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BIOL/PSYC 3305 Introduction to Scientific Research - Exam 2 (100 points)

Name:

Courtney Zahn

Answer ALL questions below. Because this is a take-home test, you may use your textbook, and any other sources you wish
(provided you work alone). You may also consult with your instructor. However, your answers are expected to be in greater detail
than on an in-class exam. You are encouraged to use discussions with your instructor, textbook material, research articles, and
personal experiences to adequately answer the questions below. Use complete sentences in your answers. The exam is due by
Monday, December 1, at 5 pm. If you have any questions before then, please email one of your instructors. Save your exam in a
Word document and upload to the designated site on Moodle. Include both the questions and your answers.

1. Using your research proposal topic, describe a potential research hypothesis. Then, take that hypothesis
and:
a. State the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis (i.e., the research hypothesis). (2 points)
The research (alternative) hypothesis states that although adolescents form stronger relationships with
their custodial parent following divorce, they could form equally strong relationships with the
noncustodial parent if the quality of the contact is improved through authoritative parenting and
participation in a variety of activities.
The null hypothesis states that adolescents will not have equally strong relationships with the custodial
parent and the noncustodial parent despite efforts of the noncustodial parent to improve relationship
quality through authoritative parenting and participation in a variety of activities.
b. Explain the concepts of Type I error, Type II error, alpha (or significance) level, and power,
as they relate to YOUR hypothesis. (8 points)
Type I error would occur if I assumed a relationship existed between improved relationship quality and
the involvement of fathers in a variety of activities, when it really does not. Type I error occurs when
there is a wrongful assumption of the researcher that the variables are related when they are not, so the
null hypothesis would be wrongfully rejected. The probability of committing a Type I error is alpha,
which I would set to p<.05. This means I am willing to accept only a 5% probability of making a Type I
error. Type II error would occur if I assumed there was no relationship between improved relationship
quality and father involvement in a variety of activities, when in reality there was. This means that I
would wrongly accept the null hypothesis. Power is extremely important to the validity and significance
of my study. If I chose a sample size too large, my research would be too expensive, and if I chose a
sample size too small, my research would fail to be statistically conclusive. If my study is underpowered,
I will probably not get the grant needed to perform my research.
c. Describe at least two ways you could increase the power of your study? (4 points)
I could increase the power of my study by increasing the sample size from the sophomore class at a large
public school to the sophomore classes at multiple public schools. This would provide a better
representation of the population. Another way I could increase the power of my study would be to
decrease random error. I could do this by increasing the duration of the study, and by accounting for as
many extraneous variables as possible.
d. What does it mean to have a statistically significant finding (p<.05)? (6 points)

Tests for statistical significance address the question of whether or not the relationship
exists between the two variables, or if the outcomes were results of chance occurrence. A
statistically significant finding of p<.05 means that there is less than a 5% chance of Type I

error, which involves assuming a relationship exists between variables when it really does
not. The null hypothesis can be rejected when a finding is statistically significant.
2. You want to do an experiment comparing two groups to test the effectiveness of a new drug to treat
ADHD in elementary school children.
a. Identify the independent variable and explain how you would manipulate it. (5 points)
The independent variable is the new drug for treatment of ADHD. Manipulation of the independent
variable would include double blind conditions using presence/absence technique. Children in the
experimental group will receive a capsule that contains the new ADHD medication, and the children in
the control group will receive a capsule that contains the placebo.
b. Identify the dependent variable. CLEARLY specify how it will be operationalized. (5 points)
The dependent variable is each childs response to the active drug or placebo in regards to ADHD
symptoms. The responses will be measured through careful naturalistic observations of impulsivity,
hyperactivity, and inattention during a typical school day. Impulsivity can be measured by the number of
times per hour the child calls out or interrupts the teacher or another classmate without raising a hand.
Hyperactivity can be measured by the number of times per hour the child gets out of his/her seat,
Inattention can be measured by the number of minutes the child is continuously on a task before
becoming distracted along with ability to properly follow instructions.
c. Describe how you would address possible demand characteristics and experimenter effects in
this experiment. (6 points)
To maintain control of the experiment and insure the validity of the results, I would perform a double
blind experiment. The double blind method will control both demand characteristics and experimenter
effects. The placebo control group will be used as a means to control demand characteristics. I would
hire assistants who were unaware of my hypothesis to collect data to decrease the risk of demand
characteristics. Avoiding contact with the children would insure the validity of the results.
d. Identify two additional possible extraneous variables and describe what you would do to control
them. (6 points)
Differential influence regarding the gender of the children is an extraneous variable that can be
controlled by random assignment. Random assignment will control gender influences by insuring the
children and their characteristics will be distributed as equally as possible in the two groups. Another
extraneous variable would be the severity and/or type of ADD the children have. This could be controlled
through matching the groups based on their ADD severity/type. I would rank order all of the children on
ADD severity/type and then match the experimental group to the control group through random
assignment.
3. Describe two potential problems/limitations with your research proposal. Write your answer as if it were
in the Discussion section of a completed manuscript. (10 points)

My research had several limitations. The primary limitations of the study were the small
sample size and the lack of diversity within the chosen high schools. Increasing the sample
size by choosing multiple high schools over a large and diverse area, would allow for a
better representation of the population. Another limitation is the adolescent sample.

Permission must be granted by the custodial parent in order for adolescents to participate.
Many adolescents were denied permission. It is probable that there are distinct
differences in the characteristics of the adolescents involved in the study and those who
were not.
4. Describe two suggestions for future research studies that would follow from the findings (or lack of
findings) you would have obtained had you run your study. Write your answer as if it were in the
Discussion section of a completed manuscript. (10 points)
Future research efforts are needed to examine father-adolescent relationships in low income and high
income families, because effective strategies for improving relationship quality may differ depending on
financial situations. Also, future research is needed to develop strategies for improving father-adolescent
relationships after divorce resulting from the fathers extramarital affairs. Loss of trust would largely
impact the effectiveness of the methods involved in the current study.
5. Recall the following statistical tests: independent-groups t-test, One-way ANOVA, and multiple
regression. For each of these three statistical methods, describe a potential research hypothesis (using
your research proposal topic, if possible) that could be tested validly with that statistical method. Be
sure to clearly describe exactly how all relevant variables would be measured and explain why each
method would be appropriate for that particular research hypothesis. (18 points)

Independent-groups t-test Hypothesis: Following divorce, increased authoritative

parenting and parental involvement in a variety of activities will improve relationship
quality between noncustodial parents and their adolescent sons more than it would
improve the relationship quality with their adolescent daughters.
This hypothesis could be measured with an independent-groups t-test because daughters
and sons are two entirely different groups that could be tested separately. The means of
the two groups would then be compared to determine whether there is a statistical
significance difference between the results. This would allow me to accept or reject the
null hypothesis.
One-way ANOVA Hypothesis: Following divorce, increased authoritative parenting
improves the relationship quality between the noncustodial parent and their adolescent
daughters if the change in parenting methods begins one year after divorce, but does not
improve relationship quality if the change begins too soon after the divorce or too long
after the divorce.
This hypothesis could be measured with one-way ANOVA because it includes one
categorical variable (adolescent daughters), one continuous variable (relationship quality),
and three independent variables relating to different timeframes following the divorce
(one year after divorce, too soon = within first month of divorce, too long = two years after
divorce). The one-way ANOVA would reveal if the time when the change in parenting
methods begins impacts the improvement of the relationship.

Multiple regression Hypothesis: Following divorce, increased authoritative parenting

improves the relationship quality between the noncustodial parent and their adolescent
daughters depending on the length of time after divorce, the reason for the divorce, and
the age of the adolescent.
This hypothesis could be measured with multiple regression analysis because it seeks to
learn more about the relationship between three independent/predictor variables (the
length of time after divorce, the reason for the divorce, and the age of the adolescent) and
one dependent variable (relationship quality). A multiple regression analysis would
determine the statistical significance of each of the independent variables on the
dependent variable. It would also show which independent variable had the most
statistical significance. This would be very valuable for future research.
6. Examine the three groups in the table below and assume the data are normally distributed. You need to
decide on the appropriate statistics to use to analyze the data.
a. Describe, step-by-step, how you would go about deciding what statistical procedures you would
use for this study. Following a logical, systematic process in making your decision. Note: If
you give the correct statistic without explaining how you came to that decision, then your
answer is not correct. (8 points)
The first step in my process of selecting the appropriate statistical procedure for this study would be to
ask myself what kind/level of data has been collected, and what is the goal or purpose of this study. After
looking at the data, I conclude the level of measurement to be continuous (ratio). I also conclude that the
goal of the study is to determine differences in tryptophan concentration between each of the three
groups. My next step would be to determine if the data is parametric or nonparametric. The data are
normally distributed, so this tells me the data is parametric. I would assume the samples to be matched
because they were all collected at the same time and from the same number trials. Next, I would
determine the number of variables in order to choose the correct statistical test. The data relates to only
one dependent variable tryptophan concentration in the mouse brain. There are three independent
variables - saline, clenbuterol, and clenbuterol+propranolol. This brings me to the realization that I
should use an ANOVA test. A one-way ANOVA test is used when the data is normally distributed and the
number of observations in each group are balanced. The one-way ANOVA test will allow me to calculate
the mean of the observations within each group, and then compare the variance among the individual
means to the average variance within each group.
b. Are the saline and clenbuterol groups significantly different (p<.05)? Are the clenbuterol and
clenbuterol+propranolol groups significantly different? How can you tell? (12 points)
There was a statistically significant difference between groups as determined by one-way ANOVA
(F(2,18) = 238.2829, p = 1.12E-13), but in order to determine if there are statistically significant
differences between two of the three groups, I must run post hoc tests. See below.
Anova: Single Factor
SUMMARY
Groups

Count

Su
m

Averag
e

Varian
ce

5
3.35
9
6.51
7
7
4.02
7
6

Column 1

Column 2
Column 3

ANOVA
Source of
Variation
Between
Groups
Within
Groups

SS
0.7915
68
0.0298
98

Total

0.8214
66

df
2
18

0.4798
57
0.931
0.5751
43

MS
0.3957
84
0.0016
61

0.0033
38
0.0011
44
0.0005
01

F
238.28
29

Pvalue
1.12E
-13

F crit
3.5545
57

20

There was a statistically significant difference between saline and clenbuterol groups as well as
between clenbuterol and clenbuterol+propranolol because the p-values for both were < .05 as
determined by t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Unequal Variances.
saline and clenbuterol
t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Unequal Variances

Mean
Variance
Observations
Hypothesized Mean
Difference
df
t Stat
P(T<=t) one-tail
t Critical one-tail
P(T<=t) two-tail
t Critical two-tail
clenbuterol and
clenbuterol+propranolol

Variable
1
0.47985
7
0.00333
8
7
0
10
17.8294
3.29E09
1.81246
1
6.58E09
2.22813
9

Variable 2
0.931
0.001144
7

t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Unequal

Variances
Variabl
e1
Mean
Variance
Observations
Hypothesized Mean
Difference
df
t Stat
P(T<=t) one-tail
t Critical one-tail
P(T<=t) two-tail
t Critical two-tail

0.931
0.0011
44
7

Variabl
e2
0.5751
43
0.0005
01
7

0
10
23.214
9
2.49E10
1.8124
61
4.98E10
2.2281
39

Table 1.
Concentration of tryptophan (in ng/ml) in mouse brain hypothalami 1 hour after injection
with saline, clenbuterol, or clenbuterol+propranolol
Injection
Saline (Control)
Clenbuterol
Clenbuterol+Propranolol
0.436
0.932
0.545
0.532
0.945
0.558
0.444
0.987
0.599
0.428
0.899
0.601
0.558
0.885
0.578
0.532
0.921
0.589
0.429
0.948
0.556