PSY391 Applied Research Methods and Statistics Tutor-Marked Assignment 02, 2026, Singapore

PSY391 Tutor-Marked Assignment 02

Due Date: Tuesday 13/10/2026 11:55pm

Answer ALL parts to the question.

Question 1 (100 marks)

Secondary analysis of existing data is an alternate approach of doing research. There are two general approaches for analysing existing data: the ‘research question-driven’ approach and the ‘data-driven’ approach. In the research question approach, researchers have an a priori hypothesis or a question in mind and then look for suitable datasets to address the question. In the data-driven approach, researchers examine variables in a particular dataset and decide what kind of questions can be answered by the available data.

A set of secondary data will be provided on Canvas. You are expected to clean up the dataset prior to data analysis. It is up to your discretion to consider if only certain variables in the dataset will be used, and if certain variables need to be recoded, reversed scored or transformed to suit your study’s objectives and/or chosen analysis. The scales introduced in the dataset are publicly available. Please ensure that you are familiar with the purpose, scoring and classification of the scales used in this dataset.

You will have to first clean the data, briefly examine the literature on your assigned topic, state your research question, and formulate a hypothesis. You do not need to write up the “Methods” section. You will then apply your knowledge of data analysis to analyse the data and make meaningful interpretations that answer your proposed research question. Finally, you will discuss the implications of your study.

There are two parts to this assignment. You will be required to write a report and create an academic poster based on your report.

Part 1: Report (50 marks) 

[Word limit: 1,500 words]

Refer to the designated data set and write a report of no more than 1500 words in total with the following 5 headers:

(1) Introduction and Literature Review: Provide a brief introduction and conduct a brief literature review of no more than 300 words to provide context to your hypotheses.

(2) Research Question(s) and Hypothesis/es: State your research question(s) then formulate and operationalize your hypothesis/es. This section should consist of no more than 150 words.

(3) Results: Provide a brief section on how you have cleaned data and why you have excluded data from your analysis (if applicable). Apply your knowledge of data analysis and use the data from the designated data set to test your hypothesis/es (you must use the provided SPSS software for this section). Present your data in a ‘Results’ section (using APA formatting for tables/figures).

(4) Discussion: Discuss briefly the implications of your findings as supported with literature (i.e., how it answers your research question).

(5) Appendix: Attach relevant screenshots of statistical output tables for verification purposes. The appendix does not contribute towards the 1,500 word count.

*Please keep your cleaned data available. Your tutor may request for them in the event they need to check the data and analysis/es conducted.

If you are unsure how to run statistical analyses on SPSS, here are three helpful resources you can tap on:

• https://www.psychreg.org/comprehensive-guide-spss-in-psychology-masteringbasics/#Getting_started_importing_and_preparing_data
• https://www.youtube.com/@statorials
• https://www.youtube.com/@how2stats

Part 2: Digital Academic Poster (45 marks) 

[Word limit: 500 words]

You are required to create an academic poster (You will not be required to present it in class). Your poster is based on your report and should consist of the following sections: (1)

Introduction/Literature Review, (2) Research Question and Hypotheses, (3) Results, and (4) Discussion. You are required to include a reference list. The academic poster will be graded holistically based on five competencies that constructs a meaningful academic poster:

(1) Critical Thinking: Has reasoned judgements that are logical, analytical, and wellsupported by evidence and interpretation of findings.

(2) Communication: Communication of ideas are clear and concise in a manner that effectively engages and informs the audience.

(3) Creativity: Demonstrates originality and innovation in the presentation and communication of research findings and ideas.

(4) Structure and Flow: Information is organized in a coherent, logical, and easy-tofollow manner with clear progression between sections.

(5) Visuals: Visual elements such as graphs, tables, figures, colour schemes, and layout are used effectively to enhance clarity, readability, and audience engagement.

The formatting instructions are as follows:

• Include your name and PI number at the bottom right-hand corner of the poster, for formal documentation.
• The word limit for this assignment is 500, which includes all content except the reference list.
• Format margins to A1 size which is 84.1cm by 59.4cm.
• Main title should be 70 to 80 points font size.
• Sub-headings between 40 to 50 points font size.
• Normal text minimum is 20-point font size.
• Reference list minimum is 14-point font size.
• Apply APA7 formatting, where relevant and necessary (e.g., referencing).
• Submit your poster as a PDF exported directly from Microsoft Word (or equivalent), with all text remaining selectable and detectable. Do not submit a PDF created from a saved image of the completed infographic, as the text will not be detectable and may result in submission errors.
• If you are using Canva, please export your work as PDF Standard and ensure that the text remains selectable and detectable to avoid any submission errors.

If you are unfamiliar with academic posters, here are two useful resources to refer to:

• https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/facultyofhealthandlifesciences/inspire/Ho w,to,design,an,academic,poster.pdf
• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_the_purdue_surf_pro gram/documents/0130422111105_979_designing_scientific_reseach_posters.pdf

References (5 marks) 

The References lists the full reference of all sources cited or referred to in your assignment. Intext citations also need to be presented accurately in APA format.

Note: Valid academic sources include peer-reviewed academic journal articles, academic books and book chapters. The iSmartGuide, student theses, and online websites, blog posts, or videos are NOT considered valid academic sources.

There will be no awarding of 1, 2, or 3 marks.

5 marks: Perfect use of APA style. Demonstrates a thorough understanding of APA format and referencing conventions. A minimum of 5 valid academic references are cited.

4 marks: Near perfect use of APA style. Demonstrates a very good understanding of APA format and referencing conventions.  A minimum of 5 valid academic references are cited.

0 marks:  Fails to meet the above requirements.

English competency (Deduct up to 5 marks)

No marks are allocated to English competency, but a penalty of up to 5 marks will apply for errors.

1–2 mark penalty: Minor errors present, such as typos and spelling or punctuation mistakes.

3–5 mark penalty: Major errors or a fair number of minor errors present, such as spelling or punctuation mistakes, or use of colloquial and/or non-academic writing style.