Research Report Information

1. Report topic: Greater mindfulness is associated with lower perceived stress, and reduced anxiety.

Background - Mindfulness

Mindfulness is defined as "an openhearted, moment-to-moment non-judgmental awareness" (Kabat-Zinn, 2005, p. 24). An awareness that is intentional, accepting, and curious of the constant stream of incoming thought and sensation (Bishop et al., 2004). Mindfulness may enhance attention and awareness for what is taking place in the present moment (Brown & Ryan, 2003). For this reason mindfulness is claimed to be "a unique quality of consciousness" (Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007b, p. 272).

Greater mindfulness is associated with greater well-being. Brown and Ryan (2003) suggest mindfulness plays an important role in fostering self-enforced behaviour regulation that has been found to be associated with enhanced well-being, reduced stress and anxiety. Increasing evidence suggests mindful¬acceptance-based clinical interventions are effective in treating a host of clinical disorders such as depression and anxiety (Roemer & Orsillo, 2010). Within Western populations mindfulness-based intervention therapies have become increasingly popular as an alternative to traditional "second wave" cognitive-behavioural techniques (see pages 755 to 757 in your text, Lilienfeld et al., 2015).

Aim
The aim of this assignment is to enhance your understanding of the research procedure and practices involved in of data collection and the interpretation of that data as it relates to experimental hypotheses. You may best achieve this aim by actively contributing to your own cohorts data collection. It is the data for your cohort that will then be analysed using statistics. It is those results that will allow you to comment on whether the hypotheses and predictions were supported. This cross-sectional based research will investigate relationships between mindfulness, perceived stress, and anxiety. An additional aim will be to develop an understanding of group differences by reporting your interpretation of the results provided pertaining to independent group t-test results.

Thus, based on the knowledge acquired after reading and understanding Chapter 2 (data analysis and reporting), Chapter 12 (stress, coping and well¬being), Chapter 17 (mindfulness as a treatment for disorders), along with the additional literature provided, you will be required to construct a research report that relates the results of the survey to the hypotheses.

2. What is required?

This assignment task has TWO phases:

1) Data collection

2) Write-up

1) Data collection

We will collect real data from students enrolled in this unit. In order to do this, members of this class will need to participate in an online survey to generate data. Participation in the data collection process is anonymous (no names or email addresses will be recorded) and completely voluntary. Choosing not to participate will not affect your mark for this research report. Advantages of participating is that you will gain greater insight into how research data is generated and be exposed to a common research methodology that we hope will help you better understand research findings reported in psychology research journals. The survey will take around 30 minutes to complete

2) Write-up phase

A 1,500-word Research Report written in APA style conforming to the standards set out in Burton (2010), pp. 87-128: Title page, Abstract Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References (see description below). The word limit starts at the first word of the Abstract and ends with the last word of the discussion (i.e., it does not include the Reference list).

Please note that you should use Australian spelling, however, if you do use US spelling you will not be penalised. An issue will arise if you move back and forward between spelling styles, so please be mindful of this point.

3. Report structure

Using the resources listed, plus adding up to two additional research articles sourced by yourself, your research report must comprise of an:

Abstract
On a stand-alone page separate from the title page and body of the research report, your abstract is a one-paragraph outline of your study, its aims, methodology, results, and implications. In other words, a summary of what you did and why. You will need to describe your sample, outline your results and present your conclusions. The Abstract should comprise around 150 words. You should write this section last.

Introduction
Introduce the topic and study aim. Define all key constructs. Briefly review the provided literature on mindfulness, perceived stress, and anxiety. Present research evidence relating to the relationships between mindfulness and stress, and anxiety.
Conclude with a rationale for the present study and the clear directional hypotheses stated.

Hypotheses:
Please note, the following hypotheses are to be used for the report, please do not generate your own. You may re word if you wish or may use verbatim.

Note the use of past tense when presenting these hypotheses. Thus,
It was hypothesised that greater mindfulness would be significantly correlated with reduced stress, and anxiety.

4. Getting Started

1. Start by reading pp.503-527 on stress and coping, and pp.755-757 on mindfulness in your textbook (Lilienfeld et al., 2015)

2. Read the Bergin and Pakenham (2016) paper, which will give you a broad understanding of the field of mindfulness and a relationship with perceived stress.

3. Read the Cash and Whittingham (2010) study to gain an extended understanding of the link between mindfulness and anxiety and stress. At this early stage in your psychology studies. Please note the results sections in these two papers include some high statistical analysis. Please don't worry if you don't fully understand the analysis. The Discussion sections will summarise the key results for you. You DO need to understand the Introduction, including the hypotheses; note how these authors measured perceptions of mindfulness, stress and anxiety as described in the Method section; and understand their Discussion sections. The key is to understand the link between key relationships (e.g., mindfulness, stress and anxiety).

4. Find on your own one to two additional research resources that will help you define and support a rationale for the hypotheses provided. Searching for research is a valuable skill to learn, so please take advantage of this opportunity.

5. Follow the recommendations of Burton (2010) for writing research reports. These will be elaborated upon in your online lecture on Writing Research Reports and APA Style.

Article 1- What Facets of Mindfulness Contribute to Psychological Well-being and Depressive, Anxious, and Stress-related Symptomatology? by Morgan Cash, Koa Whittingham

Article 2- The Stress-Buffering Role of Mindfulness in the Relationship Between Perceived Stress and Psychological Adjustment by Adele J. Bergin1 & Kenneth I. Pakenham