UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA)
Department of Psychology
⋄
Psychological Research
Assignment 2 — Semester 2, 2026
⋄
Module Code: PYC3714
Module Name: Psychological Research
Assignment No.: Assignment 2
Semester: Semester 2, 2026
Tutorial Letter: PYC3714/202/2
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Psychological Research
at the University of South Africa.
, UNISA | PYC3714 Assignment 2 – Psychological Research
Question 1: Independent-Samples t-Test — Tutorial Attendance and Exam Performance
The lecturer’s first research question asks whether attending extra tutorial sessions is asso-
ciated with higher exam scores. Exam scores were recorded for two independent groups of
ten students: those who attended extra tutorials (µ1 ) and those who did not (µ2 ). Because the
outcome variable, exam score, is continuous and the groups are unrelated, this question calls
for a comparison of two independent group means.
1.1 Research Hypothesis (Directional, in Words)
Students who attend extra tutorial sessions will obtain significantly higher exam scores, on
average, than students who do not attend extra tutorial sessions.
1.2 Formal Statistical Hypotheses
H0 : µ1 ≤ µ2 H1 : µ1 > µ2
where µ1 is the population mean exam score for students who receive extra tutorials and
µ2 is the population mean exam score for students who do not. The null hypothesis states
that tutorial attendance does not raise the population mean score; the directional alternative
states that it does.
1.3 Descriptive Statistics
Table 1: Descriptive statistics for exam scores by tutorial attendance
Statistic Extra tutorials (n1 ) No extra tutorials (n2 )
Sample size (n) 10 10
Sum of scores (ΣX) 787 471
Mean (X̄) 78.70 47.10
Standard deviation (s) 11.06 9.75
The tutorial group scored, on average, roughly 31.6 points higher than the no-tutorial group,
and the two groups show broadly similar spread, which supports the assumption of homo-
geneity of variance needed for a pooled-variance t-test.
Page 1 of 8
Department of Psychology
⋄
Psychological Research
Assignment 2 — Semester 2, 2026
⋄
Module Code: PYC3714
Module Name: Psychological Research
Assignment No.: Assignment 2
Semester: Semester 2, 2026
Tutorial Letter: PYC3714/202/2
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Psychological Research
at the University of South Africa.
, UNISA | PYC3714 Assignment 2 – Psychological Research
Question 1: Independent-Samples t-Test — Tutorial Attendance and Exam Performance
The lecturer’s first research question asks whether attending extra tutorial sessions is asso-
ciated with higher exam scores. Exam scores were recorded for two independent groups of
ten students: those who attended extra tutorials (µ1 ) and those who did not (µ2 ). Because the
outcome variable, exam score, is continuous and the groups are unrelated, this question calls
for a comparison of two independent group means.
1.1 Research Hypothesis (Directional, in Words)
Students who attend extra tutorial sessions will obtain significantly higher exam scores, on
average, than students who do not attend extra tutorial sessions.
1.2 Formal Statistical Hypotheses
H0 : µ1 ≤ µ2 H1 : µ1 > µ2
where µ1 is the population mean exam score for students who receive extra tutorials and
µ2 is the population mean exam score for students who do not. The null hypothesis states
that tutorial attendance does not raise the population mean score; the directional alternative
states that it does.
1.3 Descriptive Statistics
Table 1: Descriptive statistics for exam scores by tutorial attendance
Statistic Extra tutorials (n1 ) No extra tutorials (n2 )
Sample size (n) 10 10
Sum of scores (ΣX) 787 471
Mean (X̄) 78.70 47.10
Standard deviation (s) 11.06 9.75
The tutorial group scored, on average, roughly 31.6 points higher than the no-tutorial group,
and the two groups show broadly similar spread, which supports the assumption of homo-
geneity of variance needed for a pooled-variance t-test.
Page 1 of 8
