Assignment requirements: Answer 1 of the following 4questions in as much detail as possible using specific examples and definitions. Be sure to justify your responses with information from class or from the text. Please be sure your answer is no less than 1 full page and no more than 2 full pages of double-spaced type-written text. If you choose to complete this assignment it must be emailed to me before the beginning of class on February 6th.

1. Complete the "Thinking Crtically" activity from your textbook Website. This activity asks you to think critically about websites that are posted for public use..
   http://www.worthpublishers.com/exploring5e/con_index.htm?01
   After you have entered the Chapter 1 site, on the Left side, click on the Thinking Critically link and follow all instructions listed.
   HOWEVER - The last website that you are asked to access has moved to: http://www.apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=46, so you will need to access this as the third site rather than the one that shows up on the website.
   Write up your responses to the questions in detail and relate the information that you have learned to that presented in class.
   
   
2. Interested in Gallup Polls, how they work, if they work, are they scientifically sound?
   Read the following excert on How polls are conducted by Frank Newport, Lydia Saad, David Moore, from Where America Stands, 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. After reading the article you should write a thorough summary of the information and how it relates to the methodological information we covered in class. You should address questions such as (but not limited to) are the samples selected properly, are the questions properly worded, are the results analyzed and reported in an unbiased manner? Did reading this article change your opinion of Gallup polls (or opinion polls) in any way?
   
   
3. Interested in Animal Research, the ethics and guidelines behind it?
   Checkout this site: Foundation for Biomedical Research, which is an organizaiton that supports ethical animal use is also involved in educating the public on these issues. Read a few of the links (a good place to start may be the FAQ or Opinions about animal research section) and write a summary of what you have learned and how it has, or has not, changed your beliefs about animal research.
   
   
4. Design your own study. You notice that some students in your Introduction to Psychology class take many more notes than others and you wonder whether the amount of note-taking affects grades.
   
   1. What research method (choose one) would you use to find out?
   2. Why would that particular method tell you more than another method (compare only one other)?
   3. Define the hypothesis
   4. Operationally define your variables of interest (if you are using an experiment, specify the IV and DV)
   5. Specifically describe the procedure you might follow to collect the data, being sure to mention group assignment if necessary