Psychology 3780G-001
Research in Social 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 methods and techniques used in the study of human social behaviour. Students will conduct studies using a variety of procedures, and will develop an independent research proposal.
Antirequisite: Psychology 2780E
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: Psychology 2800E, 2810, and one of Psychology 2070A/B or 2720A/B, plus registration in third or fourth year Honours Specialization in Psychology or Honours Specialization in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience.
Psychology Majors and Psychology Special Students who earn 70% or higher in Psychology 2820E (or 60% or higher in Psychology 2800E and 2810), plus 60% or higher in one of Psychology 2070A/B or 2720A/B also may enroll in this 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 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Lorne Campbell
Office: SSC 6328
Phone number: (519) 661-2111 ext. 84904
Office hours: By appointment only
Email: lcampb23@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Nicolyn Charlot
Office: SSC 7335
Office hours: By appointment only
Email: ncharlot@uwo.ca
TIME AND LOCATION OF LECTURES AND LABS
Lecture: Mondays, 10:30AM-12:30PM, SSC-3026
Lab: Fridays,10:30AM-12:30PM, SC-3026
CLASS FORMAT
Monday classes: These classes will consist of (a) a short lecture on the weekly topic, focusing on specific issues that enhance the coverage in the textbook or examine issues not discussed in the textbook, and (b) discussions and critiques of the independent research proposals that each of you will develop and write up.
Friday classes: During these classes, we will discuss specialized techniques for manipulating or measuring variables in several areas of social psychology. Additionally, we can discuss any questions you may have about the weekly readings or other course requirements.
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
Research Methods in Psychology – 2nd Canadian Edition: https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/research-methods-in-psychology-2nd-canadian-edition (this is a free open access textbook)
It is also strongly recommended that you purchase, or otherwise find a way to access, a copy of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., second or third printing).
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this course is to provide students with experience in most phases of social psychological research. The objectives are to develop the ability to critically evaluate research literature, to gain practical experience in planning, designing, and conducting experimental research, and to practice presenting and writing research reports and proposals4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
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Learning Outcome |
Learning Activity |
Assessment |
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Depth and Breadth of Knowledge. Describe the replication crisis in social psychology, including identifying the factors that precipitated it, questionable research practices, and the steps the field has begun to implement to enhance research practices in social psychology. |
Lecture; Readings; Class discussion; Group project preparation
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Critical review; Multiple choice exams; Group project |
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Application of Knowledge. Articulate the above concepts when critically evaluating published research and when designing research.
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Lecture; Class discussions |
Independent project; Critical review; Multiple choice exams
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Integrate research findings on a topic relevant to social psychology and generate hypotheses and study design based on this previous work.
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Research projects; Class discussions; Readings
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Independent project; Class participation
|
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Application of Methodologies. Operationalize your research ideas by designing a social psychology experiment that exemplifies best practices in the field and coherently interpret the results of statistical analyses.
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Independent project; Group project; Class discussions; Lecture; Readings |
Independent project; Group project; Multiple choice exams |
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Communication Skills. Communicate research ideas and results (your own and others’) clearly and concisely, in language accessible to intelligent non-experts (oral and written formats).
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Class discussion Project drafts Student feedback in class |
Newspaper article; Class participation; Independent project presentation; Group project presentation |
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Awareness of Limits of Knowledge. Identify questionable research practices when they appear in published research and articulate weaknesses/knowledge gaps within a topic area.
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Lecture; Class discussions; Literature review |
Critical evaluation; Independent project report; Class participation |
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Autonomy and Professional Capacity. Work collaboratively with others to develop a data analysis strategy and present results.
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Group project |
Group participation ratings; Class participation |
5.0 EVALUATION
Please note that I do not make grade adjustments (e.g., applying a bell curve to the distribution of marks on a test or paper). Also, I cannot adjust marks on the basis of need (e.g., because a certain mark is necessary to get into a particular academic program).
OUTLINE OF INDEPENDENT RESEARCH PROJECT
A one-page description of your initial thoughts on your research project (about 400 words) is due in class on Monday, January 28.
CLASS PARTICIPATION (10%)
This mark includes participation and discussion in both Monday (5%) and Friday (5%) classes. Participation means more than class attendance; every student is expected to join the class discussion each meeting. Additionally, in the Monday class, each student will make short presentations of his or her research proposal at different stages of development, for purposes of eliciting critical, but constructive, feedback on the proposed research from the rest of the class.
CLASS PRESENTATIONS (20%)
There will be two formal presentations toward the end of the term, one on the Independent Project (Monday class, 10%) and one on the Group Project (Friday class, 10%).
TESTS (45%)
There will be two tests. The first test (2 hours, 20%) is scheduled for Monday, February 4 and will cover the readings and topics assigned to that point. The second test (2 hours, 25%) is scheduled for Monday, March 18 and will cover all the reading assignments from the textbook as well as material covered in lectures and in the labs. The format of both tests will be short answer and essay questions. Although we will discuss many of the readings in class, you are responsible for reading the sections that we do not cover in class. You will have the opportunity to discuss any questions you may have about this material in both the Monday and Friday classes.
No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during tests.
RESEARCH PROPOSAL (25%)
The research proposal is due by 12:00PM noon on Friday, April 12 to the course instructor (SSC 6328). The proposal should be no longer than 12 double-spaced typewritten pages (12-point Times New Roman font), and you should follow APA format as outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., second or third printing).
You will have a chance to discuss the proposal extensively in the Monday classes. In addition, feel free to contact the course instructor or teaching assistant at other times to discuss your proposal.
For the research proposal you are strongly encouraged to propose an experiment, rather than a correlational study. Your experimental design should include only 2 (or maybe 3) independent variables; only one of these may be an individual difference variable (e.g., a personality measure), and the others must be manipulated independent variables.
Introduction: Your proposal should start out by stating the social psychological research question in which you are interested. You should then describe how this question relates to recent theorizing and research in social psychology. Review relevant theory and research. Do not provide an exhaustive review of past studies; rather, the literature review should provide a context for your proposed study. Next, provide a general overview of your proposed experiment and state your specific hypotheses. Thus, the Introduction should state the major purpose of the study, indicate its relation to selected past research, and suggest how it will contribute to knowledge in the area. You should also indicate what pattern of results would confirm your predictions; that is, which cells of your experimental design must be different from which others to demonstrate your hypotheses were confirmed.
Method: The next section of the proposal should describe in detail the procedure you would employ to conduct the study. Be sure to indicate what your independent and dependent variables are and how you plan to operationalize them in your experiment. You should provide enough detail of the procedure so that another person could read your proposal and know how to conduct the study. You will not actually conduct the study you propose at this time.
Thus, your proposal should follow the format of a standard journal article, up to (but not including) the Results section, plus References. For the proposal, you may use either past tense or future tense, but please be consistent.
A good guide on how to write Introduction and Method sections is to note carefully how other authors have written these sections in the published studies related to your own research idea. Also see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., second or third printing).
Only for legitimate medical or compassionate reasons will deadlines be extended.
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 CLASS, TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
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DATE |
TOPIC |
READINGS |
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January 7 (Lecture) January 11 (Lab)
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Introduction Scientific Thinking |
Chapter 1 |
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January 14 January 18
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Developing Research Ideas Reading and Critiquing Articles |
Chapters 2 & 4 Dziobek et al. (2005) |
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January 21 January 25
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Designing and Constructing Experiments Field Experiments |
Chapter 6 |
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January 28 February 1
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Other Types of Study Designs Implicit and Explicit Measures |
Chapter 7 |
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February 4 February 8
|
TEST 1 (20%) No Lab This Week |
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February 11 February 15
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Independent Variables Mediation and Moderation/Introduction to the Group Project
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Chapters 8 & 9
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February 18 February 22
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Reading Week Reading Week |
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February 25 March 1
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Dependent Measures Group Project Preparation |
Chapter 8
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March 5 March 9
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Validity and Realism Group Project Preparation |
Chapter 5 Chapter 11 |
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March 11 March 15
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Research Ethics Group Project Preparation/Data Collection |
Chapter 3 |
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March 18 March 22
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TEST 2 (25%) Group Project Data Collection |
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March 25 March 29
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Writing Reports and Presenting Research Group Project Data Analysis |
Chapter 12 Chapter 13 |
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April 1 April 5
April 8 |
Independent Project Presentations Group Project Presentations
Independent Project Presentations |
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7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
See 6.0 above8.0 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.
Copyright Statement: Lectures and course materials, including power point presentations, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by copyright. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own educational use. You may not record lectures, reproduce (or allow others to reproduce), post or distribute lecture notes, wiki material, and other course materials publicly and/or for commercial purposes without my written consent.
