Short term memory assignment

1. Your teacher (i.e., I) will assign you to a group to empirically investigate either the capacity, duration or encoding of short term memory.

• If you are allocated capacity, you will probably want to replicate Millar's or Simon's study, but if you're feeling particularly intellectually-advanced, you may wish to look at Baddeley or someone else (but check with me first).
• If you are allocated duration, it's most likely you will be drawn to Peterson and Peterson, but feel free to try another idea on me.
• If you are allocated encoding, there are all sorts of possibilities, but Baddeley is a leading light in this area too.

2. Read up in detail about previous work in your area.

3. Decide on the aim of your own study. It will probably be a straightforward replication of a previous study, but even at this early stage in your career, you may wish to push forward the sum total of knowledge in the area.

4. Write out your alternative and null hypotheses in operationalised terms.

5. Decide on which experimental design (where appropriate) you are going to employ.

6. Write out what the independent and dependent variables are (where appropriate).

7. Create your research materials.

8. Find some participants.

9. Run your study on them.

10. Analyse your results and summarise them in an appropriate way.

11. Relate your findings back to the original research.

12. Report all this to the class.

Make sure you understand the following key terms and can use them appropriately:

• Independent variable
• Dependent variable
• Directional/non-directional hypothesis
• Alternative hypothesis
• Null hypothesis
• Independent groups/matched pairs/repeated measures design
• Experimental/Correlational study
• Laboratory/field study
• Measure of central tendency
• Operationalisation of variables
• Pilot study
• Sample

Reading:
Eysenck and Flanagan: pp32-37, 256-288
Cardwell: Short term memory, methodology
The Joy of Concrete has a handy report-writing checklist