PSYC2012 Statistics and Research Methods for Psychology 2023
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PSYC2012 Statistics and Research Methods for Psychology
2023
Assignment
Weight: 25% of total mark for the unit Due date: Friday 28th April 11:59pm
Word limit: Strictly 1100 words. Penalties apply for exceeding this. The word count split between Parts 1 and 2 below is just a suggestion, but the overall limit should not be exceeded.
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All the information needed to complete the assignment is included in this document. The key to doing well is to critically apply the knowledge and skills you have learnt in the course so far. Your teaching staff can answer general questions about the course content relevant to the assignment but will not answer any questions about how to interpret or complete the assignment. This is an individual assignment, and the work you submit is expected to be your own writing. Any assignment that your marker suspects was written by a human or algorithm other than yourself will be lodged as a potential integrity breach. |
PART 1 (40 marks, ~500 words)
A researcher is interested in the effects of noise on a range of variables. They recruit undergraduate university students (from various faculties) to complete a series of cognitive tests, mood questionnaires, and questions evaluating their performance and experience, randomly allocating participants to one of two conditions: (1) a condition in which white noise is played in the background for the duration of the experimental session; (2) a condition with no noise for the duration of the experimental session .
Use the data file psyc2012_assignment_data.sav to run an independent-samples t-test using the dependent variable of your choice. All relevant information about the variables is provided in the data file and can be found in the Labels and Values columns of Data View.
(a) Choose an appropriate variable from the data set to use as the dependent variable. Explain why you have selected this variable as the dependent variable. (5 marks)
(b) State what the dependent and independent variable are and how they have been operationalised. (4 marks)
(c) State the names of the variables (not the labels) you have chosen to include in your independent- samples t-test, exactly as they appear in the SPSS data file. (5 marks for getting both correct)
(d) State (in words and also in symbols) what the null and alternative hypotheses are for your research question. (6 marks)
(e) Run the independent samples t-test and write a conclusion based on the results. Include the relevant SPSS output (you can copy and paste it). (20 marks)
PART 2 (60 marks, ~600 words)
A team of organisational psychologists has developed an app-based workplace intervention based on mindfulness principles. The goal of the intervention is to reduce burnout in health-care workers. The team decide to evaluate the intervention, so they design and run a study with the aim of determining the efficacy of the intervention. They recruit 84 health-care workers from a large hospital and ask them to complete the Human Services Survey version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-HSS). All participants then complete the intervention, and then are asked to complete the MBI-HSS a second
The MBI- HSS has three sub-scales, and the researchers have chosen to focus on the 9-item emotional exhaustion sub-scale. For each item, participants are presented with a 0 (“never”) to 6 (“every day”) scale, where higher scores indicate more frequent negative experiences. The sub-scale score is calculated as the sum of the item scores. This sub-scale score is the dependent variable that the researchers have analysed.
The members of the team think that the results are promising and would like to submit an abstract to present at an international conference, but they lack confidence in statistical analysis and interpretation. One of the team members knows you have studied statistics and research methods for psychology, so asks if you could read the short Results section they have written and provide feedback.
“We used an independent-samples t-test to examine whether burnout scores after the intervention were lower than burnout scores before the intervention. There were no missing data. The mean burnout score prior to intervention was 29.7 (SD=11.8), and after intervention was 25.5 (SD=8.8), and this difference was statistically significant, t(84) = 5.83, p < .001. The confidence interval was (2.74, 5.57). From these results we can conclude that the intervention influenced burnout in health-care workers.”
(a) Provide written feedback for the team about what they have reported. Consider both the research design and the statistical analysis. What have they done well? What have they done poorly? Is there anything important missing? (40 marks)
(b) What level of measurement do you think the dependent variable score is? Explain your answer. (10 marks)
(c) Consider the limitations of addressing this research question quantitatively . Devise a qualitative research question that might address these limitations and provide a rationale for your question. (10 marks)
2023-04-13