Background: Online crowdsourcing platforms, such as Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), have become popular alternatives to the ubiquitous student samples used in psychology research. r/SampleSize, an alternative pool on the website Reddit, allows for online participant recruitment without compulsory or immediate payment, making it potentially useful…

When a psychologist announces a new research finding, it is often based on a rejected null hypothesis. However, if that hypothesis is true, the claim is a false alarm. Many students mistakenly believe that the probability of committing a false alarm equals alpha, the criterion for statistical significance, which is typically set at 5%. Instructors…

Incorporating realistic data and research examples into quantitative (e.g., statistics and research methods) courses has been widely recommended for enhancing student engagement and comprehension. One way to achieve these ends is to use a data generator to emulate the data in published research articles. "MorseGen" is a free data generator that…

The present article describes four free or inexpensive Internet-based activities that can be used to supplement statistics/research methods/general psychology classes. Each activity and subsequent homework assessment is described, as well as homework performance outcome and student opinion data for each activity. (Contains 1 table.)

Provides a classroom demonstration designed to test an astrological hypothesis and help teach introductory psychology students about research design and data interpretation. Illustrates differences between science and nonscience, the role of theory in developing and testing hypotheses, making comparisons among groups, probability and statistical…

We describe a perceptual experiment that we have successfully used in Research Methods classes. Students attempt to identify a series of simple cookie cutter shapes using only the fingers and hands (haptic perception). Students read archival studies that have used this procedure, identify confounds, generate and test alternate hypotheses, and…

Suggests a classroom activity for teaching psychology students about group norms. Calls upon students to conduct peer surveys about a particular behavior and then to represent approval or disapproval of the behavior graphically. Argues that the activity increases student understanding of survey research methods, the need for controlled research,…

Provides a brief overview of single-subject research designs. This method exercises its power by examining changes in single subjects' responses over time across experimental conditions. Describes a classroom project in which students collect repeated measures of their own behavior and graph the data. (MJP)

Describes a factorial experiment that is used as a laboratory exercise in a research methods course. Uses a Howard-Dolman depth perception apparatus, combining the factors of viewing condition and rod orientation to illustrate the nature of an interaction and the necessity of an additional analysis of simple main effects. (Author/LS)

Describes the use of computer programs in the teaching of psychology research design and data analysis. Case studies involving large and small computer data generators are presented. (Author/DB)

Describes an activity in which the students examine gender differences in smiling, using individual yearbook photos as a data set. Explains that the activity provides a means for reviewing null and alternative testing, operational definitions, interpretation of results, and external validity. Addresses the activity evaluation. (CMK)

Finds that introductory psychology textbooks present limited and often confusing coverage of research methods. Presents two research models that delineate separate dimensions for data collection procedures, research designs, and research settings. Contends that these models provide better coverage of research strategies. Includes suggestions for…

Describes a community-based research project that collaborated with the police department to survey female residents' attitudes toward the role of the police in handling domestic violence cases. Explains that this project provided students with the opportunity to directly experience the research process early in their undergraduate psychology…

Describes and evaluates a method for involving large numbers of introductory psychology students as active researchers via an assigned project involving computer analyzed data. Results indicate students valued research more, understood statistical procedures better, and felt less anxious about statistics and computers. Suggests a viable way to…

Describes an in-class exercise designed to teach basic principles of survey methodology and to educate students about the pervasiveness and problems associated with shyness in college students. Students complete a brief survey on shyness and the instructor summarizes the results for the class as part of a lecture on survey methodology. (MJP)