Research Methods and Resources: Language and Linguistics 2021-2022

Task 1.2

QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGY: SUBSECTIONS

Write the steps followed in a quantitative methodology in each of the spaces provided.
Then, write a summary of the contents of each subsection.

MATERIALS DESIGN PROCEDURES PARTICIPANTS

1. DESIGN

Summary of what should be included:

1. independent variables
 the participants’ level of spatial ability and the instructional format.
Research Methods and Resources: Language and Linguistics 2021-2022
Task 1.2

dependent variables
 the participants’ ability to construct complex molecular models
2. the type of design used in the study (independent groups’ design and within-groups’
design)
3. the tool used in the measurement of the data

4. MATERIALS

Summary of what should be included:

1. type of material used to gather data (Motivation Source Inventory)

2. specifications of the material and what it measures

3. descriptions of the inventory measures

Research Methods and Resources: Language and Linguistics 2021-2022
Task 1.2

5. PARTICIPANTS

Summary of what should be included:

1. selection process of the participants (convenience sampling)

2. demographics/categories of the participants (age, level of experience, gender, etc.,)
3. total number of participants

4. PROCEDURES

Example Jella (1993)

Subjects were tested in groups of 10 or 12 at a time. Their nostril dominance was

determined at the beginning of the experiment by using the Zwaardemaker method. This
dominance was used to assign a counterbalanced test booklet for order of verbal and
spatial testing randomly. Subjects plugged the side of their nose that they had noted as
being the most congested in two out of three trials with a comprehensible foam earplug
and tape. This procedure was designed to help keep the students dominant in the more
open nostril as they entered the experiment room for the first treatment period.

A verbal and a spatial test were then administered for five minutes preceded by a practice
test. Subjects then removed the nostril plug and were given a 5 minute free breathing
period. At the end of that time they plugged their dominant nostril.

During the next 30 min subjects completed the handedness questionnaire, personal data
information, and their school forms. They were reminded to focus on their breathing
and to avoid oral breathing. The 30 min limit with the other nostril plugged was
considered to be sufficient time to enhance dominance of the contralateral hemisphere.
The same procedure using the equivalent forms of the verbal and spatial tests was then
Research Methods and Resources: Language and Linguistics 2021-2022
Task 1.2

repeated. At the end of the last test, students measured their nostril dominance again.
The data was analyzed using repeated measures MANOVAs on SPSS 4.1 software.

Summary of what should be included:

1. subject tests used

2. how the tests are conducted/carried out

3. analysis of the data (MANOVAs on SPSS 4.1 software)

References

Barry, S. (2004). The Effects of Spatial Ability on the Learning of Complex Scientific Instructional
Material. Bachelor of Arts, Department of Psychology, American College Dublin.

Jella, S. and D. Shannahoff-Khalsa. (1993). The Effects of Unilateral Forced Nostril Breathing on
Cognitive Performance. International Journal of Neuroscience 73: 61-68.

O’Loughlin, S. (2005). The Influence of Unilateral Forced Nostril Breathing on Performance of

Lateralised Cognitive Tests in Trained and Untrained Participants. Bachelor of Arts,
Department of Psychology, American College Dublin.