Research Methods. Office hours

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1 Lab 1 (16980) Wed. 12:30 1:50 Harbert 301 Research Methods PY 304 (16979) Spring 2013 Lecture: M/W 11:00 12:20 Harbert 329 Lab 2 (16981) Wed. 2:00 3:20 Harbert 301 Professor Jaime Cloud, Ph.D. Office: Harbert jcloud@bsc.edu Office hours Mon. 1:00 3:00 Tues. 10:00 11:00 Required Textbooks Morling, B. (2012). Research Methods in Psychology: Evaluating a World of Information (1/e). ISBN: American Psychological Association (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6/e). ISBN: Course Description This course is designed to give you the tools to become a conscientious consumer and producer of psychological research. In the lecture portion of this course, you will learn how to critically evaluate psychological claims made in academic journals and the popular media. In the lab portion of this course, you will learn how to design and execute an empirical study, as well as write an APA-style paper. This course will provide the foundation for your career as a psychologist. It is a strenuous course, but one I believe you will find tremendously rewarding. Prerequisites: PY-101 and PY-204 (Statistics) are prerequisites for this course. If you made less than a C in Statistics, you may very well struggle in this course. Please see me early on and regularly if you have any questions. WR Explorations Outcome This course satisfies the Writing Reinforcement outcome of the Explorations general education curriculum. As such, this course is designed to teach you how to (1) address specific purposes, contexts, and audiences in your writing; (2) develop ideas to meet the demands of a rhetorical situation; (3) utilize appropriate disciplinary conventions (e.g., organization, style); (4) identify sources suitable to the academic discipline; (5) employ syntax and mechanics standard to disciplinary practices; and (6) demonstrate ethics in academic writing.

2 Departmental Learning Outcomes This course meets the following goals and learning outcomes of the Psychology Department: Goal #1-Research Methods in Psychology: Students will understand and apply basic research methods in psychology, including research design, data analysis, and interpretation. Course learning outcomes: Know the basic research designs for conducting sound psychological research; be able to choose and apply the appropriate research method and statistical analysis for a research question; be able to derive testable hypotheses about a research question; know how to design and execute an experiment and use data in order to test a hypothesis and/or theory; be able to identify sources of contamination in a study and where biases may arise. Goal #2-Critical Thinking Skills in Psychology: Students will respect and use critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry, and the scientific approach to understand and solve problems related to behavior and mental processes. Course learning outcomes: Be able to read and critically evaluate and interpret psychological research; be able to distinguish scientific and pseudoscientific explanations of human behavior; be able to explain how science undergirds good psychological research; have an increased ability to transfer an understanding of science to everyday applications and decisions. Goal #3-Values in Psychology: Students will be able to weigh evidence, tolerate ambiguity, act ethically, and reflect other values that are the underpinnings of psychology as a discipline. Course learning outcomes: Have a better understanding of the role of research in advancing our knowledge of various psychological phenomena; be able to discuss the basic issues of ethics that surround psychological research. Goal #4-Information and Technological Literacy: Students will demonstrate information competence and the ability to use computers and other technology for many purposes. Course learning outcomes: Be able to use a computerized database (e.g., PsycINFO) effectively; be able to analyze data using the statistical package SPSS; be able to understand and interpret output from statistical analyses. Goal #5-Communication Skills: Students will be able to communicate effectively in a variety of formats. Course learning outcomes: Be able to effectively write research reports using APA-style; be able to understand and interpret output from statistical analyses.

3 Classroom Policies You are expected to check your university account on a daily basis for communication from me concerning the class. is the best way to contact me. I aim to return all inquires within 24 hours. Dr. Cloud will not respond to s about questions that can be answered by looking at the syllabus. Classroom Behavior: In order to effectively communicate class material, you are expected to be non-disruptive and respectful of one another during lecture. Please refrain from arriving late, leaving early, or packing your belongings until after class is dismissed. Cell phones MUST be turned off and put away for the entire duration of class. The use of laptops is a privilege and may ONLY be used for note-taking purposes. Course Engagement (30 pts.) Doing well in this course requires a high level of engagement both inside and outside of class. You are expected to attend all lectures and labs and participate in class discussions and activities. Lecture Attendance (20 pts.): Attendance will be taken daily and factored into your grade. You will receive 1 attendance point for each lecture day (not exam day) that you attend, for a maximum of 20 points. Lab Attendance: Each lab will entail extensive group work. The quality of that work will depend upon each group member being present and contributing equally. For that reason, you are required to attend every lab. For each unexcused absence, a half letter-grade will be deducted from your overall grade (e.g., two absences drop a C to a C-). Participation (10 pts.): At the end of the semester, I will assign you a participation grade based on your participation in class discussion, activities, and your observance of the basic rules of classroom conduct. Also incorporated into this grade will be feedback from your group members regarding your contribution to your group s research project. Class Notes It is important to me that you are able to focus your attention on course material and actively participate. For that reason, electronic copies of the PowerPoint slides will be posted on Moodle. I recommend that you print a copy of the slides before each lecture to take notes on in class. Tattooable Terms Some concepts are so important that they deserve the special status of being tattooable. That is, as a psychology major, they should be tattooed into your brain. To help motivate you to master these terms at a level above others, exam questions involving tattooable terms will be worth more points. Below are the 12 tattooable terms, plus one forbidden term. ü Falsifiability ü Systematic empiricism ü Operational definition ü Reliability ü Internal validity ü External validity ü Independent variable ü Dependent variable ü Statistically significant ü Correlation ü Interaction ü Power Never, EVER say: Prove

4 Reading Quizzes (60 pts.) It is critical in this course that you properly prepare for material covered in lecture and lab. Part of that preparation includes the completion of reading assignments prior to the start of class. To ensure that you keep up with the reading assignments, there will be 10 Reading Quizzes. Each Reading Quiz will consist of three multiple-choice questions, worth 2 points each (6 points/ Reading Quiz). A Reading Quiz can occur on any day that a reading assignment is due. There will be no make-up Reading Quizzes for unexcused absences. For excused absences, the next Reading Quiz will count double. Assignments (60 pts.) Lecture Assignments (30 pts.): There will be three lecture assignments worth 10 points each. Detailed instructions regarding each assignment will be delivered the day it is assigned. All assignments must be returned at the beginning of class 1-week after they are assigned. There will be no make-ups or extensions. References Assignment (10 pts.): Detailed instructions relating to this assignment will be delivered in lab. There will be no make-ups or extensions. Peer Review (20 pts.): On two occasions, you will anonymously review another student s research report. I will grade the quality of your review for a maximum of 10 points. One lab will be devoted to writing each of the reviews. There will be no make-ups or extensions. Research Report (200 pts.) Groups of 3-4 students (within the same lab section) will design and execute an empirical research study, culminating in an APA-style research report. Although the design and data collection phases of this project will be collaborative, your research report MUST be written independently. Your research report will be graded across three steps: Introduction/Method draft Results/Discussion draft Exams (200 pts.) Final paper (100 pts.) There will be three non-cumulative Block Exams worth 60 points each (the third Block Exam will be given during the final exam period). Thirty points of each Block Exam will come from multiple-choice questions, 20 points from short-answer questions, and 10 points from a pagelong essay question. There will also be one APA-style exam (worth 20 pts.) that consists of 20 multiple-choice questions. Review Sessions: I will host an online review chat on Moodle from 8:00 9:00pm the evening immediately preceding each Block Exam. Make-up Policy: If you must miss a Block Exam, you are required to contact me prior to the exam date. Make-up exams will be administered during finals week and only for those who have an excused absence.

5 Academic Integrity Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated in this course. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: plagiarism, inappropriate source citations, turning in work done in whole or part by someone other than you, using or contributing to unapproved test files, and using any outside source during an exam. During exams, students will be required to place all belongings, including cell phones and other electronics, at the front of the room. Students will not be allowed to leave the room during an exam without permission except in the case of an emergency. You are subject to the provisions of the Birmingham-Southern College Honor Code. Any violations of the honor code will result in a report to the Honor Council and may result in a failing grade for the assignment, exam, or course at the professor s discretion. Remember that the Honor Code dictates that if you witness academic dishonesty, you are required to report it or you will be in violation of the Honor Code yourself. If you have any questions about this, please see the professor and refer to the student handbook. Grading There are 550 total possible points in this class. Your total is determined by the sum of scores you receive on each of the items below. Attendance (20 pts.) Participation (10 pts.) = 30 pts. RQ 1 RQ 2 RQ 3 RQ 4 RQ 5 RQ 6 RQ 7 RQ 8 RQ 9 RQ 10 = 60 pts. Assign. 1 Assign. 2 Assign. 3 Refs Assign. Peer Review = (10 pts.) (10 pts.) (10 pts.) (10 pts.) 1 (10 pts.) Peer Review 60 pts. 2 (10 pts.) I/M Draft R/D Draft Final Paper (100 pts.) = 200 pts. Block Exam 1 (60 pts.) Block Exam 2 (60 pts.) Block Exam 3 (60 pts.) APA Exam (20 pts.) = 200 pts. Total = 550 pts. A A - B B B - C C C - D D F % 92 90% 89 87% 86 83% 82 80% 79 77% 76 73% 72 70% 69 67% 66 60% < 60% < 330

6 Block 1 Lecture Schedule Spring 2013 (subject to change) Date Topic Reading Assignment Wed., Feb. 6 Orientation Mon.. Feb. 11 Psychology Is a Way of Thinking Ch. 1 #1 Assigned Wed.. Feb. 13 Sources of Information Ch. 2 Mon., Feb. 18 Three Claims, Four Validities Ch. 3 #1 Due Wed., Feb. 20 Three Claims, Four Validities cont. Mon., Feb. 25 Ethical Guidelines Ch. 4 Wed., Feb. 27 BLOCK EXAM 1 Block 2 Mon., Mar. 4 Identifying Good Measurement Ch. 5 Wed., Mar. 6 Identifying Good Measurement cont. Mon. Mar. 11 Surveys, Observations, & Sampling Ch. 6 Wed., Mar. 13 Descriptive Statistics Appendix A Mon. Mar. 25 Introduction to Simple Experiments Ch. 9 Wed., Mar. 27 Introduction to Simple Experiments cont. Mon., Apr. 1 Factorial Designs Ch. 11 #2 Assigned Wed., Apr. 3 Factorial Designs cont. Mon., Apr. 8 Inferential Statistics Appendix B #2 Due Wed., Apr. 10 BLOCK EXAM 2 Block 3 Mon., Apr. 15 Confounding & Obscuring Variables Ch. 10 Wed., Apr. 17 Confounding & Obscuring Variables cont. Mon., Apr. 22 Bivariate Correlational Research Ch. 7 #3 Assigned Wed., Apr. 24 TURNIPSEED MARCH Mon., Apr. 29 Multivariate Correlational Research Ch. 8 #3 Due Wed., May 1 Multivariate Correlational Research cont. Mon., May 6 Quasi-Experiments & Small-N Designs Ch. 12 Wed., May 8 Replicability & Generalization Ch. 13 Block 3 Exam Applying Social Psychology Reading #4 Wed., May 15; 9a 12n BLOCK EXAM 3