Micro-Research

Micro-Research

Your 1st Post

You will propose a simple hypothesis and methodology related to your daily life. You should post your hypothesis and methodology as soon as possible after the opening of Unit 5, so that you have time to collect your data and post your results.

The basis of my micro-research endeavor is examining my behavior and body reaction in terms of staying for longer hours while awake at night after consuming a 250ml glass of hot coffee. I have severally observed that whenever I take a glass of coffee some minutes after a meal, I tend to stay awake for more hours compared to whenever I take milky tea. However, other times, fatigue seems to neutralize the coffee effect since sometimes I may fall asleep even after taking a glass of coffee. Therefore, the research question guiding the micro-research is, “Does taking a cup of coffee in the evening prolong the period I can stay awake?” Subsequently, the hypotheses for my study can be formulated as follows;

• Hypothesis 1: Taking a glass of coffee in the evening significantly contributes to staying awake for longer hours.
• Hypothesis 2: Taking a glass of coffee in the evening does not significantly contribute to staying awake for longer hours.

In order to test and validate one of the hypotheses above, I will stay without taking coffee for five days while recording the number of hours I can manage to stay awake. Afterwards, I will experiment by taking coffee in the evening while recording the number of hours I can stay awake for another set of five days. The average number of days will hint at the effects of coffee on hours I can stay awake. The data collected, and outcomes of the analysis will be presented in the second post.

Your 2nd Post

You will share your data and write a brief analysis and commentary, applying the concepts of causation and correlation, Mill’s Methods, or necessary and sufficient causation as discussed in the text and video lectures for this unit. The more of these concepts you correctly employ, the more insightful your analysis will be. You should make your second post as soon as you’ve collected and analyzed your data.

Days with a Glass of Coffee	Hours Stayed Awake
Day 1	2
Day 2	3
Day 3	2.5
Day 4	3.5
Day 5	3
Average Hours	2.8 Hours

The data tables and analysis to answer the formulated hypotheses;

Days without a Glass of Coffee	Hours Stayed Awake
Day 1	1
Day 2	2
Day 3	2
Day 4	1.5
Day 5	1
Average Hours	1.5 Hours

Analysis:

The data I obtained from the experimental study indicates that I had longer waking hours when I took a glass of coffee than when I did not. In order to avoid the effects and bias due to extraneous factors such as work overload and tiredness to yield accurate results, I subjected myself to similar routine activities for the ten days I was recording the data. Mill suggests that such factors reduce the results’ reliability (Creative Commons, 2019). To eliminate subject-based bias, I will request four coursemates to undertake the test to compare the results with my inferences.

Conclusion

From the experiment, it is justifiable to conclude that coffee, which acts as a stimulant, lengthens the hours I can manage to stay awake after supper. I spend most of the time after supper watching a movie. From Mill’s methods, the Difficulty of Isolating Causes concept is applicable to my situation since I can link the cause of long hours of being awake to the simulation caused by coffee (Creative Commons, 2019). The phenomena may be positively correlated, although I will require more evidence from the coursemates to confirm.

Personal Comments

The experimental study was an interesting endeavor. The real-life situation experiment has acted as a motivation for further complex research works that involve advanced analysis.

Reference 

Creative Commons. (2019). PHIL 110 Logic and Critical Thinking Course Reader. Textbook.

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Unit 5 Discussion Assignment

Causal Reasoning Micro-Research

For this assignment, you will conduct a Micro-Research project. You will make two (2) original posts on the Discussion Board and two (2) responses to your classmates during the Unit.

Your 1st Post: You will propose a simple hypothesis and methodology related to your daily life. You should post your hypothesis and methodology as soon as possible after the opening of Unit 5, so that you have time to collect your data and post your results.

Data collection: Then you will conduct your Micro-Research study and collect your data.

Your 2nd Post: You will share your data and write a brief analysis and commentary, applying the concepts of causation and correlation, Mill’s Methods, or necessary and sufficient causation as discussed in the text and video lectures for this unit. The more of these concepts you correctly employ, the more insightful your analysis will be. You should make your second post as soon as you’ve collected and analyzed your data.

What’s a Micro-Research?

It’s something you should be able to complete relatively quickly, depending on how much time is available for data collection. Begin with a question you’ve been pondering, perhaps something that you want to ascertain about your personal life or work environment. For example, “Why is my bicycle making that creaking sound?” or “Is checking my phone before bed preventing me from falling asleep?” or “Does morning exercise make me feel more alert throughout the day?”

• Pose a question similar to these as your research
• Then form a simple hypothesis — that is, a proposed answer to your research question — and think about what data you might need to collect in order to answer your research
• Collect and systematically record your
• Then look at your results and see if you can detect any patterns. Use the concepts from this course to write your analysis, including limitations and possible next

Another option for you, if you like my example below, is to continue building on the ‘Cool Shower Research’, using different variables and conditions.

Here is my example: Cool Shower Research

My 1st Post on the Discussion Board:

I noticed that some days I feel really energetic and clear-headed in the mornings but other days I feel kind of lethargic and low-energy. I wonder why. (This is my rationale for the study). A while ago I read online that taking a cool shower in the morning – instead of a hot shower – eases

stress and increases focus and alertness.  (Here I provide some background) For this Micro- Research I want to experiment if taking a cool shower makes me feel more energetic in the mornings. (Hypothesis) In order to show this, I will take a cool shower for several days in a row and on those days I will record my energy level from ‘High to Low’. I will set an alarm for myself at

10 am on those days and record how I feel. What I anticipate is that on the Cool Shower days I will see my energy level in the ‘High’ category.

Then I collected my data for 4 days (important note: you may have to abbreviate your research if you are taking an accelerated PHIL 110 course, such as Winter or Summer Session courses!)

My 2nd Post on the Discussion Board:

Here is my data chart and analysis for my Cool Shower Micro-Research:

Days	Shower Temperature	Energy Level at 10 am High/Medium/Low
Day 1	Cool	High
Day 2	Cool	High
Day 3	Cool	Medium
Day 4	Cool	High

Analysis: I noticed that on all four of the cool shower days my energy level was High or Medium. On most days (3 out of 4), I had high energy. On only one day did I have medium energy. That confirms my expectation … (here I summarize what my data shows me, what I see). However, there might be other variables that influence my focus and energy levels in the morning. For example, sometimes I meditate in the morning and other days I don’t; some days I drink coffee, but not every day; and some days I get a good night’s sleep, while other days I don’t. Also, I should continue this experiment for more than just four days and compare my energy level on Cold, Cool, Warm and Hot shower days, as well. In addition, I should ask some friends and family members to participate in my research, and we would need to agree on the definitions of “high,” “medium,” and “low” energy. (Here I provide some contextual background and list the limitations.)

Conclusion: Overall, a cool shower is at most a probable condition for higher energy and focus level in the morning. The phenomena might be positively correlated, but I can’t claim they are causally related, because according to our text/lecture… (here I would reference course materials to draw a conclusion, applying necessary/sufficient conditions, and/or Mill’s Methods, if they were relevant).

Personal Comments: I had fun experimenting with taking a cool morning shower.

Even though the result is inconclusive, a cool shower was refreshing and energizing and I will definitely continue this morning routine in the future… (My personal experience)

And now it’s your turn — enjoy your Micro-Research!