Developing a Research Methods Script

The Research Methods Script

Thomas Wilson and Douglas Hershey (1996) describe an activity that introduces students to how experts think about the steps involved in doing psychological research. Students view the activity as interesting and useful. More importantly, they think about the activity throughout the term and use it to organize their understanding of the research process.

Step 1: 10 minutes

Have students write "Get idea for the project" at the top of a piece of paper. On the bottom, have them write "Publish the research paper. " Then, have students list 20 intermediate activities that a researcher would take between the first and last step.

Step 2: 5-10 minutes

Have students group items on the list and label each of those groups.
Briefly explain that explain the idea of scripts and that part of developing expertise seems to involve developing readily accessible scripts.

Step 3: 10-30 minutes

Divide students into groups and have them compare their scripts.
Have groups or the entire class develop a group or class script. Compare their script to your script. Or, you could compare their group script to a script based on a group of professors. (That script is included in the Wilson & Hershey (1996) article, referenced below).

For more information, consult:

Wilson, T. L. & Hershey, D. A. (1996). The

research methods script. Teaching of Psychology, 23, 97-99.

contact:

Thomas L. Wilson
Department of Psychology
Bellarmine College
2001 Newburg Road
Louisville, KY 40205

An interesting, related activity

You can supplement or substitute for the script activity by playing a game devised by Phillis Vogel of Miami University (Oxford Ohio). The game is titled "Random Randall vs. Constance Control." It is a board game that "familiarizes students with the major steps in the research process."
For more information, contact:

Phyllis Vogel
863 Birney Lane
Cincinnati, OH 45230
Phone: (513) 232-1725

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