AP Psychology Research Methods Project:

Designing an Experiment
In groups of 2 or 3, you will generate an original research question (any question that a
psychologist would examine is fine) and design your own experiment to answer it. This project
is assessed based on your ability to apply course content ad terminology. You may use this sheet
for planning but the final product you turn in will be a poster. You will have today in class to plan
your project but all other work must be completed outside of class. This project is due at the
beginning of class on Friday, March 17. It will be worth 100 points in the projects category of
your grade. Since there are no other points in that category of your grade, it could potentially
have a big impact so you will want to take the time to create a poster that reflects appropriate
effort and application of key experiment design elements.
Your poster must include the following elements (it is strongly recommended that you type the
individual sections and attach them to your poster):
Title
Your research question and hypothesis
An abstract of no more than 200 words explains paragraph form what your idea is, what lead
to the research, and what has been studied in the past
A brief summary and citation of one study from an academic journal article that supports/lends
credibility to your hypothesis
Your independent and dependent variables with appropriate operational definitions
A flow-chart showing your experimental procedure
A detailed list of procedures that would allow someone else to replicate the study
A hypothetical analysis of the results (use graphs/diagrams/photos to properly display your
results)
A paragraph summary of your conclusions that can be drawn from the hypothetical results and
how they would link back to the one study you used to support your hypothesis
At least two possible confounding variables and how they could interfere with your results as
well as two methods you could use to control for the confounding variables
Define validity and reliability and explain how these terms apply to your particular study.
Appropriate creative touches to enhance your poster display
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Your Question
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Who should be included in the study and why? (Population and sample / experiment
and control groups)
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Propose a hypothesis as if your experiment was going to work
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Identify your independent and dependent variables. Please provide operational
definitions for each.
IV: __________________________________________________________________________________________
Operational Definition:
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DV: __________________________________________________________________________________________
Operational Definition:
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Identify at least TWO confounding variables and explain how they could interfere with
the results you wish to obtain.
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Describe at least TWO ways that you would control for the confounding variables.
Choose from the list below.
Sampling - random vs. random stratified sample
- Random sampling vs. random assignment
Sample size
Single blind
Double blind
Use of control group(s)
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Outline a flowchart showing your experimental procedure.

Data and Analysis

a) Explain how you would use descriptive statistics to record and observe data.
Include a discussion of central tendency, frequency distributions, and the use of
graphs. Draw an example of a graph you expect to produce. Be sure to label your x
and y axes correctly.
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Validity and Reliability Define validity and reliability and explain how each term applies
to your particular study (10 points).
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