Muhlenberg College - Department of Psychology

Research Methods in Psychology (PSY-104)

Course Syllabus (Spring, 2008)

 

 

Instructor:

 

Mark J. Sciutto, Ph.D.

 

Office Hours

 

TR 2:00 – 3:00, WF 10:00 – 11:00, or by appointment.
Room 217 Moyer (Phone: Ext. 3649) 
E-Mail: sciutto@muhlenberg.edu

 

Class Meetings:

T - R  11:30 - 1:20 p.m., Moyer 026

 

 

 

Required Texts:

 

 

Pelham, B. W. & Blanton, H. (2007).  Conducting Research in Psychology: Measuring the Weight of Smoke (3rd edition).  Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

 

·        Textbook Companion Website: http://www.thomsonedu.com/psychology/  and click on Research Methods books. Direct link available via electronic version of the syllabus.

 

Recommended Texts:

American Psychological Association (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.).  Washington, DC: Author. 

(2 copies are available in the Library)

Strongly recommended for students pursuing graduate study in psychology.

 

Course News, Documents etc.

 

 

Blackboard ( http://blackboard2.muhlenberg.edu/webapps/login/ ). This link is also available from the MuhlNet Start Page.

 

 

Course Objectives:

·         To develop an understanding of the key principles of research design as applied to psychological research.

·         To cultivate the fundamental skills used by researchers in psychology, including the following: critical analysis of methodological and statistical arguments, use of computer technology to facilitate the research process, written and oral presentation of research findings, and collaboration with peers.

·         To enhance interest in research and to foster an appreciation of the potential applications of research to your own experiences.

Grading Policy

The final course grade will be determined as follows:

Exam 1

10%

Exam 2

10%

Final Exam

25%

Lab/Writing Assignments

30%

Group Project

25%

Description of Course Components

In-Class Examinations: (20%)  Two in-class examinations will be administered. The exam format will include multiple choice, true/false, short answer and application problems. If you have a conflict with any exam, you must notify me at least 24 hours in advance. If an exam is missed, and I am not notified ahead of time, you will receive a zero for that exam. Make-up exams will only be given for the following reasons, (1) sickness—you must bring me documentation verifying your illness, (2) a family emergency/crisis/death—must be verified by the Dean of Students. If an exam is missed for reasons other than those listed above and I am not notified ahead of time, you will receive a zero for that exam.  You must take the final exam during the designated final period.  If you have to miss the final, you will receive an “Incomplete” for the class.  You are then subjected to College procedures regarding an incomplete grade (see student handbook).

Final Exam (25%):  The final examination will be cumulative and will contain two portions. The first section will involve using SPSS to analyze data. You will be permitted to use any outside materials for this section. The second section will contain integrative application problems involving research design and statistical analyses. You will not be permitted to use any outside materials for this portion of the exam.

Lab/Writing Assignments (30%): The purpose of these assignments is to reinforce key concepts and skills introduced in class lectures and discussions.  In some cases, the assignments will be completed in class. In other cases, students will begin assignments in class but complete them outside of class. In most cases, the final product will be a brief paper describing the outcomes related to the assignment. Because these assignments are tied so closely to class material, it is essential that you attend class and actively monitor Blackboard for guidelines and clarification of the assignments.

Group Research Project (25%): Groups of 3 or 4 students will research, design, and conduct an original psychological experiment on a topic of their choice. The completed project will include a written report in APA format and a formal presentation of the project on Psychology Day (date TBD). Preliminary drafts of each section of the paper are due throughout the semester. These preliminary drafts will not be graded, but are meant to provide valuable feedback. You are strongly encouraged to seek feedback frequently throughout the semester.  Although the design and data collection phases of this project are collaborative, the writing of the final paper is an individual assignment. A portion of the grade will be equal for all group members, but final papers will be graded individually.

Research Participation: One of the barriers to obtaining meaningful data for class projects is a shortage of resources – primarily in terms of sample size. During a typical semester, students in this class and students in the Advanced Lab classes collect data on their own research projects. In addition to these projects, there are various faculty research projects and student independent research projects for which participants are sought. To ease the pressure on the LOC participant pool, we have moved toward a cooperative arrangement between the Advanced Lab and Research Methods courses that will ensure that all student class projects obtain a reasonable sample while not diluting the pool of participants available for faculty and student independent research. Specifically, as a class requirement, you must participate in at least 2 studies being conducted by the Advanced Lab students (they will be designated as such on the LOC board). In return, Advanced Lab students will participate in your study.  Failure to complete this requirement will result in a 2 point deduction from your final course grade.

Attendance: Although attendance is not mandatory, it is strongly encouraged. Attendance records will be used in determining borderline courses grades (e.g., Johnny has a 92.9 average and has only missed one class--he gets an A; Jimmy also has a 92.9 average and he has missed 10 classes--he gets an A-).  A word of caution: In the past, students who have missed multiple classes have not done very well. Your presence and active participation are essential to learning in this course.

Late Assignments: Late assignments will be penalized 5% per day late (including weekend days).

Academic Integrity:  You are expected to conduct yourself in accordance with the Academic Behavior Code of Muhlenberg College (http://www.muhlenberg.edu/mgt/provost/academic/abc.html).  Honesty is an essential aspect of academic integrity. Individual students are responsible for doing their own work and for not taking credit for the effort and ideas of others. This includes plagiarism, cheating and not contributing to group projects. This obligation is based on mutual trust and is essential to meeting the goals of this course.  Academic dishonesty of any type on exams, quizzes or other graded work will not be tolerated. 

Some important points about academic integrity:

  1. Unless collaboration is explicitly permitted, you should assume that every course assignment or assessment (i.e., exams) is to be completed individually. This means that you are to work on course assignments by yourself – not with your friend, roommate or anyone else. Any violation of this restriction will be considered a violation of the Academic Behavior Code and will result in an automatic failure for the assignment. If you are struggling with an assignment, you should consult with me during office hours or make an appointment.

 

  1. You are responsible for keeping drafts, references/sources, disk copies, and backup copies of all of your written assignments, to turn in upon my request until final grades are completed.

 

  1. You should begin your work early.  An unforeseen event arising the night before a paper is due is not a legitimate reason for a paper extension. When submitting assignments electronically, you should request confirmation that your assignment has been received or you should save some form of confirmation that your e-mail was sent (each e-mail program differs in how to do this).

 

  1. You are responsible for taking precautions that your work (especially written work that paraphrases another written source). If I determine that you have copied all or part of an exam or paper from another source (including another student, a web page, a textbook, or other published source), you will receive a failing grade in this course.   If your written work includes material that is paraphrased unacceptably from the original source, I will ask you to re-submit the written work and I will lower the assignment grade by 10%.

 

  1. On all work submitted for a grade, you must write and sign the following pledge: “I pledge that I have complied with the Academic Behavior Code in this work.”

 

Students with Disabilities.  Students with disabilities requesting classroom or course accommodations must complete a multi-faceted application/approval process through the Office of Disability Services prior to the development and implementation of an Accommodation Plan. Each Plan is individually and collaboratively developed with the directors or other staff of the following Departments, as appropriate: Academic Resource Center, Counseling Services, Student Health Services, and the Office of Disability Services. If you have not already done so, please contact the appropriate Department to begin a dialogue regarding your academic needs and recommended accommodations, auxiliary aids, and services.  Students with disabilities who may need disability-related accommodations are encouraged to make an appointment to see me during the first two weeks of class. 

 

Important Note about Information Technology:
In this course, you will be required to make extensive use of the information technology available at Muhlenberg. You will be using a software program called Blackboard © to exchange documents electronically, communicate outside of class, and stay updated on class events.  Students who are less comfortable with information technology should schedule an appointment with me so that I can help orient you to the various tools we will be using.

Class Schedule

Date

Topic(s)

Group Project Timeline

Readings
PB = Pelham & Blanton

1/15 (T)

Research in Psychology: How Do We Know?

 

PB: Chpt. 1

1/17 (Th)

Research in Psychology: How Do We Find Out?

Form Groups

PB: Chpt. 2 (pp. 26 – 44)

1/22 (T)

Generating Research Ideas; Library Resources; Ethics in Psychological Research

 

Generate Topics

PB: Chpt. 2 (pp. 44 – 58)

1/24 (Th)

Measurement: Reliability and Validity

Literature Review

PB: Chpt. 3

1/29 (T)

Writing a Literature Review

¯

PB: Chpt. 11 (pp. 294 – 311)

1/31 (Th)

Measurement: Reliability and Validity (cont.); Group Project Time

¯

 

2/5 (T)

Measurement: Survey Construction 

Form Hypotheses

PB: Chpt. 4

2/7 (Th)

Data Analysis: Descriptive Statistics Review; Group Project Time

¯

PB: (pp. 270 – 276)

2/12 (T)

Measurement: Survey Construction  (cont.)

 

 

2/14 (Th)

Group Project Time

¯

 

 

2/19 (T)

Threats to Validity

¯

PB: Chpt. 5

2/21 (Th)

Threats to Validity

Design Study Locate Measures

 

2/26 (T)

Exam 1

¯

 

2/28 (Th)

Writing a Method Section; Group Project Time

¯

 

3/1 – 3/9

 Spring Break

 ¯

 

3/11 (T)

Observational Methods

¯

PB: Chpt: 6

 

Ruback & Juieng (1997)

3/13 (Th)

Group Project Time

 

¯

 

3/18 (T)

Choosing the Right Research Design

Draft of Intro & Methods  Section Due

PB: Chpt. 9

 

3/20 (Th)

One-Way Designs

¯

PB: Chpt. 7

 

3/25 (T)

One-Way Designs

Submit ethics proposal¯

 

3/27 (Th)

Factorial Designs; Writing a Results Section

¯

 

4/1 (T)

Factorial Designs

Finalize Design; Collect Data

 

4/3 (Th)

Data Analysis: Inferential Statistics

¯

PB: (pp. 276 –293)

4/8 (T)

Quasi-Experimental Designs

¯

PB: Chpt. 8

4/10 (Th)

Within Subjects Designs

Analyze Data

PB: Chpt. 9 (pp. 258 – 267)

4/15 (T)

Writing and Presenting Research Results

¯

PB: Chpt. 11

4/17 (Th)

Within Subjects Designs

¯

 

4/22 (T)

Exam 2

 

 

4/24 (Th)

Group Project Time

Submit Results Draft

 

4/29 (T)

Group Project Time

 

 

5/1 (Th)

Group Project Time

 

 

5/5 – 5/9

Cumulative Final Exam TBD

 

 

 

* Class schedule is tentative. Please check Blackboard for updates.