Welcome to Research Methods in Psychology!

by Dr. Michael E. Dunn

Course Orientation & Overview

It's always good to start by reading the syllabus from start to finish. You can find it through the "syllabus" button on the left side of your screen. Then come back and read this introduction.

First, I'd like to thank Dr. Patricia Bach for sharing course content with me for this class. I've created new content myself, I used some things exactly as they were created by Dr. Bach, and I also used things that were originally created by Dr. Bach that I have edited.

Moving on to Research Methods. In this class, you will learn how to use different types of research protocols, depending on the phenomenon you wish to explore and hypothesis you might wish to test. By the end of the course you should be able to conduct a literature search in order to prepare a research project, select the best research design for answering a particular research question, and be able to select or create appropriate measures, select an appropriate sample of research participants, adhere to ethical standards,analyze and interpret your research findings, and complete a written report of your efforts that follows APA writing/style guidelines.

That's a long list of objectives for one class, and there is a lot of work involved in taking this course! I've taught several other classes as fully web-based classes, but this class is likely to be almost twice as much work as the typical 3-credit course in psychology. Why? Research Methods in Psychology is a five credit course so the workload is much more than in the more common three credit course.

This course includes a lab, and assignments will reflect that. Some of the assignments will involve reading about principles of research in behavioral science, and your knowledge will be tested via weekly quizzes. In the lab portions you will be asked to evaluate research designs of others and create your own designs; do your own observational and survey research; analyze a small data set; and interpret research results. There is also a cumulative final exam based on the same readings as the weekly quizzes.

Students usually groan when they see a cumulative final exam, and as a student, I would groan too! But as a professor, I know that the best way to help you actually learn a subject is to have you learn it in small chunks, and then review it again later. That's why I always use weekly quizzes and a cumulative final exam. The data on learning is very clear, this is the best way to learn any subject matter. Having said all that, I also realize that a cumulative final exam can be very anxiety provoking. I don't want to make you anxious, I just want to help you learn. So I've limited the value of the final exam to only 10% of your course grade. That way you have an incentive to review everything, but as long as you have done a good job with the quizzes and the assignments, a poor performance on the final won't destroy your course grade.

Instructor Introduction

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I am Dr. Michael Dunn, your instructor for Research Methods in Psychology. I am an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department, a Licensed Psychologist (#PY5502), and I've been a faculty member at UCF for 19 years. I'm a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, and the University of South Florida in Tampa. My research interests include the development of alcohol and substance use in children, development of prevention programs for children and college students, and cognitive processes related to alcohol and substance use, eating behavior, and body image. My work includes teaching classes like this one, conducting research, and consulting with schools, attorneys, and other institutions on substance use issues. I am a clinical psychologist and a faculty member in the clinical Ph.D program. I supervise the clinical work of graduate students and I am the Faculty Liaison for the Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Programming Office (AOD) at UCF. You can find out more about my work by visiting my faculty webpage at http://psychology.cos.ucf.edu/people/dunn-michael-e/.

Teaching Assistant Introduction

The Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) for this class is Jenna McGinnis. She is a student in the Clinical Psychology Masters in the Psychology Department. She knows the subject matter of this class very well and she will be an invaluable resource to you (and to me) throughout the course. Feel fee to send her any course-related questions using "course mail." She will answer you directly or consult me when necessary.

Important Advice:

Check the course regularly for announcements - if you check weekly or less often you may miss opportunities for extra credit or changed due dates and other announcements
Keep up with the schedule, and work ahead when you can.
Don't commit plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty.
If you have trouble in the class, ask the instructor or TA for help!
Don't wait until the day something is due to email the instructor or TA with questions. We check messages daily and we typically respond within 24 hours, but if you wait until the last minute to do your work in a web class, we won't have time to help you.
Use an updated browser that is fully supported by Canvas/Webcourses (more on this below).
When writing labs, don't use sources like wikipedia or other open-access websites. You must use the real scientific literature, and you will learn how at the beginning of the course.

How to do it right!

Start by using a supported browser! Canvas supports the last two versions of every browser release. We highly recommend updating to the newest version of whatever browser you are using as well as the most up-to-date Flash plug-in.

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Getting Started

A few things you should do if you haven't done so already...

Read Syllabus (see tab on left of screen)
Review Calendar/Schedule (on syllabus)
Review Course Expectations
Review Canvas Student Tour
Review Knights Online
Access Help resources
- Technical assistance is provided by OnlineSupport@UCF
- Built-in Help is located in the upper right hand corner.

FAQ

Why are there so many assignments in this class?!

Research Methods in Psychology is a 5 credit class; as such it has more assignments than the typical 3 credit class.

Can I complete assignments whenever I want?

No: "online" does not mean "self-paced." You will need to complete at least one chapter quiz every week and a new assignment is due about every two weeks. Due dates are listed on the syllabus. You will have access to the labs about two weeks before they are due and you can submit them any time after they become available. Quizzes will be available for at least a week before they are due.

What is the best way to reach the instructor?

Course mail is best. I check email several times a day on week days, though do allow up to 24 hours for a reply, especially on weekends. I will send an email or post an announcement if a conference or some other event keeps me from email for more than a day.

What if I forget to do an assignment?

You are responsible for knowing all due dates (see the schedule on the syllabus page). The best thing to do is to add the due dates to your personal calendar so you see them every day. Quizzes are due every Sunday throughout the semester (but you can do them earlier if it is more convenient). For the most part, assignments are due every other Sunday.

How much time will I need to spend to complete this course?

The amount of time necessary to complete the work in this course will vary from person to person. If you want to succeed, schedule your life so you have at least 12 hours a week to prepare for the weekly quiz, and actually put the time on your personal calendar to remind you! Also, schedule at least 8 hours a week to work on assignments. That's 20 hours a week, at minimum. That is the basic expectation for a 5-credit advanced university course. You may be able to spend less time, you may need to spend more time, everyone is different. But if you commit 20 hours a week to this class, you will be most likely to earn the grade you want.

Can I hand in an assignment late?

Quizzes should be completed by the end of the day every Sunday, and quizzes must be completed before the expire every Tuesday. If you don't complete a quiz before it expires, you will receive a zero. Lab assignments may be submitted up to 5 days after the due date, but there will be a penalty of 10% of the total grade for each day they are submitted late. Assignments submitted 6 or more days late will receive a zero. The final exam must be completed before it expires. See the schedule on the syllabus for all dates.

Can I make up a quiz if I miss it?

No. Each quiz will be available for more than a week, and quiz due dates are two days before each quiz actually expires. Therefore, if you have a crisis that keeps you from getting your quiz completed by Sunday, you still have a two-day emergency cushion. Even better, you will have the opportunity to work ahead in this class. The further you work ahead, the more time you will have to deal with life emergencies or difficult material. Some of the material in this class is very difficult. I cannot stress that enough, VERY DIFFICULT. If you work ahead on the early quizzes and assignments, you will have more time to work on the more difficult material later in the course.

Are there no exceptions for making up missed work?

Under extraordinary circumstances you may be given the opportunity to make up work. And by "extraordinary" I mean life-threatening or of extreme severity. You will be required to provide documentation of the event that made you unable to complete an assignment on time, e.g., proof of your hospital admission, or documentation that you were stranded after a hurricane and were without power for a week. Because you have a wide range of time to complete the work in this class, a life emergency would need to prevent you from working for an extended period of time before I will consider it. In other words, getting in a car accident on the day a quiz expires won't be sufficient. Quizzes should be completed two days before they expire, so any kind of accident or illness must keep you from your work for more than two days, and it must be documented. As noted above, keep up with the schedule, or even better, work ahead so that missed work will not be a problem for you.

Are their opportunities to do extra credit?

Yes! See the information on the syllabus about using Sona to sign up to participate in ongoing research projects in the Psychology Department. Sign up early and get it done, because opportunities dwindle toward the end of the semester. Don't wait to see if you will "need" extra credit, because these opportunities end before the end of the semester.

What if I have a question that isn't addressed on this page or on the syllabus?

Ask! Use course mail to ask me or the GTA Jenna. I've been teaching web courses for almost 20 years, but I still manage to forget something every semester. So if you have a question that is not addressed anywhere, ask away, and we'll add your questions with the answer to future announcements if we think it's something others will wonder about.

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