Structure of the Design and Deconstruct Practical

Stage 1 Psychology

The Basics
Assessment Type: Investigations Folio (25% of semester grade)
Completion report word count: 1,000 words or 6 minutes multimodal
Design and deconstruct: maximum of 3 single sided A4 pages

Structure
Completion Practical
 Introduction
 Results
 Discussion
 Bibliography
 Appendix
Deconstruction
 Maximum 1 A4 page
Design
 Maximum 2 A4 pages

Completion Practical – Caffeine

Title Page
 Needs to include your name, SACEID and a title that represents your hypothesis and IV and DV. It
should not be identical to your hypothesis.

Introduction
 Include some background information i.e. facts, statistics, quotes etc. on how caffeine can affect
reaction time/performance/mood. Can get this from websites, YouTube clips, TedTalks etc. but make
sure it is referenced.
 Aim: what was the purpose of conducting the investigation and why?
 State the independent variable
 State the dependent variable
 Identify the variables that needed to remain constant (the same)
 Identify possible extraneous variables
 Justify why your hypothesis will be supported. Can use evidence from other sources to substantiate
this.

Results
 Need to present mean scores and one other measure (either median or standard deviation). Mean
scores alone not going to give full picture of patterns in the data.
 Need to have at least one table and one graph (can have more).
 Whatever is presented in the table, present the opposite in the graph (i.e. if means are in the table,
present the medians in the graph or vice versa). Don’t repeat data!
 NEVER present raw data in the results section.
 Each graph and table should have a one sentence summary underneath describing what it is showing.
 Don’t analyse or interpret data in this section – do it in the discussion.
Tables
 Needs to have title/s i.e. ‘Table 1 – Title’.
 All numbers should be rounded to two decimal places or less.
 One sentence summary describing what the table/s show.

Graphs
 Column graphs required.
 Needs to have titles i.e. ‘Figure A – Title’.
 IV goes on the x axis, DV goes on the y axis.
 Should start at zero.
  Make sure all columns and axis are correctly labelled.
 Use the correct scale (i.e. if there is a maximum value for y axis, that’s where the graph should
finish).
 One sentence summary describing what the graph/s show.

Discussion

Paragraph 1 – Interpretation
 Summarise the mean and median results for each group.
 Interpret what the results suggest in relation to the hypothesis.
 Interpretation questions to consider:
o Are the mean significantly different from each other (greater than 5)? What does this suggest
about the effect of the IV?
o Are the mean scores similar to the median scores? What does this suggest?
o Do the median scores suggest outliers? What does this mean for the hypothesis?
o What do the standard deviation scores tell us about the variability of the data?
o Conclude whether or not your hypothesis is supported. Can refer back to content from
topic/introduction here to substantiate your conclusions.
Example:
The hypothesis that sleepiness scores are higher when teenagers get less sleep each night is supported by the results.
The mean sleepiness score of the group that slept for less than 8 hours was 24% higher than the group that slept for
more than 8 hours, as shown in figure 1. This shows that sleeping for longer than 8 hours is associated with feeling
less sleepy the next day. There was greater variability in the sleepiness scores of the group that slept for less than 8
hours as seen by the 20% higher standard deviation score, as shown in figure 2. This indicates that there are some
teenagers in that group that experience lower levels of sleepiness and may not actually need to sleep for longer than 8
hours per night.

Paragraphs 2 and 3 – Evaluation of data and procedures

 Identify sources of uncertainty in the data that reduce its quality.
 Discuss the issues with the validity and reliability of the data.
o Is the data 100% accurate? Why/why not?
o Is the data going to be consistent if the investigation was repeated? Why/why not?
  Explain the specific extraneous variables that make the data and procedures limited. Focus on your
chosen variables here!
 Evaluate the design and method used
o What were the strengths and weaknesses of using the chosen design?
o What were the strengths and weaknesses of using the chosen method?
 What are some improvements to the issues above that could result in better results?
Example:
The validity of the investigation was lowered by a number of factors. The score given by the assertiveness
questionnaire may not have been a true reflection of assertiveness if participants did not understand unfamiliar terms,
such as ‘equanimity’. Providing definitions would improve this. Social desirability bias may have also reduced
validity if participants purposely manipulated their answers to appear more assertive than they actually are. Assuring
participants that the answers are completely anonymous would reduce this bias. Some participants did not bother to
read the questions and just answered randomly so their responses were invalid. It would be useful to identify who
these students were by having an in-built validity check so their answers could be excluded from the data set. Some
situational variables also reduced the validity of the investigation. A fire drill halfway through the testing interrupted
participants’ concentration and meant the results may not have been valid. The reliability of the data is low as it is
unlikely that the results would be similar if the study were repeated. There are two main reasons for this; the impact
of participant and situational variables. As already discussed, there were a number of key biases in the sample that
means participant variables would be difficult to replicated in the same way. In addition, there were a number of
situational variables that impacted on the results that decrease reliability. Conducting the investigation in a
classroom environment where students are not always able to act assertively may have decreased their assertiveness
scores. The presence of other students during the testing may have influenced how assertive the participants felt.
Having the participants complete the investigation in isolation in a neutral environment such as a public library may
make the results more likely to be similar if repeated.

Paragraph 2 and 3 – Evaluation of data and procedures (cont.)

 Was the procedure the best way to measure caffeine and reaction time/mood? Why? Why not?
 Evaluate the sample size and representativeness
o Was the sample size big enough?
o Was the sample representative of the wider population? What factors made it
unrepresentative?
Example:
The sample size of 12 is very small and makes it difficult to form a reliable conclusion. Participant variables can
greatly distort the data in a small sample. For example, if there is a person who suffers from a sleeping disorder in
this sample their very high sleepiness score would skew the results more than if the sample was much larger. The
sample of Stage 1 Psychology students is also a poor representation of the population of all South Australians. The
age bias towards 16-17 year olds means that the sleepiness levels may be higher than in the general population due to
study commitments. There is also an educational bias towards Psychology students who may be better informed about
how to manage their sleep than the general population. These biases mean that the results cannot be generalised to
the whole population and external validity is reduced. It would also be difficult to obtain the same results again with
another sample that may not have the same biases in it. This means reliability of the data is also low. To improve both
external validity and reliability, it would be better to randomly select a larger sample of 1000 from the general
population.

Paragraph 4 – Ethical considerations

 Did the procedure adhere to all ethical guidelines in Psychology? Were any of them breached?
 Ensure you discuss at least 3 ethical considerations in depth.
E.g. there was potential for psychological distress in participants of a non English speaking background or with low
levels of literacy because of the complexity of the survey. This may have left them uncomfortable and unable to
exercise their right to withdraw without negative consequence for fear of drawing attention to themselves.
Paragraph 5 - Conclusion
 Summarise your aim.
 Accept or reject the hypothesis.
 Use science inquiry skills (SIS) to justify your reasons for making this conclusion i.e. weaknesses
regarding your design choice.
 Explain why the results of this investigation may not lead to definitive conclusions.

Bibliography
 Include full citations of sources using the Harvard referencing system.
 Can also do in text referencing or footnotes.
 No set number of sources but at least two is a good start.
 Can also cite the sources you use/d to help write the deconstruction and design sections.

Appendix
 Include raw data spreadsheet.
 Can also refer to this in your report i.e. ‘the mean was skewed by several outliers (see appendix 1).’

General information
 Word count for the above is 1,000 words or 6 minutes multimodal.
 This includes the introduction, discussion and conclusion.
 This does not include the title page, results, bibliography, referencing or appendix.
 Write in third person throughout – no personal pronouns i.e. I, we, our, your etc.
 Write in past tense.
 Use scientific psychological terminology (sophisticated with correct terms).

Deconstruction and Design

 You are provided with an open-ended question in which you need to deconstruct relating to the
completion practical topic. You then design a new investigation with an outcome to answer the
question.

Deconstruction
 You will need to breakdown the question into components, observations, concepts or variables which
need to be carefully considered.
  The aim is to choose a component and design a method to test.
You could do this by considering one of the following:
 How caffeine affects other behaviours (not explored in the previous investigation) – exploring
different dependent variables.
 How various other factors could contribute to alertness / concentration or mood – exploring different
independent variables.
  Limited to 1 A4 page (no word limit)
 Suggested formats to present your deconstruction:
o Table (recommended)
o Flow chart
o Organized dot points
o Annotated diagrams
o Can also be a combination of the above

Design
 Once you have deconstructed your question, you need to design a new experiment on how you could
answer it as accurately and appropriately as possible.

 You do not complete your designed practical, but simply write how it would be done.
  Limited to 2 single sided A4 pages (no word limit). This will be submitted with your deconstruction.

Your deconstruction and design will be submitted with your final report as one
big assignment.

Performance standards for the Design and Deconstruction Practical

Performance Standards A B C D E
Investigation, Analysis and Critically Logically Deconstructs a Prepares a basic Attempts a simple
Evaluation deconstructs a deconstructs a problem and deconstruction of deconstruction of
problem and problem and designs a a problem and an a problem and a
Design and deconstruct is designs a logical, designs a well- considered and outline of a procedure for a
thorough, detailed, logical 1 coherent, and considered and generally clear psychological psychological
and coherent. Adheres to 3 detailed clear psychological investigation. investigation.
pages maximum. psychological psychological investigation.
investigation. investigation.

Investigation, Analysis and Accurately and Logically Obtains, records, Describes data Attempts to
Evaluation thoroughly obtains, records, and represents and undertakes record and
obtains, records, and represents data with some some basic represent some
Results section of completion and represents data. errors. interpretation to data.
practical. Data is presented data. formulate a basic
correctly with mean and 2 conclusion.
median scores, titles, axis
labelled correctly and
sentence summaries.

Investigation, Analysis and Systematically Logically Undertakes some Describes data Attempts to
Evaluation analyses and analyses and analysis and and undertakes describe results
interprets data interprets data interpretation of some basic and/or interpret
Paragraph 1 of the completion and evidence to and evidence to data and interpretation to data to formulate
practical – Interpretation of formulate logical formulate evidence to formulate a basic a basic
the data is logical, detailed, conclusions with suitable formulate conclusion. conclusion.
and thoughtful. Evaluates 3 detailed conclusions with generally
mean and median scores and justification. reasonable appropriate
their effect on the hypothesis. justification. conclusions with
some
justification.

Investigation, Analysis and Critically and Logically Evaluates Attempts to Acknowledges

Evaluation logically evaluates procedures and evaluate that procedures
evaluates procedures and some of their procedures or affect data.
Paragraphs 2,3,4,5 and 6 of procedures and their effect on effect on data. suggest an effect
the completion practical. their effect on data. on data.
Evaluation of validity, data.
 reliability, sample, and 4
representativeness of the
results. Strengths and
weaknesses of design and
method considered,
thoughtful and critical. Ethics
well considered and
applicable.

Knowledge and Application Communicates Communicates Communicates Communicates Attempts to

knowledge and knowledge and knowledge and basic communicate
Psychological terminology understanding of understanding of understanding of psychological information about
used consistently and psychology psychology psychology information, using psychology.
accurately, formal tone, coherently, with mostly generally some appropriate
bibliography included with 4 highly effective coherently, with effectively, using terms,
completion practical. Adheres use of effective use of some appropriate conventions,
to word count (Part A = 1,000 appropriate appropriate terms, and/or
words) and page limit (Part B terms, terms, conventions, and representations.
= 3 pages) conventions, and conventions, and representations.
representations. representations.