Practice Project Instructions (p.1)
When engaged in conversation, do men and women move their hands similar amounts? Expanding on the research interests of Kimura, you will observe people and determine the answer.
Before you can perform the experiment you must make a hypothesis, define your variables, create a list of materials and obtain them, write and follow a procedure, then collect data based on your observations. Only after these tasks have been completed can you prepare your lab report.
Experiments often stem from questions researchers are curious about. The question this practice experiment relates to may be as simple as “Do hand movements differ in men and women during conversation?” One hypothesis might be that men move their hands more than women or that women move their hands more than men. One might even hypothesize that there is no significant difference in hand movements. What would you choose for a hypothesis?
You must create a list of materials. Based on the information that follows (next page), you will need paper and pencil to record your observations, a watch or timing device, and people to observe!