (ollowing< Is there at least one treatment mean that is
di((erent (rom the othersO 7NEV7 can be conducted to answer this *uestion, as
shown in +able %.
!able ,. /:a*ple of A&$3A
Source SS '0 MS 0
+reatments %.$H H #.JK$ K.#KF P %.HK
8rror #.F66 $# #.#FJ
+otal H.#F# $H
7t F5N .Probability, ) Q #.#5/ con(idence le'el B
critical
Q %.HK> .In (act, the B 'alue
matches B
critical
at a ) 'alue o( #.##H/
+he di((erent statistics are described as (ollows<
:: +reatments .::
+
/ Q
Q i
th
treatment total
is the grand total
Q
0 Q number o( treatments
J
:: 8rror .::
8rror
/ Q
N Q
:ince the B 'alue e-ceeds the B
critical
'alue at F5N con(idence le'el, it can be
concluded that there is at least one treatment that di((ers (rom the others. In other
words, it is con(irmed that there is a signi(icant e((ect (rom at least one treatment o(
(ibers.
>.( Separation of Means 4Ranking5
+he ne-t *uestion that arises is< which treatment.s/ are signi(icantly di((erent, and
how can they be ran0edO +his answer can be obtained by conducting a multi)le
com)arison techni*ue, such +u0ey3s honestly signi(icant di((erence .H:"/ test, which
com)ares the di((erence between two means against a standard error.
Met us utiliGe the last e-am)le .e((ect o( (iber on draindown/ to conduct +u0ey3s H:"
test. Recall that in our e-am)le, (rom the 7NEV7 table, 1:
error
Q #.#FJ> "B
error
Q $#> n
.or r, number o( re)licates/ Q %
+he decision rule is as (ollows<
I(
+hen the di((erence between the means and will be declared signi(icant.
;here,
:tandard error .:8/ Q
;here critical is obtained (rom +u0ey3s )robability table (or the s)eci(ic "B
+reatment
and
"B
8rror
/
In the gi'en e-am)le,
:8 Q #.$JF> "B
+reatment
Q H> "B
8rror
Q $#
+able H shows the results o( +u0ey3s H:" analysis., and +able 5 shows the
grou)ings. Note that means with the same grou)s do not di((er signi(icantly. Brom this
analysis it can be concluded that the addition o( (iber 7 at #.%N or ? at #.$ and #.%N
de(initely reduces draindown, as com)ared to the no additi'e mi-.
K
!able .. !uke<?s @S' anal<sis
Com)arisons
+u0eyDs
)arameter
*
critical
:igni(icantly di((erentO
No 7dditi'es Biber=7=#.$N .$%J H.%% No
No 7dditi'es Biber 7=#.%N 5.H6% Ces
No 7dditi'es Biber ?=#.$N 5.J#H Ces
No 7dditi'es Biber ?=#.%N 6.K## Ces

Biber=7=#.$N Biber 7=#.%N %.%6 No
Biber=7=#.$N Biber ?=#.$N %.56J No
Biber=7=#.$N Biber ?=#.%N H.66H Ces

Biber 7=#.%N Biber ?=#.$N #.H No
Biber 7=#.%N Biber ?=#.%N $.%%K No

Biber ?=#.$N Biber ?=#.%N $.#F6 No
!able 6. Grouping of the treat*ents on the basis of !uke<?s @S' anal<sis
!<pe of treat*ent Group
No 7dditi'es 7
Biber=7=#.$N 7 ?
Biber 7=#.%N ?C
Biber ?=#.$N ?C
Biber ?=#.%N C
>., Si*ple 7inear Regression
:u))ose it is necessary to determine whether there is a relationshi) between the
)ercentage o( natural sand .(or e-am)le ri'er sand with relati'ely rounded aggregates/
in the total (ine aggregates o( the mi- and rut de)ths obser'ed (rom wheel trac0ing
tests. 7n e-)eriment in'ol'ing (our le'els o( sand )ercentage< $5, #, 5 and %# N
was conducted. Bor each )ercentage o( sand, (i'e mi-es were )re)ared and tested with
a wheel trac0ing test. +he results are as gi'en in +able 6 and are shown gra)hically in
Bigure .
F
!able ;. Rut depths in ** fro* +heel tracking e:peri*ents
Percentage of natural sand
!est &o. #6 (A (6 ,A
$ J $ $H $F
J $J $K 5
% $5 $ $K
H $$ $K $F $F
5 F $K $F %
0igure (. Plot of percentage of natural sand versus rut depth
+he research *uestion is< Can the a'erage rut de)th be e-)lained with a straight line
relationshi) between a'erage rut de)th and )ercentage o( sand usedO
?y considering the rut de)th as a de)endent on the le'el o( )ercentage o( sand used,
one )ossible mathematical model is<
$#
where, Q ,
th
res)onse .rut de)th/ obser'ed (or the i
th
treatment .sand )ercentage/
le'el, Q o'erall mean, Q mean o( all o( the res)onses o( the i
th
treatment, Q
error
+he res)onses can be used to test<
(or, i Q $, , % and H
< at least one treatment mean di((ers
(or, i Q $, , % and H
using an B ratio test based on the (ollowing 7NEV7
!able =. A&$3A of rut depth data
Source SS '0 MS 0
+reatments %6%.H# % $$.$% $5.#F
8rror $K.H# $6 K.#%
+otal HF$.K# $F
I( the B test (ails to re,ect then the model
is su((icient to e-)lain the
;hen an analysis o( 'ariance is )er(ormed the 'ariance o( the res)onse is bro0en
down according to the com)onents in the model being used to e-)lain the res)onses.
Bor e-am)le, with the model
we can describe the 'ariability in .+otal :ums o( :*uares about the mean
Q+::/ using two com)onents> 'ariability attributable to the
and the remaining une-)lainable 'ariability
0nown as )ure error .
Howe'er, i( the treatments le'els are *uantitati'e .treatment i has -
i
amount o( -
which causes res)onse y
i,
/ it may be reasonable to assume that the mean res)onse
de)ends on the treatment le'el -
i
in a linear manner .ie /. +he model
to e-)lain treatment res)onses would then be
+his de(ines a sim)le linear regression model (or e-)laining the res)onses.
+o test whether a sim)le linear regression e((ect e-ists between the res)onse and the
treatment le'els, the (ollowing hy)othesis are tested<
$$
In order to test we need an estimate o( and the standard error (or the
estimate.
+o (ind a best estimate (or , consider the estimate (or the regression
to be best i( it has the )ro)erty that the sum o( the s*uared distances (rom
the sam)le )oints . / to the )oints on the estimate o( the sam)le regression line .
is as small as )ossible.
Bor this, the re*uirement is<

needs to be minimiGed with res)ect to
+he 'alues o( which minimiGe are called the
least s*uare estimates. +he least s*uare estimates can (ound as (ollows<
where,
Q the number o( res)onses measured at
N Q the total number o( res)onses ta0en in the e-)eriment
In the gi'en e-am)le, the least s*uare estimates are (ound to be<
+here(ore, the estimate o( the true a'erage rut de)th at a le'el is<

+he 'ariance o( the estimator (or is<
+he standard error (or , can be estimated by re)lacing with 1:8 .see
7NEV7, +able 5/ in the 'ariance (ormula and ta0ing the s*uare root<
$
In the e-am)le )roblem, Q #.$$%%
I( we want to test the hy)otheses<
9sing t statistic, we calculate<
:ince at le'el, P
;e re,ect > we conclude that there is a linear relationshi) between rut de)th and
sand )ercentage.
+he 'ariability o( by the linear regression needs to be determined to estimate the
strength o( the regression.
In this e-am)le,
Hence, (rom +able J, we can ha'e +able K as (ollows.
!able >. Partitioning of su* of sBuares
Source SS '0 MS 0
+reatments %6%.H# % $$.$% $5.#F
Minear %5%.HH $ %5%.HH HH.#
Remainder F.F6 H.FK #.6
8rror $K.H# $6 K.#%
+otal HF$.K# $F
It is also )ossible to test<
No linear relation between N sand and rut de)th
$%
+here is a linear relation between N sand and rut de)th
by using the B statistic,
Bor assessing how good the linear regression model is (or reducing errors in
)redicting rut de)th based on N sand, the coe((icient o( determination .R

/ is used,
where<
In this e-am)le,
+his means that J$.K6 N o( the 'ariation in rut de)th can be e-)lained by the linear
relationshi) rut de)th 'ersus N o( sand.
;e can also conduct a Mac0 o( Bit test, to test whether a linear relationshi) between
the rut de)th and the N o( sand is reasonable to assume by inter)reting the remainder
o( the treatment sum o( s*uares as sum o( s*uares attributable to da de)arture (rom a
linear relationshi).
+he notation is used (or the )art o( the +reatment :um o( :*uares that is
attributable to de'iation (rom a straight line model.
Partitioning the +reatment :um o( :*uares into and the
7NEV7 table can be )resented as in +able F.
!able C. 0urther partitioning of su* of sBuares
Source SS '0 MS 0
+reatments %6%.H# % $$.$% $5.#F
Minear %5%.HH $ %5%.HH HH.#
Mac0 o( Bit F.F6 H.FK #.6
8rror $K.H# $6 K.#%
+otal HF$.K# $F
+o test whether the assum)tion o( a straight line model is reasonable or not, an B
statistic test can be conducted, com)aring the 1:
Mac0 o( (it
to 1:
8rror.
In this e-am)le,
+he assum)tion o( a straight line relationshi) between a'erage rut de)th and N
sand is reasonable
7 straight line relationshi) is unreasonable
$H
Hence, cannot be re,ected.
>.. "onfidence -nterval
:ometimes it is good to 0now what is the inter'al within which researchers are
con(ident to certain degree that the a'erage 'alue o( a de)endent 'ariable will lie (or a
s)eci(ic 'alue o( the inde)endent 'ariable, that is the con(idence inter'al.
I( denotes a gi'en 'alue o( , an estimate o( is
+he standard error (or is
+o (orm the .$= con(idence inter'al use
Bor the gi'en e-am)le, let is (ind a F5N con(idence inter'al when #N sand is used.
Here,
:o,
Hence the F5N con(idence inter'al (or is
+his means that the researchers are F5N con(ident that the true a'erage rut de)th is
between $.J5 and $5.6F mm when the )ercentage o( sand is #.
>.6 'etection of outlier
:ometimes there are bad data )oints resulting (rom )oor e-)erimental methods or
)ractices. +hese data do not (ollow the trend o( the other data, and de'iate mar0edly
(rom the rest o( the obser'ations. :uch data need to be identi(ied and deleted (rom the
rest o( the data be(ore the set o( data is analyGed. +here are 'arious standard methods
o( detecting outliers and di((erent statistical methods em)loy di((erent )rocedures.
Ene sim)le )rocedure is through the use o( bo- )lots. +he method consists o( the
(ollowing ste)s<
$. Bind the lowest .ME/, highest .HI/, and the 5
th
, 5#
th
and the J5
th
)ercentile
data. 1ar0 these either on a horiGontal or a 'ertical scale.
. "raw a bo- so that the 5
th
and the J5
th
)ercentiles re)resent the ends o( the
bo-. 7lso, draw a line )arallel to these ends at the 5#th )ercentile.
$5
%. Calculate the 'alue
H. I( draw line (rom to HI
Etherwise draw line (rom and mar0 o( HI with an asteris0 .to
detect outliers/
5. I( draw a line (rom to ME
Etherwise draw a line (rom to and mar0 ME with an asteris0 .de
detect outliers/
Consider the (ollowing e-am)le. In ##H, rut de)th data .mm/ were obtained
(rom se'eral as)halt )a'ing )ro,ects constructed in $FFK, year as shown in
+able $#. Can the researchers identi(y the outliersO
!able #A. Rut depth data of projects fro* #C>>D as obtained in (AA.
Pro,ect No. Rut de)th, mm
$ .5H
$.J
% $.J
H 5.#K
5 5.%%
6 6.%5
J J.6
K %.K$
F .5H
$# 5.5F
$$ H.K%
$ $$.H%
$% .JF
$H 5.#K
ME Q $.J> HI Q $.J> Q%.#HK> Q5.#K> Q6.$5F
$6
0igure ,. Bo: plot and outliers
;ith the data, Bigure % is drawn. It can be seen that the data )oints $$.H% and $.J are
identi(ied as outliers.
>.; 'eter*ination of percent +ithin li*its 4PW75
In many s)eci(ications, the e'aluation o( a ,ob (or acce)tance or re,ection is based on
the )ercent within limits .P;M/ o( results (or each lot o( the )a'ement. P;M .or
)ercent con(orming / is de(ined as the )ercentage o( the lot (alling abo'e the lower
s)eci(ication limit .M:M/, beneath the u))er s)eci(ication limit .9:M/, or between the
9:M and M:M. 7lthough tests can be a))lied to 'eri(y it, in general, the )o)ulation o(
most test results is assumed to be normally distributed, and the use o( this )rocedure
ensures the consideration o( both a'erage and 'ariability o( the test results (or
e'aluation o( the @*ualityA o( the )roduct. +he P;M a))roach is used by many states
in the 9: (or acce)tance o( as)halt )a'ing )ro,ects. +he P;M conce)t is based on the
use o( the area under a standard normal distribution. Consider the (ollowing e-am)le.
:u))ose the bitumen content o( (i'e sam)les ha'e been determined to as shown in
+able $$. +he )ermissible range is 5N R #.HN. "etermine the )ercent within limits
.P;M/.
!able ##. Bitu*en content data
:am)le No. ?itumen content
$ H.6
5.
% H.F
H H.K
5 H.5
+he ste)s are as (ollows.
$."etermine mean 'alue, S Q H.K> standard de'iation, T Q #.J
.+he s)eci(ication limits are (rom H.6N to 5.HN
%.Calculate U statistic (or u))er limit<
Brom +able $, it can be concluded that N abo'e 5.H is $ = #.5 = #.HK6K Q #.#$%
H. Calculate the U statistic (or lower limit<
Brom +able $, it can be concluded that the N below H.6 is $ = #.5 = #.J#H Q #.F6
5. Hence, P;M Q .$=.#.#$% V #.F6//6$## Q J5.JN
1any state highway agencies in the 9: ha'e lin0ed P;Ms to )ay (actors, which
'aries (rom state to state. Bor e-am)le, one state determines the )ay (actors as gi'en
in +able $%. In such tables, P;Ms are listed in increment o( one )ercent> +able $% lists
some e-cer)ts only (rom one such table.
$J
!able #(. Area under the standard nor*al distribution
!able #,. /:a*ple of PW7s linked to pa< factors
Percent within limits .P;M/ Pay Bactor .Percent o( bid )rice/
$## $##
F# F5
K# JK
J# 6#
6H 5#
Mess than 6H Remo'e and re)lace
$K
C. S%MMAR1D "$&"7%S-$&S A&' R/"$MM/&'A!-$&S
1any readers do not ha'e time to read the whole )a)er including test data and
analyses. +hey rather )re(er to read this section to get an essence o( the whole )a)er.
+here(ore, a brie( summary o( the research .es)ecially its im)ortance and main
ob,ecti'es/ consisting o( a short )aragra)h will be use(ul to such readers.
Conclusions should be in )ro)er order and should al+a<s be su))orted by re)orted
test data. 1any research )ro,ects are not com)rehensi'e in sco)e and there(ore (irm
conclusions cannot be drawn. In such cases, it should be ac0nowledged that the
conclusions are based on limited test data.
Recommendations may include .a/ need (or more research or study and .b/ how the
research results can be im)lemented by the highway community.
#A. A"K&$W7/'G/M/&!S
It is customary to ac0nowledge the organiGation which s)onsored the research
re)orted in the )a)er. Names o( 0ey )eo)le who assisted in conduction the research
should also be ac0nowledged.
I( brand names o( some materials are used in the )a)er, the (ollowing statement can
be made< @+he research s)onsoring organiGation and the authors do not endorse any
)ro)rietary )roducts or technologies mentioned in this )a)er. +hese a))ear herein
only because they are considered essential to the ob,ecti'e o( this )a)erA.
+he (ollowing statement can also be made i( a))licable< @+he contents o( this
)a)er2re)ort re(lect the 'iews o( the authors who are solely res)onsible (or the (acts and
the accuracy o( the data )resented herein. +he contents do not necessarily re(lect
the o((icial 'iews and )olicies o( the research s)onsoring organiGation. +his
re)ort does not constitute a standard, s)eci(ication, or regulationA.
##. R/0/R/&"/S
Re(erences can be listed in al)habetical order and *uoted in the te-t accordingly.
Re(erences can also be listed in the order they are *uoted in the )a)er. 4uidelines
gi'en by the )ublishers o( the ,ournal need to be (ollowed.
Re(erences should be com)lete in all res)ects< authors3 names> title o( the
)a)er2re)ort> and Journal name, 'olume number and year.
I( re(erence is made to a 9RM address (rom an internet website, the date it was
accessed by the researchers should also be mentioned.
$F
#(. APP/&'-"/S
+here may be a need to re)ort 'oluminous test data, describe a test method in detail or
include a tentati'e s)eci(ication in the )a)er. 7))endices are 'ery e((ecti'e (or such
)ur)oses. +hey reduce the siGe o( the main body o( the )a)er ma0ing it more readable.
Enly those readers who desire more details can re(er to the a))ro)riate a))endices.
#