Posted: September 13th, 2017

Cognition, Behaviour and performence – Language

Cognition, Behaviour and performence – Language

Order Description

Your report should be 2,000 words in total.
Title: Research Report – The impact of linguistic Variables on cognition, behaviour and performance of the word-learning process
Assignment:
Report Format:
The word limit of 2000 words does not include the title, abstract (maximum 150 words), references or appendices. A guide to report writing can be found in the as attachment.
The report should be structured using the standard psychology research format i.e., title, abstract, introduction [outlining background literature and justification for doing your experiment], method [in sufficient detail for someone else to carry out your experiment, using addressed ethical considerations], results [summarising what you found], and discussion [discussing what you found and linking it to the background literature you covered in the introduction], references and appendices [including SPSS output, briefing, debriefing, stimulus materials, instructions to participant and any other relevant materials].
As an important aim for doing the experiment is to consolidate your knowledge of cognitive psychology, only relatively short method and results sections are expected. Accordingly, the introduction and discussion sections are weighted more heavily.

Research Question and Experiment Design:
Ideally you should think of a research question that can be addressed by an experiment replicating and extending a previous experiment. You cannot do a straightforward replication.
It must be a genuine experiment; quasi designs (designs including gender, age, or any other demographic) are allowed only if they are clearly motivated by existing published research.
The experimental design must consist of two independent variables and only one dependent variable. Students should only consider 2×2 designs – do not consider anything more (or less) elaborate. These can be independent, repeated or mixed designs – select the most appropriate for your research question.

Ethics:
When thinking of the design (and when conducting your study!) you must ensure that you follow the ethical guidelines as laid out by the British Psychological Society. Please note that you can only begin to carry out your experiment once you have had your experimental design approved. In the method section of your experiment report, you need to explicitly state how you addressed ethical considerations.
Marking scheme
Informative TITLE Should give your reader a clear idea of the nature of your study. Mention your IVs and DV.
ABSTRACT Provides a summary of the report. It should provide 1 or 2 sentences summarising each of the major sections (introduction, method, results, and discussion). It should describe the topic, what you did, what you found, and what conclusions you can draw from those findings. Abstract should be clearly written and be a maximum of 150 words in length.
INTRODUCTION
What’s it all about? Briefly introduce the topic. Why is it studied? Why is it interesting?
Give theoretical overview You should provide a brief overview of the theoretical issues. What factors influence behaviour? How do your variables influence behaviour?
Discuss previous research You should provide some background information on previous research. You should include examples of previous studies, including the methods researchers used and what they found.
Justify your IVs and DV You should provide an argument in support of the factors chosen for your design, and of your measure (DV).
Hypotheses Clearly state and justify your hypotheses. Your introduction should theoretically lead on to the predictions.
METHOD
Design This should be a subsection of the method section. What type of design was employed? What factors were manipulated? What dependent variable was measured? Were potential confounding variables considered?
Participants This should be a subsection of the method section. How many participants took part? What were the relevant attributes of this sample? How were they recruited?
Materials This should be a subsection of the method section. You should provide detailed information about the materials that were used, including examples. Describe how the materials were created or selected. A full set of items and materials can be put in appendices provided – the reader should be directed there.
Procedure This should be a subsection of the method section. You should provide a summary of how the study was conducted. This enables other researchers to replicate the study, so only include relevant details. Include details of how you addressed ethical considerations.
Replicable from information given? Could a naïve researcher replicate exactly what you did – based upon your method section?
Novel design? Have you attempted to combine a novel set of factors/measures?
RESULTS
Descriptive Statistics Is there a table/graph summarising results? Does the table/graph provide an appropriate indication of the mean results and a measure of variance (where relevant)? Is the table/graph referred to appropriately in the text?
Analysis Was the correct analysis conducted? Is it reported correctly? Are appropriate conclusions drawn? Is it adequately described?
DISCUSSION
Briefly summarise results Section should begin by summarising what was done and what was found (without including numerical values
What do the results mean? You should be able to provide an account of what happened to produce the results.
How does this relate to other findings? You should be able to relate and interpret the current findings with respect to previous studies. What does the present study add to our understanding of behaviour? What are the theoretical conclusions of your results?
What could you do next? You should be able to provide a critique of your study. If you failed to find the predicted effects, then was this due to the method employed? If you did find the predicted effects, what could you do next that would extend our understanding of your chosen topic area (future directions)?
General conclusions A summary of the implications of what you found.
GENERAL
Referencing Present and correct in text and reference section (APA format)
Breadth of reading You should be referencing multiple books and journals of an appropriate level. Aim for at least ten sources and preferably more.
Clarity of writing Writing should be clear and concise. The APA Publication Manual has good advice on writing and structure.
Appendices These are required. Are materials included and clearly labelled

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