Research Paper

For this assignment, you will participate in an online experiment on reaction time located in the Course Resources section in the Psychology Learning Tools. Once you have completed the experiment you will analyze data and write a lab report (7-10 pages) in APA style consisting of the following sections:

 The following variables are included in the data file for 160 participants:

• Gender (categorical; 2 groups [male and female])
• Age (continuous; range of 17 to 58 years)
• Time in Experiment (continuous; total number of seconds for three tasks)
• 3 reaction times (all continuous – average scores for the Simple, Go/No Go, Choice tasks)
• Variable 1 (categorical; 3 groups)
• Variable 2 (continuous; range of 46 to 121)

Your hypothesis and topic determine what you choose to analyze and report on in your research report. We are starting our research NOW by developing a hypothesis to use in your study.

Starting thinking about: What could affect reaction time? How would you set up a study using at least one of the reaction time tasks? You could be interested in

• reaction time and age, so you analyze a reaction task and the age variables;
• gender differences, or even gender by age differences; or
• something new, such as if the participant was an athlete or not, or how many drinks the participant had prior to doing the lab.

Variable 1 and Variable 2 are set up for you to use as new variables. If we continue with the athleticism topic:

• Variable 1 is categorical, so it could be coded as 0 is no physical activity, 1 is moderate activity, and 2 is intense activity to assess group differences in reaction time.
• Variable 2 is a continuous variable, so it could be used to represent the number of minutes each person exercises each day to determine if exercise correlates with reaction time.

My research topic will be whether or not gender correlates to visual reaction time. It is hypothesized that the reaction time will be faster for males than females, because men are generally more senstive to stimulus.

The data is in the Excel file

2

>Rubric

and

Abstract APA

pts

0 10 pts

generally well written with appropriate grammar, tense, and sentence structure information presented clearly and concisely

19 points

-4 appropriate references with a large proportion of relevant background information not included

restates results from previous section

includes some components

information presented is unclear and doesn’t flow together

more than 10 APA formatting errors throughout the entire paper

Level 0 Not Done

Criteria

Introduction and Literature Review

Methods

Results

Discussion

Abstract

APA

Level 5 2

0

at least 8 appropriate references are used to describe the relevant background information

clearly stated hypothesis

generally well written with appropriate grammar, tense, and sentence structure

information presented clearly and concisely

completely describes all elements (participants, materials, and design/procedure including how data was analyzed)

includes Review Board Form (RBF) that is appropriately filled out – place in appendix- refer to in methods section

appropriate grammar, tense, and sentence structure used

descriptions are clear and include all appropriate details

clearly describes data and main findings in sufficient detail

uses tables and figures effectively to represent exact values, main effects, or interactions

states results of descriptive and inferential statistics (including significance levels)

provides overview of results

interprets results in light of literature discussed in the introduction

restates hypothesis and includes conclusions supported by the results

Level

1

includes all required components

writing is in APA style

no more than 5 APA formatting errors throughout the entire paper

Level 15-

19

5-7 references with some relevant background information not included

uses one or more reference that isn’t appropriate

hypothesis not clearly stated

generally well written with mostly appropriate grammar and sentence structure

information presented is mostly clear

describes all three elements but one or more descriptions lacks detail

includes RBF that is appropriately filled out or lacking minor details

generally uses appropriate grammar, tense, and sentence structure

descriptions are generally clear and/or concise

describes data and main findings in nearly sufficient detail or lacks clarity

uses tables and figures to represent exact values, main effects, or interactions, but not efficiently

states results of descriptive and inferential statistics, without significance levels

restates results from previous section

interpret results in light of some literature discussed in the introduction

restates hypothesis and states conclusion

Level 5-9 9 pts

includes some components

writing not entirely APA style

some grammatical/tense/sentence structure issues

information presented lacks clarity

no more than 8 APA formatting errors throughout the entire paper

Level 10-14 14 points

3

hypothesis unclear or not included

some use of poor grammar and sentence structure

information presented is not entirely clear and/or not concise

descriptions of elements missing or incomplete, some poor grammar and use of tense, unclear descriptions, lack of appropriate sentence structure

includes RBF but lacks details or contains incorrect information

describes data or main findings without sufficient detail and clarity

uses tables and figures to represent unimportant details of results

states results of descriptive or inferential statistics

does not interpret results in light of literature discussed in the introduction

restates hypothesis without conclusion

Level 1-4 4 pts

APA style writing not used

poor grammar and/or sentence structure

information presented is unclear and doesn’t flow together

no

more than 10 APA formatting errors throughout the entire paper

Level 1-9 9 points

1-2 appropriate references and lacking significant background information

hypothesis not included

poorly written (grammar and tense incorrect making it difficult to read, poor use of sentence structure)

lack of description for all three elements and those included are incomplete and/or poorly written, poor use of grammar and tense, descriptions lack significant details

includes RBF but lacks appropriate information or contains incorrect information

describes data and main findings without sufficient detail and clarity

no figures or tables

no results from descriptive or inferential statistics

limited or no discussion of results

limited or no discussion of literature

limited or no hypothesis statement

Level 0

Not Done

Data

1

1

.

6

4

1

0 17

.

3

8

2

7

1

0 17

0

6

8

9

1

1 17

2.4

8

1 102

1 17

.

7

1

1 17

8.07

2 92

1 17

0.231

6

2

0 17

7

2 104

1 17

.11

2

1

3

2 102

0 17

8

0.306 2

1 17

.59

9

3

0 17

.

2

0.44

7

3 92

0 17

.26

9

5

3

0 17

5

3

0 18

0.336 0.375 1 87

0 18

2

0 18

2 92

1 18

8.23

3

2 92

1 18

4

0.3

3 82

1 18

3

0.3

3 92

0 18

3 87

1 18

3 90

1 19

0.262

1 88

1 19

9.16

0.34 1 90

0 19

5

1

1 19

.3

0.37 0.375 1 72

1 19

0.306 0.314 1 88

0 19

4

0.2

2

1 19

2

0 19

0.405 0.382 3 92

0 19

0.283

3

1 20

0.39

1 89

0 20

6

1 90

0 20

0.313 0.351 1 87

1 20

0.243

1 112

1 20 363 0.257

1 92

1 20

0.214

2 99

1 20

2 92

0 20

2 100

0 20

4

2 89

0 20

0.375

2 78

1 20

8

3

1 20

3 69

0 20

3

0 20

3 72

0 20

0.267 0.331

3 78

1 21

0.299

1 79

1 21

0.558 0.485

6

2 92

1 21

2 95

1 21

2 80

1 21

0.31 0.466

3 81

0 21

0.315 0.389 3 80

0 21

0.302

3 83

0 22

0.314

1 95

0 22

1 80

1 22

0.385

2 96

0 22

0.337 0.362 3 89

0 23

0.306

1 81

1 23

0.38 0.335

1 94

0 23

0.281 0.43

1 88

1 23

.83

2 96

0 23

2 94

1 23

0.393 0.349 2 85

0 23

0.572 0.371

3 95

0 23

3 90

1 24

1

0 24

0.301

2 87

1 24

0.259 2 92

0 24

0.42 0.38

3 65

0 24

0.372

0.38 3 89

1 25

1 105

0 25

8

0.695 1

1 25

0.24 0.334 0.346 1 92

1 25

0.21 0.303

2 91

0 25

2 100

1 25

0.387 2 91

1 25

0.501

3 78

0 25

0.416 0.416 3 77

0 26

0.34

1 101

1 26

0.299 0.29 1 84

1 26

0.352

0.341 3 81

1 26

0.417 0.295 3 66

0 27

0.308 0.337

1 87

1 27

0.34 2 96

0 27

0.282 0.359

2 93

0 27

0.281

2 64

1 27

0.422 0.38 3 79

0 27

3 92

1 28

0.295 0.38

1 91

0 28

0.27 0.37

3 77

1 30

0.334

0.479 1 94

1 30

0.485 1 115

0 30

2 91

0 30

0.352 0.346 2 73

1 30

.81

4

0.366

3 81

0 30

0.331 0.463 3 78

1 31

0.385

1 96

0 31

0.301

1 99

1 31

0.37

2 92

0 31

0.457 0.489 2 98

1 31

2 84

0 31

0.422

3 79

0 32

0.421 0.537

1 113

0 32

0.458

0.376 2 87

1 32

0.361 0.54

3 84

0 32

0.343

3 90

1 33

0.359

2 90

1 33

0.412 0.68 3 95

1 34

0.361

1 86

1 34

2 103

0 34

0.403

2 90

0 34

0.421 0.518

3 79

0 35

0.471

1

1 35

0.457

3 91

1 36

1 91

0 36

0.325

3 79

1 36

3 79

1 37

0.375 0.427

1

1 37

0.581 0.47 1 91

0 37

2 97

0 37

2 82

0 37

0.428 0.547

3 70

0 38

0.348

0.413 2 81

1 39

0.515 1 87

1 39

0.382 2 93

0 39

0.41 0.513 0.533 3 80

1 39

0.533 0.738

3 70

0 40

0.382 0.509 1 97

1 40

0.366 0.371 2 93

1 41

0.428 0.377

1 96

0 41

0.423 0.378 2 75

1 41

0.398 0.442 2 97

1 41

0.335

0.421 3 69

1 42

0.408

1 84

0 43

0.413

0.485 1 109

1 43

2 103

1 43

2 63

0 43

0.413

3 46

1 43

0.323

0.537 3 82

0 44

0.34 0.479 1 88

0 44

0.513

2 102

0 44

0.334 0.408 3 87

1 45

0.605 0.459 1 85

1 45

2 64

0 45

3 88

1 46

0.38

2 101

0 46

3 67

0 48

0.471 0.53 2 79

1 49

1 89

0 49

0.438

1

1 50

3 74

0 50

3 71

1 53

0.403

1 89

1 53

0.353 0.393 2 91

0 54

0.499 0.537 2 81

0 54

0.467 2 99

1 55

1 84

1 55

0.434 0.36 3 73

0 56

0.43

1 101

0 58

0.326

1 98

	Gender		Age		Time In Experiment		Simple		GNG		Choice		Variable		Variable 2
													17	4			93				34	0.								18		0.					43		0.3								25		113
		77				95	0.								23		0.			36				0.					37				102
						31		0.		33		0.		40							0.	38		104
	105		0.231	0.2													92	0.		50
3		64						27			0.				26	0.3				39	0.5				32		65
			45	0.1								91	0.505	0.3		69
4							21				0.						30	0.3		72				99
438.23			0.39				0.334					0.3	75
5		54			0.		35		0.43				0.				41
414.57	0.					24	0.401		74
4	66	0.2					88		0.			44	0.4		73				82
	63	86		0.257		0.	42
3								87				0.29					0.34		0.351								90
329.		55		0.36	0.38		0.4		28	68
54.5				22		0.262
55.438		0.413	0.364			0.361			100
399.					84		0.417				0.382		0.405
	56			0.24	0.506			0.3		85
403.72			0.21		0.282
365.55			0.31			97			0.335
50.014	0.	363		0.315			0.314
328.25	0.227			0.403	0.374
225.62		0.2	83		0.442
			46	0.199			0.346
50.095			0.416		0.572				0.	48		112
3		49	0.288
400.			94	0.234
160.13	0.															20	67	0.265				101
377.					96	0.194	0.595	0.483							81
359.		98	0.333
124.02	0.228			0.295							89
351.88			0.301		0.372
87.232	0.612		0.		53	0.906
410.5	0.244
345.54	0.338		0.387
	0.501	0.4				78
328.54		0.695		0.423
447.5			0.281		0.466		0.349
313.73	0.223	0.253			0.331
494.54	0.	58		0.558	0.481
393.03	0.441	0.443
386.39		0.259			0.393		0.54								79
657.39	0.327	0.385		0.499
55.787	0.233		0.302		0.325					80
310.9		0.303		0.376			0.513
302.03		0.389
598.29			0.3	71		0.341
277.09		0.47
349.12	0.264			0.337			0.359
373.9	0.354	0.916	0.446
451.67		0.518
967.9	0.286
361.15		0.459	0.587
436.63	0.322			0.366
440.83		0.308	0.388			0.457
798.71		0.323	0.952
93.294		0.428
443.37		0.438		0.581
131.52	0.368
362.13	0.406
		103	0.284		0.353	0.876
435.46	2.327	0.562	0.837
89.676	0.449
76.886	0.436
197.17	1.752	0.589	0.552
184.78	0.666		0.463		0.458	121
297.33	0.392	0.379
505.51	0.921		0.738
423.04	0.367
402.59	0.391
418.26	0.258			0.422	0.247
72.887	0.85		0.68		115
64.162
398.08	0.451
165	0.858	0.788	1.548
65.518	0.202	0.309
125.76		0.343		0.467
396.3	1.473
379.37			0.479	0.504
1053.5	0.238
412.47	0.635
440.31		0.27
328.23	0.396
1009.8	0.246	0.318
302.34		0.412
449.84	0.384	0.292
374.3	0.241
554.61	0.272		0.348	0.824
307.19		0.489
935.1		0.408
646.82	0.528
173.78	1.268	1.362
301.95		0.377				0.537		0.515
85.602	0.982
	109	0.		70				0.421
205.92		0.427
140.59	1.138	0.793
423.53	0.426	0.493
243.14			0.471	0.807
572.5	0.316
471.95	1.345	0.621			0.533
570.4	0.999	0.619
452.92	1.261
107.7	0.399
407.49	0.696
90.465	0.373	0.541
96.402	0.689	0.697
528.17	1.196
380.1	0.745		0.434
575.44	5.668	0.579		0.509
101.41		0.378	0.496
146.06	0.613
94.281	0.687	0.77	110
523.02	0.507		0.547
353.62	1.774	1.076	1.165
379.34	0.381		0.398
75.004	1.147	0.759	0.766
97.995	0.475	119
83.701	0.989
442.37		0.605	0.432	0.347
1145.7	2.57	0.557	0.532
253.31	0.564
88.722	0.661
67.835	1.171	0.655
496.77		0.326	0.407
427.23
109.26	1.798
324.75	1.479
339.86	1.433
418.55	0.653
764.9	1.828
112.04	0.609
104.47	0.521
475.71	0.575	0.452
319.03	0.494
445.29	1.893	0.972	1.028
230.58	1.031	0.652	0.628
71.13	4.428	0.586
371.57	0.601
389.09	0.667
315.16	2.453	0.545
951.13	1.294
127.49	0.523
137.35	3.072	0.517	0.712
360.73	0.461	0.529	0.551
70.954	0.433	0.544
90.933	3.459	0.591	1.046
339.81	1.346
91.29	0.495	0.641	3.334
101.31	3.342	0.418	116
135.55	1.862	0.548	7.234
101.92	3.353	0.444	0.915
66.504	3.856	0.703
80.301	4.093
77.673	3.651
392.04	0.854	0.468
101.06	0.756	0.424	0.472
128.55	0.409
399.51	1.179	0.429
109.57	4.268	0.656

Description

s

Variable Description
Gender

Age

Time In Experiment

Simple

GNG

Choice

Variable 2

Gender of participant (0 = Male; 1 = Female)
Age of participant (range is 17 to 68)
Total time (in seconds) it took the participant to complete the three reaction time tasks.
The participant’s average time on the Simple reaction time task.
The participant’s average time on the Go/No Go reaction time task.
The participant’s average time on the Choice reaction time task.
Variable 1	An added variable with categorical data (with three categories), which can be used to represent a variable you created for your study/topic.
An added variable with continuous data (with a range of 46 to 121), which can be used to represent a variable you created for your study/topic.
Notes:	Each column is a variable; each row is a participant.
Log in to the APA OPL website for more information on the three reaction time tasks: https://opl.apa.org/index.html