Research Methods:
Week 3 (Dr. Brian Burke, 2005)
Note: This is a sample lesson plan for you to follow based on my Research Methods course in Winter 2005. Your own lesson plan should include all the items in blue below: overview, goals/objectives, materials, outline, and your experience (which you can only write after the class). While constructing your lesson plan, feel free to consult with me (or any other teacher) regarding active learning activities. Please hand your lesson plan to me in person during my office hours so we can discuss it at least 1-week prior to your 2-day teaching stint…Thanks!
Overview: RESEARCH DESIGN (Chapters 4 & 9 in Cozby textbook)
These 2 chapters cover three key concepts in psychological research design:
1) Non-experimental vs. Experimental Method – including randomization, independent & dependent variables
2) Three different design types in experiments: independent groups, repeated measures, and matched pairs
3) Experimental Debriefing – i.e., discussing the experiment with the participants once they have completed it
Goals/Objectives:
My overall goal is to teach students how to understand and appreciate psychological research – i.e., science. I intend to accomplish this goal by having students practice the step-by-step components necessary in order to be able to design their own research study. Accordingly, the objective of these 2 classes on research design is to teach students the 3 key concepts discussed above, largely by active learning with the exception of a 10-minute mini-lecture. I want students to clearly understand the difference between non-experimental and experimental methodology, especially the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. In addition, I want students to understand how to get from a “big idea” to a specific, testable scientific experiment related to the idea. Further, I want students to learn several different ways of designing an experiment, including the pros/cons of each. Finally, I want students to practice carrying out a simple experiment in class, and be able to debrief participants when the experiment ends.
Materials: “Freshman 15”
article; 2 types of Cola (Coke & Pepsi 2 Liter bottle) + cups; “Design
Types” handout
Outline:
Class
#1 (Monday)
1) Start class with the “Freshman 15” article from the Herald (Sept. 6, 2004) – ask students why it is NOT a scientific study. [10-12 minutes]
2) Students act as “faculty mentors” to fictional Research Methods students – I bring a list of 3 topics/research ideas that are “too broad” and students (in groups) pare each down to a testable experiment for use in a 30-minute intro to psych class – and they keep track/record exactly HOW they pared it down (i.e., questions you asked each other, process, etc.)
3 topics/research ideas to pare down:
-Does TV cause aggression?
-Is eyewitness testimony accurate?
-Are athletes judged differently based on their ethnicity?
Afterwards, have groups share their experiments after each question [15-20 mins to work on it; 5 minutes to share with class) + together we can label the IV, DV, type of DV (behavior, self-report, etc…)
3) Students help each other pare down 1 of their research ideas into testable projects using the procedure they developed in exercise #2 above! (20-25 minutes)
MY EXPERIENCE: This class was not that engaging from my perspective, although the students did come up with some nifty research designs and we unpacked some important design concepts…Also, exercise #2 took much longer than I thought it would!
Outline:
Class
#2 (Wednesday)
1) Mini-lecture on research design types [10
minutes] – handout “Design Types” sheet
2) Demonstration: Taste Test
Students conduct a taste test or "Pepsi
challenge" to demonstrate 3 different research designs:
1.
2. Repeated measures design (within-participants) –
p. 145 (How will you control for order effects?)
3. Matched pairs design (between-participants) – p.
150 (What variable will you use for matching?)
Divide class into 3 groups and assign them the
following task:
a) How would you assess cola preference via a non-experimental
method? [5 minutes]
b)
How would you
assess cola preference via an experimental method in this class today?
Assign each group one of the above design types – their group must then design
and conduct a cola taste-test using that design [20-25 minutes]. Conduct
experiments [15 minutes] and have group debrief class after each experiment
[3-5 minutes]. Use this activity to point out many facets of the decision to
use one or the other design type (and discuss limitations to non-experimental
and experimental methods) [5 minutes].
Discuss results with the class [3-5 minutes].
MY EXPERIENCE: This was a wonderful exercise, far more intricate and complex than I had anticipated! The students really enjoyed it, and it brought research design concepts to life. We generated many questions for discussion and future research, such as whether order matters, what factors make Pepsi more likely to be chosen in a taste test, whether strong individualism might predict a liking for Coke (less advertising, less popular) than Pepsi....All in all, a superb class!