Class Information Instructor Information
PSYCH
6285 Dr.
Helen C. Harton
Baker
315 Baker
357; 273-2235
W 12-12:50 harton@uni.edu
http://www.uni.edu/harton
Office Hours: WF 11-11:50; W 2-3; by appointment
Readings:
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:
Leong, F.
T. L., & Austin, J. T. (Eds.) (2006). 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.
Nicol, A. A.
M., & Pexman, P. M. (2010). Displaying your findings: A practical guide for creating figures,
posters, and presentations (6th ed).
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. (2003). The psychologist’s companion: A guide to scientific writing for
students and researchers (4th ed.). New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg,
R. J. (Ed.) (2000). Guide to publishing
in psychology journals. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg,
R. J. (Ed.) (2006). Reviewing
scientific works in psychology. Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
Davis, S. F., Giordano, P. J., & Licht, C. A. (2009). Your career in psychology: Putting your graduate degree to work. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell.
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 and familiarize you
with the research being conducted in the department;
2)
assist you in choosing your thesis supervisor and committee;
3)
facilitate your timely thesis completion;
4) provide you with information related to research at UNI
(e.g., library resources, human participants procedures); and
5) foster your professional development; and
Course Description:
A lot of
the stuff in this class are things that are often
taught informally, and you’ll undoubtedly learn more about many of these
topics from your thesis supervisor and others. Some of them you may have even
talked about as an undergraduate, whereas others you should have been taught as an undergraduate but weren’t.
Other elements you may not feel like you really need at this point. The idea
behind the class is to take this information that some people get and others
don’t, and that comes at odd times and piecemeal, and put it together to
make sure that everyone gets at least basic information on topics that are
relevant for your thesis and for your development as a psychologist early on in
graduate school. If there are things that you think don’t apply to you yet,
then make notes and come back to those things when it is applicable. It’s
always easier to say “I’ll pick it up as I go along” than it
is to actually do that. We want to make sure you get off on the right foot and
stay there. The class is also a time when you can ask questions about the
thesis, classes, careers, whatever.
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.
Grading: Your grade will be determined
by attendance, participation, and completion of various assignments (detailed
below).
|
Completion of Human Participants
Training |
required to get a grade in class |
|
Honors pledge |
required to get a grade in
class |
|
Informed participation |
15% |
|
2 article summaries |
10% |
|
Article review |
15% |
|
IRB form |
10% |
|
APA presentation |
10% |
|
APA test |
5% |
|
Timeline and writing plan |
2.5% |
|
CV/Resume |
10% |
|
Integrative review |
20% |
|
Conference information |
2.5% |
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 |
|
|
8/22 |
Time management panel |
Read Suggestions from previous
students Read More
suggestions Panel discussion of
managing time in graduate school |
|
8/29 |
Library
Presentation—Room 286 of Rod Library |
Read Chapter 3,
Bibliographic research, in Leong & Austin |
|
9/5 |
Writing
about research; Plagiarism;
Faculty presentations |
Read Comments on summaries from
previous classes Read How to read a
psychology article Choose research/APA, and do
exercises 2-1 through 2-4 (print out and bring in scores). |
|
9/12 |
Faculty Presentations |
|
|
9/19 |
Faculty Presentations |
|
|
9/26 |
Faculty Presentations |
|
|
10/3 |
Choosing
an Advisor; PhD program prep; Program of Study |
Read Chapter 7 (pp. 85-89),
The politics of graduate programs, and Chapter 8, Students and faculty: The
growth of relationships, in Walfish & Hess Bring your program of study
to class (print it out from MyUNIverse) Discussion of “how to
get along” (how to figure out what your thesis supervisor really wants
and how to keep him/her happy). Discussion of what you need
to be doing if PhD programs vs. jobs are in your future |
|
10/10 |
Read IRB information online (choose Human
Participants—IRB on left) and review forms. Get your IRB training. You can
do this online program or go to the in-person training session on Monday,
October 1 from 2-4 in the University Room, Maucker
Union. |
|
|
10/17 |
Read Sternberg’s tips Read Bem’s
article on how to write an empirical article Read Bem’s
article on how to write a review article Read
Chapter 14, Article writing 101 in Sternberg, 2000 Read
Chapter 1, 8 common misconceptions about psychology papers, in Sternberg,
2003 |
|
|
10/24 |
Writing part 2; Reviewing
and accepting reviews |
Bring in your second
article summary with your own comments on it based on what we read and talked
about last week. Read
Chapter 1, Reviewing empirical submission to journals, in Sternberg, 2006 Read
Chapter 4, Reviewing and evaluating a research article, in Leong & Austin Read Chapter 12, Reading reviews,
suffering rejection, and advocating for your paper in Sternberg, 2000 Should have met with 3 faculty by now. Turn in list of faculty and thesis
supervisor by October 26 |
|
10/31 |
Read How to write a lot. Discuss plans. Writing exercise. Thought paper on writing hinderances due. |
|
|
11/7 |
Bring in a rough draft of
your CV/resume |
|
|
11/14 |
Read Chapters 13 and 14,
Posters and Visuals for presentations, in Nicol
& Pexman. Read Chapter 6, Presenting
your research, in Prinstein & Patterson. Discussion of formal
presentation do’s and don’ts. |
|
|
11/28 |
APA presentations |
|
|
12/5 |
APA presentation |
|
|
12/10 1:00-2:50 |
APA style; Thesis process and
Professionalism and careers |
2nd year panel Discuss thesis options
beyond empirical studies with college students (internet surveys,
meta-analyses, existing data, computer simulation) Discuss personal
presentation (e.g., clothes, appearance) and questions to ask in interviews. Integrative review paper
due. (short section that might be part of thesis—about 2-3 pages,
but several articles, in APA style, with references) |
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. (1999). Presenting your findings: A practical guide for creating tables. Washington, DC: APA.
Nicol, A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2010). Displaying
your findings: A practical guide for creating figures, posters, and
presentations (6th ed).
Smyth,
T. R. (2008). The psychology thesis:
Research and coursework.
Sternberg,
R. J. (2003). The psychologist’s
companion: A guide to scientific writing for students and researchers (4th
ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg,
R. J. (Ed.) (2000). Guide to publishing
in psychology journals.
Sternberg, R. J. (Ed.)
(2006). Reviewing scientific
works in psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
Strunk, W., Jr. (1999). The
elements of style. New York:
Bartleby.com.
Careers
Davis, S. F., Giordano, P. J., & Licht, C. A. (2009). Your career in psychology: Putting your graduate degree to work. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell.
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
Benjamin,
L, T., Jr. (2008). Favorite activities for the
teaching of psychology. Washington, DC: APA.
Buskist, W., & Davis, S. F. (2006). Handbook for the teaching of psychology.
Forsyth, D. R. (2002). The professor’s guide to teaching: Psychological principles
and practices.
Goss Lucas, S., & Bernstein, D. A. (2005). Teaching psychology: A step by step guide. Mahwah, NJ: LEA.
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.).