Course Syllabus

Syllabus

Spring 2013

 

Instructor Contact

Instructor	Patricia Bach
Office	Psychology 330
Office Hours	Thursday 1:00 - 3:00 (face-to-face or chat) and by appointment
Phone	407-823-2557
E-mail	Patricia.Bach@ucf.edu

 

Course Information

Course Name	Research Methods in Psychology
Course ID & Section	PSY 3213
Credit Hours	5
Semester/Year	Spring / 2013
Location	N/A

 

Course Description

•  Prerequisites: PSY2012, PSY 3204C, and either STA 2014C or STA 2023.
  

• Catalogue description: Investigation of experimental designs and research methods utilized in psychology. Laboratory outcomes will be statistically analyzed and reported in APA format.
  

• Professor's description: This course provides an introduction to basic principles of research in psychology. After completing this course, students should know how to design and execute different types of research projects; analyze and interpret the results; and report written results using American Psychological Association (APA) style rules.

Course Objectives

1. Become familiar with how psychologists use scientific methods to conduct ethical research aimed at describing, predicting, and influencing behavior.

2. Become familiar with different research designs and learn how to select the best research design for answering a given question.

3. Apply statistical tests to analyze results, then interpret the results, and report them using APA style rules.

Required Text

• Gravetter, F. J. , & Forzano, L. B. (2012). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences, 4th edition. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth. 

Supplemental Texts

• American Psychological Association (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6^th edition.  American Psychological Association: Washington, D.C.

Course Requirements

You will be required to complete all assignments including:

• Seven quizzes (worth 30% of the final grade) with the lowest score dropped. Quizzes will be due by 3:00 pm on the last day before the next module begins. Quizzes will be 25 minutes in duration and you will have a 72 hour window in which to take from Thursday - Sunday 3:00 pm.
• Seven lab assignments (worth 35% of the final grade), with five on your own and two in small groups. Lab assignments will be due on the second Friday of each two week module.
• Participation in seven discussions (worth 15% of the final grade). Discussions will be 'due' one week into the module, and may continure after the due date.
• A final paper (worth 20% of the final grade), due on April 27th.

Due dates are listed in the schedule below. I don't anticipate any changes to the schedule, and you will be notified if there are any.

Missed Assignments/Make-Ups/Extra Credit

You are expected to turn in all assignments on time.  Late assignments will be accepted with a penalty of a 10% point reduction each day the assignment is late.

Your lowest quiz grade will be dropped. If you miss a quiz, you will be assigned a score of zero, and that quiz will be the dropped quiz.  Under extraordinary circumstances you may be permitted to take a make-up quiz, and you will be asked to provide documentation to support your reason for missing a quiz you want to make up (e.g., documentation that you were hospitalized).

 Extra credit may be available, and opportunities to earn extra credit will be posted on the ‘announcements’ section of the course home page, and you will receive an email notification when opportunities for earning extra-credit are available.

Evaluation and Grading

Letter Grade	Points
A	93 – 100 points
A-	90 – 92 points
B+	87 – 89 points
B	83 – 86 points
B-	80 – 82 points
C+	77 – 79 points
C	73 – 76 points
C-	70 – 72 points
D+	67 – 69 points
D	63 – 66 points
D-	60 – 62 points
F	59 and below

 

Assignment	Percentage of Grade
Quizzes	30%
Labs	35%
Discussions	15%
Final paper	20%
Total	100%

 

Attendance Policy

Since the course is web-based, there are no classes to attend. You are expected to participate in some class discussions online and to do some group work. You may, along with other members in your group, establish your own preferred method of 'meeting'. For example, one group may wish to have a face-to-face meeting, another may opt to chat online in real time, and another to use a discussion board. Everyone must participate in discussions as posted in assignments, and participate in and contribute to group activities.

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism and Cheating of any kind on an examination, quiz, or assignment will result at least in an "F" for that assignment (and may, depending on the severity of the case, lead to an "F" for the entire course) and may be subject to appropriate referral to the Office of Student Conduct for further action. See the UCF Golden Rule for further information. I will assume for this course that you will adhere to the academic creed of this University and will maintain the highest standards of academic integrity. In other words, don't cheat by giving answers to others or taking them from anyone else. I will also adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity, so please do not ask me to change (or expect me to change) your grade illegitimately or to bend or break rules for one person that will not apply to everyone.

Disability Statement

The University of Central Florida is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for all persons with disabilities. This syllabus is available in alternate formats upon request. Students with disabilities who need accommodations in this course must contact the professor at the beginning of the semester to discuss needed accommodations. No accommodations will be provided until the student has met with the professor to request accommodations. Students who need accommodations must be registered with Student Disability Services, Student Resource Center Room 132, phone (407) 823-2371, TTY/TDD only phone (407) 823-2116, before requesting accommodations from the professor.

Copyright

This course may contain copyright protected materials such as audio or video clips, images, text materials, etc. These items are being used with regard to the Fair Use doctrine in order to enhance the learning environment. Please do not copy, duplicate, download or distribute these items. The use of these materials is strictly reserved for this online classroom environment and your use only. All copyright materials are credited to the copyright holder.

Third-Party Software and FERPA

During this course you might have the opportunity to use public online services and/or software applications sometimes called third-party software such as a blog or wiki. While some of these could be required assignments, you need not make any personally identifying information on a public site. Do not post or provide any private information about yourself or your classmates. Where appropriate you may use a pseudonym or nickname. Some written assignments posted publicly may require personal reflection/comments, but the assignments will not require you to disclose any personally identity-sensitive information. If you have any concerns about this, please contact your instructor.

 

Schedule

 

 

 

Week/Dates	Topics	Assignments	Due Dates
Module 1 Weeks 1 & 2 Week 1 Jan. 7- Jan 20	1.    Understanding the scientific study of behavior 2.    Developing hypotheses an predictions	Read Ch. 1 & 2 Discussion Quiz Lab	1/14 1/17  - 20 1/18
Module 2 Weeks 3 & 4 Jan. 21 – Feb 3	3.    Defining and Measuring Variables 4.    Ethics in Research	Read Ch. 3 & 4 Discussion Quiz Lab	1/28 1/31 - 2/3 2/1
Module 3 Weeks 5 & 6 Feb 4 – Feb 17	5.    Selecting Research Participants 6.      Research Strategies and Validity	Read Ch. 5 & 6 Discussion Quiz Lab	2/11 2/14 - 17 2/15
Module 4 Weeks 7 & 8 Feb 18 – Mar 3	7.    The Experimental Research Strategy 8.    Experimental Designs: Between Subject Designs 9.    Experimental Designs: within subject designs	Read Ch. 7, 8, & 9 Discussion Quiz Lab	02/25 2/28-3/03 03/01
Week 9 Mar 4 - 10	SPRING BREAK J
Module 5 Weeks 10 & 11 Mar 11 - 24	10. The Non-Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Strategies: Nonequivalent Groups, Pre-Post, and Developmental Designs 11. Factorial Designs	Read Ch. 10 & 11 Discussion Quiz Lab	3/19 3/21 - 24 3/22
Module 6 Weeks 12 & 13 Mar 25 – Apr. 7	12. Factorial Designs 13. The descriptive Research Strategy 14. Single Subject Research Designs	Read Ch. 12, 13, & 14 Discussion Quiz Lab	03/31 4/04 - 07 04/05
Module 7 Weeks 14  & 15 April 7 - April 21	15. Statistical Evaluation of Data 16.  Writing an APA style Research Report	Read Chapters 15 & 16 Discussion Quiz Lab	04/15 4/18 - 21 04/19
Week 16 Apr 22 - 27	Final Paper	Final Paper due April 27 11:59 pm

 

 

 

Note: All dates and times are subject to change by Dr. Bach. Be informed and routinely check the Schedule and Class Discussion topics for any changes or updates.