Research theory design and methods PDF

Running head: RESEARCH THEORY, DESIGN, AND METHODS
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Research theory, design, and methods
Single-subject study design
Student’s Name
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Professor’s Name
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RESEARCH THEORY, DESIGN, AND METHODS
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Single-subject study design
Research question
Does the distraction in a workplace such as loud music or noise determine the difficulties
and the response time taken to switch from one task to another among male and female
employees?
Hypothesis
The null hypothesis, H0: Female participants incur a shorter response time and minimal
difficulty in switching between tasks than their counterpart male participants in a noisy working
environment.
The alternative hypothesis, H1: Female participants do not incur a short response time
and minimal difficulty in switching between tasks than their counterpart male participants in a
noisy working environment.
Variables
Independent variables (IV)
In the first phase of the test, the independent variables (IV) used in testing the hypothesis
are the combination of the letters and the numbers that represent different tasks in the other task
switching under a noise distraction such as music in the background. The variables will be placed
in a quadrant figure where the participant is required to respond to a letter (IV) in the top
quadrants and a number (IV) in the bottom two quadrants. These independent variables are
classified as the nominal variables since the respondent is expected to distinguish whether the
alphabetical letters are the vowels or the consonants while for the numerical values the

RESEARCH THEORY, DESIGN, AND METHODS
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participant is expected to categorize as odd and even. The second phase of the test is the cued-
task switching where the independent variables are different shapes and colors representing
different tasks. The variables are the nominal types of data whereby the respondent is to identify
the shape as either rectangular or circle while the color as either blue or yellow. During the
second phase, the respondents were exposed to a condition, which is the sound of music playing
in the background to determine if it can be used to manipulate the results. However, the response
had a choice to either conduct a test under the condition or not.
Dependent variables (DV)
The dependent variable in the tests for both the first phase and the second phase is the
response time taken by the participant in switching between the tasks. The dependent variable
can be termed as an interval scale due to the meaningful difference that can be drawn between
the scores or a ratio scale when taken in relation to a certain measure. However, the response
time can be considered as a covariate variable as it was recorded in single-task blocks, mixed
block for task-repeat trials, mixed block for task-switch trials, and the task cost switch, which is
the difference between the response time for task-repeat trials and the task-switch trials in
milliseconds.
Methodology
Design
For the single-subject study, the baseline design was deployed to focus on the behavior of
a single respondent. In the study, the action of interest was repeated in two phases for two tests
over a period to create a behavioral baseline. However, after the respondents were exposed to the