A school psychologist wants to test the effectiveness of a mindfulness training program designed to improve student wellbeing and learning. The psychologist hypothesises that students receiving the training will miss fewer days of school due to sickness and absenteeism and will learn more effectively. There is a test at the end of term which is used to select students to receive a scholarship, and the psychologist thinks this is an excellent chance to test the hypothesis that mindfulness also improves learning outcomes. To recruit students, the psychologist attends a regular spelling class for each year level and tells students about the study. The psychologist hopes to get students from each year level so the effectiveness of the training for students of different ages can be compared. Students who want to participate are invited to sign up after the class. Places in the mindfulness sessions are given to the first 60 that sign up. If students get a place, they participate in weekly training sessions held during a lunch hour and are given homework to help them master the skills. The names of students in the mindfulness workshops will be given to the school registrar. The registrar has access to student attendance records and scholarship exam scores, and will provide this data to the psychologist.The registrar will also provide attendance/absence and scholarship exam data for a random sample of students who did not sign up for the program so that the psychologist has a comparison group evaluate the outcomes of the program.

Required:

a) What is/are the independent variable/s?

b) What is/are the dependent variable/s?

c) What are the ethical considerations in this study and how might these be addressed?

d) Why is it important for psychology researchers to submit their research proposals for ethical review before commencing their research projects?