RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY Psychology 431W MWF 10:15-11:05 Lab T 9:45-11:35 Spring, 2011

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1 RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY Psychology 431W MWF 10:15-11:05 Lab T 9:45-11:35 Spring, 2011 Professor: Sue Kelley Webpage: Office: D101-B, Academic Center Telephone: kelley@lycoming.edu Office Hours: MF 11:15-12:15, or by appt. Required Texts: American Psychological Association (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6 th Edition). Washington, DC: Author. Zechmeister, J. S., Zechmeister, E. B., & Shaughnesy, J. J. (2001). Essentials of research methods in psychology. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Your textbook publisher has an excellent website dedicated to this text: I strongly encourage you to take the time to explore this site; you will find several useful study tools and resources there. Your textbook is small and light bring it to class with you because we will use it/refer to it frequently during lectures/in-class activities. Additional Readings: There are readings (see schedule of topics) available on Moodle that will be utilized for in-class work/discussions. Please explore these readings prior to the date listed on the following schedule and come to class prepared to discuss the readings. Example IRB proposals and final research papers can also be found on Moodle (keep in mind that some of these papers may be older so ALWAYS consult the APA manual for current APA style guidelines). Suggested Text: A good dictionary use it Goals & Objectives: This course has two main goals. The first goal is for you to learn more about the nuts and bolts of psychological research. Before you can think critically about research and advance your knowledge in a particular area of psychology (e.g., developmental, cognitive, physiological, and so on), you must first have a firm understanding of the methods employed to examine psychological phenomena. There are a variety of methods that psychologists use to examine behavior that range from unobtrusive observations to experimental manipulation we will explore these different methods throughout the course. The second goal is for you to apply your new found knowledge. We will conduct several research activities over the course of the semester and you will learn to write a professional report based on one of these activities. Additionally, for your final project, you will design and conduct a research project. After doing so, you will write a professional report outlining your research and present your project at a research poster session. Although some of you may view this course simply as a requirement for graduation, I view this course as a requirement for a solid foundation in the science of psychology. Without a foundation in research methodology, how can you possibly evaluate the findings from research

2 studies and truly understand their implications? In other words, if a recent study revealed that the number of hours children spend in day care relates to aggressiveness in those children, would/should you choose not to send your children to day care? You cannot possibly answer this question without knowledge of research methods and statistics that you can use to evaluate the original research project that reported this finding. Thus, as you can see, a course in research methods is the keystone of a degree in, and understanding of, the science of psychology. Because this is a W course, writing will be an important component of the class and you will spend a great deal of time engaged in writing activities. To be specific, there will be a number of writing workshops throughout the semester where we will cover basic writing skills as well as the writing style outlined in the APA Publication Manual. To be certified as a writing-intensive course, the course must provide writing instruction (i.e., the writing workshops) and must include both informal (i.e., in class writing samples and article summaries where grammar and writing style are not graded) and formal (i.e., IRB proposal, final paper) writing assignments. This syllabus is intended to give you a rough approximation of the flow of the course. In other words, we may work faster or slower than the syllabus dictates the speed of the class will be a result of your understanding of the material. With that said, some assignments will be handed out in class and some due dates may be changed if necessary so it is your responsibility to keep up with due dates and to find out if anything has been assigned/changed if you happen to miss class. By the end of the course, you should be able to: Identify and list the strengths and weaknesses of different research designs and methods. Locate, read, and understand (e.g., be able to summarize and discuss) empirical research articles. Critically analyze information presented in the popular press and investigate its accuracy/validity using empirical literature. Design a valid and meaningful research project using your knowledge of research methods. Analyze data collected in a research project with appropriate statistics. Report the findings from a research project clearly and concisely. Create APA style research papers that justify, report, explain, and discuss the implications/findings of a research project. Course Expectations I believe that it is my role as an educator to expand your knowledge and develop your critical thinking and writing skills. Further, I am a firm believer in the old adage, you only get out of it what you put into it. Consequently, I expect a lot from you in this course. I expect you to come to class prepared and ready to apply your knowledge and share your questions and insights. I also expect you to spend a substantial amount of time outside of class preparing for class (e.g., reading the text, exploring the literature, finding answers to questions) and completing assignments. Although I expect a lot from you, I do not expect you to go it alone. You are in college for a reason to gain knowledge and develop skills. I am here to facilitate that process. If you were able to complete this journey without assistance then there would be no need for professors. I am here to offer you help and guidance do not be afraid to come to me. My goal is to establish an environment in which you feel relaxed and safe; consequently, my hope is that you will feel comfortable asking questions, seeking answers, and exploring the wonderful world of psychology!

3 Course Evaluations: Your grade in this course will be determined by: (a) four exams, (b) three article summaries, (c) in-class writing sessions, (d) a final research proposal, project, and paper, and (e) in-class activities and homework assignments. Although you will not actually receive a grade for attendance, it may play a role in your final grade (see below). You are all adults (and upper-level students), so I expect you to keep track of the number of points you earn for each of the aforementioned activities. You can easily compute your grade at any point during the semester by simply dividing the number of points you have earned by the total number of possible points. DO NOT COME ASK ME FOR POINT TOTALS! This may sound like a lot of work for one semester, but put it in perspective each activity gives you a new opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge, effort, and commitment in the course. Exams There will be three exams throughout the semester and one final. The exams will contain both multiple choice and short answer/essay questions. If you keep up on the readings, attend class, complete assignments, and ask questions, you should be well on your way to mastering the material for the exams. The final will focus on the material covered in class since the third exam; however, a small portion of the final will be cumulative because you will be expected to differentiate between/identify the various research designs/methods covered throughout the course. I strongly suggest completing the Checking the Essentials and Applying your Knowledge sections at the end of each chapter in the text. The answers (as produced by the textbook publisher) to these questions can be obtained from the webpage for this course. Please note that it is NOT appropriate to leave the classroom while taking an exam. Please use the restroom PRIOR to class on exam days and if you are coughing/sniffling, please bring some water, tissues, or other necessities with you. Article Summaries Over the course of the semester you will be required to complete three article summaries (see schedule of topics and assignments for due dates). We will complete one article summary together in class (NOTE: this article summary is not one of the aforementioned three ) so you will be well aware of what is expected for the article summaries. You will be required to find an article for the first independent article summary that you complete (see following schedule of topics and assignments) that is related to the one that is assigned for the article dissection that we will complete in class. This article should be similar in content, but more recent (I purposely chose an older article to enable you to find something more recent). It is then your job to find an article for the final summary. It is in your best interest to locate an article that is either related to our in-class experiment or to your final project that way you can be researching your topic while completing a course requirement. You will be required to turn in a copy of the first page of the article along with each article summary. In-Class Writing Sessions At various times over the course of the semester (generally during labs), we will engage in writing workshops where the goal is for you to develop a stronger understanding of the mechanics of APA-style research papers. During these sessions, you will be expected to spend a considerable amount of time writing. After brief instructional-sessions, you will be asked to generate the various parts of an APA-style research paper and your GRADE for these sessions will be a product of the amount of effort you exert and the product of those efforts (i.e., the

4 quality of your written work). Attendance is mandatory during these in-class writing sessions; if you are absent (for ANY reason), you CANNOT make up the work. After the first in-class writing session, you will be required to construct an outline of an introduction for our in-class experiment. This outline should list a topic sentence for each paragraph followed by a brief overview of the information that would be covered in that paragraph (hence, you are outlining your argument for the paper). The outline should end with a clearly stated hypothesis (and the topic sentences should outline your argument enough that the hypothesis is well-supported). Final Research Paper Each of you will be required to design, conduct, analyze, and write up an EXPERIMENTAL research project. You can work independently, or in pairs to design and conduct the project; however, each of you must write an individual APA style research paper outlining the project and its findings. You can choose whatever topic you like as the basis for this project; however, the project MUST BE AN EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT. You will design this project on your own (but I am always available for input) and produce a formal proposal outlining the project (due date for this proposal is on the schedule of topics and assignments). This proposal should have a complete introduction and method section (in other words, there must be a complete justification for the project and you must describe how you plan to obtain your sample and collect your data). The project must be approved BEFORE you can begin data collection. I have added several mini assignments throughout the semester in an attempt to help you develop your final project. Researching and designing a research project is not something that should be done at the last minute. Thus, you will see on the schedule of topics and assignments various due dates for pieces of the final project. For instance, you are required to come to the first library session (the second week of class!) with broad ideas for research projects. Very early in the semester you will begin dissecting articles related to your research ideas and you will turn in a basic research topic to me within the first month. The goal in doing this is not to give you more work; rather, it is intended to help you understand the steps in the research process and enable you to take the time necessary to design and conduct a methodologically and theoretically sound research project. It will also allow us to uncover problems with your project before it s too late. To gain practice in preparing proposals and understanding the ethical considerations and mechanics of an experimental project, you will engage in an IRB session before you turn in your final project proposal to me. The IRB (Institutional Review Board) is a body of individuals who review project proposals to determine whether the research would inflict unnecessary harm (i.e., to review the ethical implications) to the participants. You will bring your proposal to class for this session and your classmates will serve as your IRB. This session is intended to give you valuable feedback on your own proposal while expanding your knowledge of experimental design (in other words, you should learn a few things by reading other students proposals). Your IRB proposal should include a COMPLETE introduction and a proposed method section (i.e., How many participants will you recruit? How will you obtain your sample? Operational definitions of variables, procedures that will be used ). Your proposal must use at least three relevant, recent, professional sources and a reference list should also be attached. Further, a photocopy of the first page of each reference (PsycINFO abstracts do NOT count) must be attached to the proposal. (Keep in mind that your final paper must have five professional sources so it is in your best interest to incorporate all five into your IRB proposal.) Finally, because this IRB is in preparation for your final paper, it should have a title page, running head, page numbers and so on. Just think do it well now, and you won t have to worry about this type of formatting later!!

5 You should place a symbol (e.g., ) or a number (e.g., 21) on the IRB proposal to serve as identification (so that your proposal can be reviewed anonymously). You should use the comments from the in-class IRB session to improve your project proposal before handing it in to me. You must attach the IRB review sheets to your proposal when you hand it in to me. Designing a research project takes a great deal of thought and a tremendous amount of work do not underestimate the amount of effort and time that this project will require! It is in your best interest to begin researching a topic as early as possible in the semester for several reasons. Some of these reasons include: (1) you will most likely have to request some materials through interlibrary loan which can take a few weeks, (2) you may spend time researching a topic only to find that you cannot come up with a manageable research project, and (3) it takes a lot of time to design a meaningful research project and obtain an adequate sample size. Several classes will be devoted to one-on-one meetings between me and you (or your research group ) where you will outline your progress on this project. When you are not meeting with me, I expect you to be using the time to work on your project (e.g., collecting resources/materials/data, and so on). The more prepared you are at these meetings, the more I will be able to help you. Your final research paper should be typed, printed, and handed in to me in APA style (which includes formatting, font, grammar see the APA Manual). You will be required to turn in a paper and electronic copy of both your IRB and the final paper. You will need to set up an account on turnitin.com and join the Experimental Psychology class. You will then submit the electronic version of your paper directly to turnitin.com, not to me. Failure to turn in either form of your IRB or final paper will result in a zero for the assignment. For every day that either form is late, point deductions will go into effect. IRB Revision You may revise your IRB proposal once; the due date for the revised IRB proposal is on the following schedule of topics and assignments (but it can always be handed in early). Keep in mind that it is almost unheard of for a journal to accept a manuscript the first time it is submitted, so if you are unhappy with the first version of your proposal and want to resubmit this is an experience that most researchers (even the well-known ones) have. You do not have to revise the proposal and I will caution you that if you submit a revision and have not made changes that I suggested on the original proposal, I will stop grading the revision immediately and will lower your first IRB proposal grade by 5 points. I spend a considerable amount of time grading papers and feel that it would be a waste of my time and effort to grade a paper that did not take my previous concerns and comments into account. I encourage you to submit a revision (I believe that you learn best by doing ), but I also encourage you to read and think about my comments and to make a sincere attempt to improve the quality of your work accordingly. Your first IRB proposal (with my comments) and my grading rubric must be attached to the revision. The grade you receive for the IRB proposal will be the average of your original grade and the grade you receive on the revision (if you choose to revise the manuscript). You do not need to submit the IRB revision to turnitin.com. Final Paper You must use at least 5 professional, recent (i.e., at least 3 of the 5 must be from the last 10 years) sources (i.e., the web DOES NOT count as a professional source) for your final project and a photocopy of the first page of each source must be attached to your final paper. (NOTE: PsychINFO abstracts DO NOT COUNT you must demonstrate that you actually obtained the

6 article). Additionally, you must attach the SPSS data analysis printouts and the IRB proposal with my comments (not the one from the in-class IRB session) along with the IRB grading checklist that I completed to the final paper. Your final paper must also be submitted to turnitin.com. At the end of the semester, you will present your research project in a poster session much like poster sessions that occur at psychological conferences. We will discuss the poster session in more detail as the semester progresses. You will be required to turn in a poster handout on the day of the poster session (examples can be found at In-Class Activities and Homework Throughout the semester, we will often complete in-class activities related to topics being covered in class. These activities will occur randomly throughout the semester (i.e., they will NOT be announced). The activities are designed to help you apply and understand the material presented in class and in your readings. You cannot make up these activities if you are absent (for any reason) when an activity takes place, then you will not receive credit for that assignment (this includes the IRB session). In addition to these in-class activities, you will sometimes be asked to complete homework assignments outside of class. For instance, because this is a course in research methodology, it is imperative that you develop an understanding of statistics along with an understanding of research. Before you can truly understand what a study has found, and what the implications of those results are, you must understand statistics. We will review some of the statistics that you will most likely use in analyzing the data for your independent research projects and you will be asked to complete and hand in statistical problem sets so you can practice and demonstrate your knowledge. The actual number of homework assignments you receive will be a function of your needs as a class. I do not have a schedule for homework assignments, nor will I chase you down to give them to you; thus, it is your responsibility to obtain these homework assignments if you miss class. NOTE: Point deductions will go into effect for each day (including weekends) that a paper or assignment is late. Papers/assignments must be turned in at the beginning of class on the day that they are due and will NOT be accepted via ! You will lose 5 points for each day that the poster handout is late and 2 points for each day that an assignment is late. The final paper will NOT BE ACCEPTED late. If this paper is not turned in (both to me and to turnitin.com) by the end of class on the due date, it will not be graded. NO EXCUSES WILL BE TOLERATED. Moodle There are several resources available on Moodle for this class. Please sign into Moodle (the link is available on the Technology Services [one of the FastFind links on the Lycoming webpage] page on the web) and add Experimental Psychology to your course list (you will need the course enrollment key which is research). The additional readings listed on the schedule of topics and readings are available on Moodle. Attendance You will learn more if you are present in class and if you actively participate. Although you will not receive a grade for attendance in this class, you could potentially lose points for excessive absences. I recognize that events sometimes occur that prevent you from coming to class (e.g., an illness [personal or family member], an athletic event, a family emergency), consequently, I do not expect perfect attendance. Just as employers give their employees a certain amount of

7 sick or personal leave, I will allot the same to you. If employers did grant you more than the allotted time off from work, they would most likely expect you to do so without getting paid. A similar process will be enforced in this class. You will be granted one full week of vacation/sick class time for the semester. Thus, you can miss three classes and one lab (for any reason) without any repercussions. If you miss more than four classes, then your grade will diminish by 1/3 of a letter grade (e.g., it will move from a B+ to a B or from a B to a B-) for every two absences above and beyond that (e.g., if you miss 5-6 days, your grade will diminish 1/3 of a letter grade, if you miss 7-8, it will diminish 2/3 of a letter grade, and so on). Research Participation Because this is a research methods class and because you will be designing and conducting your own independent research projects (and thus will need to recruit participants), you will be expected to participate in one hour of research yourself. You should never be forced to participate in any research if it makes you feel uncomfortable or produces any physical or psychological harm; consequently, you can choose in which research projects that you would like to participate. As you will learn in class, research participation must always be voluntary. I realize that I am requiring you to participate in research; however, I feel it is important for you to participate in others research if you expect others to participate in yours and you have the choice of in which projects you would like to participate. You can participate in your classmates research projects or in those conducted by students in the sensation and perception class. You must give me a final (please refrain from giving me interim lists) list of all of the projects in which you participated along with the amount of time that you devoted to that project, and the researchers must corroborate that you participated in their research. You can earn up to 3 extra credit points for additional research participation (1 point for every 15 minutes of participation). Cell Phone Policy I realize that cell phones seem to be seen as a necessity these days; however, they are certainly not a necessity in class. Thus, I require that you TURN OFF (turn off vibrate mode) your cell phones while in class. I have unfortunately seen several students texting while in class and thus I not only ask that you turn off your phones, I also ask that they be put away in a bag or in your pocket. Please DO NOT have your phone sitting on your desk. I recognize that some of you may use your phone as a watch, but unfortunately you will not be able to do so in my class. You can alert your family members that if they need to get in touch with you while you are in class, they can contact the Dean of Students who will look up your schedule and come get you out of class. Finally, there is something to be said for the old adage you only get out of it what you put into it. You will gain more from this class if you think critically about the material, complete assignments, and put forth effort. Cheating and plagiarism rob you of an education and limit your opportunities for intellectual growth. Because the main goal of this course is to expand your knowledge, cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated (and will be reported to the Provost). Remember that both giving and receiving information is considered cheating. Further, there are several forms of plagiarism (we will cover these in class) and all of them will be reported to the Provost and will result in a zero for the given assignment/paper.