Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology IRB/IACUC Final Project

Spring 2019 PSY 20300 Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology IRB/IACUC Final Project

Due by 3 pm on Tuesday, April 30 on Blackboard

The main point of a research methods class is to enable you to understand experiments as well as design and run your own. For this final project, you will design and propose an experiment as if you were submitting your protocol to Purdue’s IRB/IACUC. You may work with one partner but be sure that both your names are on the cover/title page. This final project is worth 30 points total, and both persons on the project will receive the same grade—assuming that both partners contribute relatively equally. Your final project:

1. Must be in APA style (refer back to your lab section notes and Purdue’s OWL) 2. Must be an unpublished, new/novel idea 3. Must be a psychological experiment

a. has to be with people of any age and ability or nonhuman animal b. has to be about what people do or how nonhuman animals are different from (or the

same as) people c. areas of psychology

i. social ii. industrial/organizational iii. cognitive iv. neuroscience v. clinical vi. counseling vii. education viii. developmental ix. behavioral pharmacology x. psycholinguistics xi. health xii. gerontology xiii. sports xiv. comparative

4. Must use one of the true or quasi-experimental designs we covered in class a. single-factor between- or within-subjects design (including pre-post design) b. between-, within-subjects, mixed, or repeated measures factorial design c. small-n design (withdrawal, multiple baseline, or changing criterion) d. matched-groups design e. cross-sectional or longitudinal design f. PxE or ATI design g. non-equivalent control group design

5. Must answer the following IRB questions a. Title of the study b. Purpose of study

i. In no more than a page, briefly state the purpose of your study in lay language ii. Describe your research question(s)/hypotheses that you intend to answer

1. Include your description for your independent variable 2. Include your operational definition for your dependent variable 3. Include what type of data you intend to collect and how you intend to

collect it to confirm/disconfirm your hypothesis iii. Describe your true or quasi-experimental design

1. how you intend to answer your research question

2. how you intend to control for at least one confound c. Previous research

i. In no more than half a page, summarize previous research leading to the formulation of this study, including any past or current research you conducted that leads directly to the formulation of this study (including citations and references)

1. Include at least 2 published studies as references 2. Be sure to make the connection between those 2 references and your

proposed study d. Recruitment of participants

i. Describe the projected number of participants/subjects ii. Describe the population from which subjects will be recruited (including gender,

racial/ethnic composition, and age range) 1. This includes your sampling technique

iii. Describe how you will recruit subjects (face-to-face, e-mail, flyer, classroom announcement, etc.)

e. APA ethical considerations i. Describe one way in which you will follow each of the 5 general principles of the

APA code of conduct [textbook Chapter 2] 1. beneficence and nonmaleficence 2. fidelity and responsibility 3. integrity 4. justice 5. respect for persons

The 3 research talks in class from Monday, April 22 are examples of studies that answer many of these IRB/IACUC questions. Look back to your class notes to be sure you know what are: operational definitions, independent variables, dependent variables, confounds, experimental designs, confirming and disconfirming evidence, sampling techniques

Spring 2019 PSY 20300 Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology IRB/IACUC Final Project Grading Rubric

Grade: ____________ /30 points APA Style (1-inch margins, double-spaced paragraphs, proper citations, 12-point font, Times New Roman or Arial font)

2 points 1 point 0 points

Not more than 5 APA errors Between 6-10 APA errors More than 10 APA errors

New/novel and currently unpublished research proposal

2 points 1 point 0 points

No published studies with same research design and question

One unpublished but discoverable study with a similar research design and question

One published study with exactly that research design and question

Psychological experiment

2 points 1 point 0 points

Study with people or nonhuman animals assessing behavior

Study is psychology but better suited for different population than one listed

Study’s relevance to psychology unclear or tenuous at best

Title of study

1 point 0.5 points 0 points

Title included and related to study

Title included but unclear relation to study

No title included

Purpose of study – length and clarity

1 point 0.5 points 0 points

Not more than a page and sufficiently answered

Over a page or didn’t answer all questions

Over a page and didn’t answer all questions

Purpose of study – research question

4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point 0 points

IV, DV, and data collection accurate and appropriate

IV, DV, and data collection appropriate but inaccurate

One part inaccurately described and inappropriate for the research question

Missing IV, DV, or data collection description and rationale

Missing 2 of IV, DV, or data collection description and rationale

Purpose of study – true or quasi-experimental design

3 points 2 points 1 point 0 points

Complete description of appropriate experimental design and potential confound control

Brief description of appropriate experimental design and potential confound control

Brief description of experimental design but confound not controlled by that experimental design

Vague description of experimental design and unclear fit for research question and confound control

Previous research – 2 related, published studies

2 points 1 point 0 points

Included 2 published studies and references

Included 1 published study and its reference

Included published studies but no reference or citations or unpublished studies

Previous research – summarize 2 studies

3 points 2 points 1 point 0 points

Included enough information about research questions, participants, IVs, DVs, results, and conclusions

Included most information about research questions, participants, IVs, DVs, results, and conclusions

Included some information about research questions, participants, IVs, DVs, results, or conclusions

Unclear or insufficient description of 2 published studies

Previous research – connections from 2 published studies to current proposal

2 points 1 point 0 points

Connections between previous studies and current one clear and accurate

Connections between one previous study and current one is clear and accurate

Connections between previous studies and current one are unclear

Recruitment of participants

3 points 2 points 1 point 0 points

Number, characteristics, sampling technique, and recruitment fully described and reasonable

Number, characteristics, sampling technique, and recruitment mostly described and reasonable

Missing some description of number, characteristics, sampling technique, or recruitment

Unclear description of and reasoning behind number, characteristics, sampling technique, or recruitment

APA ethical considerations

5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point 0 points

Accurate description of one way the study complies with each APA ethical area

Accurate description of one way the study complies with 4 APA ethical areas

Accurate description of one way the study complies with 3 APA ethical areas

Accurate description of one way the study complies with 2 APA ethical areas

Unclear or insufficient description of ways the study complies with APA ethical areas

Missing or inaccurate description for ways the study complies with at least 3 APA ethical areas