Introduction
Memory is imperative not only for students to pass examinations but to everybody in daily life. The more critical the information is, the greater the predisposition to encode and recall it. Retaining the names and other particulars of people who are essential to us improves our personal, professional as well as social life. Loss of memory or low memory can really cost an individual hence the importance of having a high memory (Kelly & Delta, 2008). There are various memory improvement techniques that have scientifically been proven to work.
This report seeks to establish whether eating chocolates can help boost one’s memory as hypothesized by many scientists after determining that diet has an effect on memory. It does not seek to examine the effect of diet on memory since that would be too wide and is likely to raise more concerns. Testing of this hypothesis will be much easier and the results would have a high degree of accuracy and can this be used in making concrete, long-lasting conclusions that can apparently be subjected to tests by anyone.
Method
This research was conducted by questionnaire and investigated students from Ohio University. A total of 100 questionnaires were disseminated. The survey was voluntary and anonymous as no personal information was collected. Survey collection boxes were located in every corner of the university to make the data collection process efficient and effective. 50 male students and 50 female students were randomly selected from a population of more than a thousand students.
The male students were given black questionnaires while the female students were given white questionnaires to make it easier to identify the genders during data presentation. No personal biases were allowed to prevail in the entire data collection process as the questionnaires were skillfully designed to ensure that the respondents will be confident and willing to provide the required information without making any distortions. They were then required to provide authentic confidential information of their scores in a math test that they did before eating chocolates. Afterwards, they were each offered a bar of chocolate which they ate and sat for the same exam after 1.5 hours. Their scores in the tests were then recorded and compared. A statistical significance test was then conducted to establish the level of significance and the relationship between eating chocolates and exam scores.
Results
There was a 95% response rate to the questionnaire. A test to compare the mean of the two different genders scores after and before consuming chocolates was then performed. The t-test established a t value of 3.43. On conducting a p-test to ascertain the level of significance, a p value of less than .05 was obtained (p< .05) (Wall, 2012). Statistical significance was used as it is the best known method of comparing any two independent scientific data. From these results, the null hypothesis that chocolates do not have an effect on memory is therefore to be rejected as its coefficient is more than zero. The alternative hypothesis is that chocolates have an effect an effect on memory. More specifically, it boosts the memory of an individual.
Discussion
However, the study is limited in that it did not take into account factors such as time and biological traits of an individual which could significantly have an effect on one’s memory and recalling propensity. However, it was a bit challenging to collect and analyses the data as it required lots of suppositions, extrapolations and computations. The research could be improved by testing a slightly bigger population sample (n-size) to allow comparison of large findings that would apparently lead to more realistic and steady results (Wall, 2012). The research findings could also be improved by use of more statistical-based data analysis and elucidation tools.
Forthcoming research can be improved by changing one of the variables and taking into account other factors that might have an impact on the independent variable. A more comprehensive data analysis process should also be used to increase the sustainability of any similar research and trustworthiness of the findings.
In conclusion, the prominence of chocolate in heightening memory should not be belittled (Kelly & Delta, 2008). It was quite difficult to write a hypothetical research since the values had to concur with the conclusion. The trick lied in coming up with theoretical values whose analysis will tally with the conclusion. This experience of creating a hypothetical research report will enhance performance in my carrier as it will be easy to come up with hypothetical values that appear real.
References
Kelly, E. B., & Delta, K. (2008). Memory enhancement for educators. Bloomington, Ind: 36(6), pp.14-312
Nehlig, A. (2004). Coffee, tea, chocolate, and the brain. Journal of medical psychology, 4(5), pp. 193-209.
Wall, F. J. (2012). Statistics. Statistical data analysis handbook, 67(2), pp. 241.
