Study 1 - Foothill College

Research Method
Data Interpretation Exercise
Up to 15pts Extra Credit
For each study exemplar provide a through interpretation of the data. Provide a thorough interpretation of
all aspects of the data. Explain the what the data indicate, what they mean, and how they are relevant to
the real world.
Study 1
Attitudes Toward Facebook: Foothill Students compared to De Anza Students
Question 1
Overall, I think Facebook is a good thing.
Foothill Students
Response f %
Strongly agree 54
Agree 10
Neutral 3
Disagree 5
Strongly Disagree 18
Total 90
De Anza Students
Response f %
Strongly agree 45
Agree 8
Neutral 2
Disagree 1
Strongly Disagree 14
Total 70
Question 2
Do you have a Facebook profile?
Foothill Students
Response f %
Yes 82
No 8
De Anza Students
Response f %
Yes 66
No 4
Facebook Satisfaction (for students who answered yes to question #2)
10 questions with a likert response scale of 1 2 3 4 5
Total score 10 – 50 (high scores = higher levels of satisfaction)
Foothill Students
n = 82
Sample mean = 39
Standard Deviation = 4.5
De Anza Students
n = 66
Sample mean = 42
Standard deviation 8.3

Study 2
Does the style of studying influence performance for students at different educational levels on a
psychology test?
Factor A: Study style
Level1: Elaboration Style – participants are instructed to make connections between their life and the
course material
Level 2: Memorization Style – participants are instructed to memorize the material word for word
Factor B: Education Level
Level 1: High School Juniors
Level 2: College Freshman
Dependent Variable: Percentage correct on a psychology test
Determine the row means and column means. Determine if there are any main effects and interactions.
Graph the results using a line graph. Provide an interpretation of the results.
High School College
Elaboration 65 85
Memorization 67 70
Study 3
A researcher is interested in studying different disciplinary techniques on children in kindergarten. The
researcher uses a within-subjects with an observational component and a survey component. The
research first observed children in their classrooms, then surveyed the children’s parents.
The researcher uses a classroom with 20 children. The researcher sits in the class for one week for a
period of habituation.
Dependent variable = number of times each child misbehaves
Observations
Week 1
The researcher observes the class for a week and records the number of times each child misbehaves.
Week 2
The next week, the instructor uses a new disciplinary technique in which every time a child misbehaves,
she the children write a few sentences about what they did wrong and why it is wrong.
Results
Week 1 Week 2
Mean misbehaviors = 8.5 Mean misbehaviors = 5.4
SD = 4.2 SD = 1.3
A survey was given to the parents of the children following Week 2 (after the special discipline technique
had been utilized).
Question: Over the past week, have your children been more well-behaved or less-well behaved at home?
Results
More well-behaved = 4
Less well-behaved = 16