Assignment: Margin of Error

Margin of error, sometimes called the confidence interval, is a term used in reporting results in forensic psychology research as well as in the world of polling and elections. For example, when reporting election results, you have probably heard the news media state something like the following: "John Doe has 51% of the vote with a 3-point margin of error." This means that John Doe probably has 51% of the vote, but the results may not be entirely accurate. He could have any percentage between 48 and 54 (51 plus or minus 3 percentage points) of the vote, but only 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time he could have more than 54% or less than 48% of the vote. Similarly, in a research study, the margin of error refers to how willing and/or likely you are to come to a false conclusion about the results of your research.

To prepare for this assignment:

Review info from http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/190/49/s60

On Margin of Error.

With these thoughts in mind:

A brief description of the research article you selected and a brief summation of the sections on methods and results. Explain how the margin of error is reported in the article, and how and why the margin of error impacts the results of the study.

References to be used.

Koehler, J. J., Schweitzer, N. J., Saks, M. J., & McQuiston, D. E. (2016). Science, technology, or the expert witness: What influences jurors' judgments about forensic science testimony?. Psychology, Public Policy, And Law, 22(4), 401-413. doi:10.1037/law0000103.