9 Registered Report Project Starter Packs
9.1 General overview of the registered report
In this course, we are preparing you to read/appraise journal articles, know how to conduct your own project, and write up an empirical quantitative research project. Throughout the lectures, labs, and independent learning, you will learn how to formulate a research question, design a study, apply statistical analyses, and write up your results to communicate to others as a research report.
In your group, you will decide on a topic and collectively write a stage one registered report (see the stage one AIS) which contains an introduction and method section for how you plan on addressing your research question. Individually, you will then write a stage two registered report (see the stage two AIS) which contains a results, discussion, and abstract section. You have more than enough to learn about in this course without worrying about designing a study, applying for ethics, and collecting data yourselves. Therefore, we have developed two projects for you and your group to choose from and pick your own adventure.
One project focuses on sustainability and the other project focuses on inclusion/belonging. The British Psychological Society (BPS) identified both of these topics as two key areas that psychology graduates can contribute to for evidence-based understanding, policy, and intervention. As psychology students, you will learn about research methods and statistics with an applied focus, to robustly and reproducibly address research questions relevant to psychology.
We have already designed and prepared the projects you will work with in your groups. You will write a stage one and stage two registered report from the perspective of the researcher as if you conducted the studies yourselves, but you will only help us to collect data and add to the participant pool. This reduces pressure and gives you time to focus on learning about research methods and statistics before you design your own studies in future courses and in your dissertation. Autonomy is important in education though, so you have the choice between two projects to decide on as a group, and within each project there is flexibility in the research questions you can develop.
The rest of this chapter outlines starter packs to learn more about the two projects and give you a starting point for your research, so please read through in advance of your first lab.
9.2 Sustainability starter pack
9.2.1 Study background
Eating meat is a key contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. One potential low cost intervention to reduce meat eating is using dynamic norms in the messaging behind adopting more sustainable behaviours. A dynamic norm is where you highlight the change of a norm over time, such as more people recently changing their behaviour to eat less meat. In contrast, a static norm describes it’s current state. Sparkman & Walton (2017) demonstrated that dynamic norms would lead to greater intention to eat less meat than static norms. However, studies like Aldoh et al. (2024) have struggled to replicate the finding and question whether it translates to actual behaviour.
In our study, we include items on meat eating for a replication of previous work on the effect of dynamic norms but we also offer an extension opportunity to explore the effect of dynamic norms on alternative types of sustainable behaviour like using public transport and reusable cups/bottles.
9.2.2 Why is this topic important?
The BPS highlight the role of psychology research in responding to challenges/opportunities relating to the United Nation’s (UN) sustainable development goals. Psychologists have the tools to conduct research to inform evidence-based policy and interventions in addressing these goals. The goals most relevant to this project are 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and 13 (climate action).
9.2.3 Relevant theory
One popular theory relating to behaviour change is the COM-B model of behaviour (Michie et al., 2011). The aim of this theory is to explain why a specific behavior occurs and how to create interventions that lead to effective change in that behaviour. COM-B stands for capability (C), opportunity (O), and motivation (M), relating to a given behaviour (B). Ask yourselves the following questions:
How well regarded is the COM-B model? Does empirical evidence generally support it as a theory of human behaviour?
How might the COM-B model apply to understanding adopting more sustainable behaviours such as meat eating, using public transport, and using reusable cups/bottles?
Based on the theory, what kind of effect from dynamic norms do you predict to find?
9.2.4 Research design
You will be unfamiliar with a lot of this terminology at the start of the course, but we outline it nice and early to help refine your research question and know what variables you will have available since you did not design the study yourself.
There is one independent variable with two levels. We randomise participants into one of two groups: they receive a dynamic norm statement or they receive a static norm statement.
There are three potential dependent variables which measure interest in adopting a more sustainable behaviour. For this course, we heavily recommend choosing just one of the measures given the word count of the stage one and stage two registered report assessments. The three dependent variables are:
How interested are you in eating less meat? We measure this on a 0 (not at all interested) to 100 (extremely interested) scale.
How interested are you in using more public transport? We measure this on a 0 (not at all interested) to 100 (extremely interested) scale.
How interested are you in using a reusable cup or bottle for takeout purchases? We measure this on a 0 (not at all interested) to 100 (extremely interested) scale.
We then have a selection of others variables available for reporting or identifying a specific sample such as age, gender, vegetarian status, political position, student status, and self-reported data quality. You will see more information on the wording and options behind these variables in the code book and Qualtrics walkthrough.
9.2.5 Potential research questions
In this introductory course, we focus on analysing research designs with two variables. Most relevant to this project is one independent variable (dynamic vs static norms) and one dependent variable of your choice from the three sustainable behaviours. For example, you might focus on a replication with a research question on eating meat like:
“Do dynamic norms lead to greater intentions to eat less meat compared to static norms?”
On the other hand, you might explore one of the other dependent variables as an extension and develop a research question like:
“Do dynamic norms lead to greater intentions to use more public transport compared to static norms?”
While we focus on two variables for the design and analysis in this course, you could develop a more specific research question in your stage one report by identifying a specific sample/population:
“Do dynamic norms lead to greater intentions to eat less meat compared to static norms in international students?”
These are only examples for inspiration and you are welcome to develop an alternative evidence-based research question in your groups providing it is possible within the constraints of the study design.
9.3 Culture shock starter pack
9.3.1 Study background
Studying abroad provides international students with opportunities to develop their identity, language proficiency, academic achievement, and employability. These benefits are most likely realised when students are equipped with the skills and knowledge to navigate an intercultural educational setting. However, the study-abroad journey is not always smooth. Many international students, for example, experience culture shock, which can involve feelings of stress, uncertainty, and discomfort as they adapt to a new cultural environment (Ward et al., 2001; Zhou et al., 2008).
Culture shock is frequently depicted as an unavoidable component of studying abroad. Yet international students are often regarded as a homogeneous group (Lomer & Mittelmeier, 2023), with insufficient attention to the diverse ways they experience and navigate this transition. At the same time, culture shock, while described as difficult, can also foster growth by giving students fresh perspectives and helping them integrate unfamiliar cultural experiences into their existing worldview (Devito, 2004).
Still, more research is needed to better understand how international students experience culture shock in the UK. This study, therefore, seeks to provide a clearer understanding of these experiences in higher education.
9.3.2 Why is this topic important?
Culture shock affects how international students adjust socially and academically in the UK. Investigating these experiences is important because the findings can inform support in concrete areas such as orientation programmes, academic advising, peer networks, and wellbeing services. Strengthening these forms of support can help students settle with greater confidence, succeed in their studies, and participate more fully in university life.
9.3.3 Relevant theory
Researchers who study transitions note that it is not always clear when culture shock actually begins (Brown & Holloway, 2008). One of the first attempts to describe the process came from Lysgaand (1955), who proposed the U-curve model of adjustment. According to this idea, newcomers typically start out feeling enthusiastic and optimistic, but these early impressions often give way to periods of difficulty or disorientation. Over time, many gradually regain balance and move toward a more stable sense of adjustment.
A few years later, Oberg (1960) introduced the term culture shock and outlined it as a four-stage process. The first, the honeymoon stage, is characterised by excitement and curiosity in response to the new environment. This enthusiasm can fade into what Oberg called the regression stage, when frustration and irritation with cultural differences become more noticeable. As people spend longer in the new setting, they usually begin to find practical ways of managing daily life, marking the adjustment stage. Eventually, some reach a point of recovery, where cultural differences are not only accepted but also valued as part of a deeper adaptation.
Ward et al. (2001) put forward what they called the ABC model of culture shock, which looks at the affective (A), behavioural (B), and cognitive (C) sides of adjusting to a new culture. The affective part is about emotions, for example, the stress, homesickness, or anxiety that can come with moving abroad. Behaviour covers the skills people need, such as using the language, managing routines, or finding ways to connect with others. The cognitive side has more to do with how people think about cultural differences, and how they form views of both their host and home cultures. Taken together, these three areas show that adjustment is not just a matter of passing through fixed stages, but involves emotions, actions, and thoughts working alongside each other.
9.3.4 Research design
In this study, international students in the UK are asked to complete the 12-item Culture Shock Questionnaire (Mumford, 1998), which is designed to assess culture shock. In addition, participants provide demographic information, including:
Age (in years)
Gender (male, female, non-binary)
Level of study (undergraduate, postgraduate taught, postgraduate research)
Length of stay in the UK (in months)
Self-rated English proficiency (measured on a scale from 0 = ‘not proficient at all’ to 100 = ‘extremely proficient’)
First-time study abroad (Yes/No)
9.3.5 Potential research questions
In this course, our emphasis is on exploring research designs that involve two variables. The first type of research question focuses on the relationship between two variables. For example:
Is there a relationship between international students’ culture shock and their self-rated English proficiency?
Is culture shock among international students associated with their length of stay in the UK?
The second type of research question investigates group differences, asking whether different groups of participants show variation on a particular outcome. In this project, examples might include:
Do international postgraduate taught students experience greater culture shock than international undergraduate students?
Do first-time study abroad students report higher culture shock than students who have studied abroad before?
These are only examples for inspiration and you are welcome to develop an alternative evidence-based research question in your groups providing it is possible within the constraints of the study design.
This seems like a big decision to make so early, but we use your initial interests to arrange people into groups when you might not know other people in your lab yet. We expect most groups will have a mix of preferences for the sustainability or culture shock study, so the first few weeks will be working with your group to decide on the project and your specific research question. You must make any decision on the project and research question in collaboration with all the members of your group. Once you settle on two variables, you might also focus on a specific population in your group as you develop your rationale, so there is still plenty of creative freedom within each project.
Now you have read through the project starter packs, think about which project interests you the most and complete the project interest form (available on Moodle). We will start putting you in groups in week 2 so you have as much time as possible to work on your group project.