Select the experiment design
The experimental design refers to how the entries will be arranged in the experimental unit such as a field or greenhouse. You may manually identify the design parameters and layout details in the EBS, upload your design array, or generate randomization for sparse testing.
Click on the Across Environment Design dropdown field to select whether you want to create an experimental design across all environments (None) or through a randomized environment (Random).
Select experimental design
Under the Across Environmental Design dropdown menu, click None to proceed with selecting the preferred experimental design.
Select the appropriate design for your experiment by clicking the Design drop-down field. You may refer to the EBS Concepts page for the definition of each design.
Point your cursor in the question mark () so that the information about the experimental design will float.
Provide the required information based on the specific experimental design. You may refer to the list of requirements per design and their definitions on the Trial Design page. Once done, click Generate Design.
You will be notified that the system is generating the results in the background process.
Once the randomization is successful, the page will automatically refresh, and you may click Next on the screen's upper-right corner.
If the user defines the shape/dimension, the resulting layout will be displayed on the right side of the experimental design section.
Upload design array
Experimental designs generated outside EBS can be applied to your experiment by uploading your design array. Except for OFT and P-Rep CRD designs, all designs are allowed in the system for now.
Select the appropriate design for your experiment by clicking the Design drop-down field.
Click the Upload () button to start uploading your design array.
On the lower left corner of the Upload design array page, click Browse and upload your file. You may also drag and drop it in the file upload field.
After uploading your design, click Validate.
The modal window will display the information about the uploaded design array. Click Confirm to proceed with the upload.
Once the upload is successful, you will see both the design information and the resulting layout. You may click Next on the upper-right corner of the screen.
Conduct sparse testing
Under the Across Environmental Design dropdown menu, click Random to proceed with sparse testing.
Select your design workflow whether by generating randomization for Partially Replicated experiment design or by uploading a sparse testing design. To do so, toggle off () Generate for the former or toggle on () Upload for the latter.
Generate randomization for sparse testing
Toggle off () Generate to begin generating randomization.
Assign the number of occurrences and iterations for your sparse testing design. You may also assign the number of replications for test and check entries by clicking the Assign button. Changes done will be automatically saved.
Select the experimental design under the Occurrence Design section. As of the latest version, only the Partially Replicated design is available for sparse testing.
Fill up all the experimental design parameters in the fields provided. Check the dropdown below for the list of parameters.
Once done, click Save located the the top of the Occurrence Design section.
The experimental design was successfully generated in the background. You may still modify the parameters by clicking the Update parameter set button () or delete the design by clicking the Delete parameter set button ().
To finalize the generated design, click Submit above the parameter table. After that, the status will change to randomization in progress and it will be processed in the background.
The experimental design is successfully generated and the status will be changed to randomized. You may view the design layout by clicking the View parameter set layout () button.
Once done with the space testing, click Next on the upper-right corner of the screen.
Assign number of replicates
Click the Assign button to begin.
Under the Total NReps column, indicate the number of replicates for each entry.
You may also assign replicates in bulk. Click the checkbox () of the entries to be replicated. Then, click the Bulk update Total NReps button ().
In the modal window, indicate the number of replications in the provided text field. Then, select among Selected, Selected in page, or All to proceed with the replication.
Once done with assigning replicates, click the arrow left () to go back to specifying design.
Upload sparse testing design
Toggle on () Upload to begin uploading your sparse testing design.
Click the Upload () button.
Drag and drop the design file in .csv format or click Browse to locate the file.
Once the file is uploaded, click Prevalidate.
The Summary Information will show the number of occurrences and parameter sets from the uploaded file. Under each parameter set, select the design from the dropdown menu.
After selecting the designs, Click Validate.
Once the system successfully validates the parameter sets, click Confirm.
You will be redirected to the Design tab with the uploaded parameter sets. Click the View parameter set layout () button to see the design layout.
Once done with the sparse testing, click Next on the upper-right corner of the screen.
Great job! You can now start defining the protocols.