Description This coursework is associated with Learning Objectives 1-3 stated in the Module Guidance, it will assess the following: ?Demonstrate knowledge and critical awareness of the theoretical basis, problems, and issues involved in quantitative and qualitative research methods in forensic psychology. ?Evidence an advanced and critical understanding of the ethical and practice related issues involved in carrying out forensic psychological research. ?Design and conduct complex studies of forensic psychology topics, determining the appropriate analytical approach for quantitative and qualitative data (e.g., multi-factorial designs). The total word count for this whole assignment is 3500 words; there is no 10% leeway. This coursework assignment is designed to assess your knowledge of both Quantitative and Qualitative research methods. The first part requires you to conduct statistical analyses on different data sets and present the results of each analysis in a format suitable for publication in an academic journal, therefore pay close attention to APA formatting guidelines. You should also use Figures to support your analyses where appropriate. You are then presented with a hypothetical scenario and asked to answer a question related to good ethical research practice. The second part requires you to watch any 3 of 6 videos from the website ‘Media-Caring for Ex-Offenders’, transcribe the interviews, formulate a qualitative research question, and write-up the results and discussion section of a report. Part 1: Quantitative research methods assessment It is suggested that you aim to write approximately 1500 words in total for part 1, and is worth 40% of this assignment. Part 1(a): The questions are as follows: Question 1 A clinical investigation was conducted into the effect of three different treatment regimens (control, psychotherapy, and drug treatment) for patients with anxiety. Patients were randomly allocated to receive one of the three treatments and measures of their anxiety symptoms were taken before and after the intervention. High scores on the anxiety measure indicate more severe symptoms. The file containing these data (Q1.sav) can be found on the CT7057PY CW2 folder, on the EClass platform. It was hypothesised that anxiety severity would be lower after the intervention compared to before the intervention. It was also hypothesised that patients in the drug therapy group would show a larger decrease in anxiety compared to those in the psychotherapy group and the control group. Perform the appropriate analysis on these data and report whether the hypotheses were supported in the data. Question 2 An investigation was conducted to determine what factors predict the amount of time people are willing to spend helping a friend with a problem. The file containing these data (Q2.sav) can be found on the CT7057PY CW2 folder, on the EClass platform. The dependent variable is zhelp. This is the length of time participants said they would be willing to spend helping a friend, expressed as z-scores. The predictor variables are as follows: ?Sympathy – Feelings of sympathy aroused in the helper by the friend ?Anger – Feelings of anger or irritation aroused in the helper by the friend’s need ?Efficacy – Self efficacy of the helper in relation to the friend’s need ?Severity – Helper’s rating of how severe the friend’s problem was ?Empathy – Empathic tendency of the helper, measured as a personality trait Predictor variables were measured on a 7-point scale, with 1 indicating very little and 7 indicating very much. Empathy is a total score of the level of empathy reported by the participant. It was hypothesised that only empathy, sympathy and severity the amount of time spent helping the friend. Perform the appropriate analysis of these data would predict and report the findings with regard to the hypotheses. Question 3(a) The Depression, Anxiety & Stress Scale 21 (DASS21) is frequently used to examine mental health. The scale has 21 items, 7 for each sub-scale (stress, anxiety and depression). It is a Likert scale, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress. The results from this scale are frequently used to identify needs and promote well-being. Thus, it is important to ensure that the questionnaire has very good internal reliability. Your task is to examine whether the questionnaire has good internal reliability and comment on the findings and whether it would be possible to improve its reliability. The file containing these data (Q3.a.sav) can be found on the CT7057PY CW2 folder, on the EClass platform. Question 3(b) The stages of change scale (soc) is a Likert type scale which is based on the Transtheoretical model (TTM), which supports that behaviour change takes place through moving across five adjacent stages: pre-contemplation (not thinking about changing behaviour), contemplation (thinking about it), preparation (preparing to take action), action (behaviour change takes place) and maintenance (maintaining behaviour change for at least 6 months). The model has been frequently used to predict alcohol consumption/ reduction. However, health professionals and researcher do not agree with regard to the number of stages the individual has to go through to achieve the behaviour change. Your task is to conduct the appropriate analysis to examine the construct validity of the SoC scale and comment on the number of stages that seem to appear. The file containing these data (Q3.b.sav) can be found on the CT7057PY CW2 folder, on the EClass platform. Some general guidance on completing Part 1(a) To complete this part of the assignment successfully you will need to identify the research designs used in each of the studies and the correct tests required to analyse the data. You will also need to enter data into SPSS in the correct format, run the required analyses, and interpret the output. Lastly, you will need to write-up the results of the analyses in a format resembling the Results section of a journal article. This means, for example, Figures and Tables should be appropriately edited and statistics should be reported in APA format. In your workshops, we have been emphasising a systematic approach to conducting quantitative analyses. We have pursued our analyses as a series of steps, beginning with a hypothesis and a visual inspection of the data and progressing gradually through descriptive analysis, inferential analysis, and analysis of effect size. It is recommended that you take this same approach when conducting and writing-up the analyses for the coursework. You will find the micro-lectures and workshop resources helpful in completing your work, but it is strongly recommended that you also consult your relevant SPSS textbooks. Finally, I would advise you to study examples of Results sections from published research papers to gain insight into how to structure your write-up in a logical way. Below, presented in no particular order, you will find a handful of more specific tips. These are based upon common mistakes made by former students: ?A Results section should be written as prose, just like any other section of a journal article. Your goal is to provide a clearly written summary of the analyses that have been conducted and whether or not they support the hypotheses. Write in complete sentences and paragraphs and use the statistical values to support the conclusions that you draw in the text, much like you would use a reference to support a claim made in an Introduction section ?Think carefully about the structure of your answers. A Results section should begin by reminding the reader what was done in the experiment and what we expect to find. Your answer should identify the type of design used, the independent and dependent variables, and the hypotheses. Following this, your answer should summarise the analyses in a logical sequence, with descriptive analyses (Means, 95% CIs, SDs), followed by evidence of data screening, inferential analyses (e.g., ANOVA, Regression), effect sizes, and post-hoc tests ?Try to keep your hypotheses in mind when you are writing your Results section and use these to guide your analyses. Make it clear how the different findings are interpreted in relation to the hypotheses and draw clear conclusions. Also, it is a good idea to address the hypotheses in the same order that they were stated in the question ?Descriptive statistics can be reported in the text using parentheses in many cases. For example, ‘Depression scores were lower post-treatment (M =19.63 95% CI [17.41, 21.99], SD = 2.68] compared to pre-treatment (M = 27.91, 95% CI [24.22, 31.80, SD = 4.01)’. However, when giving an overview of a complex design with many conditions, it can be difficult for the reader to assimilate information presented in the text. In these situations a table or figure is more effective ?That said, you should be careful to avoid repetition of the same information. Means and SD’s should be reported in the text, a table, or a figure, not all three! ?Tables should be drawn from scratch in Word or Excel and only contain the most relevant information. It is never appropriate to copy and paste tables direct from your SPSS output. These are poorly formatted and they contain lots of redundant information. Graphs can be copied and pasted from SPSS but, as mentioned above, they should be edited appropriately. Please ensure you look up the APA formatting guidelines. ?Tables are for presenting descriptive data (Means, SDs etc.). They should not be used to present the results of your inferential analyses, such as ANOVA or t-tests. These statistics should be presented at appropriate points in the text using correct formatting, e.g., ‘ F (3, 29) = 2.99, p < .05’ ?When describing your inferential analyses, you can assume a certain degree of statistical knowledge in the reader. For example, there is no need to explain what a p-value is, or how they are interpreted. You should simply state what test was used and what the results showed (i.e., that an effect was significant, or non-significant) Part 1(b): Please read through the following scenario very carefully and answer the question that follow: You are an Assistant Psychologist in training and currently work in a Category B prison in the UK. An important part of your role is to facilitate treatment and intervention groups run in the prison for offenders. There are a number of different groups that you help facilitate, one of which is Anger Management for violent offenders. Following a conversation with one of your colleagues, you decide that it would be a good idea to conduct qualitative research on one of the groups you run for violent offenders. This research would help inform your professional practice in the prison and build on your current skills. Before approaching your superior, you decide to draft up a proposal for a research study focused on the locus of control and emotions offenders have pre and post completion of a 6 week group treatment session. Question 1) what ethical guidelines and practical considerations would apply in the proposed study that you would need to consider when completing an ethics application to carry out this project? This should be approximately 300 words in total, and is worth 10% of this assignment. ______________ Part 2: Qualitative research methods assessment Part 2(a): Handling, Analysing and reporting qualitative data The second part requires you to watch any 3 of 6 videos from the website ‘Media-Caring for Ex-Offenders’, transcribe the interviews, formulate a qualitative research question, and write-up the Methods, Results and Discussion section of a report. The results and discussion section would typically be presented as one section where you report the findings and discuss them interchangeably, in line with each theme that has emerged. You can also include a table or visual representation in your write-up (e.g., thematic map), and this must be formatted according to APA guidelines. The videos have to be in sequence (e.g., 1,2 and 3 or 2,3 and 4 etc.). You can choose any of the qualitative methods you have learnt in this module, however, your methodology has to be suitable to the research question you have formulated. It is suggested that you aim to write approximately 1200 words in total, and is worth 40% of this assignment. Some general guidance on completing Part 2(a) Method (approx. 300 words) – Details how the data were collected, information about participants if available, clear outline of analytic methods/procedures (What steps did you follow when coding the data, identifying themes? Can you describe your methods so clearly that even a reader without training in IPA, TA or DA will understand the method?) Results & Discussion (approx. 900 words) – (1) Present each theme/discourse, (2) Provide illustrative extracts for each theme (look at published papers to see how researchers usually present their findings – if you like a specific author’s style, feel free to use it in your own work), (3) Summarize key findings drawn from the data and connect them to the broader research literature, (4) discuss strengths and weaknesses of your work, (5) Discuss implications of your findings, (6) Brief concluding paragraph which re-states key findings and suggestions for future research. Part 2(b): Reflection For this part you need to reflect on key aspects related to this assignment (approx. 500 words), and is worth 10% of this assignment. You must address the following: 1. Briefly, describe what you did for your assignment. 2. Evaluation and analysis of what you learned from this process 3. Action plan: How will you apply this learning to your future? More information about part 2(b): The Reflective component WHY am I being asked to reflect? As a Practitioner Psychologist, it is essential to have an analytical approach to your work. You are expected to take on board new developments in the field and integrate contemporary psychological theory into practice. This means being able to dispassionately analyse your own thinking and behaviour in relation to those around you and your work performance. You need to get into the good habit of recognising your own biases, strengths and development needs in every aspect of your working life. This way of thinking facilitates learning from experience and feeds forward into an outlook that enables you to strive for continuous development in your professional and personal life. This is the type of thinking that supervisors will be looking for in supervised practice, as a supervisee taking responsibility for your own learning and development, whilst also being open to advice and new experiences. Have a look at this short clip about metacognition, explaining the rationale for this approach to higher education learning: WHAT am I being asked to do in my reflective assignments? As a foundation for becoming a reflective practitioner, during the MSc Forensic Psychology, our aim is to help you develop and nurture this skill of reflective thinking about your performance, to prepare you to go forward into your professional life as an inquisitive, reflective learner. On each Module of the course, you’ll be encouraged to think not only about what you’re learning, but also why it’s important and how best to apply that learning going forward. This is the rationale for the reflective elements woven in to the course assessment strategy. The idea is that each piece of feedback on your assignments can be used to feed forward into the next. Using this approach, modules are not just stand-alone elements of the course, but come together as part of your overall learning and development journey. You’ll be reflecting on the psychological theories you’re learning, but also their practical application, as well as your strengths and development areas in communicating that psychological knowledge within your assignments. Have a look at this Journal article. In particular, in the results section, there are a lot of examples of reflective diary entries by the participant in this study and also a narrative about their journey towards being a more reflective practitioner, to show some concrete examples of the concept. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/13505... HOW can I write reflectively? Reflective writing is a skill that can be learned. As a beginner, it is usual for people to write quite descriptively about what they did, the process they went through and the outcome. However, this is only the first step in the process of reflection. After summarising what’s been done, it’s imperative to convey the learning and insights gained from that experience, and how that can feed forward into a change in behaviour in the future. Reflective thinking can be structured and written in a number of different ways. However, the following structure is suggested to enable you to clearly work through a reflective cycle and gain the most from this process. 1. Briefly, describe what you did for your assignment. You can focus on a specific aspect of the work, the process, the content, or your experience of the assignment. It is a good idea to describe an area of activity that you focussed on when completing this assignment. This might be something you’ve not done well on previous assessments. Suggestions are given below, however feel free to choose your own if its more relevant. Remember the point of this component of this assignment is you reflect on something YOU can learn and improve from. This is only one element of the reflective process, so keep it short. For example: ?Understanding the requirements of the assignment: How did you interpret the task? ?Finding literature; what process did you follow? ?Critically evaluating the material: How did you weigh up the relative importance of what you read? ?Synthesis; what findings are consistent through the literature and what’s different? How have you conveyed this in your work? ?Editing the work to make it clear and coherent: How did you do this? ?Finding time to complete the work: What was the impact of the time limits? 2. Evaluation and analysis of what you learned from this process Be truthful in this section as it is important that you consider how you acted impacted on your behaviour and your completion of the assignment. Critically analyse your approach. For example: ?Explain your learning from the process you followed. What went well? What didn’t go so well? How do you know? Is there anything you’re still not sure about? How will you find out the answer? ?What did you learn from the content of the assignment material that might be important? ?Is there any psychological literature that might link to, or explain your thoughts, or behaviour? ?What sense can you make from this situation? 3. Action plan: How will you apply this learning to your future? In this section, consider how you will you apply this learning to your future. This can be in the form of specific actions that you will take in the next assignment. For example, if you reflected that you did not leave adequate time to write your essay and this was because you procrastinate too much, you should include specific actions here to ensure that you do not procrastinate next time. For example: ?Feedforward: How will this learning help you going forward, in future assignments and your career? ?What you will do the same (worked well) or differently (didn’t work well) for your next assignment? ?How can you apply psychological theory or application you’ve learnt to your future, or current work? ?If you apply this learning successfully, how would that benefit you and others? ?What will stick in your mind; how has this transformed your way of thinking about the world and your place in it? (Deep, I know, but ideally we want to help move you towards transformational learning that will stay with you, way beyond Coventry University and into your future). Further reading resources on this topic Bruno, A. and Dell’Aversana, G. (2017) Reflective Practice for Psychology Students: The Use of Reflective Journal Feedback in Higher Education. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 16(2) 248–260. Coulson, D. and Homewood, J. (2016) Developing psychological literacy: is there a role for reflective practice? Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 13(2), 2016. Available at: http://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol13/iss2/5 Paul Fisher, Kimberly Chew & Yi Jin Leow (2015): Clinical psychologists’ use of reflection and reflective practice within clinical work. Reflective Practice, DOI: 10.1080/14623943.2015.1095724 User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.
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