Sample Syllabus for Research Methods Course



Sample Syllabus for Research Methods CourseQuarter CoursesContact Information Instructor: Office: Phone: e-mail: Office hours: Where and When?Section 02: Day and Time in ______ Hall rm ______Section 05: Day and Time in ______ Hall rm ______TextbooksMcBride, D. M. (2016). The Process of Research in Psychology (3rd Edition.) Sage Publishing. (required)McBride, D. M., & Cutting, J. C. Laboratory Manual for Psychological Research (2016). (3rd Edition Updated.) Sage Publishing. (required)American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Edition.).Washington, DC: Author. (suggested)Course Description & Objectives This course is designed to introduce students to philosophy of science and inquiry with an emphasis on experimental methodology. This will be accomplished by combining traditional lectures with application of principles through laboratory experimentation and demonstration.The main course objectives include: Learning to review the primary literature (improving library research skills, increase familiarity with scientific writing and reading scientific journals)Getting a research idea (specification of a testable research idea, develop hypotheses on several topics in psychology)Development and execution of a research plan (choosing the appropriate research method to test specific hypotheses, ethical guidelines, how to collect data)Basic analysis of research results.Presentation of the results (including both a verbal and written presentation).Roughly we will cover the “nuts and bolts” of putting together and completing a research project in psychology. To this end we will cover all thirteen chapters of the textbook. Classes will consist of lectures and discussions and/or exercises related to the assigned readings. Thus, it is critical that students read the assigned chapters prior to class. Homework and/or on-line quizzes will be assigned to facilitate learning and in-class discussions.Course RequirementsEach student will be evaluated based on several exercises, exams, and the planning, execution, and presentation of a research project. The grading is broken down below.Exams (35%) - There will be three exams. Each is cumulative. The two mid-quarter exams (1 & 2) will be worth 10%, the final exam will be worth 15%.Homework exercises (20%)2 Journal article summaries (5% each) 10 Blackboard chapter quizzes (1% each) Lab Assignments (30%)Lab exercises and participation (15%)Lab Group research project (15%) Class Experiment project (15%)APA style first draft (5%) - includes literature review, the design of the experiment(s) hypotheses/predictions, and the references.Final APA style manuscript (10%) - A complete write-up of the class research project using APA format. Class PoliciesActive participation is the central requirement for the class. Students will be expected to participate in a variety of ways, including several written and oral presentations and discussions. If you are going to miss a class, then you will miss an opportunity for participation. Thus, it is critically important that you notify me AS SOON AS YOU KNOW that you’ll be absent and WHY. Call, e-mail, or talk to me in person. Opportunity to make-up the missed work requires prior notification of the absence and an excused absence (that is one that you instructor accepts as reasonable and legitimate). How and when the work will be made up will be determined by the instructor.To ensure a smooth flow of discussions, the following policies are established: Students are encouraged to listen with an open mind, respect the contributions of others, and avoid personal attacks. Students will often be faced with alternative viewpoints from the professor or their peers. Thus, students should be prepared to defend their own positions with empirical data, obtained from the assigned readings, and reasoned argument.You are expected to do your own work. Plagiarism and cheating of any sort will not be tolerated. Either behavior will result in a grade of ‘F’. Note that plagiarism includes situations where you meet with other students for group discussions and are asked write a summary. Unless otherwise instructed, this means that each participant in the group must write their own summary. Making up false excuses for absences will also be considered cheating and may result in a grade of ‘F’ for missed work.And finally, if you have any questions regarding anything in the syllabus and or the course in general, please feel free to ask. Talk to me in class, via phone, or e-mail. Don’t just assume that you know (or should know) the answer, I may not have been clear enough or may have forgotten to mention something.DateTopic calendar Readings & LabsWK1 Introduction and syllabus reviewHow do we know what we know?Psychology as a science.Chpt 1PlagarismWK2How to get an experimental idea.Identifying and reading the literatureEthicsChpt 2Quiz 1 dueChpt 3Reading the literatureQuiz 2 dueWK3 Basic Research DesignReviewing for ExamChpt 4Library research assignment dueEthicsQuiz 3 dueReview chpts 1, 2, 3, & 4WK4 Exam 1Selecting and manipulating variablesSamplingJournal Summary 1 due Chpts 5 & 6Observational researchAPA paper correction Quiz 4 dueWK5 Designing experimentsChpt 11 & 12APA organizing and formattingIV & DV exercise Quiz 5 dueJournal Summary 2 due Quiz 6 dueWK6 Presenting results: How to write an APA style manuscriptChpt 8Bias and control Quiz 7 due WK7 Review of Experimental DesignsExam 2 Chpts 4, 6, 8, & 11Pilot group projectsWK8Non Experimental Designs:Survey & Correlational designsQuasi-experiments and specialized designsChpts 9 & 10First draft of class exp paper dueSurvey research exerciseQuiz 8 dueChpts 13 & 14Run group projectsQuiz 9 dueWK9 Basic statistics and Interpreting resultsChpt 7, Appendix ADescriptive statisticsQuiz 10 dueWK10Basic statistics and Interpreting resultsPresenting results: talks and postersChpt 7, 14Inferential statisticsChpt 8Posters SessionsFinal Papers DueFinals Week Final ExamChpts 1-13, Appendix ASample Lab Syllabus for Research MethodsGrading Procedures30% of the final grade in the course will come from assignments completed in or related to lab sessions. Below is a breakdown of that 30% of your grade:Lab activities and homework 15%Group Research Project15%General overviewThe lab portion of this class accounts for 30% of your grade. In addition, assignments such as your APA style research papers will be extensively discussed in the course of the lab, so it is important for you to attend. We will also be reviewing course material covered in lecture and the lab gives you the opportunity to get some hands-on practice of the skills covered in this course. For many students, the material covered in this course is new. You should take advantage of the lab time, your lab instructor, and your classmates to ask questions.The lab allows students to put into practice the material covered in the lectures, hence making it somewhat less abstract. You will learn how to think scientifically, and an important part of science is practice. By doing exercises and developing project ideas, you will be able to get a well-rounded notion of what research in Psychology consists of. AttendanceAttendance is mandatory. Please be in lab on time. The times for the lab are times you are expected to be in class – plan to be in lab the entire scheduled time each week. Graded assignments Lab activities/homeworkOn a weekly basis, you will be assigned graded exercises. These account for 15% of your final grade in the course. You MUST bring the lab manual to each lab session. Be sure you give yourself plenty of time to download anything you might need from the web for assignments to avoid system outages or other problems. For most of the assignments, you will also need to read the assigned chapters in your textbook BEFORE COMING TO LAB.Some of the assignments will be done in lab, either in small groups or individually. Your lab instructor will then either collect them or go over them in lab. To get full credit on these assignments, you need to attend lab and complete the assignment. If you are not in lab, you may turn in the assignment late, but the 10% off per day later penalty will apply. If you need to miss lab one week, you must notify your instructor and make special arrangements. Make-ups for unjustified absences will not be allowed. There is extra credit available in the course syllabus to replace points from the occasional missed assignment.Some assignments will be assigned as homework. These will be graded for content and correctness – so you may have to work harder to get full credit. Late submissions will be penalized by 10% for each day they are late. If you cannot be in lab the day they are due, you must notify your instructor and make special arrangements.Group research projectA group project will account for 15% of the final course grade. In this project, you will work within a small group to develop a hypothesis you are interested in testing. You will also develop a fully detailed method and conduct the study with students in the other lab sections as participants. To do so, you will not only need to understand theoretical concepts, but also the appropriate ethical guidelines for research with human participants. All the information you need will be covered in the course of the semester, and your lab instructor will be assisting you in developing a research project. Part of your assignment will be to conduct background research, materials selection and preparation, data collection, analysis and interpretation, and presenting your project to the course instructor, the lab instructors, and your classmates at the end of the semester. As much of the project will be developed during lab times in your groups, attendance is very important.Keep in mind a few details, however: 1) all studies must be limited in duration as they will be conducted within lab time (each group will have no more than 10 min); 2) you may have access to a computer for stimulus presentation – your lab instructor will give you further details later in the semester;3) in designing your study, remember you must provide the materials so carefully budget your project; 4) your classmates will be the participants in your study and you will participate in theirs – think about this as you think of ideas and avoid discussing your project too extensively with other students… this is your group’s project; 5) statistically significant results are always welcome, but are NOT necessary for your group to obtain full credit in the assignment (well-designed and well conducted studies are worth much more as a learning experience than significant results);6) have fun – this is your project and you can make it as interesting as you want. Concluding commentsFinally, remember this is supposed to be a learning experience. By coming to lecture and to lab regularly, the material covered will be easier to understand and remember. By participating actively and making the lab a place for cooperative and constructive interaction, you will help create a better environment for learning the material.Tentative Timeline for group projects and lab activitiesWEEK 1 SyllabusPlagiarismGo over timelineWEEK 2Library assignment (meet in library)Exercises on reading journal articlesWEEK 3Ethics exerciseIntroduce class experimentWEEK 4Independent and dependent variablesAPA style report writingWEEK 5Bias and control Work on group projectsWEEK 6Factorial DesignsWEEK 7Survey research assignmentWEEK 8Run Group Research ProjectsWEEK 9Descriptive statisticsInferential StatisticsWEEK 10Group project oral presentations ................
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