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Sample-research-plan.pdf

Music! Harmful or Helpful?

Purpose

To determine if listening to different types of music affects human heart rate and blood pressure.

Hypothesis

If there is a relationship between the type of music a subject is exposed to and their heart rate and blood pressure, then a subject’s heart rate and blood pressure will be highest when listening to heavy metal and lowest when listening to dub.

Variables

  • Independent variable: type of music played
  • Dependent variable: heart rate (measured in beats per minute) and blood pressure (millimeters of mercury – mmHg, systolic over diastolic) of human subjects

Materials

  • iPod with:
    • “Go Go Gadget Gospel” – Gnarls Barkley (hip hop)
    • “The Word” – Junkyard Band (go-go)
    • “I am Ahab” – Mastodon (heavy metal)
    • “Robot Rock” – Daft Punk (house)
    • “Tidal Wave” – Lee “Scratch” Perry (dub)
  • Recliner
  • Sphygmomanometer (to measure blood pressure)
  • Stethoscope
  • Stopwatch
  • Ten human subjects, 5 male, 5 female, all between 13 and 43 years old

Safety Precautions

I will set the iPod volume to one-quarter bar to prevent hearing damage. I will screen all subjects to make sure that none suffer from high blood pressure, hypertension, or irregular heart rate. I will have all students under the age of 18 fill out a parental consent form. I will have my project approved by a registered nurse who will serve as my adult sponsor.

Procedures

  1. Create a quiet environment for the experiment with no distractions (no TV, other people, no talking).
  2. Select ten human subjects. Do not select students with any health issues that might affect their safety or impact results. Have subjects fill out a consent form. Keep forms in a notebook.
  3. Place the subject in a reclining position, resting, with legs uncrossed.
  4. Wrap the blood pressure cuff securely around the subject’s left upper arm. The arm will be extended, palm up, and resting on the chair.
  5. Set the iPod volume to one-quarter bar. Place the iPod earphones into the subjects’ ears.
  6. Take the subject’s blood pressure and pulse rate before the first song and record.
  7. Play the first song for two minutes.
  8. Take the subject’s blood pressure and heart rate after the song. Record.
  9. Allow the subject to relax for five minutes before playing the next song. The subject may read, but should not do any activity that would increase heart rate or blood pressure.
  10. Follow steps 2-8 for songs 3-5.
  11. Repeat steps 1-10 for all ten human subjects.

Bibliography

5 sources