Homework 2

 

 

Week 2 Assignment – “Data 1: Experiment”

 

Learning Outcomes

 

2. Apply the principles of the scientific method to social science research.

 

6. Identify and differentiate basic research designs and determine which is appropriate for a given

 

research problem.

 

9. Apply the principles of ethical research.

 

10. Gather interactive and nonreactive data.

 

11. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data.

 

12. Collect, analyze, and critically evaluate empirical data.

 

13. Present research results to specific audiences.

 

Directions

 

Assignment 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

. Then administer that

 

experiment to

 

 

two other people and discuss it with them afterward. The data you collect will be combined

with other student collected data to form the complete data set for your major “Data Analysis” exercise

 

due in Week 8. Because other students are depending on you, you

 

 

must complete this assignment on

 

time so that the data can be summarized for your “Data Analysis” assignment.

 

Write up a summary of your findings and experience. What were the strengths and weaknesses of this

 

experiment? Were there similarities or differences between the results or were the results homogenous?

 

Can you explain why the results may be or may not be similar? What challenges did you encounter?

 

What would you do different next time if you were to repeat this exercise? What were the differences in

 

participating in this experiment yourself and administering it to each of your chosen participants?

 

You will post your “Reflection” essay in the forum provided then participate in a conversation with the

 

other students and compare your experiences. Post your “Reflection” as early as possible in the week to

 

allow time for a good discussion to develop.

 

A Participate in the online experiment by going to

 

 

http://www.understandingprejudice.org/iat/,

 

reading the instructions, and choosing either the “Race Test” or the “Gender Test.”

 

B Administer that experiment to

 

 

two other people.

 

C Record these data and submit them to your instructor in the Excel spreadsheet provided.

 

D Write up a “Reflection” on your findings and experience (400 to 500 words) that answers the

 

above questions.

 

E Post your write-up in the “Reflections” discussion thread and respond to at least 2 other student

 

postings

 

©

 

 

 

 

Format

 

o

 

 

Fill in the empty spreadsheet according to the coding instructions below.

 

o

 

 

The format and appearance should be professional and will be included as a portion of your

 

grade.

 

o

 

 

You should provide a reference to any citation used in your posting using APA format.

 

Include web links, as appropriate in your references.

 

Grading Criteria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Covered the topic and project requirements thoroughly:

 

A –

 

 

Participate in the online experiment. 7

 

B –

 

 

Administer that experiment to two other people & submit results

 

for all three experimental trials in the spreadsheet provided.

 

8

 

C –

 

 

Write up a summary of your findings and experience and post it in

 

the “Reflections” discussion thread.

 

10

 

D –

 

 

Respond to at least 2 other student postings in this “Reflections”

 

thread.

 

10

 

Format –

 

 

 

 

5

 

Total 40

 

Questions and Issues:

 

If you have any questions or issues, please post them to the Q & A or Reflections discussion thread.

 

Experiment Directions:

 

The study of prejudice and discrimination is one of the most important research areas in the development

 

of Social Psychology. You will participate in and collect data for a study on prejudice in this class using

 

five different forms of data collection. The first will be an “implicit attitudes” experiment.

 

Your instructor will distribute a link to an experiment that you can take online. Complete this experiment

 

and then administer it to three other people. Record those data according to the directions and submit

 

them to your instructor so that they may be included in the complete data set. This

 

 

must be completed

 

on time.

 

Write up your summary and reflection of the experiment (400 to 500 words) and post it in the “Reflections”

 

thread. Remember that this is not an analysis of these data (that will come in Week 8), it is a reflection on

 

the methodology and your experience both as a participant and an administrator. Remember that you

 

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Park University SO308 – Assignment 2 – Page 3 10/27/2007

 

cannot begin generalizing from such a small amount of data thus far collected, but you can begin

 

speculating about interesting patterns that you may want to test in the full data set. Reply substantively

 

and critically to at least two other students.

 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

 

1. Go to the “Project Implicit” implicit association tests hosted at the “Understanding Prejudice”

 

website:

 

 

http://www.understandingprejudice.org/iat/.

 

2. Select either the “Race Test” or the “Gender Test.”

 

3. Open the spreadsheet “DA1data.xls” in MS Excel. This is where you will enter your data from

 

each of your four experimental trials.

 

4. Fill out the pre-experiment form on the website.

 

5. Enter which IAT participant chose in the “TEST” column of the spreadsheet.

 

0 = Race Test

 

1 = Gender Test

 

6. Record the following information from the “Your Demographics” section of the pre-experiment

 

form in the appropriate cells of the DA1data.xls spreadsheet associated with “Participant 1” (the

 

second row, under the column headers)

 

a. YOUR SEX:

 

0 = Female

 

1 = Male

 

9 = No Answer

 

b. YOUR AGE: in years (two-digit number)

 

c. RACE/ETHNICITY:

 

0 = American Indian or Alaskan Native

 

1 = Asian or Pacific Islander

 

2 = Black — Not of Hispanic Origin

 

3 = Hispanic

 

4 = White — Not of Hispanic Origin

 

5 = Multiracial — Black and White

 

6 = Multiracial — Other Combination

 

7 = Other Race or Unknown

 

9 = No Answer

 

d. HIGHEST EDUCATION

 

0 = less than high school (elementary school, junior high, some high school)

 

1 = high school graduate

 

2 = some college/associate’s degree

 

3 = bachelor’s degree

 

4 = some graduate school/master’s degree/M.B.A./other advanced degree

 

5 = J.D./M.D./Ph.D.

 

9 = No Answer

 

7. Participant in a trial of the chosen IAT experiment.

 

8. Code the result of this trial according to the appropriate scale:

 

RACE Test

 

0 = Strong automatic preference for White people

 

1 = Moderate automatic preference for White people

 

2 = Slight automatic preference for White people

 

3 = Little or no automatic preference

 

4 = Slight automatic preference for Black people

 

5 = Moderate automatic preference for Black people

 

6 = Strong automatic preference for Black people

 

GENDER Test

 

0 = Strong association between male and career

 

1 = Moderate association between male and career

 

2 = Slight association between male and career

 

3 = Little or no gender association with career or family

 

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Park University SO308 – Assignment 2 – Page 4 10/27/2007

 

4 = Slight association between female and career

 

5 = Moderate association between female and career

 

6 = Strong association between female and career

 

Answer the following questions about your experience taking this IAT and record them in the

 

appropriate places in the spreadsheet.

 

9. The IAT reflects something about my automatic thoughts and feelings concerning this topic.

 

0 = Strongly Agree

 

1 = Agree

 

2 = Disagree

 

3 = Strongly Disagree

 

9 = No Answer

 

10. The IAT does not reflect anything about my thoughts or feelings – unconscious or otherwise.

 

0 = Strongly Agree

 

1 = Agree

 

2 = Disagree

 

3 = Strongly Disagree

 

9 = No Answer

 

11. Whether I like my IAT score or not, it captures something important about me.

 

0 = Strongly Agree

 

1 = Agree

 

2 = Disagree

 

3 = Strongly Disagree

 

9 = No Answer

 

12. My IAT score reflects the culture that I am exposed to, but not me, personally.

 

0 = Strongly Agree

 

1 = Agree

 

2 = Disagree

 

3 = Strongly Disagree

 

9 = No Answer

 

13. I found this experience to be eye opening.

 

0 = Strongly Agree

 

1 = Agree

 

2 = Disagree

 

3 = Strongly Disagree

 

9 = No Answer

 

14. I found this experience to be eye opening interesting.

 

0 = Strongly Agree

 

1 = Agree

 

2 = Disagree

 

3 = Strongly Disagree

 

9 = No Answer

 

15. I found this experience to be frustrating

 

0 = Strongly Agree

 

1 = Agree

 

2 = Disagree

 

3 = Strongly Disagree

 

9 = No Answer

 

16. Repeat with two other participants of your choice and record their data in your spreadsheet.

 

17. Check and clean your data.

 

18. Submit your spreadsheet electronically to your instructor.

 

19. Complete the “Reflection” portion of this assignment according to the instructions (above).

 

REMEMBER: The “DA1data.xls” file is keyed to these instructions. So, for example, your answer for

 

Step 6b (above) goes in the spreadsheet column labeled VAR_6b (“variable 6b”). Each participant is one

 

case, and each case gets its own row. Confirm that each observation goes in the proper row and column.

 

Incorrectly completed data will earn a significant deduction to your grade on this assignment.