discuss some of the challenges you faced in designing your research and thoughts on how to overcome those challenges. What was your final resolution to those challenges?

Research Issue:

What impact does mindfulness meditation have on college students' anxiety symptoms?

Separate Variable:

Practice of mindfulness meditation (implemented as 20 minutes a day for four weeks, using a mindfulness app)

Dependent Factor:

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory - State Version (STAI-S) is a tool used to operationalize anxiety symptoms.

To guarantee internal authenticity, the subsequent actions will be implemented:

1. To determine a functional link between the independent variable (mindfulness meditation) and the dependent variable (anxiety symptoms), use a single-case design with numerous baselines among individuals.

2. Determine who qualifies for increased anxiety symptoms by administering the STAI-S as a pre-assessment to participants. Reports of moderate to severe anxiety should be made by participants.

Assign participants at random to distinct start dates for the intervention phase in order to account for any potential confounding variables (such as the season or outside pressures).

4. Use the STAI-S to get comprehensive baseline evaluation data on anxiety symptoms prior to intervention. For a duration of two weeks, this may include several evaluations in order to ensure stability in the participant's baseline values.

5. During the intervention phase, carry out the mindfulness meditation intervention for every participant. For four weeks, participants will be required to practice mindfulness meditation for twenty minutes each day using a mindfulness app.

6. To monitor changes in anxiety symptoms over time, gather data on anxiety symptoms using the STAI-S at regular intervals (such as once a week) during the intervention period.

7. To evaluate the impact of the mindfulness meditation intervention on anxiety symptoms for each participant, use statistical analyses (such as effect size calculations and the percentage of non-overlapping data) in conjunction with visual analysis.

8. Use the STAI-S for post-intervention evaluations to see whether any noted decreases in anxiety symptoms have persisted.

9. To ascertain if the observed alterations in anxiety symptoms are related to the intervention, withdrawal or go back to the baseline phase. This may include stopping the mindfulness meditation practice and keeping an eye on anxiety symptoms for a while.

10. Gather follow-up information at a later time (for example, three months after the intervention) to evaluate mindfulness meditation's long-term impact on anxiety symptoms.

11. After the study is over, conduct debriefing interviews with participants to get qualitative input about their experiences using the mindfulness meditation intervention.

This study satisfies the requirements for research rather than just an intervention with data collection because it employs a single-case design with a multiple baseline across participants design, random assignment, multiple baseline assessments, comprehensive data collection, statistical analyses, and post-intervention assessments. Through the use of a strict study design and methodical, repeatable data collection, it seeks to establish a functional link between the dependent variable (anxiety symptoms) and the independent variable (mindfulness meditation). To ascertain whether the observed reductions in anxiety symptoms are indeed the result of the mindfulness meditation intervention, a withdrawal period is also helpful. Furthermore, an assessment of the intervention's maintenance and long-term impacts is made possible by the inclusion of post-intervention and follow-up evaluations. The overall goal of this study is to add to the body of evidence already available about the impact of mindfulness meditation on anxiety symptoms and to give practitioners and researchers in the area useful information.