Psychology
StephDiaz
Wee5Day1.pptxWeek 5, Day 1
PSY 3215 U01B 1215, Lab
Lab Overview
Results
Discussion
Results
Results
Summarizes the data that was collected and the statistical analyses that were performed
The goal should be to report the results without any subjective interpretation
Report statistical findings, as opposed to explaining what a t-test is or how it works
Assume your readers have a solid understanding of statistics
This will go in your Paper II
Results – Do’s and Do not’s
DO
Name the test or analysis used to test your hypothesis
Report statistical significance or non-significance
Include whether the Null hypothesis was rejected or if the alternative hypothesis was accepted
Provide statistical results for each test you ran in proper APA format
DO NOT
Discuss or interpret your results
That’s your Discussion section!
Report background information or explain your findings
This should be done in your literature review
Ignore non-significant findings
Just because it wasn’t significant doesn’t mean it’s not meaningful! You should still report these results
Results
Always compare your p-value to .05
If your p-value is less than .05, your analysis is significant
If your p-value is greater than or equal to .05, your analysis is not significant
Results – Write ups Between subjects design Write up
An independent samples t-test was conducted to compare Y levels between the group of participants in ____ and the group of participants in ____. There was a (significant/non-significant) difference in Y levels between Group 1 (M = , SD = ) and Group 2 (M = , SD = ), t(DF) = ___, p < .05, OR = __. As a result, the null hypothesis was (accepted/rejected) and the alternative hypothesis was (accepted/rejected).
The effect size for the analysis (d = ) was found to exceed Cohen’s (1988) convention for a large effect (d = .80). Levene’s test for equality of variances was (not violated/violated) for the present analysis, F(DF) = ___, p = ___. These results suggest that when participants ____, they will have (lower/higher) levels of Y. Specifically, our results indicate that participants who ____ will have (lower/higher) levels of Y than those who ____.
Results - Levene’s Test
This table shows a violation because the p-value for Levene’s Test is < .05.
If the p-value had been > .05, there would have been no violation, and you would look at the row for “Equal Variances Assumed” instead for t-test values.
Results Within-Subjects Design Write-Up
A paired samples t-test was conducted to compare Y levels in participants (insert treatments/conditions they were exposed to here). There was a (significant/non-significant) difference in Y levels between Pre-test scores (M = , SD = ) and Post-test scores (M = , SD = ), t(DF) = ___, p < .05, OR = ___. As a result, the null hypothesis was (accepted/rejected) and the alternative hypothesis was (accepted/rejected).
The effect size for the analysis (d = ) was found to exceed Cohen’s (1988) convention for a large effect (d = .80). A paired samples correlation revealed a (significant/non-significant) (positive/negative) correlation between pre- and post-test scores, r = __, p < .05, OR = __. These results suggest that when participants ____, they will have (lower/higher) levels of Y. Specifically, our results indicate that participants will have (lower/higher) levels of Y (before/after) ____.
Results A note on Cohen’s effect size statement
Depending on the value you get after calculating your Cohen’s d, you will include one of the following sentences in your results write-up:
The effect size for the analysis (d = __) was found to exceed Cohen’s (1988) convention for a small effect (d = .20).
The effect size for the analysis (d = __) was found to exceed Cohen’s (1988) convention for a medium effect (d = .50).
The effect size for the analysis (d = __) was found to exceed Cohen’s (1988) convention for a large effect (d = .80).
Calculate Cohen’s d here:
Results - CHecklist
Did you….
| Name the statistical test you ran? | Yes / No |
| Report whether statistical significance was achieved? | Yes / No |
| Mention the Null/Alternative hypothesis? | Yes / No |
| Provide statistical results for the test you ran? | Yes / No |
| Write everything in APA format? | Yes / No |
Discussion
Discussion
Purpose is to interpret and describe the significance (or non-significance) of your findings
In relation to what is already known about the research problem (reference your lit review section)
Explain new understandings or insights given your findings
Always connects back to your literature review/introduction
Should explain how your study has added to the understanding of your research problem
Use new and old citations (meaning some from your lit review, and some not mentioned in your lit review)
Discussion
Effectively demonstrates your ability as a researcher to:
Think critically about an issue
Develop creative solutions to problems based on your findings
Formulate a deeper and profound understanding of the research you are studying
Explores the meaning of your research
What are the implications of your findings in practice or for future research?
Emphasizes the importance of your study
How does your study contribute to the literature?
Infuses your results with meaning
Interpret your results using evidence-based findings
Discussion - Sample
Discussion
Provide interpretations of your results in this section.
Limitations and Future Research
Talk about the limitations to your study, how you tried to offset these limitations, and what future research can improve upon or examine further that you did not get a chance to do. I recommend combining these sections, but you can also do these separately.
Conclusions
Summarize your entire paper in about one paragraph. State the problem again, reiterate what you did and what you found, and how this study contributes to research.
Discussion Things to include
What did your study seek to address?
What were your results (without all the numbers)?
What is the meaning of your results?
What are the implications of your results in the real world/in practice?
What is the importance of your study’s findings?
Discussion Study Limitations
Discuss limitations to your study design
There is always a limitation!
These may not all apply to your specific study, but some common study limitations are:
Self-report
Small sample size
Skewed sample (ex.- majority female, or majority Hispanic)
Cannot generalize to the general population
Lack of pre- and post-test scores
Sometimes research only collects post-test scores; cannot compare
Think about your study design, and how it could have been improved or how you could have gathered more information
Discussion Future directions
This is where you talk about what your suggestions are for researchers who want to expand on your study design/research question
Provide creative ideas or solutions to your limitations
Can combine limitations section with future research section
Examples of future research ideas:
If your study was cross-sectional, future research should consider a longitudinal design
If you only collected data from females, future research should consider collecting data from males and females, and see if differences arise between genders
Including more experimental group levels
