The Great Parking Debate

A Research Methods Case Study

Author:	Jennifer Feenstra Department of Psychology Northwestern College jfeenstr@nwciowa.edu
Abstract:	Two friends debate whether people leave their parking spaces faster if others are waiting. They decide to see if they can design a study to test their ideas. In this interrupted case study, students develop a research question and hypothesis and consider how to test a hypothesis. Students read about what researchers have done to answer the research question and identify and evaluate different research designs. Students are also asked to evaluate data. Developed for a use in an introductory psychology course to cover terms and concepts related to research methods, the case could be used in other introductory science classes, early in research methods courses, or in upper-level social science courses.
Objectives:	Critically evaluate terms and concepts related to research methodology. Evaluate various research methods and understand the positives, negatives, and potential uses of those methods. Evaluate data.
Keywords:	Research methods; experiment; experimental design; hypothesis testing; observational research; naturalistic observation; survey; dependent variable; independent variable; random assignment; human behavior; parking
Topical Area:	Scientific method
Educational Level:	High school, Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division
Formats:	PDF
Type/Method:	Discussion, Interrupted
Language:	English
Subject Headings:	Psychology Sociology Science (General)
Date Posted:	4/5/2011
Date Modified:	N/A
Copyright:	Copyright held by the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York. Please see our usage guidelines, which outline our policy concerning permissible reproduction of this work.

Teaching Notes

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Answer Key

Answer keys provide answers to the questions posed in a case study. Since these questions are intended to be answered by students and are often graded, answer keys are password-protected and access to them is limited to registered instructors.

Supplemental Materials

Teachers using this case may be interested in incorporating the video clip based on the case study that was made by the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. The video clip, titled "Parking: A Behavioural Study," is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzyL7zKCBS4

Download Supplemental Materials

Teachers using this case may be interested in incorporating the video clip based on the case study that was made by the University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

The video clip, titled "Parking: A Behavioural Study," is available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzyL7zKCBS4

Editor, National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

11/15/2012

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