Now that we have a study idea, it is time to figure out what materials we need for the new study. Among your group members, I want you to assign yourselves a task for the new study. Two people should work on each task, and I’ll let whoever logs in first get to pick which task they want for themselves (see, it pays to login early!) For your first comment in this discussion, say “Task (A B C or D) is mine!” If two people already called a task, then you have to call a different task! Post your materials related to your task here by the due date for this discussion and your instructor will choose the best one from across all groups in this course for the final materials. I know I may not have eight people in all groups, so some tasks may not be attended to in all groups. However, I have at least six groups in this course, so between those six I’ll get all of the materials. To get credit for this discussion, just do your task. Okay, here are the tasks for you to choose from:
Task A: Informed consent form. For these two people, I want you to write up a short informed consent form as participants would see on the first page of a web study. It should include all of the information needed for a participant to decide whether to participate in the study, including: 1) a brief summary of what they will do in the study (but make sure to keep it a little vague so you don’t give away the hypotheses!), 2) the risks of participating, 3) the benefits of participating, 4). The amount of time the study should take, 5) permission to participate.
Task B: Additional Independent Variables. For these two people, you need to focus on how you want to set up the IVs are the variables we manipulate, so concentrate on both of them. First, there is the Primacy Effect manipulation. If our class is using the Positive-first versus Negative-first conditions, that one is done! If using a different way to manipulate the primacy effect, you’ll need to create those. For the second IV, this one is all new, so these two people will need to figure out how to manipulate the second variable (or where to find scales to measure some trait, like a need for cognition scale). Feel free to work together or independently, and your instructor will look for and find the best IVs created by at least one group in the course.
Task C: Additional Dependent Variables. For these two people, concentrate on how you want to measure the variables influenced by your independent variables. That is, how are you going to see what impact the Primacy Effect manipulation has on participants? You can measure this based on scales, fill-in-the-blank questions, rankings, etc. Try to think of manipulation check questions for the new IVs other group members are creating (for example, if you alter participant self-esteem, make sure that those who are supposed to have high self-esteem actually have high self-esteem when compared to those who should have low self-esteem. You’ll need such a manipulation check question to see if they paid similar attention to your other independent variable).
Task D: Debriefing statement. For these two people, you need to write up the debriefing statement that participants will read after they complete the study. Here, tell them about the study (what you did, how you did it, why you did it) and explain your hypotheses and your predictions. Make sure to thank them for participating!
