Psychology 3991F-001
Special Topics in Psychology: "Survey Research"
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
Psychological research studies all aspects of human behavior from its causes to expression. The knowledge of psychology is drawn from carefully constructed research studies that employ various methods and measures. This course focuses on survey design using various methods of data collection ranging from questionnaires to interviews. It is primarily a ‘hands-on’ course with the goal to produce a survey, collect and analyze the data, and report the results.
Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E, or both Psychology 2800E and 2810
3 lecture hours, 0.5 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. Don Saklofske
Office and Phone Number: 7314, Social Science Centre
Office Hours: Monday and Tuesday by appointment
Email: dsaklofs@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Martin Smith
Office: 7316 Social Science Centre
Office Hours: TBA and by appointment
Email: msmit454@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Tuesday 9:30-12:30; HSB 9
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
Dillman, D., Smyth, J. & Christian, J. (2014). Internet, phone, mail, and mixed mode surveys: The tailored design method. Wiley.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
Gordon Allport said that if you want to know what a person is thinking, ask them! The aim of this course is to become familiar with and develop the fundamental skills of survey research methods in applied contexts that focus on the psychology of human behavior, thinking and feeling of persons and groups. Various data collection methods that employ a survey design framework will be examined that focus on defining the questions to be addressed, creation of measures, methods of collecting information, the significance of a RSVP (reliability, standardization, validity, practicality) basis for understanding data, analyzing and summarizing results and reporting the findings and conclusions. This is a ‘’hands-on’ class with a focus on skills development and thus students, in groups, will be actively involved throughout the course from developing a survey to reporting the results. Attendance and full participation throughout the class is mandatory.
5.0 EVALUATION
Two quizzes (10% each): 20%
Proposal for group project: 20%
Group presentation of project: 20%
Final report of group project : 40%
There will be various points in the course where the group project proposal and points of progress will be submitted for ‘formative’ grading. The proposal for the survey to be carried out as a group project will be assessed 20%. The final project and presentation will contribute 60% of your course grade. Also there will be 2 quizzes (20%) using a short answer and multiple choice format in the first part of the course to ensure a solid grasp of material from class presentation and the textbook.
The final project will determine the bulk of the grade. Each group will present their project and results to the class (20%) and submit a final paper/report (40%) that may take different formats to be determined.
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
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
There will be two quizzes (worth 10% each) during the first part of the course to ensure that students have a solid grasp of textbook and class presentation material. The format will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Date Topic Text chapter
Sept 15 Introduction to applied psychological research and survey methods. Chpt 1
Sept 22 Survey participants: who are they are how to encourage responding. Chpts 2-3
Sept 29 Developing the survey; what are the questions to be addressed Chpts 4-6
Oct 6 Measurement methods: questionnaires, online surveys, interview (Quiz1) Chpts 7-10
Oct 13 Data collection and analyses Chpts 11-12
Oct 20 Group project: literature review, questions to be addressed, methodology (Quiz 2)
Oct 27 Group project: literature review, questions to be addressed, methodology cont.
(proposal submission)
Nov 3 Project proposal; data collection (proposal submission)
Nov10 Project proposal; data collection cont. & data analyses
Nov17 Data analyses
Nov 24 Project writeup: report, journal article, poster; ppt. presentation preparation
Dec 1 Project presentation (oral)
Dec 8 Project presentation (written).
*Special Topics/Guest Speakers:
Guest speakers,experts in psychological research methods will be invited to present on ‘special topics’ during the class. A final listing of speakers, topics and dates will be announced in class.
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.
