Methods section

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Methods section
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Purpose of methods section?

• Describe how tested hypothesis
• Key describe for the eyes of fellow
  researchers, rather than the eyes of participants
  ? organize in way that fellow researchers will
  appreciate (by variable)

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Mechanics

• Comes directly after the literature review
• No page break
• Only section of paper that does not recap
  hypothesis

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Participants sub-section

• Explains
• How participants recruited
• How many participants in study
• If had to filter data from any, and, if so, why
• General demographics of participants
• Gender
• Age
• Other relevant information

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Measures section

• Sub-section for each variable
• Explain
• What sorts of things participants presented with
  (e.g., statements, questions)
• Give sample
• Where those items found (citation for previous
  study, or citation of appendix, if original
  measure)

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Continued

• Also explain
• How participants asked to respond (e.g., rate
  agreement)
• Internal reliability of items (will want to
  combine items from a scale, rather than using
  them individually)
• Total range of possible scale scores
• What higher and lower scores mean

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Procedure

• here is where explain the order in which
  participants were given the measures
• (may appear before measures or after in
  correlation research, frequently comes after
  since it makes more sense to talk about the order
  of measures after the measures are explained)

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Applying this to McNulty Karney

• Pull out McNulty Karney, and turn to the
  methods section

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Getting measures for our study

• Each study will have either exact items that were
  given to the participants, or a citation of where
  to get the article that has the exact items
• Using the computers in the room, search for the
  exact items that were given to participants
• Type these up, with the citation of the article,
  the variable that is being measured, and the
  exact items, and email it to me by Thursdays
  class.
• Bring in a hard copy to class.