PSY 200 Principles Of Psychology Essay

PSY 200 Principles Of Psychology Essay
Need help with this assignment for my class Principles of Psychology
PSY 200: Section O03P
PSY 200 Principles Of Psychology Essay
for Conducting a Psychology Experiment
texbook the science of psychology an appreciative view Laura a king
Purpose: Like other sciences, psychology utilizes the scientific method and bases conclusions upon empirical evidence. When conducting an experiment, it is important to follow the five basic steps of the scientific method:
• Ask a question that can be tested• Design a study and collect data• Analyze results and reach conclusions• Share the results with the scientific community• Replicate the results
PSY 200 Principles Of Psychology Essay
Product: Produce a formal write-up of your experiment in the same format required in a professional journal article or lab report:
• Title page• Abstract• Introduction• Method• Results• Discussion• References
I know that picking a research problem can be one of the most challenging steps. After all, there are so many different topics you might choose to investigate. So consider some of the following:
PSY 200 Principles Of Psychology Essay
• Investigate a commonly held belief. Folk psychology is a good source of unanswered questions that can serve as the basis for psychological research. For example, many people believe that staying up all night to cram for a big exam can hurt test performance. You could conduct a study in which you compare the test scores of students who stayed up all night studying, versus the scores of students who got a full night’s sleep prior to the exam.• Review psychology literature. Published studies are a great source of unanswered research questions. In many cases, the authors will even note the need for further research. Find a published study that you find intriguing, and then come up with some questions that require further exploration.• Think about everyday problems. There are many practical applications for psychology research. Explore various problems that you or others face each day, and then consider how you could research potential solutions. For example, you might investigate different memorization strategies to determine which methods are most effective.
Design a research project in which you incorporate one of the following techniques:
PSY 200 Principles Of Psychology Essay
• Correlation study• Case study• Naturalistic observation
Correlation study — Design an instrument (e.g., a questionnaire) to measure a specific hypothesis and collect data on at least 30 people. You may have the class fill out your survey if you wish. In addition, I may be able to arrange to have other intro. psychology classes fill it out.
Case study — Find a child with whom you do not have a close relationship (an acquaintance is fine). Interview the child’s parent(s) and other adults that are close to the child (e.g., grandparents, teachers), and, if possible, observe the child in as many contexts as possible (e.g., home, school, playground). Then, pick a theory of child development (e.g., Erickson) and apply it to “your” child.
Naturalistic observation — Observe a specific behavior (e.g., nonverbal communication) at the mall, zoo, family gathering, restaurant, etc.
All research papers should have the sections listed below. The length guidelines are suggestions. They do not need to be followed to the letter, especially if you are doing a case study.
Introduction (1/2 page)
PSY 200 Principles Of Psychology Essay
In most cases, researchers do not start from scratch. That is, there is usually an already existing body of knowledge before the researcher designs his/her study. In fact, studies usually build on previous studies and are designed to answer questions raised by previous research. For example, if you wanted to examine gender differences in nonverbal communication, your study may be motivated by 1) previous studies that showed that people do, in fact, communicate without speaking and 2) previous studies that showed that there are gender differences in verbal communication.
The introduction should, therefore, contain a brief summary of related research that has already been done, and explain how your study will add to the existing body of knowledge. The hypothesis of your study should be found in this section.
Method (2-3 pages total) Each of the following should be a subheading:
• Study participants — who are you studying: