Assignment Paper

Students are asked to produce a research report addressing research questions of their choice using the dataset collected in practical classes (1800 words max). This should demonstrate the skills of writing an appropriate format and structure of a psychological research report, justify and apply a statistical test to data and interpret the results appropriately, and use standard software packages for data analysis and communication.
The research report should include:

1. Title and introduction (10%)
A brief introduction should discuss the theme around which the chosen research questions focus. This introduction should introduce the topic of interest, and provide a rationale for why these research questions were chosen, for example, by referring to the limitations of previous research, or by describing the wider relevance and significance of this research, for example to human health/ wellbeing or to international/national policy. Finally, it should state 2-3 research questions that the report will address.

2. Methods (0%)
a pre-written and succinct methods section will be provided to all students.

3. Results (80%)
The research questions should be chosen such that students include at least one t-test and one correlation/regression.
For each research question, students should separately:
• describe the appropriate of research design, and statistical test.
• summarise the relevant data using descriptive numbers, tables or plots
• conduct and report the appropriate statistical test.
• reach a conclusion with respect to the research question.

4. Discussion (10%)
A final discussion should summarise your findings and relate them back to your rationale for conducting the research. This should include limitations for the study, links to existing literature or the wider relevance and significance of this research, for example to human health/wellbeing or to international/national policy.
Intended learning outcomes for the assessment

On successful completion of this assessment the student will be expected to be able to:
• demonstrate an understanding of the appropriate format and structure of a psychological research report.
• Justify and apply a range of statistical tests to data and interpret results appropriately.
• Use standard software packages for data analysis and communication
Marking scheme, criteria or rubric
The report will be marked following the marking scheme provided. Marks will be disproportionate allocated for the results section of the report (80% marks), and students will also be asked to write a brief introduction (10%) and discussion (10%). A pre-written methods section will be provided that students are permitted to copy in to their report, and no marks will be awarded for this section.

Assessment Literacy
• Maximum wordcount: 1,800, excluding all references.
• Text should be formatted 11pt, double spaced.
• Tables and graphs should all be in APA format.
• Citations and references should be in APA format, and include a reference list.