Psychology 2800E-001
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.
Antirequisites: Psychology 2820E, 2840F/G, 2855F/G and 2856F/G
Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if this course has an antirequisite that you have previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in this one.
Prerequisite: At least 60% in a 1000 level Psychology course
2 lecture hours, 2 laboratory hours, 1.0 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. Corey Isaacs
Office: SSC 7440
Office Hours: Tuesdays 6:00 – 7:00 pm (by appointment)
Email: cisaacs3@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Lectures: Tuesday & Thursday 7:00 – 10:00 pm / SSC 2032
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
White, T.L.. & McBurney, D.H. (2013) Research Methods, Ninth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/ Thomson Learning.
It is not necessary to purchase a copy of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) 6th Edition, but it is necessary to have access to a copy (readily available at the
library and the Psychology Resource Centre (SSC 3115). Instructions on how to access the UWO library system from off campus may be found at http://www.lib.uwo.ca/offcampus/remote.shtml.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVESThis course provides an introduction to the ways in which research is conducted in psychology. We will consider a wide range of research methods, including observation, archival research, questionnaire surveys, case studies, and experimentation. We will 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 4850), 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 collected in the laboratory component of the course, which requires an understanding of fundamental statistical concepts. If you have not taken Psychology 2810 (or are not taking it this summer), it is recommended that you read Chapter 15 of the White & McBurney text5.0 EVALUATION
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/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
The course requirements, along with relative weightings in the determination of final grades, are listed below. The midterm and the final exam will use multiple-choice questions, and will be based on both the textbook and lecture material.
The evaluation of the lab component will involve several parts. The major components of the lab evaluation will involve a survey report and a research report submitted in APA format. These projects will be completed in stages. Late assignments will not be graded, and will receive a grade of zero. Although a late assignment will be given a grade of zero, you may ask for feedback on the assignment in order to improve your final report. More details of the evaluation for the lab will be given in the lab outline in the first lab meeting and made available for download on OWL.
Although the length of the final reports may vary, it is unlikely that an acceptable report would be less than 10 double-spaced pages (excluding appendices).
NOTE: to earn credit in Psychology 2800E, you must earn a passing grade on both the laboratory and classroom (lecture) components of the course.
For the student who passes the course, 50% of their grade comes from the lecture-based evaluation and 50% comes from the lab-based evaluation. For the student who fails one or both components but has a calculated overall grade above 50%, an artificially deflated grade of 48% will be the final grade recorded for the registrar. In this case, the 50/50 split is not the actual calculation. In this case, there is not a suggestion that the student almost passed the course. This is, instead, departmental policy that results in a failing grade without unduly lowering the student’s overall university standing.
Grades will not be adjusted on the basis of need, and you will not be given the opportunity to improve your grade by completing additional assignments beyond what is listed here.
The breakdown of course components and their worth toward the final grade are as follows:
Midterm 25%
Final Exam 25%
Survey Report 20%
Experiment Report 30%
6.0 TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE
Midterm: Thursday June 23, 2016
Final Exam: TBA; Final Exam Period (August 2 - 3)
Lab Components Due Dates:
Survey Report: Introduction & Method May 26, 2016
Survey Report: Results, Discussion, & Abstract June 9, 2016
Experiment Report: Proposal & Ethics June 30, 2016
Experiment Report: Introduction & Method July 14, 2016
Experiment Report: Results, Discussion, & Abstract July 29, 2016
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
Date Topic Chapter
May 10 Introduction – Psychology as a Science 1
May 17 Ethics 3
May 24 Correlational Research & Surveys 9
May 31 Developing a Question / Communication 2, 4
June 7 Variables / Tables & Graphs 5, 14
June 14 Validity of Arguments 6
June 21 Control 7**
June 23 – MIDTERM – NOTE: Thursday class – Chapters 1 – 6, 9, 14 + corresponding lectures
June 28 Nonexperimental Methods 8
July 5 True Experiments – Single-Factor Designs 10
July 12 True Experiments – Factorial Designs 11
July 19 Single Subject Designs + Case Studies 8, 12
July 26 Quasi-Experiments + Program Evaluation 13
August 2 or 3 – FINAL EXAM – Chapters 7, 8, 10 – 13 + corresponding lectures
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.
