A 2000 word lab report which will assess Learning Outcomes 3 and 4. The word limit includes references in the body of the report, but not the reference list at the end.
In the Developmental Psychology section you will be learning about how various aspects of infant behaviour develop. The assessment will involve building upon information covered in the study materials, in order to design and conduct a developmental study. You will be exploring factors that which may influence literacy development in First Grade Students from schools in the United States (US), particularly focusing on the role of the environment and the child’s identity/behaviour. You will be able to apply some of the concepts and theory covered in the learning materials as well as your own background
research in order to devise a research question. You will not be collecting any data. This will be provided. However you will need to identify a suitable research question that can be addressed with the data provided and you will need to conduct a suitable analysis and write up the results.
The data set that will be provided to you will include a range of information including; a normative measure of literacy development, demographic information, teacher reports on social identity/behaviour, parent reports on aspects of the home environment etc. Not all of these factors are known predictors of literacy development so it is up to you to identify factors of interest.
You need to be thinking about things such as:
1. What variables are you going to focus on (remember one of your variables must be performance on the literacy measure)
2. What type of analysis are you going to conduct?
3. what sort of sample size are you planning to use?
4. How will you select your sample?
5. Do you intend to control for any factors? if so, how?
6. what are your hypotheses?

THE Grading criteria:
a. An excellent report, which is of a near-publishable standard. The project represents an outstanding and original contribution to the research area.
b. The report includes a comprehensive, critical and original review of the literature, including a wide range of primary sources. The material included was selected
appropriately and is critically evaluated. An appropriate research question is
identified.
c. The project undertaken is well designed and is motivated by the literature review. The research methods selected are appropriate to the question. The report provides a clear exposition of the design and methods.
d. There is a thorough analysis of the data. The analysis uses methods that are
appropriate to the topic, and is reported clearly and accurately. The findings are
interpreted correctly and conclusions are clearly stated. The findings are integrated with the literature. The discussion identifies how the research undertaken contributes to the literature.
e. The presentation of the report complies with the requirements of a research report, including an abstract, appropriate subdivisions and a reference list that complies with the departmental referencing guidelines. The writing is clear and succinct.