Introduction: Designing and conducting an intervention study is an arduous task for students that requires strong teaching and mentoring practices from psychology instructors. Statement of the Problem: Most research methods textbooks simply describe how an intervention is incorporated into a research study design (Johnson & Christensen, 2016),…

Background: Allen, Fielding, East, et al. demonstrated experimentally that structural awareness, or the ability to disregard a research problem's topic and instead focus on its structural features, can be trained using StatHand (https://stathand.net). Most training benefits persisted for 1 week. Objective: The objective was to assess the…

Introduction: Psychological science is undergoing a period of change and transformation. Statement of the Problem: The crisis in confidence over psychological science has led to an emphasis on larger and larger sample sizes, sustaining an unfortunate neglect of single-subject research designs in undergraduate education. Literature Review: We…

Researchers often rely on undergraduate students to participate in psychological studies and so ethical guidelines state that there must be educational value to their participation. In previous studies that have asked undergraduates whether they felt they learned something new from participating in research, students have generally said yes.…

Integral to most undergraduate psychology degree programs are research methods courses. Students learn about theory, study design and hypothesis testing, and gain knowledge that is assessed by laboratory reports. We describe a problem-based learning approach with an emphasis on acquisition of study design skills. Working in small groups, students…

This article presents an innovative technique for teaching the principles of experimental design in a way that is entertaining and engaging for students. Following a lecture on experimental design, students participate in an experiment in which the teacher uses a funny segment from a movie to test the influence of implicit social norms. Randomly…

We describe an exercise involving the power balance wristband (PBW) designed to enhance students' ability to design scientific tests. An instructor demonstrated that the PBW improved a student's balance, strength, and flexibility and invited students to design and conduct a brief scientific test of the PBW. Research methods students who…

Students in research methods courses, especially those taught in an intense format, might be hard pressed to actually conduct research studies due to logistics and time constraints. I describe the use of single-case research design and a personalized behavior project as an alternative research project for students in an undergraduate psychology…

This article presents student and faculty ratings of electronic editing (EE) functions (i.e., track changes, insert comments, highlighting) as used for "e-feedback" on written assignments. Students reported increased convenience, clarity of expectations, amount of feedback, and writing ability as well as substantial improvement in EE skills…

Undergraduate students (N = 47), enrolled in 2 separate psychology research methods classes, evaluated a power analysis lab demonstration and homework assignment. Students attended 1 of 2 lectures that included a basic introduction to power analysis and sample size analysis. One lecture included a demonstration of how to use a computer-based power…

Uses an experience from a senior-level research design class to disprove textbook suggestions that the illusory movement of the autokinetic effect is susceptible to suggestion. Cautions instructors not to use these misleading textbook accounts simply because they are a "grabber." (Author/GEA)

Presents the use of a poster session as an integral part of an experimental design course. Describes how the principles of experimental design are demonstrated when undergraduates design and conduct original experiments, using radishes as subjects, and present their results in a poster session. Discusses the benefits of using radishes as subjects.…

Despite its apparent simplicity, random assignment is an abstract concept for many students. This article describes a classroom demonstration that uses a standard deck of playing cards. In small groups, students randomly assign playing cards (i.e., participants) to 2 treatment groups. Following randomization, students compare the relative…

Students critiqued research contained in the book "Rival Hypotheses" (Huck and Sandler, 1979), which contains studies dealing with knowledge claims of practical importance, e.g., the evidence that saccharine causes cancer. (RM)

Provides a point-by-point response to the questions raised in Pasnak's review (S0 515 248). Attention is called to design and measurement issues for future research. (Author/JDH)