Research Design and Statistics 2A

Question 1 (40 marks) – Psychology Research Study Design Plan (1,000 words
excluding references)

Design a study that addresses a realistic research question from any area of
psychology. You are not required to carry out any experimentation or data collection,
but to write a plan for the proposed study utilizing and integrating the data analysis
techniques taught so far on the module.

Your plan should include the following:
An appropriate title.
Background to the study with reference to relevant literature (approx. 250
words).
Aims and objectives of the study, including your research question(s) (approx.
250 words).
Your methodology, including participants, materials, the type of study design,
your variables and how they will be operationalized, and a detailed description
of how you intend to analyse the data and why such statistical test(s) would
be most appropriate for the data/study (approx. 500 words).

A good answer will be clear, concise, and fully referenced throughout.
The background will not be a full literature review or the introduction section of a
report, but an outline of relevant literature to provide context for your proposed
study.
The aims and objectives should form a concise summary providing enough supporting
information that, for example, an Ethics Committee reviewing the proposal could
understand what you are planning to investigate and why.
The description of the methodology will be specific, include all necessary details, and
show a clear understanding of the study design and choice of statistical test.

Question 2 (60 marks) – Data Analysis (1,000 words excluding tables and graphs)
You have been provided with a unique data file for this question.
A team of psychologists wanted to examine the ability of seniors to remember their
medication, and specifically the effects of both age and the complexity of the
medication regime. They recruited participants that fell into two age categories, 60-
69 years and 70-79 years, some of whom had a simple medication regime (1-2 pills
per day), and some of whom had a complex medication regime (more than 5 pills per
day). Their medication was monitored over the course of a month and their ability to
remember their medication was judged according to how many pills had been forgotten during that time.
Please use the provided data file. You will need to set the data up in SPSS in the correct
format, including defining and labelling of variables, in order to run the appropriate
inferential test for this study.

Answer the following questions:
1) What were the factors (IVs) involved? (2 marks)
2) What were the levels of each factor? (2 marks)
3) What term would you use to describe each factor (e.g. between participants
or within participants)? (2 marks)
4) What was the dependent variable? (1 mark)
5) What are the experimental hypotheses? (3 marks)
Run the appropriate statistical tests and write a Results section for the above study,
following the standard format for a psychology report.

Your Results section should
include:
A paragraph presenting relevant descriptive statistics;
A graph or table, suitably labelled, to summarise the data;
Whether the data met any relevant data assumptions;
A paragraph reporting relevant inferential statistics, with effect sizes, and
including a brief explanation of what the data show;
A statement as to whether or not the experimental hypotheses were accepted;
A suitable graph illustrating the results of the inferential test.

A good answer will show understanding of the relevant research design, as covered in
the module content, and ability to set up, run, and interpret appropriate statistical
tests, and will clearly present all the required data in standard format for the Results
section of a psychology report. Variables will be correctly identified and labelled in
SPSS and given meaningful headings and labels in graphs and tables. If a table is used,
it should not be copied from the SPSS output. Better answers will flow logically from
one point to the next in continuous prose, rather than sounding like a list of answers
to questions. The maximum word count for Question 2 is 1,000 words, but a full mark
answer can be written in fewer words.

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