Method, Results, Discussion Assignment

This assignment is based off of research done throughout the semester. This is not a full paper just the method, results, and discussion parts of the paper. I will attach all necessary documents needed to complete.

****Please add a title page – you will not be graded on it, but I need to know who you are!!

General Information:
Three subsections: Participants, Materials, and Procedure
Avoid using passive voice when possible
For example, write “participants completed the survey” instead of “participants were given the survey”
Avoid using the word used when referring to participants
For example, “Ten college students participated.” instead of “Ten college students were used in the treatment group.”

Content:
Detailed description of who participated, the materials that were used, and how the study was conducted

Participants (Typically less than .5 of a page)
Who were the participants?
Provide group size and demographic information for each group of participants
Use meaningful group names (not Group 1 or experimental group)

Demographic Characteristics:
Age (M, SD, range).
Provide the M and SD for each group individually.
Sex
Use men and women as nouns for participants who are adults; boys and girls for participants under 18
Use male and female as adjectives (e.g., the male participants)
Race/ethnicity
Capitalize names of ethnic groups (proper nouns)
Report general information about the nature of the population from which participants were drawn
e.g., college students, preschool children, workers at a manufacturing plant, diners at a restaurant, people attending an exercise class
How were the participants recruited or selected?
Were there specific selection or rejection criteria?
Were participants compensated (money, extra credit) for participating?
Any dropouts? If so, why?

Example of Participant Section from El-Sheikh and Harger (2001, pp. 877-878):
“Participants were 46 boys (age M = 9.9 years, SD = 1.3) and 43 girls (age M = 9.8 years, SD = 1.2) recruited from the community through posted flyers and advertisements, which requested the participation of two-parent families with a child in the desired age range. Children between 8 and 11 years of age participated because we were interested in obtaining children’s self-reports of internalizing behaviors and appraisals of conflict, and these measures are more valid with children in this age range than with younger children. Children’s ethnic backgrounds were as follows: 81% European American, 8% African American, 2% Hispanic, 2% Asian American, and 7% nonclassified.”

Materials (Typically between 1/2 to 1 pages)

We used 3 standard tests in this study (You must cite each questionnaire using the references below and include reference in your references page).
Humor Styles Questionnaire
Martin, R. A., Puhlik-Doris, P., Larsen, G., Gray, J., & Weir, K. (2003). Individual differences in uses of humor and their relation to psychological well-being: Development of the Humor Styles Questionnaire. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 47-75. Doi:10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00534-2

Big 5 Personality Questionnaire
Goldberg, L. R., Johnson, J. A., Eber, H. W., Hogan, R., Ashton, M. C., Cloninger, C. R., & Gough, H. C. (2006). The International Personality Item Pool and the future of public-domain personality measures. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 84-96.

You will use the Humor Styles Questionnaire and one other questionnaire for your paper.
You should describe each questionnaire you used.
Include:
Number of questions.
How it is scored (briefly, i.e., 5-point Likert Scale with anchor “Never True” and “Always True.”
If there are different categories (types of humor styles), describe them briefly.
If standard tests are used, provide a general description of the test and cite appropriately
Discussion of validity and reliability of instruments and scales
Cronbach’s alpha for each scale type. (We will do this as an SPSS assignment).
Describe the setting in which the study will take place (online survey)

Example from El-Sheikh and Harger (2001, pp. 877-878):
“Mothers completed the Cornell Medical Index (CMI; Brodman, Erdman, & Wolff, 1949), which is a comprehensive measure of children’s health problems. Items were scored on a 5-point scale ranging from 0 (not at all true) to 4 (extremely true), with a higher score representing increased health problems. The Total Health Problems Scale (111 items for boys and 118 items for girls) was used in analyses. The CMI has demonstrated adequate reliability and validity and is frequently used within the literature to validate newer health scales (e.g., Sheridan, Mulhern, & Martin, 1998).”

Procedure – (Typically between 1/2 to 1 pages)
*this is an exhaustive list. We didn’t use most of these because our study was quite simple.
Summarize the steps taken throughout the experiment
Describe what happened and in what order
Describe how groups were formed (e.g., random assignment)
Describe counterbalancing
Paraphrase instructions given to participants
“Please complete the following questionnaires on your humor style, personality, and stress. Please answer honestly. Your answers are anonymous and only the unidentified data will be shared with other students.”

Include number of trials, blocks, and sessions
Include whether the tasks were timed
State whether participants were tested individually or in groups
If tested in groups, include information about how many participants will be tested at one time.
Include enough detail for readers to determine the appropriateness of your procedure and replicate the experiment
Do not include unnecessary details (e.g., participants used a pencil to circle the answers on the memory test)

Results (Typically between 1/2 to 1 pages)

Content for a typical empirical study that has been conducted:
Summary of data collected and results of statistical analyses
Report all results, even those that do not support the hypothesis
Do not report raw data
Do not discuss implications (how findings can be generalized should be addressed in the “Discussion” section)

Tables and Figures:
You will need to include at least table or one figure in the results section.
You need to include at least one of the following:
A table of Ms and SDs for the questionnaires;
a scatterplot of ONE of the correlations;
a table of the correlations.
Avoid repeating the same data in several places (if it is in a table, don’t include it in the text).
Do not use tables for data that can be easily stated in a few sentences.
Refer to tables and figures in the text (e.g., As shown in Figure 1, participants …)
Refer to all tables as “tables” and everything else (graphs, pictures, drawings, etc.) as “figures”
In graphs, both axes must be labeled
If the graph requires a legend, it must be contained within the borders of the graph
Figure Caption – serves as the title (do NOT have a separate title)
Should be typed directly under the figure.
Figure 1. Type the caption here.
Figure 1 should be italicized and have a period
The caption should have the first letter of the first word capitalized
The caption should have a period at the end
This page should include the running head and page number
Refer to the APA manual to determine where the tables and figures are placed within an APA report

Statistical Presentation:
Report descriptive statistics
Report inferential statistics (t tests, F tests, etc.)
Include the value of the test statistic, degrees of freedom, the probability value, and the direction of the effect

Statistical Significance:
Report the alpha level used to determine significance (e.g., .05 or whatever you selected)

Italics:
Use for letters that are statistical symbols
Do not use for nonstatistical subscripts (Fmax)
Do not use for Greek letters
Do not use for emphasis

Discussion (should be about 1/2 to 1 pages)

Content for a typical empirical study that has been conducted:
In the first few sentences, state the results in words (do not report any statistics here). Be sure to indicate whether the results support or contradict your hypothesis(es).
For example: In support of our hypothesis, we found that memory is impaired following sleep deprivation.
Write about similarities and differences between the results and the findings of other researchers.
Give explanations for why the results might not meet expectations (differences between previous studies and yours in terms of design, populations, samples, controls, etc.).
Discuss any methodological limitations of the study and consider the implications of these limitations.
Discuss how the information learned from conducting the study may contribute to the literature in this area and write about how it may benefit others.
Provide suggestions for future research. Consider what the next logical step would be after the present study.

References

Include all references for the surveys that you used in your paper. If you didn’t use stress, do not include it!