Writing tasks

  • List of writing tasks you came across; also consult ChatGPT.
  • What method are you planning on using and why?

Writing tasks (there are more)

  • Tapping task: dkdkdkdkdkd
  • Motor tasks: draw circles, squares, 8s (loops), alphabet
  • Copy task: motor skills
  • Spelling to dictation task: orthographic encoding
  • Written recall task: memory
  • Picture naming task: visual encoding, lexical encoding, syntax, phonology / orthography
  • Free writing task: from conceptualization to writing; little less experimental control

Picture naming

Picture naming

Target utterance: "balloon arm" [@griffin2003reversed]Target utterance: "balloon arm" [@griffin2003reversed]

Target utterance: “balloon arm” (Griffin 2003)

Picture naming

See ESCoP slides for Roeser, Torrance, and Baguley (2019) design.

Picture naming

Target word: "plane"

Target word: “plane”

Writing task

  • Needs to be determined by theory and hypotheses
  • Choose the simplest, quickest task that allows your to answer your question
  • Data collection will be quicker, and data processing easier
  • For example, instead of writing a story you might get what you need by asking your participants to write a sentence describing the action in a picture.
  • You need to make sure your task is assessing the (writing) skills that you are interested in.
  • Also, tasks like naming tasks are quick enough for you to give your participants several trials: mean performance across several items (pictures to describe, for example) is always more reliable than performance on just one task.

Turning questions into methods

Go to padlet.com/jens_roes/writing_disfluency

Password: disfluency-lab-3

  • Find your name and add your research question (1 sentence; brief and in simple words).

Then comment on the other research questions:

  • What data would they need to inform this research question?
  • How can they elicit these kind of data?
  • Can you think of ethical problems?

Methods summary for ethics

2.2 Briefly outline the principal methods, the sources of data or evidence to be used and the number and type of research participants who will be recruited to the project. (No more than 200 words for single projects/dissertations)

Reviewers need to understand:

  • what you’re planning to do?
  • how this is testing your research questions?
  • what potential risk is involved for participants, or
  • that there is no risk involved for participants.

Methods summary for ethics

  • What will your participants be asked to do?
  • What kind of data are you recording (e.g. dependent variable)?
  • Give an example of the stimulus material
  • Describe how you will be using your stimulus material.
  • What are you manipulating (independent variable)?
  • Describe the attributes of your target sample and exclusion criteria.

Methods summary for ethics: equipment

Depending on availability of equipment, this project will use either keystroke logging or pen movement data to collect writing disfluency information.

  • Scriptlog (face-to-face) – longer texts.
  • Gorilla for online data collection – short texts only.
  • For pen data, use Livescribe smartpens and Wacom digitising tablets via the programme Eye and Pen or OpenHandWrite.

Ethics

  • What comes to mind? – Keywords!
  • What do they mean? Why are they important?
  • How do they translate into (research) practice?
  • What’s the BPS “Code of Ethics and Conduct?”

What is the BPS “Code of Ethics and Conduct”

Ethical principles and standards of behavior that psychologists in the United Kingdom are expected to adhere to (British Psychological Society 2022).

  1. Respect: respect the dignity and worth of all individuals, including research participants
  2. Competence: strive to maintain high standards of competence
  3. Responsibility: take responsibility for their actions and decisions
  4. Integrity: act with honesty, integrity, and transparency in all their professional relationships and activities
  5. Fidelity: be trustworthy and maintaining the trust of clients and the public
  6. Professional and Scientific Responsibility: contribute to the development and application of knowledge in the field of psychology and to uphold the highest standards of scientific and professional conduct
  7. Respect for Rights and Dignity of People: consider the rights, autonomy, and well-being of individuals and groups, taking into account issues such as informed consent, confidentiality, and privacy
  8. Societal Responsibility: consider the impact of their work on society as a whole and strive to promote the welfare of individuals and the community

How does the code relate to ethics?

  1. Informed Consent: Researchers must obtain the voluntary and informed consent of individuals who participate in their studies. Participants should be provided with clear, understandable information about the research, its purpose, potential risks, and benefits. They should have the freedom to decide whether or not to participate without coercion.

  2. Confidentiality and Privacy: Researchers must protect the confidentiality and privacy of research participants. This involves ensuring that the data and identities of participants are kept confidential and secure. Researchers should only disclose information with the participant’s explicit consent or when required by law.

  3. Minimization of Harm: Researchers should take steps to minimize any potential harm or discomfort to participants. This includes assessing and mitigating potential risks, ensuring that the research does not cause undue stress, and providing appropriate support if distress occurs during the study.

  4. Beneficence and Non-Maleficence: Researchers have a moral obligation to maximize the benefits of their research while minimizing harm. They should strive to conduct research that contributes positively to knowledge or the welfare of society. This principle also includes ensuring that the potential benefits of the research outweigh any potential risks.

  5. Right to Withdraw from a research study at any time without facing negative consequences or repercussions. Researchers must respect this right and provide participants with clear information on how to withdraw from the study.

  6. Scientific Integrity: Researchers must adhere to high standards of scientific integrity. This includes conducting research with honesty, transparency, and accuracy. Data should not be falsified or manipulated, and results should be reported truthfully, even if they are unexpected or do not support the researcher’s hypotheses.

Ethics

  • Find pre-populated template of Ethics form on Teams (files section).
  • Make a copy and save it to the folder “Ethics – in progress”
  • Read through the form and my comments, ask questions, and finally adapt it to your research.
  • Work on the forms in Teams so we can look at it and help.

Ethics

  • Please complete the form by next Tuesday (Nov 7): drop us an email when your ethics form is ready for feedback.
  • Once the form has been completed and has been signed off by MT or JR, email it to SOC.ethics@ntu.ac.uk with MT and JR cc’d.

References

British Psychological Society. 2022. “Code of Ethics and Conduct.” https://www.bps.org.uk/guideline/code-ethics-and-conduct.

Griffin, Zenzi M. 2003. “A Reversed Word Length Effect in Coordinating the Preparation and Articulation of Words in Speaking.” Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 10 (3): 603–9.

Roeser, Jens, Mark Torrance, and Thom Baguley. 2019. “Advance Planning in Written and Spoken Sentence Production.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 45 (11): 1983–2009.