Exercise: Designing an Experiment
Instructions:
A hypothetical research scenario is below. Based on this scenario, answer the questions that follow. You can answer the questions in the text box with the question number (1.) and your answer.
Scenario:
A researcher thinks that alcohol consumption affects a person’s speaking rate. The researcher wants to determine if a person who is intoxicated from alcohol has a different speaking rate compared to a person who is sober.
Questions:
- What is the independent variable (Induction X) in this scenario?
- What is the dependent variable (Observation O) in this scenario?
- Based on these variables, write a one-tailed hypothesis. Pick a direction. USE THE PDF ATTACHED
- Is this experiment a Pretest Posttest Control Group Design or a Posttest-Only Control Group Design? How do you know?
- In 3-5 sentences, explain what would happen in this experiment. What would the participants do? How could you increase experimental control?
- In 3-5 sentences, what could go wrong with this experiment? How might the researcher lose control of the experiment?
Nominal Independent Variable Template for Writing Hypotheses 1. First, determine the independent variable. Nominal? 2. If yes, simply fill in the blanks based on the following (you may have to alter or rearrange some of your words). If no, then use the next page. A. For the Null Hypothesis: There is no difference between (the first category of the independent variable) and (the second category of the independent variable) with respect to (the dependent variable). Example: Independent Variable: type of college major (COMM or non-COMM) Dependent Variable: self-disclosure (amount) HO: There is no difference between COMM majors and non-COMM majors with respect to their amount of self-disclosure. B. For One-Tailed Hypotheses: (the first category of the independent variable) have/are more [or less/greater/lower/ etc.] (the dependent variable) than (the second category of the independent variable). Example: H1: COMM majors have greater self-disclosure than non-COMM majors. OR H1: COMM majors have less self-disclosure than non-COMM majors. C. For Two-Tailed Hypotheses: There is a difference between (the first category of the Independent variable) and (the second category of the independent variable) with respect to (the dependent variable). Example: H1: There is a difference between COMM majors and non-COMM majors with respect to their amount of self-disclosure. Continuous Independent Variable Template for Writing Hypotheses 1. First, determine the independent variable. Continuous? 2. If yes, simply fill in the blanks based on the following (you may have to alter or rearrange some of your words). If no, then use the previous page. A. For the Null Hypothesis: There is no relationship between (the independent variable) and (the dependent variable). Example: Independent Variable: a person’s age (amount) Dependent Variable: self-disclosure (amount) HO: There is no relationship between a person’s age and their amount of self-disclosure. B. For One-Tailed Hypotheses: There is a positive [or negative] relationship between independent variable) and (the dependent variable). (the Example: H1: There is a positive relationship between a person’s age and their amount of self-disclosure. OR H1: There is a negative relationship between a person’s age and their amount of self-disclosure. C. For Two-Tailed Hypotheses: There is a relationship between (the independent variable) and (the dependent variable). Example: H1: There is a relationship between a person’s age and their amount of self-disclosure
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