PSYC 201 – First Research Paper
Spring 2006
Lab Assignment: Naturalistic Observation
In this assignment you will be asked to collect, analyze and interpret data regarding a very simple human behavior: stopping (or not) at a four-way stop.
The assignment is divided into three parts. In the first part you and a lab partner will go to an intersection and measure the frequency in which people stop at a stop sign. In the second part of the assignment, you will learn how to analyze the data using the chi-square statistic. In the third part of the assignment, you will complete a lab report that presents the results of your statistical analysis and allows you the chance to interpret the results.
Instructions for Part I
- Go to the four-way stop the beside the Cook Hall parking lot. Record the following data about each vehicle that passes through this intersection: (1) whether or not the driver is using a cell phone, (2) the gender of the driver, (3) your best guess as to the age of the driver, (4) the time of day, and (5) whether the vehicle made a complete stop at the intersection or not.
- It is up to you to decide on the best way of making your observations. In an upcoming lab you will be asked to describe the procedure you used to collect your data.
- Observe at least 80 vehicles pass through the intersection. ONLY INCLUDE data for vehicles when they are the only vehicle going through the intersection.
- Please count the number of vehicles that fall into each of four categories:
1. Drivers using a cell phone who stop at the stop sign.
2. Drivers using a cell phone who do not stop at the stop sign.
3. Drivers not using a cell phone who stop at the stop sign.
4. Drivers not using a cell phone who do not stop at the stop sign.
- The question this research project will answer is whether there is any evidence that drivers who are using a cell phone are more or less likely to stop at a stop sign than are who are not using a cell phone.
- An additional question will be whether males differ from females in terms of their stopping behavior.
PSYC 201
Spring 2006
Lab Report: Stop Sign Study
The lab reports in this course are intended to guide you through the process of learning to write a research paper in psychology. Psychologists have agreed to follow a standard format in reporting the results of experiments they conduct. This format is published by the American Psychological Association (APA) and is contained in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The APA manual contains instructions for how to organize the various parts of a research paper and how to present statistical results. There are a number of web-based resources on APA format provided on Dr. Pierce’s website. Cozby provides a good starting point for learning how to write an APA-style paper.
The present document provides information about the stop sign study you have conducted and asks you to provide information as well. The format of the document is very close to that used in an APA-style paper.
APA-style papers are divided into four major sections: Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion. In addition, most papers include a 120 word abstract at the beginning of the paper and a reference section at the end.
The following sections provide you with some of the information that might go in an APA-style paper and indicate where additional information from you is required. In addition, there is information (presented in bold faced type) presented about APA-style itself.
The paper that you hand in should contain all of the information you are provided with plus the information you are requested to provide. Do not include the information about APA-style presented in bold faced type.
You must type your paper. Use double-spacing and one inch margins on the left and right.
Title of the Study: The Effect of Cell Phone Use on Coming to a Complete Stop at a Stop Sign
Abstract
[An abstract should provide the reader with enough information to help to know what your research question was, your method for answering that question, and what you found.]
Provide your own abstract
Introduction
[The introduction section of a paper is where the researcher outlines the research question they want to ask and provides the reader with relevant background information regarding the topic being studied.]
Traffic accidents are a major source of injury and death in the United States. One common cause of traffic accidents is the failure of one or more vehicles at an intersection to stop at a stop sign. A number of previous studies have attempted to determine why drivers do or not come to a complete stop at a stop sign. [Provide a description of at least two studies that have examined this question]
One possible factor in determining the stopping behavior of a driver is the degree to which a driver is distracted by stimuli that are unrelated to driving performance. A large literature exists that demonstrates the negative effects of engaging in a secondary task on primary task performance. [describe two studies on dual-task performance].
A specific source of possible distraction to drivers is engaging in a cell phone conversation. A number of recent studies have examined the effects of cell phone use on the likelihood of becoming involved in a driving accident. [Describe at least two studies examining the effects of cell phone usage on driver safety].
The primary question addressed in the present study was whether engaging in a cell phone conversation is associated with increased likelihood of failure to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. It was hypothesized that drivers engaged in a cell phone conversation would be significantly more likely to fail to come to a complete stop at the intersection. To test this hypothesis [XXX] vehicles were observed at an intersection while information regarding cell phone usage, as well as the gender approximate age of the driver, were recorded.
Method
Participants
[Please state everything that you know about the drivers that you observed at the intersection (e.g. Mean age, mean number of passengers, number of males, number of females, percentage of drivers talking on a cell phone)]
[For example, you could state the following: "The mean estimated age of drivers in this study was 24.0 (SD = 5.67)."]
Apparatus
[What equipment did you use to collect your data (e.g., clipboard, pencil, stopwatch)? Describe each piece of equipment. This may sound silly in the context of this study, but it's good practice.]
Procedure
[In as much detail as you can, please describe your procedure in collecting your data. We should be able to read your description and then go out and collect data in exactly the same way. Your goal should be to provide enough detail to enable another researcher to duplicate your procedure and see if they get the same results.]
Results
· Include a section heading titled “Effects of cell phone use on stopping behavior”
· Provide the percentage of drivers using a cell phone who came to a complete stop at the stop sign (include the frequencies for stopping and not stopping). Provide the percentage of drivers not using a cell phone who did not complete stop at the stop sign (include the frequencies for stopping and not stopping).
· Report the results of a chi-square test that determines whether drivers using a cell phone were less more likely to come to a complete stop at a stop sign than drivers not using a cell phone.
· Include a section heading titled “Effects of the gender of the driver on stopping behavior”
· Provide the percentage of vehicles with male drivers that came to a complete stop at the stop sign (include the frequencies for stopping and not stopping). Provide the percentage of vehicles with female drivers came to a complete stop at the stop sign (include the frequencies for stopping and not stopping).
· Report the results of a chi-square test that determines whether male drivers are more or less likely to come to a complete stop at a stop sign than female drivers.
· Include other results that are of interest to you.
In a results section the statistics would be presented with a sentence like this:
"Drivers using a cell phone came to a complete stop a significantly lower percentage of the time (35%) than did drivers not using a cell phone (45%), c2(1, N = 80) = 3.7, p < .05."]
Discussion
Please restate the research question in this study.
State your answer to this research question in everyday language.
Based on your knowledge of psychology, how would you explain the results that you got? The more reading you do on this question, the better your answer will be and the more points you will receive. Look in your Intro Psych book. Look in a cognition textbook. Look at any articles or books you can find in the library. THE MORE WORK IT LOOKS LIKE YOU'VE DONE, THE HIGHER YOUR GRADE WILL BE.
Please describe the limitations of the study in terms of the conclusions one should draw and the methods used to collect data.
Based on your experience in looking at this research question, what do you propose as the next logical thing to look at in terms of data collection? In other words, if you were a researcher studying this behavior what kind of data would you want to collect next.]
References
References are provided so that the reader can easily find the materials you refer to.
A reference to a journal article is given in using the following format:
Pierce, T. W., & Elias, M. F. (1993). Cognitive function and cardiovascular responsivity in
subjects with a parental history of hypertension. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 16,
277-294.
Please provide the references for the journal articles you looked at using the same format as above. These references should be in alphabetical order, using the last name of the first author.]
References you use for this paper must be peer-reviewed research articles that appear in scientific journals. Websites, newspaper articles, and magazine articles are not acceptable.
Your research paper should include the all of the material that I have placed in bold-faced type. Use the same headings that I've used. Provide all of the information requested in the order in which it is requested.
You will be graded on:
- completeness
- clarity (grammar, spelling, ability to convey information clearly)
- demonstration of hard work
- adherence to APA format