Course Orientation

Course Orientation

 Instructor and Teaching Assistant Introductions

Course Introduction

Getting started Assignments

FAQ

 

Instructor Introduction

I am Dr. Patty Bach, your instructor for Research Methods in Psychology.  I am brand new to Orlando and UCF, and I am not new to teaching….though I will confess that this is my first time teaching a course completely online.

 

 

 (picture of Dr. Bach)

I am a clinical psychologist and I spend much of my time at UCF supervising graduate student psychology trainees and seeing therapy and assessment clients at the UCF psychology clinic. My research interests include (1) mindfulness and how mindfulness practices help to reduce stress and promote well-being, (2) understanding how mindfulness-based treatments can help people with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and (3) understanding how verbal behavior, such as attitudes and beliefs, influence non-verbal/overt behavior such as health behaviors or prejudice.

When I am not at work, I love to travel, and I enjoy bird watching in particular, and all wildlife viewing in general.  In this class there will certainly be some examples of research on animal behavior.  There are some fascinating studies on communication between humans and animals…

                                                                  

       (image of whale fluke)                                                                                                                               (image of penguin

                                                                  

(image of koala bear in a tree)                                                                                                                            (image of woodpecker on tree)

                                                                                                                                                   

As I am learning my way around the Orlando area, on weekends I enjoy taking my dogs and visiting some of the many area parks and nature areas.

 

                                                                        

                (picture of retriever in the snow)                                                                                                    (picture of west highland terrier)

I am also a sports fan…. Chicago White Sox, Detroit Lions, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Ravens, University of Michigan, University of Nevada…and of course, the UCF KNIGHTS

 

 

                (image of UCF Knights logo) 

Teaching Assistant Introduction

My name is Sharvari Dalal. I am a second year doctoral student with the Industrial and Oragnizational (I/O) psychology program at UCF.

I have bachelors and master's degrees in economics and I will be getting my master's degree in I/O psychology this spring. My research intersts include teams, personality, and culture which I pursue in the Training and Workforce Development Lab. I also have a three and half year old son, who I refer to as my 'other job'! I do hope that you will have a great semester and wish you the best!

Course Introduction

One of my aims when I teach this, or any undergraduate class, is to convince you – not with my words, but through the class – that no matter what your major, or career and life goals, you can benefit from studying psychology, the science of describing, predicting, and influencing behavior…don’t we all want to be able to understand (that is describe, predict, and influence) the behavior of others whether a pet, a partner, a friends, a competitor, employee or employer (and of course, a student or professor!)?

Also, no matter what sort of work you do eventually, research methods in psychology will help you become a better scientific writer, and you will learn APA style for citations which is increasingly used in areas outside of psychology,

In research methods in psychology you will learn how to conduct different types of research protocols, depending on the phenomenon you wish to explore and hypothesis you might wish to test.

If it looks like there is a lot of work involved in taking this course, well, that is because THERE IS a lot of work involved in taking this course!

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 quizzes.  In the lab portions you will be asked to evaluate research designs of others and create your own designs You will evaluate the interpretations of others and make your own interpretations of results. You will also be expected to aprticipate in discussions about topiocs raised in the course and you will be graded based on making meaningful contributions to a discussion. For the final project/paper you will develop a research experiment and describe how you would analyze the data.

Getting Started Assignments 

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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." A new module will be introduced every two weeks, and there are three assignment due dates within each module. Due dates are listed on the syllabus.

What is the best way to reach the instructor?

• Email is best    patricia.bach@ucf.edu    I check email several times a day on week days, though do allow up to 24 hurs 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.
• Feel free to call 9:00 - 5:00 Monday - Friday   407-823-2557; I am not always in my office and I am there several hours most days.
• During office hours youa re welcome to drop in 'live', call, or chat.

What if I forget to do an assignment?

• You are responsible for knowing all due dates the course schedule can be found on the syllabus page and at the link to the calendar/schedule in the 'getting started' section above.

Can I hand in an assignment late?

• Quizzes must be completed within the 72 hour window in which they are available (see schedule).  Labs and discussions may be handed in late AND there will be a penalty of 10% of the grade for each day they are handed in late.

Can I make up a quiz if I miss it?

• No.  However, there are seven quizzes and the lowest score will be dropped, i.e., only the top six of seven will be applied to the final grade, so if you miss one it will be graded with a score of zero and then dropped as your lowest quiz score.

Are there no exceptions for making up missed work?

• Under extrodinary circumstances you may be given the opportunity to make up work.  However, you will be required to provide documentation of the event that made you unable to complete an assignment on time, e.g., proff of your hospital admission, or documentation that you were stranded  in New York after a hurricane and were without power for a week.

What if I have a question that isn't in the FAQ section?

• Ask the instructor or Teaching assistant and if the question is a common one it will be added to this list.