Scientific Research Project 1

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scientificresearchprojectinstructions-A.docx

You will design and propose a scientific research project about Cyberbullying.

Parts of the research project:

1. Title page: your name, your partner’s name, and title of experimental study

2. Abstract: This is a summary of your proposed experiment that gives a brief introduction and includes the hypothesis, sample, and measurements. Generally this is 5-6 sentences. This is the only slide with text in sentence & paragraph form. Everything else should be written in phrases a bulleted list.

3. Background or First Principles: This discusses what is known about the phenomenon studied and the new direction your study is going. You should summarize the findings of the research studies and state how you chose your hypothesis from what is known. How did you use these articles as a spring board to propose your original research study? What are you doing that is new? What are the limitations of the research experiments already done?

• So, your first principles section should come across as “This is what is known in this area and this is what I propose to do that is different and has not been looked at before.” The idea is to add more knowledge to what is already known. There should be a logical train of thought showing how you formed your hypothesis (aka “motivation”).

• You should add the importance of the study. Pretend this proposal is being used to apply for a monetary grant. Justify why you should be given funding!

• Additional material can be gathered from the Internet, newspapers, and non-peer-reviewed journals to round out this section. This should be one of the largest sections in your study. Be sure to cite your references.

4. Hypothesis: From the first principles, construct a hypothesis for your study. It should be a statement of cause and effect (e.g., if…then…because) and match the design of your proposed study. It should not be in the form of a question.

5. Variables: Describe the 4 types of variables.

• State the independent variable and the values for it.

• Briefly describe the dependent variable. You will expand on it in the procedure section.

• Identify the confounding variables and how you propose to remove them (if removing is possible).

• Don’t forget the constants, also known as controlling variables. Remember that some true variables can be kept constant to make the data analysis easier.

6. Sample: Describe your experimental and control groups. How many subjects will constitute a representative sample? What are the characteristics of each group? How will the sample be divided into the groups? You must have a control group.

7. Ethical issues: If you’re using humans or animals, is your experimental design ethical? Recall that you need informed, written consent from the subjects, and the subjects should be able to drop out of the study at any time. Your proposal also needs to be approved by the appropriate institutional review board. Any confidentiality or other issues should be addressed, too.

8. Procedure and Measurements: Decide what you’ll be measuring and how you will measure it. Expand on the description of the dependent variable. The procedure & measurements section will include how the sample is chosen, the experimental set-up and procedure, length of the study, location of study, and have enough detail to show that you’ve really thought about the proposed experiment. This should be one of the larger sections.

9. Bias: State what bias exist and how you will minimize or remove bias. There were 4 types mentioned in class: subject, experimenter, sampling, instrument. Instrument bias may not apply.

10. Because you are not doing the experiment, you will not have a Results section. You should have an Experimental Analysis section. For the analysis section, ask yourself:

• How will the data be analyzed? Will you calculate statistical values? Use the test introduced in class that determines whether 2 populations are statistically different? Use an analysis method mentioned in one of the peer-reviewed articles? Use a statistical test from another class?

• What possible errors could occur & how would you remove?

• What results will clearly support your hypothesis and what won’t? You need to describe what observations or measurements will support your hypothesis and what won’t support your hypothesis.

11. Replication: How many times will you need to do the experiment? You should repeat it again at least one time. Self-replication is required to verify results.

12. References: Cite and list your references in an acceptable format (e.g., APA style). For websites, don’t just cut and paste the URL (need title, author, date created, etc.) Also be sure to cite sources for information, illustrations, etc within the body of your presentation.