Class Information Instructor Information
400:285:04 Dr.
Helen C. Harton
SEC
116 Baker
357; 273-2235
W 12-12:50 harton@uni.edu
http://www.uni.edu/harton
Office Hours: MF 11-11:50; W 2-3; by appointment
You need to buy:
American
Psychological Association (2009). Publication
manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed).
Silvia,
P. J. (2007). How to write a lot: A
practical guide to productive academic writing.
You need to copy chapters from
these books (see below) that are available at the library:
Leong, F. T. L., &
Austin, J. T. (Eds.) (2003). The psychology
research handbook: A guide for graduate students and research assistants (2nd
ed.).
Walfish, S.,
& Hess, A. K. (Eds.) (2001). Succeeding
in graduate school: The career guide for psychology students.
Lipsey, M. W., & Wilson,
D. B. (2001). Practical meta-analysis.
Nicol, A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2003). Displaying your findings: A practical guide
for creating figures, posters, and presentations.
Prinstein,
M. J., & Patterson, M. D. (Eds.) (2003). The portable mentor: Expert guide to a successful career in psychology.
New York: Kluwer Academic.
Sternberg,
R. J. (Ed.) (2000). Guide to publishing
in psychology journals. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Other articles and
websites that are available online are listed on the schedule below.
Course Objectives: This
course deals with a variety of professional issues that are relevant for people
in all areas of psychology. More specifically, the purposes of this class are
to:
1)
introduce you to the psychology faculty;
2) familiarize you with the research being
conducted in the department;
3) help you learn about research and
techniques within and outside your area;
4) assist you in choosing your thesis
supervisor and committee;
5) facilitate your timely thesis
completion;
6) provide you with information related to
research at UNI (e.g., library resources, human
participants
procedures);
7) foster your professional development; and
8) in general, help make your life
for the next two years easier and more productive.
Course Description:
Your
responsibilities: You are responsible for attending all sessions,
reading the assigned books, websites, and articles, and completing assignments
described during class or on the syllabus. You should also meet with at least
three faculty members whose research interests you. These faculty members can
be any graduate faculty in the department; they do not have to be within your
“area.” In these meetings, you should discuss your research
interests and those of the faculty member. The faculty member will also suggest
to you 2-3 articles or other readings relevant to his/her research. By the end
of October, you should let me know who you have chosen as your thesis
supervisor (and make sure he/she has agreed to supervise you).
Individual
portion: Beginning by at least the first week of November, you
should also meet regularly (approximately weekly) with your thesis supervisor.
During these meetings you will discuss articles that you have read relevant to
your thesis topic and begin to develop your idea and topic more fully. Your
instructor will provide me with your grade for this portion, which will count
as 15% of your total grade for the course.
Grading: Your grade will be determined
by attendance, participation, and completion of various assignments (detailed
below). I will
average this grade (85%) with the grade assigned to you by your thesis
supervisor (15%; based on your work with him/her; discuss expectations and
grading criteria with the supervisor) to give you a final grade in the course.
|
Completion of Human Participants
Training |
required to get a grade in class |
|
|
|
|
Informed participation |
20% |
|
2 article summaries |
20% |
|
APA style reference
section |
5% |
|
IRB form |
15% |
|
APA presentation |
15% |
|
Timeline and writing plan |
5% |
|
CV/Resume |
10% |
|
Career investigation |
5% |
|
Conference information |
5% |
Academic Honesty Policy: Cheating and plagiarism of
any kind or amount will not be tolerated and will result in a 0 on the assignment
in question, regardless of intentions. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse. If you have any questions about what is
acceptable, ask.
Tentative
Course Schedule:
|
Date |
Topic |
|
|
8/26 |
Time management panel |
Read websites on time
management below and come with your own ideas to share. A panel will give
their suggestions and answer your questions about how to manage time in
graduate school. Suggestions from previous
students |
|
9/2 |
Library
Presentation—Room 373 of Rod Library |
|
|
9/9 |
Faculty Presentations |
Comments on summaries from
previous classes How to read a
psychology article Read chapter 4 (Oleson
& Arkin) in Leong, F. T. L.,
& Austin, J. T. (Eds.) (2003). The
psychology research handbook: A guide for graduate students and research
assistants (2nd ed.). |
|
9/16 |
Faculty Presentations |
1 article summary due. |
|
9/23 |
Faculty Presentations |
|
|
9/30 |
Faculty Presentations |
1 article summary due. |
|
10/7 |
Faculty
Presentations/Choosing an Advisor |
Read chapters 7 (pp. 85-89;
Sumprer & Walfish)
and 8 (Hess & Sauser) in Walfish, S., & Hess, A. K. (Eds.) (2001). Succeeding in graduate school: The career
guide for psychology students. Discussion of “how to
get along” (how to figure out what your thesis supervisor really wants
and how to keep him/her happy). |
|
10/14 |
APA Manual presentations |
Chaps. 1, 2, 3 |
|
10/21 |
Research and the IRB |
Complete the Human Participants
training module Read IRB
information online and review forms. Bring completed IRB
application to class. HP training certificate
due. |
|
10/28 |
APA Manual presentations |
Chaps. 4, 6, 7 |
|
11/4 |
Vitas and resumes |
APA style reference section
due. Read and be prepared to
discuss at least one website or article on resumes/vitas. Talk about timelines and
GRE prep, applications, etc. |
|
11/11 |
Internet research and
meta-analysis |
CV/resume due. Read Kraut, R., Olson, J.,
Banaji, M., Bruckman, A., Cohen, J., & Couper, M. (2004). Psychological
research online: Report of Board of
Scientific Affairs’ Advisory Group on the Conduct of Research on the
Internet. American Psychologist, 59,
105-117. (Available online). Read chapter 1
(introduction) in Lipsey, M. W.,
& Wilson, D. B. (2001). Practical
meta-analysis. Read Dieckmann, N. F.,
Malle, B. F., & Bodner, T. E. (2009). An empirical assessment of
meta-analytic practice. Review of
General Psychology, 13, 101-115. (Available online) |
|
11/18 |
Presentations and
conferences |
Discussion of formal
presentation do’s and don’ts. Read chapters 11 & 12
(Posters and Slides and Overheads) in Nicol,
A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2003). Displaying
your findings: A practical guide for creating figures, posters, and
presentations. Read chapter 6, Presenting
your research (Cohen & Greco) in Prinstein, M. J., & Patterson, M. D.
(Eds.) (2003). The portable mentor:
Expert guide to a successful career in psychology. New York: Kluwer
Academic. Conference paper due. |
|
12/2 |
Writing and doing it a lot |
Read How to write a lot. Timeline and thought paper
on writing hinderances due. Discuss plans. Writing exercise. Bem’s article on how to write
an empirical article Bem’s article on
how to write a review article |
|
12/9 |
Networking and
self-presentation |
Career paper due. Role play interview
situation (give someone else in the class your paper before class) Discuss personal
presentation (e.g., clothes, appearance) and questions to ask. |
|
12/14 1:00-2:50 |
Dealing with difficult
situations; writing for particular audiences. APA style presentations |
Be prepared to discuss
situations emailed out and how you would (should) respond. Read chapter 12 (Warren) in
Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.) (2000). Guide to
publishing in psychology journals. New York: Cambridge University Press. Chaps. 5 (tables), 5
(figures and other), 8 and Appendices NOTE: This is a Monday. |
Reading list (books that
address issues that are of interest to psych graduate students):
General/Covers
Many Topics
Buskist,
W., & Burke, C. (2007). Preparing for
graduate school in psychology: 101 questions and answers (2nd
ed.).
Darley, J. M., Zanna, M. P., & Roediger, H.
L., III (2004). The compleat academic: A
career guide
(2nd ed.).
Johnson,
W. B., & Huwe, J. M. (2002). Getting
mentored in graduate school. Washington, DC: APA.
Kuther, T. L. (2008). Surviving graduate school in psychology: A pocket mentor. Washington, DC: APA.
Prinstein, M. J., & Patterson, M. D. (2003). The
portable mentor: Expert guide to a successful career in psychology.
Walfish, S., & Hess, A. K. (Eds.) (2001). Succeeding in graduate school: The career guide for psychology students.
Presentations
and Writing
Cone,
J. D., & Foster, S. L. (2006). Dissertations
and theses from start to finish: Psychology and related fields (2nd
ed.).
Kendall-Tacket,
K. A. (2007). How to write for a general
audience: A guide for academics who want to share their knowledge with the
world and have fun doing it. Washington, DC: APA.
Mitchell,
M. L., Jolley, J. M., & O’Shea, R. P. (2004). Writing for psychology.
Nicol,
A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2003). Displaying
your findings: A practical guide for creating figures, posters, and
presentations.
Smyth,
T. R. (2008). The psychology thesis:
Research and coursework.
Sternberg,
R. J. (Ed.) (2000). Guide to publishing
in psychology journals.
Careers
Keller,
P. A. (1994). Academic paths: Career
decisions and experiences of psychologists.
Kuther,
T. L. (2005). Your career in psychology:
Industrial/organizational psychology.
Kuther,
T. L., & Morgan, R. D. (2007). Careers
in psychology: Opportunities in a changing world (2nd ed.).
Morgan, R. D., Kuther, T. L., & Habben, C. J. (Eds.).
(2005). Life after graduate school in psychology: Insider's advice from new
psychologists.
Oster, G. D.
(2006). Life as a psychologist: Career
choices and insights. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Methods
and Statistics
Barak,
A. (Ed.) (2008). Psychological aspects of
cyberspace: Theory, research, applications.
Best,
S. J., & Krueger, B. S. (2004). Internet
data collection.
Birnbaum,
M. H. (Ed.) (2000). Psychological
experiments on the internet.
Fowler,
F. J., Jr. (1995). Improving survey
questions: Design and evaluation.
Grimm,
L. G., & Yarnold, P. R. (1995).
Grimm,
L. G., & Yarnold, P. R. (2000).
Hunter,
J. E., & Schmidt, F. L. (2004). Methods
of meta-analysis: Correcting error and bias in research findings (2nd
ed.).
Kline,
R. B. (2004). Beyond significance
testing: Reforming data analysis methods in behavioral research.
Leong,
F. T. L., & Austin, J. T. (Eds.) (1996). The psychology research handbook: A guide for graduate students and
research assistants.
Lipsey,
M. W., & Wilson, D. B. (2001). Practical
meta-analysis.
Morgan,
S. E., Reichert, T., & Harrison, T. R. (2002). From numbers to words: Reporting statistical results for the social sciences.
Reis,
H. T., & Judd, C. M. (Eds.) (2000). Handbook
of research methods in social and personality psychology.
Sage
little green stats books (great little books on every statistic and
methodology you can think of)
Snyder,
L. B., Hayes, A. F., & Slater, M. D. (Eds.) (2008). The Sage sourcebook of advanced data analysis methods for communication
research.
Eyde,
L. D., Robertson, G. J. & Krug, S. E. (2009). Responsible test use: Case studies for assessing human behavior (2nd
ed.). Washington, DC: APA.
Teaching
Buskist, W., & Davis, S. F. (2005). Handbook for the teaching of psychology.
Forsyth,
D. R. (2002). The professor’s guide to teaching:
Psychological principles and practices.
McKeachie, W. J., & Svinicki, M. (2005). McKeachie's teaching tips: Strategies, research and theory for college
and university teachers (12th ed.).
Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Teaching
introductory psychology: Survival tips from the experts.
Ware, M. E.,
& Johnson, D. E. (Eds.) (2000). Handbook
of demonstrations and activities in the teaching of psychology, Volume 3 (2nd
ed.).