Case Study

Explain what decision Dr. Smith should make regarding Participant A and Participant B's data. Detail the steps he must take to handle their data in accordance with proper research methods practices, and explain why he should not simply delete their entries.

Case context: Dr. Smith is conducting a study on cognitive development and is checking the raw data. Participant A left the entire questionnaire for the primary dependent variable blank. Participant B selected 'Strongly Agree' for every single item on the survey, even on reverse-coded items, suggesting they did not read the questions. Dr. Smith wants to clean the dataset before starting the analysis.

Question: Explain what decision Dr. Smith should make regarding Participant A and Participant B's data. Detail the steps he must take to handle their data in accordance with proper research methods practices, and explain why he should not simply delete their entries.

Sample answer: Dr. Smith should exclude the data of both Participant A and Participant B from the main analysis because Participant A is missing key information (the dependent variable) and Participant B has highly suspicious responses. He must not delete their entries; instead, he must set their data aside and keep detailed notes explaining why they were excluded. This is necessary because the raw data might need to be viewed later by other researchers, and the exclusion must be transparently reported in the final research write-up.

Key points:

  • Exclude the participants' data due to missing key information or highly suspicious responses.
  • Set the excluded data aside rather than deleting or throwing it away.
  • Keep detailed notes explaining the specific reasons for the exclusion.
  • Report the exclusion decision in the final research write-up for transparency.

Rubric: Grading criteria: The student should correctly identify that both participants' data should be excluded due to missing information or suspicious patterns. The student must specify that the data should be set aside rather than deleted. The student must explain that detailed notes on the reason for exclusion must be kept and that the exclusion must be reported in the final write-up.

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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