C8895 Attention: An individual differences perspective – Convenor: S. Forster
Research Plan 55% (2,500 words)
Students are required to submit an improved version of the original assignment using
the following guidelines:
Imagine that you are a scientist studying individual differences in attention, with
unlimited resources (e.g. money/access to experimental equipment) to conduct any
study of your choosing. Your task is to generate a novel research question (i.e. one
that has not been addressed by previous research), and to devise a study to test
this. The research proposal should contain the following sections (suggested word
limits for each section are provided as a guide only):
. Title: Provide a title as you would on a lab report.
· Background and rationale (approx. 1000 words): Introduce your research
question, drawing on previous literature to demonstrate the novelty and
importance of your idea. The purpose of this section is to provide relevant
background while also "selling" the importance of your proposed study. For
this reason it is advisable to start off by introducing the broad purpose of the
study, before outlining to what extent previous research has addressed your
question, and what has been missed (i.e. why is it necessary to do your
study)? It is also important to consider the mechanisms underlying the pattern
of results you are expecting - in other words, it is not enough to say "X is
expected to increase Y", without saying what you think would cause X to
increase Y. This section should end with your hypotheses.
· Method (approx. 500 words): How will you test this? Explain your proposed
design and procedure, including any tasks and measures used. Images of
task displays or other stimuli can be very helpful in this section.
· Analysis (approx. 250 words): How would you analyse this data to test your
hypotheses?
· Potential problems (approx. 350 words): Identify potential problems with your
proposed study (e.g. theoretical, ethical or practical) that you addressed in
your design. The purpose of this section is to demonstrate to me that you
have thought carefully about the design of your study (e.g. in terms of
including appropriate control conditions etc).
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· Impact, implications, limitations and future directions (approx. 400 words): What
would this study tell us? Who would it benefit? What are the limits of what we
can infer from the results of this study? How could future research follow on
from this study (and address potential limitations)?
Exercise 45%
Students are required to submit a Powerpoint Presentation outlining a proposal for
an original research study (this may be, but does not have to be, the same study
proposed for the research proposal coursework). The poster should contain the
following sections:
-
Title
Background and rationale
Method
Analysis
Potential problems and solutions
Impact, implications, limitations and future directions.
Each poster should be prepared in powerpoint and limited to 12-16 slides. Please
use the notes panel to add any information that would have been given in an oral
presentation.
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