Description of Research Methodology

In this assignment, you will write an essay about the research methods and
ethical implications of a social psychology study. You will get information
about the study from one of the entries in the SPARQ “Solutions Catalog”, which
is a web site maintained by Stanford University at https://sparq.stanford.edu/solutions?&&.
SPARQ is an acronym for “Social Psychological Answers to Real-world Questions.”
Each entry in the Solutions Catalog names a problem, and then offers a solution
to that problem, based on a research study in social psychology. 

To keep this assignment short and manageable, your only sources for this assignment should
be from the SPARQ site and your course materials, such as your textbook.
There is no need for you to cite any of the course materials. Therefore, no
additional citations or references are needed, beyond those from the SPARQ
site. 

In this exercise, you will choose one of the entries in the SPARC site, and
then write a two to three (2-3) page paper that meets the following
requirements.

1. Begin your paper with a short introductory statement that clearly identifies
   the article from the SPARQ site that you are using, as well as the corresponding
   research article.  Model your statement after the following example: 

• • • Please note that there are two APA “in-text citations” in this example. The
      first citation “(Wilson, n.d.)” is an in-text citation for the SPARQ article.
      The SPARQ articles are undated, which means that there is no date of publication
      reported. The “n.d.” designation is an abbreviation for “no
      date”. 

• • • The second citation “(Wilson & Linville, 1982)”, is an in-text citation
      to the original research article. We are asking you to cite this paper for
      practice in using APA, but are not requiring you to read the original paper.
      Normally, you should cite only those articles that you actually read and used,
      but we’re making an exception here for the purposes of
      practice. 

1. Briefly summarize the main details of your chosen social psychology research
   study. Identify the main research method(s) used in the study (e.g., case study,
   experiment, observation, etc.).
2. Explain whether or not you believe the research methodology that the
   researchers used in the study was the most appropriate for the study. Provide a
   rationale for your response.
3. Discuss whether or not you believe the research methodology used in the
   study is the one (1) method that provides researchers with the most information
   in general. Explain the main reasons why or why not.
4. Explain the major ethical implications of the selected study (e.g., informed
   consent, debriefing, etc.). Describe the main reasons why you believe the study
   was or was not ethical. Provide a rationale for your response.
5. The final section of your paper will be a reference section that contains a
   corresponding reference for both of the in-text citations in your introductory
   statement (see point #1, above). In APA-style citations, in-text citations must
   match up with a reference in the reference section. You can model your reference
   section after the following: 

• • • These examples follow
      the APA conventions for an Internet article, and a professional journal article,
      respectively. 

 Your assignment must follow these formatting
requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch
  margins on all sides