Psychology 200: Research Methods and Statistics Syllabus, Fall 2005 - Prof. Christopher G., Exams of Statistics

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Psychology 200: Research Methods and Statistics

Term I, 2005 - 2006

Professor: Chris Wetzel Office: 115 Clough

Class time: MWF 9:00 – 9:50 or 3:00-3:

Office hrs: MWF 8-9; 10-11 TuTH 9-11; 1:30-2:

Course Objectives

First, I will expose you to the basic research techniques used in psychology. You will learn the fundamental

principles of research design, how psychologists gain knowledge. You will also develop skills and

competencies needed to begin a research project. Second, I hope to give you enough practical experience so that

you will be ready for upper-level laboratory courses and so that you can make an informed decision about

possibly pursuing a research career after you graduate. A final goal is to change your thinking so that you can:

1) critically analyze aspects of your personal life, 2) become an informed citizen who thinks scientifically about

social issues, and 3) become an intelligent consumer of research findings presented in the media. In sum, you

should finish this course with an appreciation of J.S. Mill's statement, "The logic of science is also that of

business and life."

In terms of the 12 IDEA objectives used to evaluate Rhodes courses, the following course objectives are very

important: Learning fundamental principles, generalizations, and theories; and learning to analyze and critically

evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view. The following are important: developing specific skills,

competencies, and points of view needed by professionals in the field; gaining factual knowledge (terminology,

classifications, methods, trends); and learning how to find and use resources for answering questions or solving

problems. The following are not formally assessed: acquiring team member skills, developing creativity;

appreciating for the arts; developing skills in self-expression; developing personal values; learning to apply

course material; and asking your own questions and seeking answers.

Assessment and Course Requirements

Your text, Pelham & Blanton’s Conducting Research in Psychology, (2nd^ Ed.), 2003 , will be covered at a very

rapid pace. There will be 3 tests on this text, plus the final, and they count 35% of your grade. They are a

combination of multiple choice, short answer, and even some essays.

You will have other assignments such as presenting research findings orally in class, criticizing articles,

proposing alternative research studies for flawed experiments, etc. Handouts about these assignments, plus

information about the course are on WEBCT. There will be 10 writing or homework assignments, the top 9 of

which will count 30% of your grade. Many of your homework assignments will mimic the research process in

the area of dissonance theory.

You will perform 2 laboratory assignments where you will collect data with a "canned" computer experiment,

or you will access a data base already generated by the experimenters. You then analyze data, and finally write

up the findings in APA style. These two assignments are worth 25% of your grade.

You will make a research proposal where you review the experimental literature and propose an experiment

(which you may conduct in psychology 211/212). This paper will follow APA style for the introduction and the

method sections. You will then present hypothetical results for the results and discussion sections. This paper

will count 10% of your grade.

It is an honor code violation to consult old tests, papers, or hand-outs before doing assignments. It is also a violation to turn in a paper written for another course.

SCHEDULE

# Day Date (^) Reading Topic Assignment due or Class activity 1 W 8/24 -^ Course Overview 2 F 8/26 D-theory^ The^ versus^ a^ contributing cause Rival hypotheses + alt. explanations

Write D theory & suffering explanation read course info (philosophy, FAQs etc.) 3 M 8/29 1, D1^ External validity: process vs. outcomes^ Give rival hypotheses for D 4 W 8/31 222-235^ Rivals for D1: interactions^ Read & reread read main effects & interactions 5 F 9/2 2 main, simple, & interaction effects^ study interactions, practice interactions test Labor day 6 W 9/7 More on interactions 7 F 9/9 3 Reliability 8 M 9/12 3 Validity take first interactions quiz 9 W 9/14 More validity 10 F 9/16 review catch up 11 M 9/19 4 Rival Hypotheses : the top 20^ Exam#1 : 1- 12 W 9/21 5 IV’s, DV’s, and their variants^ take second interaction test 13 F 9/23 6 Quasi Experiments^ Read generating research Q's 14 M 9/26 7,appendix^ qualitative research: coding^ article parts, Write D1 abstract 15 W 9/28 D2-intro^ Write D-2 method 16 F 9/30 D2-results; 255-

Doing a PsychInfo Search Write D-2 discussion Load AW plugin for your PC (with instructions) 17 M 10/3 D2-discuss^ Within versus between designs^ Complete psychInfo search on own topic 18 W 10/5 review catch up Exam #2 : 4 - 19 F 10/7 8 NO CLASS: library symposium Do Self-reference Experiment 20 M 10/10 8 Meta-Analysis take third interaction test 21 W 10/12 10 Stats; Present Self-Ref exp results read meta-analysis; self-reference articles; 22 F 10/14 11 (skim)^ Debriefing: funnel & process types^ Write Self-Ref results Fall Break 23 M 10/19 9 Testing theories with correlations^ testing theories with correlations 24 W 10/21 12 Accounting for Variance^ read % of variance; 25 F 10/23 write Self-Ref intro and method 26 M 10/26 Illogic of the null hypothesis Read illogic handout; 27 W 10/28 Discuss research proposals 28 M 10/31 Advantages of Factorial Experiments write Self-Ref discussion; turn in complete paper 29 W 11/2 Dummy D pseudo experiment Dummy D analysis 30 F 11/4 Bias in favor of the research hypothesis^ Do Faces Recognition Exp 31 M 11/7 Present Faces Recog results^ read Faces Recognition articles 32 W 11/ 33 F 11/11 D3-exp#1^ D3 oral presentation # 34 M 11/14 proposal reading

D theory wars exercise Faces Recognition Experiment write-up

35 W 11/16 review^ Design Contest^ Exam 3 : 8 - 36 F 11/18 D3-exp#2^ D3 oral presentation # 37 M 11/21 Still more Design contest 1^ Turn in proposal method Thanksgiving Break 38 M 11/28 Design contest 2 turn in hypothesized results + discussion 39 W 11/30 Discuss research projects 40 F 12/2 More Design^ turn in final version of research proposal 41 M 12/5 More Design 42 W 12/7 catch up Complete online final by Saturday, December 10th, 3:

• This syllabus schedule is only a rough guideline. There will be many changes, and they will be announced at least 24 hours before the day on which an assignment is due.