Listening Section 3: Multiple Choice & Matching: Question 3

Transcript-based practice (no audio).

Freya: Thanks for making time, Dr. Petrov. I wanted to talk through my dissertation idea, at the moment it's "the effect of noise on concentration," but I know that's far too broad. Dr. Petrov: It is broad, yes. "noise" could mean almost anything, from traffic outside a window to music in headphones. What drew you to the topic in the first place? Freya: Honestly, it was working in the campus library. Some floors are silent, others are full of low background chatter, and I noticed my own concentration seemed to dip on the noisier floors. Dr. Petrov: That's a much more useful starting point than "noise" in general. So we're really talking about ambient chatter in shared workspaces, rather than something like traffic noise or music. Freya: Exactly. Should I compare chatter against complete silence, then? Dr. Petrov: You could, but a silence condition is quite hard to control for outside a lab, and it's also not that representative of a real workspace, nobody studies in total silence for long. I'd suggest comparing intermittent chatter against a continuous, steady background hum instead, like air-conditioning noise. That's a fairer real-world comparison. Freya: That makes sense, actually, you rarely get true silence, but you do get both of those in most buildings. I'll compare intermittent chatter with continuous hum, then. Dr. Petrov: Good. Now, how were you planning to measure concentration itself? Freya: I was thinking a mental arithmetic task, since it's easy to mark right or wrong. Dr. Petrov: It's easy to mark, but arithmetic performance is affected by maths anxiety in a lot of participants, which would muddy your results. A proofreading task, spotting inserted errors in a passage of text, tends to isolate sustained attention more cleanly, and it avoids that maths-anxiety confound almost entirely. Freya: Okay, proofreading it is, then, rather than arithmetic. Dr. Petrov: Who are you thinking of recruiting? Freya: I was going to recruit online through social media, to get a bigger sample. Dr. Petrov: An online sample sounds appealing for numbers, but you'd lose all control over the actual noise conditions people are sitting in at home. The whole design depends on controlling that. I'd recruit undergraduates on campus instead and run the sessions in a bookable study room, even if that means a smaller sample. Freya: Right, that's fair. The sample would be smaller, but at least the noise condition would be genuinely controlled. Campus recruitment it is. Dr. Petrov: One more thing, have you thought about ethics approval? Freya: I was going to submit the ethics form after I'd finalised the proofreading materials. Dr. Petrov: I'd flip that around, if I were you. Submit the ethics application first, in outline, since approval can take a couple of weeks, and refine the materials while you're waiting rather than afterwards. That way you're not sitting idle once the materials are ready. Freya: Good point, I'll get the ethics form in this week, then, and keep developing the materials alongside it.

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

1. What originally drew Freya to the topic of noise and concentration? A. A lecture she attended on acoustics B. Her own experience of concentration dipping on noisier library floors C. A previous dissertation she had read on the subject

2. What specific noise comparison does Dr. Petrov recommend? A. Intermittent chatter versus complete silence B. Traffic noise versus music C. Intermittent chatter versus continuous background hum

3. Why does Dr. Petrov reject a comparison with complete silence? A. Silence is difficult to control for and unrepresentative of real workspaces B. Complete silence has already been studied extensively by other researchers C. Silence is impossible to record accurately with standard equipment

4. Which task does Freya decide to use to measure concentration? A. A mental arithmetic task B. A proofreading task C. A memory recall task

5. Why does Dr. Petrov prefer the proofreading task over Freya's original idea? A. It takes less time to administer B. It avoids the confound of maths anxiety affecting performance C. It does not require any training for participants

6. Where does Dr. Petrov suggest Freya recruit her participants from? A. Social media, to maximise sample size B. Undergraduates on campus, tested in a bookable study room C. Members of the public in a local café

7. What does Dr. Petrov advise Freya to do regarding ethics approval? A. Wait until the proofreading materials are completely finalised before applying B. Submit the ethics application in outline first, then refine materials while waiting C. Skip formal ethics approval since the study involves minimal risk