02. The Research Process: Ideas to Innovations

NOBA: Research Designs

An article by Christie Napa Scollon that outlines the basics of research designs in psychology, including information about experimental vs. correlational design. This reading would be a good introduction to the topic, or a good review for students who previously took a methods course. You can access the full chapter here.

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Practice: Having Fun with Operational Definitions

One of the challenges instructors face when discussing conceptual and operational definitions of variables is helping students to understand that the operational definition of a variable involves measuring the variable in a concrete, quantitative manner. The practice activity asks students to identify the relevant variables of interest and then suggest ways that these variables can

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Stats in Everyday Life: Z-scores and the Top 20 Athletes Ever

“Top” lists of anything are always popular because people want to see how the list compares to their own beliefs. Readers then get to debate the merits of who was included or excluded. When it comes to a diverse group such as athletes, it can be difficult to compare across sports. Please click here for

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Activity: Research Idea Diary

This activity takes students(individually or as part of a group) through a series of steps to generate research ideas from their daily experiences. Next, students have the opportunity to select a research design that can test their idea. Please click here for the file.

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