Psychology 2800E-002

Research Methods 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

Using selected examples, this course will introduce students to the variety of ways to conduct research in psychology. Topics to be covered include: the scientific approach; ethical issues in human and animal research; designing, running, analyzing and writing up a research project; experimental, observational and correlational research strategies.

Prerequisite: A mark of at least 60% in 1.0 credits of Psychology at the 1000 level

 

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.

Antirequisites: Psychology 2855F/G and 2856F/G, 2820E, 2840F/G

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.

2 lecture hours and 2 laboratory hours, 1.0 course

2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

       Instructor:                                                     Dr. Corey Isaacs

       Office:                                                         SSC 7440

       Office Hours:                                               Wednesdays at 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm (by appointment)

       Email:                                                          cisaacs3@uwo.ca

 

            Time and Location of Classes:               Wednesdays at 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm in UCC 37                                                                                   

Students who are in emotional/mental distress should refer to Mental Health@Western

http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.

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 Student Accessibility Services (formerly known as Services for Students with Disabilities) at 519-661-2147.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

University textbooks are a racket. This class uses an open textbook that is free to download:

 

Price, P. C., Jhangiani, R. S., & Chiang, I. A. (2015). Research Methods in Psychology (2nd Canadian edition). Simple Book Production.

 

A PDF of the book is available on OWL. Alternatively, you can read it or download it in your preferred digital format from this website: https://opentextbc.ca/researchmethods/

 

If you prefer to read your textbooks in hardcopy, you can print the book at one of Western’s libraries for 10 cents a page, or $32 (https://www.lib.uwo.ca/services/printingandphotocopying.html).

 

Please note that Weeks 7, 10, and 16 include additional readings that can be found on the OWL course website 

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course introduces the ways in which research is conducted in psychology. We shall consider a wide range of alternative research methods, including observation, archival research, questionnaire surveys, case studies, and experimentation. We’ll also consider topics closely allied to research design, such as ethics, report writing, and data presentation. In addition to providing training in research techniques needed for third- and fourth-year psychology courses (e.g., Psychology 4850E), it is expected that Psychology 2800E will contribute significantly to the development of scientific thinking skills that students can apply to their future careers and in everyday life.

 

Although this is a course in research design rather than statistical analysis, you will analyze data in the laboratory component of the course, and that requires an understanding of fundamental statistical concepts. If you do not have credit in Psychology 2810, it is recommended that you read Chapters 12 and 13 of the Price text early in the school year.


   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Outcome

Assessment

Access, interpret, and critically evaluate appropriate research in psychology

Finding scholarly sources, research proposal, replication, research report; Exam questions

Evaluate the appropriateness of different methodological approaches to address a specific psychological question

Finding scholarly sources, research proposal, replication, research report; Exam questions

Formulate a research hypothesis to address a psychological question and design a research project to test that hypothesis

Generating own research question, constructing hypotheses from an existing dataset

Apply ethical standards to the practice of their own research

Research proposal, research report, poster presentation

Apply relevant quantitative skills to the analysis and interpretation of psychological phenomena

 

Working with JASP I, working with JASP II, Testing own hypotheses in JASP

Use evidence to support claims

 

Finding scholarly sources, replication, research proposal, research report, poster presentation

Communicate in writing accurately, clearly and logically, using the discourse of the discipline of psychology

Research proposal and research report

Communicate orally accurately, clearly and logically, using the discourse of the discipline of psychology

Poster presentation

 

 

5.0     EVALUATION

The course requirements, along with relative weightings in the determination of final grades, are:

 

Midterm #1                                                                    10%

Mid-year Exam                                                              15%

Midterm #2                                                                    10%

Final Exam                                                                    15%

Class Participation                                                        10%

Laboratory Component                                                  40%

 

Important Note: Because this is an essay course, as per Senate Regulations, you must pass the essay component to pass the course. The laboratory component counts as the essay component of the course. That is, the average mark for your written assignments in the lab must be at least 50% for you to pass the course. This is a formal policy of the University, not a matter of the instructor’s discretion. 

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  ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION SCHEDULE

            6.1        EXAM COMPONENT

 

The two midterms will be held during class time. The two exams will be scheduled during the formal exam periods. All exams will be based on both the readings/listenings and lecture material. All exams for this course will contain multiple-choice questions only. The exam schedule will be as follows:

 

Exam

Date

During:

Location

Will Cover:

Fall Midterm

Wednesday, October 16

Class time

UCC-37

Lectures and readings up to October 9

Mid-Year Exam

TBA

Exam Period (Dec 10-21)

TBA

Lectures and readings up to December 4, emphasizing material not covered in Fall midterm

Winter Midterm

Wednesday, February 12

Class time

UCC-37

Lectures and readings from Jan. 6 – Feb. 5

Final Exam

TBA

Exam Period (April 11-30)

TBA

Lectures and readings from Jan. 6 – April 3, emphasizing material not covered in Winter midterm

 

            6.2        CLASS PARTICIPATION

 

Your class participation grade will be calculated using iClicker Cloud: an online tool that Western has purchased and integrated with OWL. You do not need to purchase a physical clicker to use this tool; instead, you can log into the tool for free using your laptop or mobile device.

 

Throughout the lectures, polls will be taken with iClicker to test your knowledge and generate discussion. You will have a unique ID linked to your iClicker account, which we will use to track your participation in each poll. Your participation grade will be calculated each semester based only on participation; not on performance (it does not matter whether your poll responses are correct or not).

 

You will receive a 100% attendance grade for a given semester if you responded to at least 70% of the in-class polls that semester.

 

For example, say that there are 50 in-class polls during the fall semester (about 4-5 per lecture). A student would need to participate in 35 of those polls to receive a mark of 100%. A student who participated in 20 polls would receive a mark of 20/35 = 57%. A student who participated in 33 of the polls would receive a participation mark of 33/35 = 94%.

 

 

 

      


            6.3        LABORATORY COMPONENT

 

Semester

Assignment

Worth

Group A

Group B

Week Assigned

Week Due

Week Assigned

Week Due

Fall

Generating Research Questions

2%

3

5

4

6

Fall

Finding Scholarly Sources

2%

5

7

6

8

Fall

Replication

3%

7

10

8

11

Fall

Surveys

2%

10

12

11

13

Fall

Research Proposal

10%

Due by Midnight on November 30

Winter

Constructing Hypotheses

2%

14

16

15

17

Winter

Descriptive Stats in JASP

1%

16

18

17

19

Winter

Inferential Stats in JASP

1%

18

20

19

21

Winter

Graphing

2%

23

23

24

24

Winter

Poster Presentation

5%

14

25

15

26

Winter

Research Report

10%

Due by Midnight on April 3

 

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

Fall Semester

Week

Lecture Date

Lecture Topic

Readings/ Listenings

Lab Week

Lab Topic

1

Sept 11

Introduction

 

1

Introduction + Writing a Research Proposal

2

Sept 18

Psych as a Science

Chapter 1

2

3

Sept 25

Your Own Research I

Chapter 2

2

Generating Your Own Research Questions

4

Oct 2

Your Own Research II

Chapter 2

3

5

Oct 9

Ethics

Chapter 3

3

Finding Scholarly Sources

6

Oct 16

Fall Midterm

Material from Weeks 1-6

4

7

Oct 23

Open Science

Ep. 4 of Four Beers Podcast

 

Replication

8

Oct 30

Measurement

Chapter 5

4

9

Nov 6

READING WEEK

 

 

 

10

Nov 13

Interpreting Graphs

Graphs

5

Surveys

11

Nov 20

Survey Research

Chapter 9

5

12

Nov 27

What is a Theory?

Chapter 4

6

 

13

Dec 4

Professional Development

 

6

 

Winter Semester

14

Jan 8

Experimental Research I

Chapter 6

7

Construct Hypotheses from an Existing Dataset

15

Jan 15

Experimental Research II

Chapter 7

7

16

Jan 22

Non-Experimental Research

Navarro Ch. 3

8

Working with JASP

17

Jan 29

Complex Research Designs I

Chapter 8

8

18

Feb 5

Complex Research Designs II

Chapter 8

9

Working with JASP II

19

Feb 12

Winter Midterm

Material from Weeks 14-18

9

20

Feb 19

READING WEEK

 

 

 

21

Feb 26

NO LECTURE- SPSP

 

10

Testing Hypotheses in JASP

22

March 4

Data Wrangling

Chapter 12

10

23

March 11

Interpreting Your Results

Chapter 13

11

Graphing

24

March 18

Communicating Your Results

Chapter 11

11

25

March 25

Designing Your Study (Which Method is Best?)

Chapter 11

12

Poster Presentation

26

April 1

On Being a Critical Consumer of Science

 

12

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

Computer-marked multiple-choice tests and/or exams may be subject to submission for similarity review by software that will check for unusual coincidences in answer patterns that may indicate cheating.

 

A portion of your grade in this class involves the use of a personal response system (PRS). Data collected using the PRS will only be used in a manner consistent to that described in this outline. It is the instructor’s responsibility to make every effort to ensure that data remain confidential. However, students should be aware that as with all forms of electronic communication, privacy is not guaranteed. Your PRS login credentials are for your sole use only. Students attempting to use another student’s credentials to submit data through the PRS may be subject to academic misconduct proceedings.



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://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/PolicyPages.cfm?PolicyCategoryID=1&Command=showCategory&SelectedCalendar=Live&ArchiveID=#Page_12

 

The full policy for consideration for absences can be accessed at: https://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/Academic_Consideration_for_absences.pdf


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

 

If you experience an extenuating circumstance (e.g., illness, injury) sufficiently significant to temporarily make you unable to meet academic requirements, you may request accommodation through the following routes:

  1. Submitting a Self-Reported Absence form (for circumstances that are expected to resolve within 48 hours);
  2. For medical absences, submitting a Student Medical Certificate (SMC) signed by a licensed medical or mental health practitioner in order to be eligible for Academic Consideration;

For non-medical absences, submitting appropriate documentation (e.g., obituary, police report, accident report, court order, etc.) to Academic Counselling in their Faculty of registration in order to be eligible for academic consideration. Students are encouraged to contact their Academic Counselling unit to clarify what documentation is appropriate.

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation. The self-reported absence form may NOT be used for absences longer than 48 hours; coursework/tests/exams/etc., worth more than 30% of the final grade; or exams scheduled in the December or April final-exam periods: http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html

Students seeking academic consideration:

  • are advised to consider carefully the implications of postponing tests or midterm exams or delaying handing in work;  
  • are encouraged to make appropriate decisions based on their specific circumstances, recognizing that minor ailments (upset stomach) or upsets (argument with a friend) are not normally an appropriate basis for a self-reported absence;

must communicate with their instructors no later than 24 hours after the end of the period covered by either the self-reported absence or SMC, or immediately upon their return following a documented absence



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
- 2019-2020 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 the instructor’s written consent.