Research Project Instructions
Research Project Module
Step 1: Learn about Optimism
- To get started on your Optimism Project, you’ll read a scholarly journal article and a non-scholarly article on the topic of optimism. provided in the course. As you read, think about what each article was about, how the study was conducted (including the sample and methodology), and what the key findings were. You’ll also find one additional article on your own that relates to both optimism and the two groups you plan to compare. You’ll summarize what this third article says and explain how it connects to your project.
- Note: You'll write about all three resources in the Week 5 Discussion first, and will then revise and expand on that work in the Introduction section of your final paper (see Step 3 below).
Step 2: Collect Optimism Data
- As part of your Optimism Project, you’ll be using a provided Optimism Questionnaire to collect data from two groups of 15 people, for a total of 30 participants. Your goal is to compare the average optimism scores between the two groups.
- You get to decide what two groups you want to compare. These could be based on profession, age, gender, education, lifestyle, or any other clearly defined variable. For example, you might compare nurses vs. doctors, people 18-49 vs. people 50 and up, or churchgoers vs. non-churchgoers.
- You have freedom in choosing this variable, but it must be a clearly defined variable with clear parameters for who belongs in each of the two groups. For example, you should avoid vague terms like "young" vs "old" and instead choose terms that are operationally defined (like a person's actual age). You should also choose a serious variable that is relevant to the topic of Optimism (for instance, don't choose something like "15 people who like chocolate ice cream vs. 15 people who don't"). You may be creative and use something like "churchgoers vs. non-churchgoers" as long as this is something that interests you and you can discuss it in your paper.
- Once you’ve picked your variable, you’ll give the survey to 15 people from each group. You’ll then use the Data Excel Template Spreadsheet provided in the course to enter and analyze your data. The spreadsheet will help you calculate optimism scores, generate graphs, and run an independent samples t-test to compare the groups. Be sure to follow the step-by-step instructions for entering and analyzing your data correctly.
Step 3: Write the Optimism Paper
Using the data you've collected and the articles you've read, write an APA-formatted report that includes the following sections. Use the bolded section headings below in your paper.
- Introduction: (minimum of 300 words)
- Provide a brief 1-2 sentence introduction to the topic of Optimism.
- Summarize key points from the provided scholarly peer-reviewed article and the non-scholarly article, and one additional article you found that relates to optimism and your two comparison groups. Make sure to include in-text citations so it is clear which articles you are discussing in this section.
- Explain how the articles connect to the Optimism project research.
- Describe the variable you chose for your survey collection (for instance, did you choose gender? Age groups? Something else?). Describe why you chose this variable, and discuss whether or not you expected a difference in mean optimism scores between your two groups within this variable and why.
- Note: You may reuse and expand on what you wrote in the Week 5 Discussion, but be sure to revise for clarity and flow in your paper.
- Methodology: Briefly describe the following with regard to data collection (make a separate heading for each subheading below):
- Participants
- Discuss any additional important demographic information you feel is relevant, or even how you know the participants if at all.
- Materials
- Describe the questionnaire, including the number of items and the response set (i.e., the Likert scale options)
- Procedure
- Describe how the data was collected. How did you find participants and ask them to participate? Did you use a paper or online survey?
- Participants
- Potential Bias and Patient Care: Answer the following questions in a brief paragraph, ideally 3-5 sentences.
- What bias(es) could exist from how you collected your data? For example, were all your participants from the same area, school, or workplace?
- If the data you collected was being used to make decisions regarding patient care, what limitations in your sample (e.g., size, diversity, socioeconomic factors) might make your results less generalizable to others? Note, this connects to the "How Data Drives Compassionate Care" video you watched in Week 4.
- Descriptive Statistics Results:
- Include a screenshot of the descriptive statistics output for each group.
- Briefly explain what the descriptive statistics show: Are the means similar or different? What do the standard deviations of each group tell you? Based on the skew and kurtosis, are the distributions normal? If not, explain.
- Include a screenshot of the frequency polygons for each group.
- Summarize what the information from the polygons shows in terms of whether the data is normally distributed or not. Use this information to support your discussion about whether the data appear normally distributed.
- Cite the textbook in this section.
- Hypothesis Test: Students will also assume normality and apply an independent samples t-test to analyze if the difference between the two groups is statistically significant.
- Clearly state the null and alternative hypotheses.
- Report the p-value from the Excel spreadsheet.
- State the conclusion based on the p-value. Did you reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis?
- What do these findings mean? Did the two groups have significant differences in their optimism score or not?
- Discussion: (minimum of 300 words).
- Briefly summarize the interpretations of your research findings. Did the two groups differ from each other? If so, then how?
- Relate your results back to the main concept of Optimism and the information shared in the Introduction section. How did your results compare to the information already discussed? Did the data turn out the way you expected? Feel free to cite information from your Introduction in this section.
- APA Format: Students must provide a References page, including APA formatted references for at least 4 sources. In-text citations need to be appropriately used and correct.
- One of the provided scholarly articles.
- One of the provided non-scholarly articles.
- One additional source (can be a scholarly article or a non-scholarly article)
- Course textbook
- Excel File: Attach the completed Excel file with your Optimism Project file submission. Be sure to watch the video on the Data Excel Template Spreadsheet page for instructions on attaching your Excel file (you don't want to put the Excel file through TurnItIn like you are with the paper - you want to attach the Excel file itself as a comment to the assignment separately after you've submitted the paper).