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Guidelines For The PSY1HPM Lab Reports. Information For Lab Report Methods Section

The document provides guidelines for the methods section of a lab report. It specifies that experiments should use an independent groups design with one experimental and one control group of 30 participants each. The independent variable is the condition participants are assigned to, and the hypothesis should be non-directional. The dependent variable will be a measure selected from a list of hypothetical La Trobe University scales measuring various constructs.

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48 views

Guidelines For The PSY1HPM Lab Reports. Information For Lab Report Methods Section

The document provides guidelines for the methods section of a lab report. It specifies that experiments should use an independent groups design with one experimental and one control group of 30 participants each. The independent variable is the condition participants are assigned to, and the hypothesis should be non-directional. The dependent variable will be a measure selected from a list of hypothetical La Trobe University scales measuring various constructs.

Uploaded by

Rujvi Pingle
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Guidelines for the PSY1HPM Lab Reports.

Information for Lab Report Methods Section

When developing your experiment, keep in mind that the aim of ITRIP is to teach the basic principles
of research design and statistical methods in psychology. To do this we will provide you with a
simulated data set that you will use in the report of your hypothetical research project.

The experiment you propose to test your hypothesis should use an independent groups design. This
means you will have one experimental group (30 participants who have had something done to
them which you believe will produce an effect) and one control group (30 participants who either
have had a placebo or nothing done to them). There will be 60 participants in total and you should
aim to randomly allocate participants to either the experimental or control group if possible. This
will allow you to assume the groups were equivalent until you introduced the experimental
manipulation. The independent variable (IV) for your experiment is the condition that participants
have been allocated into (either experimental or control). Quasi-experimental designs do not allow
random allocation but these designs may be necessary for some topics. You may choose a quasi-
experimental design but your interpretation of the results will have to be more cautious regarding
causation. The hypothesis you propose should be non-directional. That is, you predict that the IV has
affected the DV in some way, not that it will either increase or decrease the DV.

Your dependent variable (DV) will be the scale that you intend to use to measure the effect of your
experimental manipulation. All teams will use a hypothetical La Trobe University measure of the
particular construct relevant to their scenario. Data from these measures have been found to be
sufficiently reliable for research purposes, often producing Cronbach alpha, test-retest, or inter-rater
reliability coefficients greater than .7. The validity of data produced by these measures has also
appeared strong in numerous research reports, often correlating with a relevant criterion at greater
than .6.

Select the appropriate measure for your scenario from the list below to use as the dependent
variable in your project proposal.
1. The La Trobe Depression Scale (LDS; Godber & Murphy, 2011). This scale is comprised of 10
self-report Likert items on a scale of 1 – 5. Higher scores indicate more symptoms of
depression.
2. The La Trobe Post-Natal Depression Scale (LPNDS; Godber & Murphy, 2011). This scale is a
modified version of the LDS which is comprised of 10 self-report Likert items on a scale of 1
– 5. Higher scores indicate more symptoms of post-natal depression.
3. The La Trobe Behaviour Problem Scale (LBPS; Godber & Murphy, 2011). This scale is
comprised of a checklist of 100 possible behavioural problems that are rated by teachers or
parents as either present (1) or not present (0) in children. Higher scores indicate more
behaviour problems.
4. The La Trobe Attentional Ability Scale (LAAS; Godber & Murphy, 2011). This scale is
comprised of 30 performance items measuring attentional ability in children. Each item is
scored 1 (lowest rating) to 10 (highest rating). Higher scores indicate more attentional
abilities.
5. The La Trobe Mental Health Scale (LMHS; Godber & Murphy, 2011). This scale is comprised
of 20 self-report Likert items on a scale of 1 – 5. Higher scores indicate better mental health
6. The La Trobe Motor Performance Scale (LMPS; Godber & Murphy, 2011). This scale is
comprised of 30 motor performance items. Each item is scored 1 (lowest rating) to 10
(highest rating). Higher scores indicate more motor ability.
7. The La Trobe Autism Rating Scale (LARS; Godber & Murphy, 2011). This scale is comprised as
an observational measure to rate symptom severity for children with Autism Spectrum
Disorders (ASD). This scale is comprised of 20 items on a 5-point likert scale, with high scores
indicating a higher level of ASD symptom severity.

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