PROJECT PIECE: WRITING YOUR METHOD AND RESULTS
OVERVIEW
The goals of this next project piece are to (1) describe the method of a (hypothetical) study that would be conducted to examine your research question and (2) write up the results of your research project based on the study variables and a set of statistical results provided to you. Please read the following instructions carefully!
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Review the research paper provided as well as the method and results lectures in the course site to see how your method and results should be reported.
2. Examine the method sections of the studies you gathered in Project Piece 2. These studies will help you determine how research is conducted in this particular topic.
3. Write a method section by describing a hypothetical study. In other words, you are responsible for making up this information in a thoughtful way (discussed more below)! The method section MUST include the following subsections:
a. Participants
i. Describe the number of participants who were in your hypothetical study. Include the total number of participants as well as the
demographic characteristics (e.g., what percent were male vs. female, what ethnicities were represented etc). Include any relevant demographic information that seems relevant to your topic.
ii. Your participants section should, at the very least, answer the following questions:
1. How many participants completed the survey?
2. How many men vs. how many women participated?
3. What was the average age of the sample?
4. What was the age range? What was the low age? High age?
5. What was the ethnicity breakdown for participants?
iii. DO NOT make a bulleted list of this information. It must be integrated into a paragraph with appropriate structure and flow of
information.
b. Measures
i. Describe the questions that were asked to assess your study variables and what the options were for responding.
ii. Tip: Look at the studies you gathered in Project Piece 2! How do they ask about the study variables?
iii. Make sure to describe how data was collected on each of your three study variables (i.e., each independent variable and the
dependent variable).
c. Procedure
i. Describe how the data were collected.
1. What was the setting?
2. Who was administering the survey?
d. REMEMBER: You are making this information up! However, this does not mean you can just write anything! Think about what the ideal circumstances would be to collect information about your study. We will be looking for a method section that is appropriate to your topic and thoughtfully constructed to best answer your research question.
4. Use the statistical information provided to you on your topic discussion forum to write the method section for your paper
a. You do not need to include a section on preliminary analyses.
b. Use the results section to present your primary analysis (which will be a two-predictor multiple regression).
i. Clearly state what question the analysis addresses.
ii. Report the main findings of the analysis using APA format.
iii. Tip: It is not enough to just list the number. Interpret what they tell you! Use the posted example as a guide.
5. Include the following sections with your Method and Results:
i. Title Page - This page simply provides the title of your project, author (YOU!), and university affiliation. You do not need any author's note as indicated on the sample. Make sure your title page is in APA format with the correct font and capitalization for the running head, as well as spacing and centering for title, author, and university affiliation. See https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ for example and formatting procedure.
ii. Method section
iii. Results section
iv. Your reference page(s) - This is already part of your literature review. Make sure to revise them from the feedback provided.