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intro.psych (Psyco 105) Discussion: Group 3 Discussion Group: Reading the Research - Social Development: Is the research design appropriate for the research question?
By Jene on Sunday, October 11, 1998 - 03:32 pm:
One problem with the research design, it seems, is that it is hard to determine how many students of different ages were interviewed. How many 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 year olds participated. Was it consistent?
People at this age may want to brag a bit and therefore may stretch the truth. Having an interview may either make the participants tell the truth or if they are uncomfortable they may be more likely to lie. I'm wondering if you could hold some info. back: allowing the students to feel more comfortable or less pressure.
A correlational study is a good way to do this type of study. An experiment is practically impossible. A field study might be interesting (like the average age difference in marriages) but is hard to do at a high school in this type of study.
Otherwise, the research design seems appropriate for the research question. Subjects were obtained voluntarily from various classrooms and the study was well explained to participants (eg. there are no right and wrong answers). Using age limits, rather than having the subject state an age off the top of his head, also was a good feature of this study.
By Mollyc on Tuesday, October 13, 1998 - 11:29 am:
By Montresor on Wednesday, October 14, 1998 - 12:43 pm:
I mentioned a bit about cause and effect in the intro discussion