  In this paper we introduce a hands-on activity in which introductory
astronomy students act as gravitational wave astronomers by extracting
information from simulated gravitational wave signals. The process mimics the
way true gravitational wave analysis will be handled by using plots of a pure
gravitational wave signal. The students directly measure the properties of the
simulated signal, and use these measurements to evaluate standard formulae for
astrophysical source parameters. An exercise based on the discussion in this
paper has been written and made publicly available online for use in
introductory laboratory courses.
