Portfolio Construction Guidelines

---

Rationale: The inclusion of the portfolio component of this course is founded upon prior student feedback as well as my own research. Two themes often emerge from these analyses. First, students often find quantitative/methodology courses to be very challenging, demanding and occasionally overwhelming. Second, when students encounter research or statistical tasks in the future (e.g., Advanced Lab course or independent research), retrieval of the information learned in their introductory course is often very difficult. The student, ultimately, returns to their notes and texts to help clear the cobwebs. The purpose of the portfolio is to create a more individualized resource to take with you into future courses and research. Ideally, the portfolio will be more concise than a text and more organized than your notes. Furthermore, actively integrating your notes and the text into a portfolio will hopefully be an effective study method. In my experience, the students who do well in these courses have found ways of making the information meaningful and organize their study accordingly. The portfolio encourages a more systematic and future-oriented approach to doing so.

Guidelines:

• Make your portfolio personal and unique. It should not be a literal translation of the text or the notes. Describe things in a way that you will understand.
• Use many examples. Avoid strict listing of content. Generate examples that are relevant to your own interests.
• Focus on organization, structure and clarity. Keep in mind that you want a resource that will be easy to use and informative beyond this class. Sample portfolio pages will be passed around in class and will be available in Dr. Sciutto’s office.

Requirements:

1. Must be typed (with the exception of formulas and diagrams)

2. Each of the following major topics (anything bulleted) must be included:

TOPIC	SECTION
Measures of Central Tendency (3) Measures of Variability (3) Frequency Tables and Graphs (3) Percentiles, Percentile Ranks, and Standard Scores (3)	Descriptive Analyses
One-Sample z and t-tests (3) Independent t-tests (3) Dependent t-test (3) One-Way ANOVA (4) Two-Factor Between Subjects ANOVA (4) Correlation (3) Bivariate and Multiple Regression (3) Chi-Square Analyses (3)	Inferential Analyses
Basic Concepts in Research Design (3)	Methodology
3. You may also include up to 2 additional topics (optional) Some suggestions: · Power and Effect Size (3) · Measurement: Scales of Measurement (3) · Operational Definitions (3) · Reliability and Validity (3) · Choosing Statistical Analyses (3) · SPSS Windows procedures (3)	Other
4. Each of the above topics (anything bulleted) can be no longer than the page limit specified in parentheses.

Important Note About Technology: The portfolio assignment will likely involve extensive use of technology. In some cases, you will want to copy formulas from PowerPoint to Word or transfer output from SPSS to Word. These tasks are generally relatively easy and can be mastered with a little practice. However, there are inevitably quirky problems that arise in the process of making your portfolio. If, at any point, you are having a very difficult time with the technology, please contact me or stop by office hours. I have had more than my share of computer issues and I will most likely be able to troubleshoot the problem or help you find an alternative strategy. The focus of the portfolio is intended to be primarily instructional with assistance from technology. If you are finding that the technology part is becoming primary, please come see me.

Return to PSY103 Syllabus

---