What do I need to do? Using the data provided on Aula (sleep.sav), you are required

Background and Aims
Poor sleep quality (e.g., having disrupted or inadequate sleep) is known to have a negative impact on psychological wellbeing and cognitive performance (see Palmer & Alfano, 2017). It is therefore important to examine potential factors that may contribute to poor sleep quality. By identifying such factors, psychotherapists may be able to better pinpoint therapeutic processes to improve sleep quality. One key predictor of poor sleep is that of perceived stress. In particular, perceived ostracism (e.g., feeling ignored or excluded; Williams, 2009) is known to lead to poor sleep quality (e.g., Waldeck et al., 2020). Emotion regulation is also suggested to have an important role in how we sleep. According to Hayes et al. (2006), the more people try to avoid their internal private events (i.e., thoughts, feelings, sensations), the more distress these individuals will experience. Therefore, if a person were worried about not being able to sleep (for example), and they tried to avoid thinking about such thought (e.g., “I am still not asleep”), it may actually increase their state of worry (i.e., by engaging in experiential avoidance [EA]). Some research has suggested that EA is associated with poor sleep quality (e.g., Waldeck et al., 2020).
Other factors that are known to influence sleep quality include dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, pre-sleep arousal, and sleep hygiene. Indeed, having dysfunctional beliefs about sleep (e.g., unrealistic expectations, faulty appraisals about sleep) have been shown to be associated with a vulnerability to stress-related sleep disturbance (e.g., Yang et al., 2011). Pre-sleep arousal is divided into two components – somatic (e.g., physiological sensations such as increased heartbeat) and cognitive (e.g., increased worrying and dwelling on not being able to sleep). Pre-sleep arousal has been shown to significantly predict poor sleep quality (e.g., Gorgoni et al., 2021; Waldeck et al., 2020). Finally (although do note there are other known predictors out there in the empirical literature), poor sleep hygiene (e.g., watching tv in bed, studying in bed) has been shown to lead to poorer sleep in a student sample (e.g., Brick et al., 2010).
This study set out to determine as to which of these variables (perceived ostracism, experiential avoidance, dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, pre-sleep arousal [somatic, cognitive], and sleep hygiene) best predicts sleep quality in students.
Coursework Instructions
What do I need to do? Using the data provided on Aula (sleep.sav), you are
required to identify the appropriate method of analysis in order to address the above
research question. Second, you are to conduct the analysis using SPSS or JASP. Third, you
are to write up the ‘study’ partially, writing up the methods, results, and discussion sections.
Here are some tips:
You will need to write this report as though you carried the study out yourself;
remember you should write as a formal scientific report with past tense and third
person narrative.
Think about what design the study involves
Use the information provided below to write out your methods section, if unsure or
missing any information based on what has been learnt in lectures and based on
your reading what would you have done to have ensured as strong a study design as
possible?
In relation to the Results Section: If you create graphs such as histograms, plots that
you use to screen the data, then these should be placed in the appendix.
Please ensure that appropriate SPSS/JASP output is submitted in the appendix.
Use peer-reviewed journal articles as a guide whenever writing a lab report.
What do I need to write-up? A partial report with word count limit of 1,500 words
consisting of Methods, Results, Discussion, with Reference and appendix sections (not part of word count).
Word guides for the main sections of the report are as follows:
Method: 400 words
Results: 300 words
Discussion: 500 words
Remember less is more! Be concise. References do not count towards the word total. The report should be formatted in line with APA 7th edition guidelines.
Details on the Study
Below is the structure of the expected research report and some suggested considerations.
Methods
Participants
You will be able to identify the number of participants from the dataset, and you have already been
informed of where participants were recruited. Also, consider the type of sampling that would have
taken place, and as to how the study would have recruited. Imagine you had carried out the study so
what would have been good practice?
Note the total sample where necessary.
Design
You will need to outline the study method used to gather data, and also make clear as to what the
study design is including the variables involved. Remember to conceptualise and operationalise
variables as clearly as possible. What extraneous variables would have been controlled for?
Give a clear indication of the type of design that was used.
Outline all the variables with citations.
How was the study standardised for each participant.
What extraneous variables and factors were controlled for (if any)?
Materials
The following would have contributed to the gathering of data, find and locate the sources of those
that are established measures and outline their reliability and validity.
Adapted Workplace Ostracism Scale
Brief Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire
Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale
Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale
Sleep Hygiene Index
Sleep Quality Scale
Key Points
Include all the variables (see background to work out the full list of predictor and
Outcome variables).
Find citations for each variable.
Discuss the variables e.g. what do they measure, how do they measure that variable
(including scale information), what does the high and low score mean for the variable.
Include the reliability scores (e.g. Cronbach’s alpha). This is usually found on the original
scale information.
Please use the variable names above as they are all from standardised scales.
Procedure
Outline as to how you would have gathered the data using the method you give in the methods,
again, consider good practice and considerations.
Ethics
Provide a brief outline of ethical practice to be able to carry out the study, as well as considerations
of what ethical aspects needed to be considered and accounted for as part of the study design and
procedure.
Results
It is important to provide both descriptive and inferential analysis. You have been taught how to carry
out correlation, simple and multiple regression, as well as how to report. Please do so here.
Discussion
When writing your discussion section, you will need to summarize your findings and relate back to the research question/hypotheses. You should aim to discuss the findings in relation to existing theory and/or research literature. Consider the implications of the findings (e.g., theoretical, practical). Were there any key limitations (e.g., was the design strong? was the sample size large enough? Were there any problems with your materials?), what could improve the study (e.g., what do you suggest future researchers do differently). You should also provide a short take-home message in your conclusion.