After completing the module, you should be able to:
1. Demonstrate appropriate knowledge of quantitative research methodology and design
2. Demonstrate appropriate knowledge of qualitative research methodology and design
3. Explain the principles and practicalities of ethics in research
4. Evidence a developing skill-set in quantitative analysis
This assessment is a portfolio consisting of 5 tasks. Completing this portfolio will allow you to demonstrate different aspects of your learning from Exploring Research in Psychology. You must complete all 5 tasks. Further guidance and support can be found on the module’s iLearn page. This assessment is worth 100% of the total marks for the module and will assess all learning outcomes.
Task 1 – Quantitative methodology and design You are interested in whether meditation can reduce exam stress in university students. Your task is to design a quantitative study to investigate this topic. Include details around participants and the design of the study (e.g., between-subjects or withinsubjects), variables (IV and DV), and hypothesis. Please include the reasons you chose your design and the benefits of using quantitative research for this particular study. You are not required to carry out the study or collect any data for this task.
Task 2 – Qualitative methodology and design You want to investigate university students’ experiences of coping with exam stress. Your task is to design a qualitative study to investigate this topic. You will need to write a research question and choose a data collection method (interviews, focus groups, observations) and analysis (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Thematic Analysis, Discourse Analysis). Please include the reasons why you chose your data collection method and analysis method, as well as the benefits of using qualitative research for this particular study. You are not required to carry out the study or collect any data for this task.
Task 3 – Ethics in research Your task is to read the research scenario below and identify 3 ethical considerations present in the scenario – these may be ethical issues or aspects of good ethical practice. Using the BPS code of ethics outline each of your 3 identified ethical considerations in detail. If you have chosen ethical issues, explain how the procedure could be improved. If you have chosen good ethical practice, explain why it is good practice. You can choose to present ethical issues, areas of good ethical practice, or a combination of both for your 3 considerations for this task
Research scenario A university lecturer wants to know if learning in nature improves retention and wellbeing. He takes his class of 50 students into the university grounds and holds an hour lecture in a small park, surrounded by trees. After the lecture he asks the students to answer a quiz sheet to test their retention of the content and a wellbeing questionnaire. The next day he has a different class of 50 students who have a lecture in the lecture theatre. The students also complete a quiz sheet and wellbeing questionnaire after the lecture. The following week the lecturer explains to each group he has been looking at the difference between them to see if nature improves retention and wellbeing. The quiz and wellbeing questionnaires were labelled with the students’ ID number and held in a locked cabinet in the lecturer’s office.
Task 4 – Conducting quantitative analysis You will find it beneficial to refer to your iLearn lessons and your Jamovi workbook for this task. Below you will see a scenario of a study a researcher has conducted along with the collected data. You task is to determine the appropriate statistical test to conduct on this data. You should then input this data into Jamovi and conduct both the descriptive and inferential analysis.
Scenario A researcher has conducted a study investigating whether there is a difference in wellbeing between participants who use gratitude journals and those who do not use these journals. The researcher recruited 12 participants: 6 who were asked to complete a daily gratitude journal noting down 3 things they were grateful for each day, and 6 participants who did not complete a journal. The researcher then asked all of the participants to complete a questionnaire measuring wellbeing, with higher scores reflecting higher wellbeing. The data is presented in the table below:
In your portfolio document you should state which inferential statistical analysis you have conducted, justifying your chosen statistical test. You should also include your annotated Jamovi output – highlighting the key information from the output that you would use to interpret the results
Task 5 – Interpreting quantitative analysis You will find it beneficial to refer to your iLearn lessons and your Jamovi workbook for this task. Below you will find a different research scenario. The researcher has conducted their study and chosen the appropriate statistical test to conduct on their data. You will see the output of their analysis presented with the scenario. Your task is to interpret this output and prepare an APA formatted results section based on these findings. Your results section should contain the descriptive statistics, parametric assumption checks, and the appropriate inferential statistic.
