Leftover thesis topics

What is the typical sample size used in undergraduate/masters psychology projects at our University?

In this project, you will code the sample sizes used in theses in psychology, as well as the method used. It is important as this will allow us to examine whether student projects have sufficient statistical power. It will also help your future colleagues by tallying what is normative.

What is the ‘type’ of sample used in undergraduate/masters psychology projects at our University?

A recurrent criticism of psychology is that our samples are largely non-representative (e.g., Arnett, 2008). In this project you will code theses from psychology and the samples they use. Are they predominantly students? Are some of them fairly diverse (international students) or are they mostly British? Are they mostly dominated by one gender? These are the types of questions you are able to address.

Gender differences in everyday risk taking during ‘Covid19 times’.

This builds on the above framework. All else being equal, men take more risks in daily life than women. Can we observe this in everyday behaviour?

Observing gender differences in use of hand sanitiser when entering a building.
Observing gender differences in mask wearing on campus.
Observing gender differences in mask wearing on public transport.

Here is a paper we wrote on these behaviours:

Bainbridge, S., Allsopp, S., & Pollet, T.V. (2022). Gender differences and mask wearing: an observational study on a University campus and a mini-meta-analysis. Human Ethology, 37, 36-45. access .pdf here

Individual differences in Statistical knowledge.

You will examine the degree to which your fellow students understand basic concepts in statistics, and whether there are individual differences and how knowledge of statistics is related to performance on exams. This project can be run online. The most interesting project would include a longitudinal component (i.e. at start of semester versus at end of semester). It is therefore better suited as a master project.

E-sports

E-sports are a rapidly emerging phenomenon and a million or even billion dollar industry. In this area there is room to explore some psychological phenomena, typically documented in regular sports. For example:

The ‘too much talent effect’ : If you continue to add excellent players, is there a point after which performance goes down?
Is there a ‘home advantage’?
Does changing a coach work?
Are hierarchies in e-sports stable?
Do red teams win more than other colours?