Part II (3-5 Pages)
Materials (Assessment Tools, Instruments or Apparatus)
1. Do not purposely start a new page for this section (if you were continuing with the paper). Type the word Materials flush with the left margin and italicize it. On the next line, begin typing normal paragraphs.
2. Describe what materials will be used and how they function in the study.
3. If you use a piece of equipment, you must give the model number, company, and state where the company resides (as a two-letter abbreviation).
4. You must give the dimensions (and perhaps other descriptive details) of any important items to be used in the study.
5. If you are using (or modifying) previously written or published questionnaires you should describe these in terms of what they measure; reliability and validity; how they are used (paper/pencil, online?); and, briefly, what populations have these measures been used with previously. If you are using previously written/published interview or focus group guides, you should describe these. Place copies in your Appendices if possible.
6. If you are creating instruments/questionnaires/interview guides, describe these in detail and place copies in your Appendices.
7. Standard equipment such as furniture, stopwatches, pencils and paper, can usually be mentioned without providing a lot of details. In fact, you may often simply mention these items in passing as part of the procedure.
8. Be careful not to describe procedures in this section. You should make clear what purpose the apparatus served, but do not give a lot of details on the use of the apparatus at this point. One hint in this regard is to avoid using action verbs in this section.
Procedure
1. Do not purposely start a new page for this section. Type the word Procedure flush with the left margin and italicize it. On the next line, begin typing normal paragraphs.
2. Carefully summarize each step in the execution of the study.
3. Indicate what a typical test, trial, or session will involve.
4. Describe any phases that the study will have or any instructions that the subjects will receive.
5. When referring to groups, try to use descriptive labels. For example, instead of saying Group 1 or the experimental group, you might say the drugged group. Another technique in this regard is to use abbreviations that emphasize meaning. For example, There will be three groups, including, the control group which will receive 0 mg/kg of morphine (M0), a low dose group receiving 1 mg/kg of morphine (M1), and a high dose group receiving 4 mg/kg of morphine (M4).
