Proposed revisions to Research Methods in Psychology (01 ...



Research Methods in Psychology Lab (01:830:356)

Lecture: (Lecture days, meeting time, and place go here.)

Recitations: (Days, times, and places of recitation/lab sections go here.)

Instructor:

Dr. John Ackroff

ackroff@rci.rutgers.edu

Office: Tillett 613 Phone: (732) 445-2635 Fax: (732) 445-0036

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 1:15 – 2:30, and by appointment.

Teaching Assistants:

(contact information for TAs goes here.)

Required Text: Goodwin, C. James. (2010) Research in Psychology – Methods and Design. (Sixth Edition). New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 978-0-470-52278-3.

Course Goals:

Students who successfully complete Research Methods in Psychology Lab (01:830:356) should have an understanding of

• how to design an experiment so that differences can be attributed to experimental manipulation, with no extraneous and/or confounding variables

• how experiments in various sub-disciplines of psychology are designed and performed

• how to decide whether to use a between or within subjects design (or a mixed design), and the trade-offs involved

• what statistics will be used to analyze the data gathered in an experiment, how to perform the analyses, and how to interpret the results

• how to read the published literature critically

• how to perform a literature survey to find articles relevant to an experiment they are planning to do

• how to write a journal article in the American Psychological Association’s formal format

Assessment and Grading:

You are expected to comply with Rutgers’ Academic Integrity Policy. (Link to academicintegrity@rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml )

For the 01:830:356 (Research Methods in Psychology Lab), the grading is as follows:

• 3 exams, each worth 15%, for a total of 45%

• Turning in data for all experiments on time: 5%

• Paper I: 5%

• Paper II: 10%

• Paper III: 20%

• Poster: 10%

• Group poster and presentation: 5%

Since the grades on the papers are somewhat subjective, cutoffs for grades are determined separately for each TA’s section.

If you have a schedule conflict with an exam, you may be allowed to take the exam before the scheduled date at the discretion of the instructor. If you miss an exam, you will be allowed to take a make-up exam only if you provide documentation for a valid reason for missing the exam. For absences due to colds, etc., a note from your Health Center or doctor will be acceptable. For more serious issues such as a death in the family or serious health or personal issues, you may present a note from your Dean's office verifying that you missed the exam due to an excused absence. This note should also indicate a reasonable time frame in which you will be able to make up the exam. You should give this note to the instructor within 1 week of your return to class.

If an exam is cancelled or postponed on the day of the exam, there will be a member of the Psychology Department in the room at the scheduled time to make the announcement. Notices posted on doors or the blackboard are likely to be hoaxes.

Attendance and Correspondence Policies:

(Standard boilerplate goes here.)

Schedule:

|Week |First Lecture |Recitation |Second Lecture |

|1 |Course overview; intro; pretest|(no meeting) |Scientific Thinking in Psychology (Chapter |

| | | |1) |

|2 |Ethics in Psychological |Intro to lab, form groups; gather and |Developing Ideas for Research in Psychology |

| |Research (Chapter 2) |consolidate psychophysics data; discuss|(Chapter 3) |

| | |analysis | |

|3 |Design Critiques (Note 1) |APA Format; scientific writing |Communicating the Results of Research in |

| | | |Psychology (Appendix A); Tables and Figures |

|4 |Measurement and Data Analysis |Method and Results drafts due/critiqued|Stats Review: distributions, critical |

| |(Chapter 4) |for Expt I; gather / consolidate data |intervals, hypothesis testing |

| | |for Expt II (Note 2) | |

|5 |Stats Review: t tests; |Paper I due (Method and Results for |Introduction to Experimental Research |

| |discussion of Experiment I and |Experiment I); more thorough discussion|(Chapter 5) |

| |alternate/better designs for it|of library / tools. | |

|6 |Control Problems in |Intro, Method, and Results drafts for |Review |

| |Experimental Research (Chapter |Expt II critiqued, set up Expt III | |

| |6) | | |

|7 |EXAM I |Paper II due (Intro, Method, and |Experimental Design I: Single-Factor |

| | |Results for Expt II); consolidate Expt |Designs (Chapter 7) |

| | |III data; critique Methods drafts, | |

| | |discuss analysis | |

|8 |Stats Review: ANOVA for |Go over Expt III results; critique |Animal research topics (hopefully a guest |

| |independent groups |Intro drafts |lecturer) |

|9 |Experimental Design II: |Critique Expt III papers; set up Expt |Factorial Designs, cont’d |

| |Factorial Designs (Chapter 8) |IV | |

|10 |Grad Students from two areas |Paper III due (full paper for Expt |Review |

| |(Note 2) |III); finalize surveys | |

|11 |EXAM II |Consolidate Expt IV data; critique |Correlational Research (Chapter 9) |

| | |Methods sections. | |

|12 |Stats Review: Correlation and |Critique draft posters |Quasi-Experimental Designs and Applied |

| |regression | |Research (Chapter 10) |

|13 |Small N Designs (Chapter 11) |Posters due; work on group posters |Observational and Survey Research Methods |

| | |(Note 3) |(Chapter 12) |

|14 |Grad Students from two other |Group Posters due; team presentations |Review |

| |areas | | |

|FINALS |FINAL EXAM given in Lecture according to Registrar’s calendar. |

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