1 MILESTONE 4: SLEEP & ONLINE PSYCH GRAD STUDENTS
Milestone 4: Sleep and Online Psychology Graduate Students
Student X
Research Methods in Psychology I
Dr. Y
date
2 SLEEP & ONLINE PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS
Sleep and Online Psychology Graduate Students
Method
Participants
The number of participants for this study will be those SNHU psychology graduate
students who self-select into the study. All participants will be gathered from a population of
current online psychology graduate students enrolled in the Southern New Hampshire
University Online Studies program. The demographics of this population will not be known as
demographic considerations are not part of this study’s hypothesis.
Materials
The material for this study will consist entirely of a survey. The survey will be created
and administered in Qualtrics, an online platform endorsed for use by SNHU for this project.
Qualtrics will allow those who self-select into the study to participate will relative ease.
Procedures
After the survey is constructed, a unique link to the survey will be posted in the
Psychology Student Lounge at SNHU to provide access for current graduate students to
complete. Participants will be asked to indicate their responses to topics such as the number of
hours slept per night and questions related to their stress levels. These variables will be
analyzed to determine if the hypothesis for this study can be accepted.
Ethical Considerations
This study will be authorized by SNHU. The restrictions place on this study (e.g., only
being allowed to collect data from fellow students) help ensure the ethicality of this effort. In
addition, informed consent information will be presented and only those who grant consent will
be allowed to participate. Any prospective participant can choose to not participate, or can
3 SLEEP & ONLINE PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS
choose to exit the study at any time, without any penalty or negative repercussions. Neither the
researcher nor the class instructor will know who did or did not participate in this study.
Because this study will ask about personal issues (i.e., sleep and stress), there is a
possibility that some respondents could experience some level of distress. For example,
participants may not have had full awareness of the amount of stress in their lives and
responding to questions about stress could trouble them, actually increasing their stress levels.
Participants will therefore be provided with the phone number of the SNHU Counseling Center.
The suggestion will also be made to contact a local Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor
for assistance should they feel the need to do so.
Data Analysis Plan
Prepare New Data
The raw data from the online survey will be entered into SSPS. Each variable will be
examined for descriptive data, such as the mean and standard deviation. Scatterplots and
boxplots will be created to find any outliners which may affect the data analysis. Outliers, if any,
will be addressed based on their number and severity.
Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive statistics will, at a minimum, include means, ranges, and standard deviations
for each variable. This information will be presented in table form for clarity. Scatterplots and
boxplots will be used, if appropriate based on the data received.
Analytic Procedures
According to Rosnow and Rosenthal (2013), variables are not examined in isolation but
in context with other variables and the nature of the study. The relationship between sleep
quantity and stress will be analyzed using Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation (r), which is
4 SLEEP & ONLINE PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS
appropriate for seeking a relationship between two sets of ratio data. Findings will be deemed
significant if p < .05.
Principles and Standards
The APA Code of Ethics (2017) will be followed throughout this study. This will
include presenting accurate data and correctly using and reporting statistical results. All sources
will be properly cited.
Participants’ personal information will be guarded and no one will know who did (or
did not) participate in the study. Only the researcher will have access to the raw data and this
data will be destroyed at the conclusion of PSY-520. The APA Ethics Code requires specific
ethical attributes of good research in Standard 8: Research and Publication.
Results
The expectation for this study will be that the research hypothesis will be accepted:
there will be a significant, negative correlation between sleep hours and stress. If so, this study
will add to the body of knowledge on the topic of sleep by supporting the idea that reduced
sleep quantity is associated with higher stress levels. Because this study will focus only on
graduate students in psychology, this will be important information for those who are
psychology graduate students as well as graduate school instructors and administrators.
However, the focus on psychology graduate students may also limit the generalizability of this
study.
5 SLEEP & ONLINE PSYCHOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS
References
American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of
conduct. http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Rosnow, R. L., & Rosenthal, R. (2013). Beginning behavioral research: A conceptual primer
(7th ed.). Pearson.
Milestone 4: Sleep and Online Psychology Graduate Students
Sleep and Online Psychology Graduate Students
Method
Participants
Materials
Procedures
Ethical Considerations
Data Analysis Plan
Prepare New Data
Descriptive Statistics
Analytic Procedures
Principles and Standards
Results
References
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