Observational

The hypothesis for this observational study will be: consuming a healthy breakfast will have a high, positive effect on playground behaviour. That children are more likely to engage more in playground activities when having eaten breakfast, in comparison to those who didn’t. The sampling method for the observation will be a random sample, meaning every child in the year has an equal chance of selection, therefore there is no experimenter bias in who takes part. Also due to the study not particularly focussing on gender, therefore gender bias is less likely to be raised, however a fair selection would be preferable.

The independent variable will be whether or not the child has consumed breakfast that morning. 10 children will have eaten breakfast and 10 will not have, allowing us a broad proportion. The dependent variable will be the level of liveliness witnessed by the child, from both who have consumed breakfast and who have not. The extraneous variable will be the time of day, the morning, as the children will be more aware and alert. Also the children participating will have all been randomly selected from the same year group, meaning that they will all be the same age. Due to the study being observational, some would argue that behaviour checklists would be most appropriate, using a rating system. There will be 4 categories: shouting/screaming, running, fighting and playing accordingly, these 4 categories will be rated on a scale from 1 to 5 by the observer.

It will be a independent groups design, meaning no order effects such as boredom or fatigue, which ideally suits the participants, in this case the children being used. The children are also less likely to drop out as they only take part in one task only. Furthermore them being observed makes it easier as they would act how they would on a regular basis.

To remove any ethical issues, the observer will obtain parental consent, a letter of consent will be given to parents of the chosen children, to...