Margin of error, sometimes called the confidence interval, is a term used in reporting results in forensic psychology research as well as in the world of polling and elections. For example, when reporting election results, you have probably heard the news media state something like the following: “John Doe has 51% of the vote with a 3-point margin of error.” This means that John Doe probably has 51% of the vote, but the results may not be entirely accurate. He could have any percentage between 48 and 54 (51 plus or minus 3 percentage points) of the vote, but only 95% of the time. The other 5% of the time he could have more than 54% or less than 48% of the vote. Similarly, in a research study, the margin of error refers to how willing and/or likely you are to come to a false conclusion about the results of your research.
—————————————————————————-
To Prepare:
Review Chapter 6 in your course text, Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. Pay particular attention to the concept of margin of error and what it represents.
Using the Walden Library, select a forensic psychology research article of interest to you, and one that uses margin of error in reporting its results.
Review the study keeping in mind the concept of margin of error and its implications in the study.
Think about how and why the margin of error impacts the results of the study.
—————————————————————————–
TO DO:
Post a brief descriiption of the research article you selected and a brief summation of the sections on methods and results. Explain how the margin of error is reported in the article, and how and why the margin of error impacts the results of the study.
