Psychology 301W - Homework 4. Dependent and Independent Variable

Psych 301w – Fall 2020

Homework #4
Due on Tuesday, November 10th at 11:59pm  

You must submit your homework through canvas.

The purpose of this assignment is to get you to think about how you will write the Results section of your Final paper.  We have talked about simple analysis and factorial design, and now I want you to take what we have covered and apply it to your own ideas.  Below is a list of questions about your research proposal idea.  Answer each of the following in enough detail that I can understand how you think your experiment would work out, and so that I can understand the logic behind your thinking.

The Results section of a paper is where statistical tests are described and explained.  In the coming weeks we will be talking about the Method section in greater detail, but for now remember that the Method section contains the information about what you as a researcher actually did to the participants, and the Results section contains information about what you did with the data once it was collected.

A useful way (but not the only way) to organize your Results section is to (1) state your hypothesis.  Then (2) briefly describe the nature of your independent variables and (3) your dependant variable.  Remember that for your final paper the Method section will include a detailed account of these materials, so the Results section should only briefly recap these points.  (4) Next you will want to provide an account of the relationship between your independent variables and your dependant variable.  This should be done using language that is appropriate for a formal research paper.

The outline below explains everything I want you to do for this Homework assignment.  Your Results section of your final paper will be a bit more involved, but this is a way to start getting you to think about some basic issues.

Your paper should be typed and double spaced.  The Homework must be written in paragraph format using full sentences (i.e., do not turn in an outline).  The diagram should be clearly labeled so that I can tell which IV is which, and what is each level of each IV.

 Psych 301w – Fall 2020
Homework # 4 (worth 10 points) – Due on Tuesday, November 10th    

1. In a single sentence describe the topic of your study.2. In one or two sentences (each)a. Describe your Dependant Variable (1 point)i. What is the conceptual nature of your Dependant Variable?ii. How is this going to be operationalized?b. Describe your first Independent Variable (1 point)i. How many Levels does your first Independent Variable have?1. Why do you think this number of levels is appropriate?2. Hint: We talked about “curvilinear relationships” – is this a concern for your IV or not?ii. What is the “conceptual” difference between the levels – for example, are you including a “Control Group” and a “Treatment Group”, or are you including a few levels of the “Treatment”?  Why are you including these levels of the manipulation (what do you hope to accomplish)?c. Describe your second Independent Variable (1 point)i. How many Levels does your second Independent Variable have?1. Why do you think this number of levels is appropriate?ii. Hint: We talked about “curvilinear relationships” iii. What is the “conceptual” difference between the levels3. Provide a diagram of your factorial design (1 point)a. For example, if your study is 2 x 2 then you should have something like this: IV # 2 Level 1 Level 2IV # 1 Level 1 Level 2 b. Or if your study is 3 x 3 then you should have something like this: IV # 2 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3IV # 1 Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 c. Label the IVs and each leveld. Next you will need to put some numbers in the cells (2 point)i. Some things to think about1. How do you expect each of the IVs to influence your DV?2. Do you expect an Interaction?3. Do you expect any Main Effects?4. Hint: Review the lecture notes from Chapter 12.4. Tell me what your numbers mean (4 points)a. In other words:i. Tell me if you expect any significant Main Effects and tell me why (or why not) you expect this.ii. Tell me if you expect a significant Interaction and tell me why (or why not) you expect this.