Psychology 3480G-001

Research in Developmental 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

Survey of research methods in developmental psychology including problems in the study of age differences, issues of reliability and validity, and interpretations of causality. Students will gather data involving children using observational or interview methods.

 

Prerequisites: Psychology 2800E, Psychology 2810, and one of Psychology 2040A/B or Psychology 2410A/B, plus registration in third or fourth year Honours Specialization in Psychology or Honours Specialization in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. Third or fourth year Psychology Majors and Psychology Special Students who receive 70% or higher in Psychology 2820E (or 60% or higher in Psychology 2800E and 2810), plus 60% or higher in one of Psychololgy 2040A/B or Psychology 2410A/B also may enrol in this course.

             

Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enrol 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 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

       Instructor:                         Dr. Lynne Zarbatany 

       Office:                              WH 322 

       Phone Number:                519-661-3664   

       Office Hours:                    by appointment         

       Email:                              lynnez@uwo.ca                     

 

       Teaching Assistant:          Kunio Hessel

       Office Hours:                   by appointment

       Email:                               khessel@uwo.ca                    

 

       Time and Location of Lectures:  Tuesday, 9:30-11:30 pm, WH 20F

       Time and Location of Lab:          Thursday, 9:30-11:30 pm, WH 20F

                                                                                  

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

There is no textbook for this course.

 

Note: you must have a police check completed by the time our course begins. Police information checks take 4-8 weeks to process. Your police check should stipulate that it is for use at the YMCA of Western Ontario Daycare Center for research purposes only. 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course will familiarize you with research methods, designs, and analytic procedures commonly employed in developmental psychology. Topics to be covered include observational, experimental, interview, and testing methodologies, cross-sectional, longitudinal and other research designs associated with the measurement of developmental change, psychometric issues, research ethics, statistics, and writing. You will independently design and conduct a study employing observational research methods at the Y Daycare Center on Campus. In this process, you will build skills in scholarly reasoning, data analysis, writing, and oral presentation. This is a preparatory course for the fourth-year honors thesis.


   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

By the end of this course, successful students will be able to

 

  1. Access relevant literature and generate a hypothesis that addresses an important knowledge gap on some aspect of young children’s social behavior based on a thorough assessment and synthesis of existing literature (research proposal; final research paper and presentation).

 

  1. Apply knowledge of research design, observational methods, and data analysis to design a study to test the hypothesis (research proposal paper; final research presentation and paper).

 

  1. Identify strengths and limitations of different observational research methods and statistics used for evaluating the quality (e.g., reliability) of observational data (lab assignment; exam; research proposal; final research paper).

 

  1. Collect data in a professional manner in an applied setting (University Daycare) following ethical standards of the discipline (final research paper).

 

  1. Apply relevant quantitative skills to the analysis and interpretation of data (research proposal; final research paper and presentation; lab assignment; exam).

 

  1. Orally present prepared material in a formal academic settings using visual aids (presentation of completed research project).

 

  1. Write papers that demonstrate correct use of the English language and adherence to discipline-specific (APA) writing requirements (research proposal; final research paper).

 

Apply knowledge of research designs and methods, data analytic procedures, ethics, and writing conventions to critically evaluate and solve new research problems (exam short answer questions; research proposal, research paper and presentation). 

5.0     EVALUATION

Evaluation will be based on one examination, one small lab assignment, a research proposal, a research presentation and a research paper.

 

  1. Examination (30% of final mark). The examination will be held on Mar. 12 and will cover reading assignments, lectures, and lab activities up to and including Mar. 5. The exam will consist of several short answer questions that require you to apply what you know about research designs, methods, statistics, writing, and ethics to solve new problems.

 

  1. Lab assignment (5% of final mark). A lab project has been constructed to provide you with hands-on experience with observational research methods most commonly employed in developmental psychology. The project will be completed over several weeks and will require class members to gather observational data using videotaped child interactions. After data collection is completed, you will complete a brief lab assignment consisting of several definitional, fill‑in‑the‑blank, and short answer questions. The lab assignment is due on Feb. 14.

 

Note:  Your lab assignment will not be accepted unless you have participated in data coding.

 

  1. Research proposal (15% of final mark). You will be responsible for designing, carrying‑out, and writing up an observational study conducted at the campus daycare center. You must conduct your research independently; however, some collaboration will be required for the purposes of reliability assessments. Your project will be completed in three phases. In the first phase, you will review the literature and generate a research question on a topic of your choice, and describe the method by which you will address this question. Your proposal, including abstract, introduction, method, proposed analyses, and reference sections, must be emailed to Dr. Z (lynnez@uwo.ca) and submitted to Turnitin on the course website no later than 10 pm on Feb. 4, and will be worth 15% of the final mark. Feedback on this proposal should be used to improve aspects of the procedure and write‑up where applicable.

 

  1. Research presentation (20% of final mark). In the second phase of the research project, you will deliver a 15-minute oral presentation (plus 5 minutes for discussion) of your completed project to the class on one of the following 3 days: Apr. 2, 4, 9. You must provide the conceptual foundation of the study, methods and analyses used, findings and their theoretical and practical implications, limitations of the study, and directions for future research. Dr. Z will give you feedback regarding both the style and content of your presentations. Feedback on your presentation should be used to inform the final write-up of the project. YOU MUST BOOK AN APPOINTMENT WITH DR. ZARBATANY TO REVIEW YOUR SLIDES PRIOR TO YOUR PRESENTATION.

 

  1. The major research paper assignment (30% of final mark) is the third phase of the research project and consists of your final write‑up of your completed study. Because the paper represents a considerable proportion of the final grade in the course, I expect it to be a first‑rate product. Your paper will be evaluated for content, clarity and form of writing, and general scholarship. Your paper is to be written in APA format (see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, for precise instructions for assembling a research paper, the appropriate construction of tables and figures, and reference citations). You are strongly urged to adhere to these format requirements‑‑divergences will result in a needless loss of grade points.

 

NB:     Fabrication of data for the independent research project constitutes scientific fraud and will result in failure of the assignment and the course. 

 

 

YOUR FINAL RESEARCH PAPER must be submitted to Turnitin and emailed to Dr. Z (lynnez@uwo.ca) no later than 5 PM on April 12. Your raw data must be submitted to Kunio no later than noon on April 12.

 

***All late papers in this course will incur a penalty of 3% points per day (out of 100)***

 

SUMMARY OF COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND DUE DATES

 

Assignment

Due Date

% of Final Mark

Research Proposal

Feb. 4, 10 pm

15

Lab Assignment

Feb. 14

5

Exam

Mar. 12

30

Research Presentation

Apr. 2, 4 or 9

20

Research Paper

Apr. 12, 5 pm

30

 

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 Western's grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/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

A short-answer exam worth 30% of the final grade will be given in class on Mar. 12. There is no final examination in this course. 

7.0   TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF LECTURE TOPICS, READINGS, AND LAB ACTIVITIES

Lecture

Lecture Topic

Lab

Lab Activities

 

 

Jan. 8

 

Introduction to Course

Observational Research Methods, Part 1

 

 

Jan. 10

Ethical Conduct in Research with Children

How to Generate a Research Question

 

 

Jan. 15

 

Observational Methods, Part 2

Validity Problems in Research Designs, Part 1

 

 

 

Jan. 17

 

Lab Project: Observational Methods, Part 1, Set-up

 

Lecture

Lecture Topic

Lab

Lab Activities

 

Jan. 22

 

Validity Problems in Research Designs, Part 2

 

Within and Between Group Designs

 

 

Jan. 24

 

 

Lab Project: Observational Methods, Part 2, Coding

 

 

Jan. 29

 

Interviewing; Test Construction;

Measurement Problems

 

 

 

Jan. 31

 

Lab Project: Observational Methods, Part 3, Reliability

 

 

 

Feb. 5

 

Developmental Research Designs

 

RESEARCH PROPOSAL IS DUE FEB 4, 10 PM

 

 

Feb. 7

 

Lab Project: Observational Methods, Part 4, Data Analysis

 

MEET IN SSC 1020

 

 

Feb. 12

 

 

Statistics, Part 1

 

 

 

 

Feb. 14

 

Individual meetings with Kunio to receive proposal feedback

 

LAB ASSIGNMENT IS DUE

 

Feb. 19

 

Reading Week

 

 

Feb. 21

 

Reading Week

 

 

Feb. 26

 

 

Statistics, Part 2

 

 

 

 

Feb. 28

 

 

10:00 am Tour of Y Daycare Center. Meet there in lobby.

 

Mar. 5

 

Ethics and Writing

 

 

Mar. 7

 

Data collection for study

 

 

Mar. 12

 

EXAM

 

 

Mar. 14

 

Data collection for study

 

 

Mar. 19

 

Data collection for study

 

 

Mar. 21

 

Data collection for study

 

 

Mar. 26

 

Data collection for study

 

Mar. 28

 

Data collection for study

 

 

Lecture

Lecture Topic

Lab

Lab Activities

 

Apr. 2

 

Class Presentations

 

 

Apr. 4

 

Class Presentations

 

Apr. 9

 

Class Presentations

 

 

 

 

April 12

 

 

Final Paper Due at 5 pm

 

 

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

Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?Command=showCategory&PolicyCategoryID=1&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12 

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
- 2018 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.