Cognitive Lab Paper Assignments
Spring ‘01
There are two paper assignments in this class, based on one project you will carry out. The first is a proposal for the project, due on Feb. 16. The second is a complete report of the project after it is carried out. The final paper will be turned in on April 13, and then given back a week later so you can fix it up. The final version is due the last day of class. They are described in more detail below.
Your assignment is to design a study, collect and analyze data, and write up the results. You may work alone, or in a group of 2 or 3. If more people are working together I will expect more subjects to be tested. On Jan. 17 I will ask everyone to hand in a brief description of the topic they want to do, and a list of people they'd like to work in their group. If more than one person is interested in the same topic I may ask you to work together. If no one else is interested in your topic, you may work alone. People working together as a group will design the study and collect data as a group. However, you must each do your own data analysis and turn in your own paper.
Due to the limited time, you may not want to design your study completely from scratch. Instead you can do one of the following:
1. Carry out one of the experiments contained in SuperLab that we do not do in class.
2. Elaborate on one of the experiments that we do in class. e.g. sex differences in mental rotation. It is also possible to modify the computer programs, using the limited time edition of SuperLab Pro that you get on your CD-ROM. I have the manual that describes how to do this. However, this is only recommended for people who have previous computer experience.
3. Design a study that is not contained in SuperLab. It must be a cognitive study. Note that designing a completely new experiment is very time consuming, so if you choose this option I recommend that you elaborate on something you have already done for another class. If you are doing research as an independent study, you may choose this option only if the project you do for this class is something substantially different from your independent study. In other words, you can’t write the same paper for this class and for your independent study / capstone project. However, you could do a variation on the same type of experiment. If you choose this option, you must clear it with your faculty advisor for the independent study.
Note that we will be meeting to discuss proposals the first week of Februrary. However, I strongly recommend that you come and briefly discuss it as soon as you get an idea, to make sure it is a feasible project.
You will be able to use the students in this class as your subjects. If you need more subjects than that (e.g. if you’re doing a between-subjects design) it should not be too difficult to recruit subjects outside of class. Many psychology professors give extra credit for participating in experiments. Generally, about 20 subjects per group is a good number. If you need to test subjects on computers outside of class, you can use the one is S 305, but they must be scheduled in advance. It may also be possible to test the students in my SRM II class in the Smart Classroom.
Both papers must be written in APA style. They will be graded for both style and substance. Points will be deducted for misspelled words, incorrect grammar, and missing or inaccurate references.
Proposal (due Feb. 16).
The proposal will include a Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Expected Results, and Reference section. You must also include a copy of the Informed Consent form that you will use as an Appendix.
The Abstract is a summary of the entire study. You should explicitly say here what the purpose of the study is, briefly summarize your methods, and explain how your study will achieve your stated purpose.
The Introduction will be an extensive review of the literature on this topic (at least 5 pages long). It will explain what has been done in the past, why you’re doing the study, and what your hypothesis is. You must have at least 8 primary references. In other words, don’t cite text books, newspapers, popular magazines, or Web pages. You must read the articles that have been written by the authors who actually conducted the study. You may need to request them through Interlibrary Loan. Note that although at least 8 references are required, for some projects substantially more than that may be required. You must discuss all previous studies that are relevant.
In the Method section you will describe exactly what you’ll do, including number of subjects, how you’ll recruit them, materials, and procedure. It’s important that you consider all possible confounding variables and specifically state how you will control for them. You should also give an approximate time table of when everything will be done. It should be written in the future tense.
The Expected Results sections will be short. You should state what your dependent and independent variables will be, which statistical analyses you will perform, and what results you expect.
Final Paper
This will be a complete report of your study. It will include a Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, and Reference sections. You must also include at least one Table or Figure. Appendixes are optional.
The Title page and Introduction can be taken directly from your proposal, with any changes I have recommended. All you’ll need to do for the Method section will be to put it in past tense. The only new part will be the Results, Discussion, and Figure. However, you may gain more points by improving your Introduction.
In the Results section you will describe all of the statistical analyses you did, and cite your Table or Figure. In the Discussion section you will discuss what the Results mean, whether or not you supported your hypothesis. You may also include more References to other studies.