Psychology 4850E-001
4850E-Honours Thesis
4851E-Honours Thesis (Science)
4852E-Honours Thesis (DCN)
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
All honours psychology students registered in the 4th year of the Honours Specialization programs in Psychology, Animal Behaviour, or Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (DCN) are required to take Psychology 4850E - Honours Thesis OR Psychology 4851E – Honours Thesis (Science) OR Psychology 4852E (DCN). Please note that although these are listed as separate courses they are completely merged together for all thesis-related activities, assignments, and meetings.
Psychology 4850E - Honours Thesis. Independent research under the direction of a faculty member. Antirequisite: Psychology 4851E, 4852E. Prerequisites: Psychology 3800F/G and 0.5 from Psychology 3184F/G, 3185F/G, 3285F/G, 3480F/G, 3485F/G, 3580F/G, 3780F/G, or 3840F/G and registration in fourth year Honours Specialization in Psychology. Students in fourth year Honours Specialization in Animal Behaviour may also enrol in this course. 4 seminar hours. 1.0 course
Psychology 4851E – Honours Thesis (Science). Independent research under the direction of a faculty member. Topics focus on fundamental psychological processes, their underlying neural mechanisms, their development within individuals, and their evolutionary and ecological contexts. Antirequiste: Psychology 4850E, 4852E. Prerequisites: Psychology 3800F/G and 0.5 from Psychology 3184F/G, 3185F/G, 3285F/G, 3485F/G, and registration in fourth year Honours Specialization in Psychology. Students in fourth year Honours Specialization in Animal Behaviour may also enrol in this course. 4 seminar hours. 1.0 course
Psychology 4852E - Honours Thesis (DCN). Independent research under the direction of a faculty member on a topic that is both theoretically and methodologically relevant to developmental cognitive neuroscience (DCN). This course is exclusively for students in the DCN module. Thesis supervisors must be approved by the DCN Module Coordinator, as well as the honours thesis co-ordinator. Antirequisite: Psychology 4850E, 4851E. Prerequisites: Psychology 3800F/G and Psychology 3485F/G, and registration in fourth year Honours Specialization in Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 4 seminar hours. 1.0 course
Distinctions between Psychology 4850E, 4851E, and 4852E. Psychology 4851E is reserved for students in the Honours BSc Psychology program who are conducting psychological research in cognition, sensation and perception, behavioral or cognitive neuroscience, or developmental cognitive neuroscience and are being supervised by a psychology faculty member conducting research that would fall under the NSERC mandate. Psychology 4852E is reserved for students in 4th year of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (DCN) Module. All other students (i.e., those not in 4851E or 4852E) must register for Psychology 4850E [including all HBA students, and HBSc students supervised by faculty conducting research that does not fall under the NSERC mandate (e.g., HBSc students doing a thesis project that falls under SSHRC research domains such as personality, measurement, social psychology, educational psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, developmental psychology, and clinical psychology)].
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.
Unless you have either the prerequisites 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.
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Course Coordinators:
Dr. Ingrid Johnsrude E-mail: ijohnsru@uwo.ca
Office : Western Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB) Rm. 4124
Office hours: By appointment: ijohnsru@uwo.ca
Dr. Scott MacDougall-Shackleton E-mail: smacdou2@uwo.ca
Office: SSC 7412
Office Hours: By appointment: smacdou2@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: TBA
Time and Location of Classes:
Most Fridays 12:30-2:30 UCC 41 (See schedule, below)
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. However, students should consult the latest version of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association when preparing their written thesis, including the proposal. You are not required to buy this Publication Manual but you might find owning a copy to be useful, especially if you are thinking about graduate school in psychology. Copies may be available in the Bookstore, but it (including an e-copy) can also be obtained through the APA website (http://www.apastyle.org/manual/index.aspx). A more abbreviated guide is available for free at a Purdue University site: https://bit.ly/2uyze7X
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
In this course, you will complete a psychology thesis research project and then present this project as both a written thesis and as a poster. The thesis is a major research project carried out by a 4th year honours psychology student, under the direction of a qualified thesis supervisor (typically a full-time psychology professor in Western’s Department of Psychology). This is typically an empirical project that requires analysis of data. Some thesis projects may involve the collection of original data whereas other projects may draw from existing data sets that may be available from the student’s supervisor. You should expect to spend at least 200 – 260 hours between Sept and April working on your project, including reading, writing and participating in lab activities.
Please note that if any proposed project is unsuitable for an honours psychology thesis, the thesis coordinator may require modifications or the development of an alternate project that is suitable.
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Depth and Breadth of Knowledge
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Learning Outcomes · Articulate the current state of knowledge, key concepts and main research themes and issues in the major content domain(s) relevant to your honours psychology thesis research project. |
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Learning Activities · Reading · Meetings with thesis supervisor and other personnel involved in the project · Regular engagement in activities in thesis supervisor’s lab · Library Search Workshops · Course-provided information sheets and lectures on thesis-relevant topics |
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How Assessed · Student Presentations (Class presentation, Poster presentation) · Written Essays (Proposal, Final Written thesis) |
- Knowledge of Methodologies
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Learning Outcomes · Access, interpret and critically evaluate research resources relevant to your thesis project. · Formulate research hypotheses and/or questions to address the main topic of your thesis research and implement a research project to test · Apply relevant statistical techniques and skills to the analysis and interpretation of the data for your thesis project. · Evaluate the appropriateness of different methodological approaches to address the specific psychological questions and/or hypotheses that pertain to your thesis project |
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Learning Activities · Same as for 1. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. |
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How Assessed · Same as for 1. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. |
- Application of Knowledge
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Learning Outcomes · Articulate how to deal with key ethical research principles and issues that are relevant to your honours psychology thesis research project · Use evidence to support conclusions drawn from past research and thesis work. · Engage in scholarly discussion on topics relevant to your thesis project · Provide a creative/novel solution to the major research issues identified in your thesis |
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Learning Activities · Same as for 1. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. · Completion of Ethic Confirmation Form for Thesis Research |
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How Assessed · Same as for 1. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. Ethics Confirmation Form for Thesis Research |
- Communication Skills
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Learning Outcomes · Communicate in writing accurately, clearly and logically, using the discourse of psychology · Communicate orally accurately, clearly and logically, using the discourse of psychology |
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Learning Activities · Same as for 1. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. |
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How Assessed · Same as for 1. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. |
- Awareness of Limits of Knowledge
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Learning Outcomes · Recognize the limits of your own knowledge regarding each aspect of your thesis project and how this might influence your analysis and interpretation of your findings in a broader context |
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Learning Activities · Same as for 1. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. |
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How Assessed · Same as for 1. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. |
- Autonomy and Professional Capacity
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Learning Outcomes · Work collaboratively with relevant others (e.g., thesis supervisor, other students and research personnel in supervisor’s lab, course coordinators and TAs) to complete your thesis project in an ethical and timely fashion that also demonstrates an appropriate level of effort and professionalism · Show initiative and autonomy in executing each phase of your thesis project |
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Learning Activities · Same as for 1. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. |
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How Assessed · Same as for 1. Breadth and Depth of Knowledge. · Thesis supervisor’s rating of student’s effort in completing the thesis. |
5.0 EVALUATION
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Summary of Assignments |
% of Final Grade |
Due Dates |
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1. Annotated Bibliography |
5% |
15 Oct 2018 |
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2. Thesis Proposal |
10% |
30 Nov 2018 |
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3. Research Ethics Confirmation Form |
5% |
30 Nov 2018 |
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4. Class Presentation |
10% |
See Class Schedule |
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5. Class Participation |
10% |
ongoing |
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6. Thesis Poster Presentation |
10% |
Date in late March TBA |
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7. Completed Written Thesis |
45% |
1:00 PM, 4 April 2019 |
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8. Lab Engagement and Participation |
5% |
ongoing |
This course is exempt from the Senate requirement that students receive assessment of their work accounting for at least 15% of their final grade at least one week before the deadline for withdrawal from a course without academic penalty. You must pass the essay component to pass the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments must be at least 50%.
- ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY. This is a set of key papers that are central to your thesis project. For each paper (include 10-14), give the bibliographic information, and then in 150-250 words, explain the key methods, results and/or conclusions of the paper and how they relate to your project.
- Your written proposal should be ~10 pages long (not including figures and references). Your annotated bibliography should be the starting point for this proposal, which should clearly define the research question in the context of previous literature (What do we know? What don’t we yet know, that your project will examine?). Describe the proposed methods, as well as how you will analyse the data. Describe potential patterns of results and what these would imply for the research question, and the field generally. The significance of the research should also be explained.
- RESEARCH ETHICS CONFIRMATION FORM AND TCPS2 CERTIFICATE
All students conducting research with humans or analysing data collected from human participants are expected to complete the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans TCPS 2 (2014) CORE Tutorial, here: http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/eng/education/tutorial-didacticiel/
TCPS 2 (2014) is the statement of ethics principles that guides all human research conducted in Canada, and is available here: http://www.pre.ethics.gc.ca/eng/policy-politique/initiatives/tcps2-eptc2/Default/
The CORE Tutorial ends by giving you a certificate of completion; that needs to be submitted together with the Research Ethics Confirmation Form. This form consists of a brief description of the procedural aspects of your thesis project, including specific consideration of ethical research concerns related to your thesis project and how they will be addressed. Both the student and supervisor sign this completed form to acknowledge awareness of, and compliance with, ethical responsibilities associated with the thesis project. Appropriate completion of this form, along with confirmation of research ethics approval for your thesis research (by the Western Research Ethics Office), is required BEFORE data collection or analysis can begin.
•All students conducting research with nonhuman animals must complete the required ethics training courses provided by ACVS. In addition, you must be listed on the appropriate approved Animal Use Protocol that is held by your supervisor. Completion of the animal training courses must be complete BEFORE data collection or analysis can begin. Students must submit proof of completion of animal training courses, as well as a copy of their supervisors animal use protocol that lists the student as an animal user.
- CLASS PRESENTATION. You will give a 10-12 minute presentation on the background and methods of your thesis project. This will be followed by up to 5 minutes of questions from your peers about your work. In your presentation try to cover the following: What is the research area, and why is it worthy of study? What is the state of the science in the area? What is the critical gap in knowledge that you are trying to fill, and why is it important? How will you address the gap (what are your methods/procedures)? What are your predictions? TIPS: Try to have no more than one slide per minute; try to use pictures instead of words on your slides; consult your supervisor and lab mates for more tips on preparing your presentation; practice beforehand with your house mates/lab mates/supervisor if possible.
- CLASS PARTICIPATION. This includes attending the four initial lecture periods and the classes devoted to presentations (see 7.0 Schedule, below), as well as asking questions and providing feedback on presentations to your peers.
- Attendance is required in the class periods devoted to presentations.
- You will each be randomly assigned to three other presentations: you are expected to ask at least one question for each of these. The quality of your questions in these presentations will be rated on a three point scale (thoughtful; superficial, or not done). You are strongly encouraged to ask questions in other presentations as well.
- A short form will be provided for you to give feedback to your peers on their presentations. This feedback will be (anonymously) given to the presenter to help them develop their presentation skills.
- THESIS POSTER. Students will present their completed thesis research in a poster form at a final Psychology Thesis Day mini-conference. Posters will be displayed for the entire session, and students will be assigned a 1-hour time slot to be present at their poster. At other times students are expected to view their colleagues’ posters and ask questions Posters will be graded by the supervisor and second reader, and their marks averaged. The poster sessions will give each student an opportunity to present and discuss their completed thesis project, and also to meet their second reader, prior to having the final written thesis graded. We hope to be able to award prizes!
- WRITTEN THESIS. The completed written thesis will be submitted electronically and will be marked by the thesis supervisor and a second reader. The second reader (selected by the course coordinators) is usually familiar with the general topic domain of the thesis. The thesis marks assigned by the supervisor and second reader will be averaged.
- LAB ENGAGEMENT AND PARTICIPATION. An important component of your training in the thesis course is active participation in a research lab. That does not mean working only on your own project – it also means, depending on the lab, activities such as attending lab group meetings, attending presentations by graduate students and other trainees in the lab, helping lab mates in various ways (such as volunteering to be a pilot participant, assisting with data collection on other ongoing projects, organizing events, participating in lab outreach activities, etc). At the end of the year, your engagement in the lab will be assessed by your supervisor.
Completion of All Assignments. The assignments in this course are sequential and build upon each other. Accordingly, it is expected that students will complete each and every oral and written assignment in this course on time, in the proper sequence. Failure to do so may result in serious penalties, up to and including not passing this course. If you are having difficulties in completing assignments on time you should see an academic counsellor.
Late Penalties. Please note that all assignments must be completed by their due date – there are no extensions. Accordingly, late penalties will be assessed for assignments not completed in time (3% of the worth of that assignment will be deducted for each day you are late). If you miss any course assignment deadlines, you must meet with an academic counsellor.
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
There are no tests or examinations.
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Classes are held on Fridays 12:30-2:30, but not every week.
In addition it is expected that students are working on their thesis every week, outside of class time. Students should expect to spend at least 200 – 260 hours between Sept and April working on your project, including reading, writing and participating in lab activities.
Tentative Schedule (consult OWL site for updates)
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Date |
Topic |
Notes |
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07-Sep-18 |
Orientation |
Dr MacDougall-Shackleton |
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14-Sep-18 |
Research Ethics |
Please complete the TCPS2-Core Tutorial http://tcps2core.ca/welcome before this class and be prepared to discuss the material therein. You will need to submit the certificate later in the year, so be sure to save it. If UWO is not listed as available institution during account setup, choose “Other”. You are welcome to participate in the ‘pre-tutorial survey’ but you can also say ‘no thanks’. It will take a few hours to complete the Tutorial. You can do it in multiple sittings. |
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21-Sep-18 |
Data Management & Hygiene Guest Lecture @ 1.30: Dr Lorne Campbell on Open Science |
Come prepared to discuss the following article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/magazine/when-the-revolution-came-for-amy-cuddy.html This is a rather lengthy but highly readable and thought provoking story of one psychologist caught up in the replication crisis.
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28-Sep-18 |
Christy Sich – Research and Instructional Services Librarian, DB Weldon Library, Library Research Resources Workshop |
Please bring a laptop (if you can) to this class. |
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05-Oct-18 |
no class |
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12-Oct-18 |
Fall Break: no class |
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19-Oct-18 |
no class |
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26-Oct-18 |
no class |
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02-Nov-18 |
no class |
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09-Nov-18 |
no class |
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16-Nov-18 |
Presentations x 6 |
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23-Nov-18 |
Presentations x 6 |
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30-Nov-18 |
Presentations x 6 |
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07-Dec-18 |
Presentations x 6 |
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December Exams and Break |
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11-Jan-19 |
Presentations x 6 |
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18-Jan-19 |
Presentations x 6 |
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25-Jan-19 |
Presentations x 6 |
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01-Feb-19 |
Presentations x 6 |
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08-Feb-19 |
Presentations x 6 |
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15-Feb-19 |
Presentations x 6 |
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22-Feb-19 |
Reading Week: no class |
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01-Mar-19 |
Presentations (if needed) |
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08-Mar-19 |
Christy Sich – Research and Instructional Services Librarian, DB Weldon Library, Instructional Workshop on uploading your work to Scholarship@Western (30 minutes) |
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15-Mar-19 |
no class |
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22-Mar-19 approx |
Thesis Day (Date/Time TBA) |
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29-Mar-19 |
no class |
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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.
10.1 MEETINGS WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR.
It is highly recommended that you schedule a regular meeting time with your thesis supervisor. A regular series of meetings (e.g., on a weekly basis), will help ensure the timely completion of each major phase of your thesis (i.e., Research Ethics Confirmation Form, Introduction, Method, Data Collection, Data Analyses, Poster Presentation, and Final Write-up).
Your thesis supervisor should be prepared to offer you help on various thesis-related concerns, such as conceptual and ethical issues, research design considerations, data analysis and interpretation questions, and write-up issues. During the initial phases of your project, your thesis supervisor may also recommend readings associated with your thesis topic. Throughout the year, your supervisor should also be prepared to provide you with feedback on written work you may submit for review and comments.
In turn, as a thesis student, you should recognize that there are many other demands on your thesis supervisor's time. Thus, you should be well prepared for each meeting with your supervisor. As one specific example, you are expected to show initiative in searching for and becoming knowledgeable about the research literature in your thesis domain. If you wish to receive feedback on written work, you should ensure that this work is submitted to your supervisor well in advance of the time that feedback is sought.
As part of your learning experience in completing an honours thesis, your thesis supervisor may also expect you to regularly engage in various other thesis-relevant research activities in the lab. As such, please ensure you discuss and review with your thesis supervisor, at the beginning of the year, exactly what your supervisor’s expectations are regarding: (1) the frequency of regular meetings for thesis-related activities, and (2) the frequency and extent of participation in additional research-related lab activities. You should ensure you clearly understand the specific details of these expectations, as your thesis supervisor will also be grading you on effort, as part of your supervisor’s final evaluation of your thesis.
