Psychology 2820E-650
Research Methods and Statistical Analysis in Psychology
If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.
1.0 CALENDAR DESCRIPTION
An introduction to the design, conduct, and statistical analyses of psychological research. The intent is to provide students with knowledge of how to implement and evaluate research in both laboratory and applied settings. Design and statistical analysis will be taught in the context of specific studies and data sets from correlational, experimental, quasi-experimental and qualitative research. Written research projects will be required.Antirequisites: Biology 2244A/B, Economics 2122A/B, 2222A/B, Geography 2210A/B, Health Sciences 3801A/B, MOS 2242A/B, Psychology 2800E, 2810, 2830A/B, 2840F/G, 2850A/B, 2851A/B, 2855F/G, 2856F/G, the former 2885, Social Work 2207A/B, the former 2205, Sociology 2205A/B, Statistical Sciences 2035, 2141A/B, 2143A/B, 2244A/B, 2858A/B and the former 2122A/B (and Statistical Sciences 2037A/B if taken before Fall 2010)
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.
Prerequisites: One full course in mathematics plus at least 60% in a 1000-level Psychology course. To fulfill the mathematics requirement, you must complete a full course equivalent by taking 1.0 course from among the following courses: Applied Mathematics 1201A/B or the former Calculus 1201A/B, Mathematics 0110A/B, 1120A/B, 1225A/B, 1228A/B, 1229A/B, 1600A/B, Calculus 1000A/B, 1100A/B, 1301A/B, 1500A/B, 1501A/B, the former Linear Algebra 1600A/B, Statistical Sciences 1024A/B, the former Mathematics 030 and 031.
If Mathematics 0110A/B is selected, then either Statistical Sciences 1024A/B or Mathematics 1228A/B must be taken. The combination of Mathematics 1228A/B and Statistical Sciences 1024A/B is strongly recommended.
1.0 course
Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Karen HusseyEmail: khussey@uwo.ca
If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you. Please visit: http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.
3.0 TEXTBOOK
3.1 REQUIRED: There are two McGraw Hill textbooks:
Methods in Behavioural Research, Canadian Edition, by Paul. C. Cozby and Catherine D. Rawn; Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Fourth Edition, by B. Michael Thorne and J. Martin Giesen.
NOTE: Because we are using two texts, one broadly to research methods and the other to cover statistics, there will be some overlap of material between the two at times. This is not a problem as it will certainly create a situation in which the student will have a different perspective on the material (from different authors), and an additional opportunity to be certain of their knowledge of the material.
3.2 REQUIRED: You will require a NON-GRAPHING calculator for this course. In exam situations, be absolutely certain that your calculator has fresh batteries (or keep a spare) as you do not want the calculator to give out part way through your responses to statistics questions!
3.3 SUGGESTED: It is not necessary to purchase a copy of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) 6th Edition but it is necessary to have access to a copy (readily available at the library and the Psychology Resource Centre (SSC 3115). Also, the APA has this website for learning the 6th edition which may be helpful: http://wwwapastyle.org/index.aspx
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course considers a range of research strategies, including descriptive, correlational, experimental, and quasi-experimental research designs. Other topics include the research process, generation of research ideas, ethics in research, defining and measuring variables, sampling, and writing a research report. The student will also be introduced to basic statistical analyses and learn how specific methods of analysis are used in conjunction with specific research designs.
There are two major components to this course; the textbook component and the lab component. The textbook component will provide the background information for progressing through the various topics to be covered. The lab component is intended to give students first-hand experience with the research process including the generation of a sound research idea, literature search in support of that idea, ethic review, data collection and analysis, and writing a research paper suitable for journal submission.
By the end of the course the successful student
- will have a firm understanding of the scientific method as we use it in psychological testing
- will be able to identify how a research problem can be operationalized
- will be able to identify the statistical procedure, broadly speaking, that should be used to answer a research question
- can apply the correct statistical procedure, narrowly speaking, to a specific research problem and work out some basic statistical procedures by hand (these include, the z-test, the independent and dependent t-test, oneway ANOVAs both between- and within-subjects, the chi-square test, as well as basic analytical comparison tests).
- can write up the results of their statistical procedures using appropriate APA6 formatting
- has a clear understanding of the ethical requirements for research
- will have completed a complete APA6 independent research report
- has considered some of the basic underlying issues of research and statistical procedures
- will be a better consumer of statistical and methodological information
5.0 EVALUATION
Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:
70% 1000-level and 2000-level courses
72% 2190-2990 level courses
75% 3000-level courses
80% 4000-level courses
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/general/grades_undergrad.pdf):
A+ 90-100 One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A 80-89 Superior work that is clearly above average
B 70-79 Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C 60-69 Competent work, meeting requirements
D 50-59 Fair work, minimally acceptable
F below 50 Fail
In order to pass this course the student MUST pass both the text-based and the lab-based portions of the course. Because you are REQUIRED to separately pass both the text-based and the lab-based components the situation may arise in which the student’s overall grade may be a passing grade but failure occurs because one of the two components was not independently passed.
For the student who passes the course, 60% of their grade comes from the textbook-based evaluation and 40% comes from the lab-based evaluation. For the student who fails one or both components but has a calculated overall grade above 50%, an artificially deflated grade of 48% will be the final grade. In this case, the 60/40 split is not the actual calculation. In this case, there is not a suggestion that the student almost passed the course. This is, instead, departmental policy which results in a failing grade without unduly lowering the student’s overall university standing.
The breakdown of course components and their final worth towards the final grade follows:
Evaluative Component Percentage Contribution to Final Grade Cumulative Percentage
Text-based component
Forum Topic Participation 2.5% each, four in total 10%
December exam 20% 30%
April exam 30% 60%
Lab-based component
Step 1: Research Idea 3% 63%
Step 2: Research background 3% 66%
Step 3: Introduction 4% 70%
Step 4: Methods 5% 75%
Step 5: Results 5% 80%
Final research paper 20% 100%
Grades will not be adjusted on the basis of need, and you will not be given the opportunity to improve your grade by completing additional assignments.
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
There will be two exams; one in the December exam period and one in the April exam period. Both will be scheduled by the Registrar.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Week of Text Chapter
C&R = Cozby and Rawn, Methods in Behavioural Research, Cdn Ed
T&G = Thorne and Giesen, Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, 4th Ed Due Dates
--Lab Steps are due always on the Monday of the week (except Step 1 which is due Tuesday) and due by 11:55pm that day.
--Forum topics are opened on the Monday in the OWL “Forums” and close the Sunday of the same week at 11:55pm.
Sept 14 C&R: Chapter 1: Scientific understanding of behaviour
Sept 21 C&R: Chapter 2: Where to Start; Appendix A: Writing research reports
Sept 28 C&R: Chapter 3: Ethical research
Oct 5 C&R: Chapter 4: Studying behaviour Forum Discussion #1
Oct 13 (Tuesday) C&R: Chapter 5: Measurement concepts; Chapter 6: Observational methods Step 1: Research idea (due Tuesday)
Oct 19 C&R: 7: Asking people about themselves: Survey research
Oct 26 T&G: Chapter 1: The language of statistics; Chapter 2: Definitions and scaling
Nov 2 T&G: Chapter 3: The frequency distribution; Chapter 4: Graphing data Step 2: Literature review
Nov 9 T&G: Chapter 5: Measures of central tendency
Nov 16 T&G: Chapter 6: Measures of dispersion and standard scores Forum Discussion #2
Nov 23 T&G: Chapter 7: Probability
Nov 30 T&G: Chapter 8: The normal distribution Step 3: Introduction
Dec 7 Review (including self-tests and practice questions)
Dec exam period December 11-23 Exam #1 (2 hours)
Jan 4 C&R: Chapter 8: Experimental design
Jan 11 C&R: Chapter 9: Conducting experiments
Jan 18 T&G: Chapter 9: Confidence intervals and hypothesis testing Step 4: Methods
Jan 25 T&G: Chapter 10: Significance of the difference between two sample means Forum Discussion #3
Feb 1 T&G: Chapter 11: One-way analysis of variance with post hoc comparisons
Feb 8 C&R: Chapter 10: Complex experimental designs
Feb 15 BREAK WEEK
Feb 22 T&G: Chapter 12: Two-way analysis of variance
Feb 29 C&R: Chapter 12: Understanding research results: Describing variables and relationships among them; Chapter 13: Understanding research results: statistical inference basics
Mar 7 C&R: Chapter 11: Single case, quasi-experimental, and developmental research; Chapter 14: Generalizing results Step 5: Results
Mar 14 T&G: Chapter 13: Correlation and regression Forum Discussion #4
Mar 21 T&G: Chapter 14: Chi square
Mar 28 T&G: Chapter 15: Alternative to t and F Final Paper due
Apr 4 Review (including self-tests and practice questions)
April exam period April 9-30 Exam #2 (3 hours)
8.0 STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES
Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link: http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf
As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com
Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.
9.0 POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS
The University of Western Ontario’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2015/pg117.html
Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html
10.0 OTHER INFORMATION
Office of the Registrar web site: http://registrar.uwo.ca
Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca
Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:
http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html
- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2015 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.
