Personality Psychology Research Methods Worksheet

To reflect on what you have learned in topic 1 about research methods, please read the below scenario and answer all questions below. While APA style is not required, solid academic writing is expected.

Type your responses directly onto the worksheet. 

Lecture 1 and chapter 2 of your book discuss research methodology of psychology. Make sure toinlcudein-text citationsfor the lecture and/or the textbook when completing your justifications; citations must be presented in APA format.

Scenario:

Samantha, who works for an educational curriculum company, was asked to test a new reading program called E-Z read. She asked the principal of Desert Elementary School for permission to access two classrooms, where she could test the program. Students were randomly assigned to both classrooms. Miss Jones's class was asked to use E-Z read program for one semester, and Mrs. Brown's class was asked to continue using their regular reading program. At the end of the semester both classes took a test to assess their reading skills. Students' grades were compared to see if implementing E-Z read program improved reading skills. 

Question

What is a possible hypothesis for this study?

Whose class is a control group and why?

Whose class is an experimental group and why?

What are the independent and dependent variables in this study? 

Why is it important that students are randomly assigned to both groups?

Why would a correlational and case study not be appropriate for this type of study?

In the scenario described above, do we want to see a statistically significant difference in the two groups' test scores? Why or why not?