Reference no: EM132266154

Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology Assignment -

Part 1: Hypothesis testing

1. For each of the following scenarios, submit the following information:

a. The populations that are being compared.

b. The null hypothesis (both in words and notation).

c. The research or alternative hypothesis (both in words and notation).

d. Indicate why you would use either a one-tailed or two-tailed hypothesis test.

Scenario 1: Do people in Winnipeg make more money than people living in the rest of Canada?

Scenario 2: Do University of Manitoba students enrolled in Distance Education have different GPAs than students enrolled in regular programs?

Scenario 3: Do males laugh more than females?

2. Below is a table with the results from three different studies that are all normally distributed and have a sample size of one. For each study determine and show on a sketch of the comparison distribution the following:

a. The z-score critical value(s).

b. The z-score for each sample score.

Once a and b are complete, determine your conclusion for each study. Be careful with your wording.

3. You have just read an interesting article titled, "High School Students' Perceptions of Their Peers." In the article the researchers asked 2500 Canadian high school students various questions relating to their perceptions of other students. The average perception of student cool, on a coolness scale from 1 (not cool) to 10 (extremely cool), was 5 with a standard deviation of 1 and normally distributed. You have a theory that high school students who regularly skateboard to school will be perceived as cooler than students in the general population. You survey 10 students regarding their perceptions of skateboarder coolness using the same scale as the researchers in the article. You results are tabled below:

From the information given above, carry out the 5-steps of hypothesis testing outlined in chapter 6 of your text and/or study notes for unit 4. Hint: You have a sample size of 10! So root 10 might have to come into play! Note: Be sure to end with a conclusion regarding your retention or rejection of the null hypothesis.

Instructions for parts 2, 3, 4 -

For the remaining parts of this assignment you will be required to show me how creative you are by developing and analyzing your own fictitious data sets. Please read each question carefully and submit all the appropriate materials (your study descriptions, all SPSS materials, and your conclusions). Please realize that if you fail to provide all the necessary information it will be extremely difficult for me to evaluate your answers. And difficulty in figuring out what you are doing and why you are doing it translates to low marks!

Here are a few things that I'll be looking for when I am evaluating each of your answers in Parts 2, 3, & 4:

1. An original research idea. In other words, please provide me with the following:

a. A brief introduction, theory, and research question pertaining to your research idea. By brief I mean not more than 2-3 sentences! I just need to know what your study is about.

b. A brief description of the method you intend to use. Remember, your method will need to match the statistical test the question asks for (another 2-3 sentences).

c. A list of all independent and dependent variables.

d. Generate null and research hypotheses.

2. Your data. That is, please print out the first 10 cases of your SPSS data (e.g., the first 10 participants and their fictitious scores).

3. Be sure that you appropriately label all of SPSS variables. If you do not, then I will not be able to evaluate your SPSS output effectively.

4. Production and understanding of relevant SPSS output. In other words, you should produce all the SPSS outputs that help you make sense of your data. Explain, in your own words, what the SPSS output actually means. Some things that come immediately to mind include:

a. Production and explanation of graphs when appropriate.

b. Production and explanation of checks for violations of statistical assumptions of understanding, when SPSS produces a table of values, tell me what each column and row actually means (e.g., df, t, F, sig., etc.).

5. Draw an accurate conclusion based on your SPSS output.

Make sure each question answer is arranged logically. Tell me the research idea, then your method, show me your data and analysis, and draw your conclusion.

Part 2: t-Tests

Here are your three t-test questions:

1. Generate a research scenario where you create a data set of 30 participants, and use a t-test for a single-sample (or one-sample t-test) to analyze the data. The mean population value that you must use is 25.

2. Generate a repeated measures research scenario where you create a data set of 40 participants. Use the appropriate t-test to analyze your findings.

3. Generate a research scenario of 46 participants that should be analyzed using a t-test for independent means. The data set you create must meet all the assumptions of the t-test for independent means (i.e., you need to show me the assumptions have been met) and the result must be non-significant.

Part 3: ANOVA

1. Generate a research scenario of 40 participants where a one-way ANOVA needs to be employed. Your data must produce a significant overall result, and there should be at least two significant post-hoc test results. Don't forget I need your research scenario to make sense of these SPSS outputs!

2. Generate a factorial research scenario of 40 participants. The result for your interaction must be significant. Be sure to produce all cell and marginal means and explain the interactions and main effects. Please graph your interaction with SPSS.

Part 4: Nonparametric test

1. Generate a research scenario of 30 participants where a chi-square test for goodness of fit must be used. Don't forget I need a research scenario for each of these!

2. Generate a research scenario of 30 participants where a chi-square test for independence must be used.

3. Generate a research scenario of 30 participants where a Mann-Whitney U test needs to be used.