This document will assist you in preparing and submitting your assignment according to necessary criteria. It contains references to the learning materials that will help you think about and choose a psychological model, a research design, as well as preparing the data and analyses. Given that you are going to generate your data by simulation we need to have access to the data to check that your method and analyses were correct. Word count is not a gradable feature of the assignment; it is simply a submission rule. Any words submitted exceeding the set maximum will not be graded. There is no 10% leeway.

Psychological model - The psychological model should contain two variables with a causal relationship and the direction of this relationship clearly indicated. The variables need to be (1) appropriately labelled and (2) suitable for the methods/instruments described (e.g., if the IV can be ethically manipulated then an experimental design should be described). Data frame - The data frame should contain the values for each variable in the model, as simulated by the R software. All the values should be within the possible range of the measurement scale described in the methods section. The number of observations should also match the information provided in the Methods section. Reporting of additional/irrelevant data or analyses will be penalised. See the assignment examples for how the data frame should be presented for correlational, between-and within-subjects designs.

Research report: Introduction - The introduction of the research report should contain a brief justification of the study. This justification is based on previous research, which should be cited (not quoted). The variables in the psychological model should be described and an explanation of why/how they are related needs to be included (e.g., how does one affect the other). A hypothesis of the expected results should be clearly stated at the end of this section.

Research report: Method - The method section should contain three subsections: Participants, Materials and Procedure. The Participants section should indicate the number of participants, where they are from, their mean age (and SD) and the percentage of females. The Materials section should describe the measurement tool(s) used to collect data (questionnaire, inventory, test, scale, task, etc.) and how they are scored (e.g., are scale items summed or averaged?, Have you indicated any relevant units of measurement (volume, weight etc.)?). The Procedure section should indicate how the participants were recruited, where and when the data was collected, in what order and how long it took (but do not repeat information from the participants section here). An explanation of detailed ethical procedures is not required (e.g., use of consent forms). However, you should ensure that an appropriate sample was selected and any manipulations or measurements were performed accordingly with ethical principles.

Research report: Results - In this section report descriptive statistics and model comparison consistent with the examples provided in the assignment folder. Descriptive statistics: If the independent variable is nominal, indicate the mean (and SD) of the dependent variable in each level of the independent variable. Otherwise, indicate the mean (and SD) of the two variables in the whole sample. Inferential statistics: Follow the model comparison approach; report the value of the parameters in the mean model and the complex model (slope and intercept). Report the sum of square of the residuals and the AIC of both models. Interpret the AIC values. Research report: Discussion - Indicate whether your hypothesis was supported (or not) by the data. Explain what this means and determine if the findings are consistent or inconsistent with earlier studies (provide citations). Briefly address limitations and future research. Writing and APA guidelines - Write clearly and coherently and follow APA guidelines.