Describe What Three Descriptive Research Methods Will You Use?
Melany Fava
Section 1: Descriptive Research Study Design
1a. What topic are you proposing to describe?
Dieting in Weymouth High School students.
2a. Which approach to psychology would be most interested in describing this topic?
Social
3a. Which of the three descriptive research methods will you use?
Survey
4a. Thoroughly describe how you will design this research study with specific attention to sampling, wording-effect and various biases when applicable.
I will create a 10-question survey on why, and how many Weymouth High School students diet, and randomly assign it to every other student alphabetically. The questions will be related to emotions and feelings and on why they think they need to diet. I will structure the questions …show more content…
to appeal to a typical teenager while trying not to push them to answer one way to avoid wording-effect.
5a. State what types of conclusions you will be able to draw from this study.
I will be able to conclude if dieting is related to depression, society, or his or her personal fitness.
6a. State if and to what extent you will be able to generalize your findings.
I will be able to generalize my research to all Weymouth High School students.
Section 2: Correlational Research Study Design
1a. What two variables from your topic (please use the same topic as that from section I) are you going to study to determine if they are related?
Society and dieting
2a. What are your operational definitions for each topic
If most of the answers to their survey questions are related to how society think they should look, their dieting habits are related to society.
3a. Describe how you will use a survey to gather data with specific attention to random sampling.
I will take an alphabetical list of all Weymouth High School students and give my survey to every other person on the list. Based on the answers to the survey I will be able to tell if Weymouth High School students diet to make themselves look how society wants them to.
4a. Describe or simply show how you will use excel to determine the correlation coefficient. (10pts)
I will go into excel and put my results into the chart, x being the question number and y being the person who took it, and record which letter they chose on the survey. I would then use the formula =ttest(array1, array2, 1, 2) to find out what the correlation coefficient
is.
5a. Discuss how you will interpret the correlation coefficient and what conclusions you can and cannot draw from this statistic.
If the correlation coefficient is .5 or lower, then dieting and society are strongly related and you could say that society causes Weymouth High School students to diet. If the correlation coefficient is .5 or higher, then they aren’t related enough to say that society causes people to diet.
6a. State or show how you will graphically represent the correlation between the two variables.
I would turn my table into a scatter plot and if there is a negative slope, then it is a strong correlation coefficient.
Section 3: Experimental Research Study Design:
1a. State your hypothesis.
If people are exposed to society’s view of skinny they will diet to meet society’s view.
2a. Identify the independent and dependent variables you will study.
My independent variable would be societal views, and my dependent variable would be whether people diet to meet society’s view on how they should look.
3a. State the operational definitions of each variable.
My operational definition of my independent variable would be how society effects people and causes them to diet to become what society wants them to look like. My operational definition of my dependent variable would be why people diet.
4a. Explain how you plan to set up your experiment with specific attention to confounding variables, control/experimental groups, random assignment of participants, single/double blind procedures, demand characteristics, and applicable biases. (10 pts)
I will randomly assign US citizen participants over 21 into two groups, Group A and Group B, Group A will stay in a town for a year, and be surrounded by people who meet society’s view of skinny. Group B will be sent to a town surrounded by the average American for a year. They wont know what the experiment is until after they finish the one year, and will all have the same food available to them. At the end of the one year, if group A has more people that started to diet, then you can conclude that society’s definition of skinny causes people to diet.
5a. Describe any necessary statistical techniques that you will need to apply to properly interpret your findings.
I would need to make sure they all have the same food available to them, and the same cooking utensils.
6a. State what conclusions you could draw from your findings and to what extent your findings can be generalized.
If group A has more people that start to diet at the end of the year, then you could conclude that the average US citizen over 21 diets due to how society thinks they should look. If group A and B have the same amount of people that diet at the end of the year, then you could conclude that societal views and dieting aren’t related.
Section 1: Descriptive Research Study Design
1a. What topic are you proposing to describe?
Dieting in Weymouth High School students.
2a. Which approach to psychology would be most interested in describing this topic?
Social
3a. Which of the three descriptive research methods will you use?
Survey
4a. Thoroughly describe how you will design this research study with specific attention to sampling, wording-effect and various biases when applicable.
I will create a 10-question survey on why, and how many Weymouth High School students diet, and randomly assign it to every other student alphabetically. The questions will be related to emotions and feelings and on why they think they need to diet. I will structure the questions …show more content…
to appeal to a typical teenager while trying not to push them to answer one way to avoid wording-effect.
5a. State what types of conclusions you will be able to draw from this study.
I will be able to conclude if dieting is related to depression, society, or his or her personal fitness.
6a. State if and to what extent you will be able to generalize your findings.
I will be able to generalize my research to all Weymouth High School students.
Section 2: Correlational Research Study Design
1a. What two variables from your topic (please use the same topic as that from section I) are you going to study to determine if they are related?
Society and dieting
2a. What are your operational definitions for each topic
If most of the answers to their survey questions are related to how society think they should look, their dieting habits are related to society.
3a. Describe how you will use a survey to gather data with specific attention to random sampling.
I will take an alphabetical list of all Weymouth High School students and give my survey to every other person on the list. Based on the answers to the survey I will be able to tell if Weymouth High School students diet to make themselves look how society wants them to.
4a. Describe or simply show how you will use excel to determine the correlation coefficient. (10pts)
I will go into excel and put my results into the chart, x being the question number and y being the person who took it, and record which letter they chose on the survey. I would then use the formula =ttest(array1, array2, 1, 2) to find out what the correlation coefficient
is.
5a. Discuss how you will interpret the correlation coefficient and what conclusions you can and cannot draw from this statistic.
If the correlation coefficient is .5 or lower, then dieting and society are strongly related and you could say that society causes Weymouth High School students to diet. If the correlation coefficient is .5 or higher, then they aren’t related enough to say that society causes people to diet.
6a. State or show how you will graphically represent the correlation between the two variables.
I would turn my table into a scatter plot and if there is a negative slope, then it is a strong correlation coefficient.
Section 3: Experimental Research Study Design:
1a. State your hypothesis.
If people are exposed to society’s view of skinny they will diet to meet society’s view.
2a. Identify the independent and dependent variables you will study.
My independent variable would be societal views, and my dependent variable would be whether people diet to meet society’s view on how they should look.
3a. State the operational definitions of each variable.
My operational definition of my independent variable would be how society effects people and causes them to diet to become what society wants them to look like. My operational definition of my dependent variable would be why people diet.
4a. Explain how you plan to set up your experiment with specific attention to confounding variables, control/experimental groups, random assignment of participants, single/double blind procedures, demand characteristics, and applicable biases. (10 pts)
I will randomly assign US citizen participants over 21 into two groups, Group A and Group B, Group A will stay in a town for a year, and be surrounded by people who meet society’s view of skinny. Group B will be sent to a town surrounded by the average American for a year. They wont know what the experiment is until after they finish the one year, and will all have the same food available to them. At the end of the one year, if group A has more people that started to diet, then you can conclude that society’s definition of skinny causes people to diet.
5a. Describe any necessary statistical techniques that you will need to apply to properly interpret your findings.
I would need to make sure they all have the same food available to them, and the same cooking utensils.
6a. State what conclusions you could draw from your findings and to what extent your findings can be generalized.
If group A has more people that start to diet at the end of the year, then you could conclude that the average US citizen over 21 diets due to how society thinks they should look. If group A and B have the same amount of people that diet at the end of the year, then you could conclude that societal views and dieting aren’t related.