Research Methods and Statistics-

CDM7002 Research Methods and Statistics- Task sheet 1

A researcher hypothesised that low blood glucose level impair mathematical

reasoning ability. To investigate this, participants were administered a difficult

mathematical test at three time points relative to their last meal: immediately

following a meal (AFTER), midway between two meals (BETWEEN), and

immediately before a meal (BEFORE). Each participant completed all three time

points. Order of tests was counterbalanced across participants to control for order

effects. Additionally the researcher was interested in investigating whether any effect

of blood glucose levels on mathematical ability could be offset by drinking high-

glucose sports drinks. Each participant was randomly allocated to one of two groups

before beginning the experiment: one group drank a cup of water before completing

each math test, the other group drank a high glucose sports drink. Performance on

each math test was recorded as the percentage of problems correctly solved in ten

minutes.

The raw data (in percentage correct) are presented in Table 1 below.

A) Using SPSS conduct the appropriate statistical test to answer the

researchers’ question. Then write a paragraph that reports the results of the

statistical test stating what test you used, why you used it, what it showed, p

values, and any other relevant statistical information. You also need to include

the relevant SPSS outputs. (60 marks)

B) Draw a graph of the means and standard deviations (SDs) of all the

conditions that assists in the interpretation of the findings. (10 marks)

C) a) What conclusions can be drawn from the current analyses? Were the

researcher's hypotheses supported?

b) Comment on the experimental design and suggest a potential follow-up

experiment motivated by these findings. (30 marks)