RESEARCH METHODS
Spring 2024
Class Information |
Instructor Information |
PSYCH 3002 |
Helen C. Harton, Ph.D. |
WRT 105 (class)/110 (lab) |
Bartlett 2080 |
MWF 11-11:50 + M 10-10:50 |
273-2235; harton@uni.edu |
TA: MaKayla Hall, makaylah@uni.edu, Office hours WF 10-11, Bart 63
Course Information
Course Learning Outcomes: By the end of this course, you should be able to:
Instructor Course Description: In this course, you will learn how to design, interpret, present, and evaluate psychological research.
Course Catalog Description: Introduction to fundamentals of psychological
inquiry. Emphasis on experimental research but all major approaches
(correlational, field, clinical, phenomenological) considered. Prerequisite(s):
PSYCH 1001; plus 6 additional credit hours in psychology.
Syllabus/Class Information Locations: The course syllabus can be found linked from my website, www.uni.edu/harton, or directly at www.uni.edu/harton/rmsyll24s.htm. It is also linked from the BlackBoard elearning site. Hyperlinks in the syllabus link to PowerPoint slides for the class, readings, and further information on assignments. PowerPoint slides will be posted online before each class. If they don’t seem to open, right click on the link, choose “open in a new window” and hit return at the end of the url. It should then open or download.
Credit Hour Statement: This course meets the Course Credit Hour
Expectation outlined in the Course Catalog. Students should expect to work a
minimum of 2 hours per week outside of class for every course credit hour.
Since this is an advanced undergraduate course, the expectation is that you
will work approximately 3 hours per week outside of class for every course
credit hour, or an average of 12 hours per week.
Readings
Required:
Jhangiani, R. S., Chiang, I-C. A., Cuttler, C., & Leighton, D. C. (2019). Research methods in psychology (4th ed.). Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. (JCCL)
Optional, but recommended,
especially if you plan to go to graduate school in psychology or a related
area:
American Psychological Association
(2019). Publication manual of the
American Psychological Association (7th ed). http://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
In addition, some short articles and podcasts will be assigned in class. These will be provided in Blackboard and/or linked from the syllabus.
*Note that the online textbook (JCCL) has NOT been updated to new APA
style (7th edition), which came out in October 2019, but that you
WILL need to use version 7 style for your papers (resources available in Bb).
Grading
Exam 1 10%
Exam 2 10%
Exam 3 10%
Final exam 15%
Paper introduction 10%
Paper method and results 10%
Study implementation and group work 5%
Group presentation 5%
Final completed paper 15%
Homework/Lab 10%
Earning 90% of the possible points will earn an A, 80% a B, etc., with these categories being further subdivided by pluses and minuses (e.g., 80-82 = B-; 83-86 = B; 87-89=B+).
Course Requirements and Expectations
Exams: There will be three exams and a comprehensive final. Exams will be made up of multiple choice, short answer, and short essay questions. You can use printed or handwritten notes during the exam (no electronic devices), but the exam is timed, so you won’t have time to look up everything, or even many things (so you still need to study). I recommend studying as if you won’t have the option to look things up, and then only using it when you really need to.
· Exam 1 will cover the basics of the scientific method, scientific knowing, replication, theories, hypotheses, basic study design, and understanding graphs, tables, and articles.
· Exam 2 will cover scientific writing, measurement, reliability and validity, the observational method, sampling, surveys, and correlations.
· Exam 3 will cover experiments, advanced experiments, and validity.
· Exam 4 will cover quasi-experiments, small n designs, ethics, and honest tables and graphs PLUS information from throughout the semester (50% of points to new stuff vs. things from the whole semester).
Research paper: You will choose among several topics to explore this semester. After you rank your topic choices, you will be assigned to a 3-4 person group on one of your top choices. With your group, you will read and find literature on the topic, come up with a hypothesis, and design and carry out a study to test that hypothesis. Each of you will write individual papers, but you will collaborate on literature search, study design, implementation, and analysis. The research paper will include an introduction that pulls together previous research on the topic (aka a literature review). This is not just a compilation of separate paragraphs, each describing one study--you should organize the studies you read in a coherent manner, analyzing what others have done and leading into what needs to be done next (your study) and what you expect to find. You will then have a method section detailing who your participants were and what you had them do, a results section describing what you found, and a discussion section addressing why you think you got the results you did, what they mean, and limitations of your study. These sections should be followed by a list of references (in APA style), and appendices (including questionnaires used). You will turn in the introduction first, then the methods and expected results, and finally the entire paper (with revisions to previous sections based on feedback). The paper should be in the latest APA style (7th edition). Click on the hyperlink above for more information (it also contains links to a detailed rubric and a template for the paper).
Study implementation and group work: Your grade for this portion of the class will be based on the accuracy of your group bibliographic notes, your active participation in designing and analyzing the study, the quality of your study, and your ability to meet deadlines, along with an informal presentation of your group idea to the class. Your fellow group members will also rate you, and your group grade may be lowered if there is consensus that your participation was low in quantity or quality. Click on the hyperlink above for more information.
Group presentation: Your group will make a 10-minute presentation of your study’s purpose, hypotheses, method, results, and interpretation and answer questions from the instructor and the rest of the class. The presentation should involve PowerPoint slides. Everyone in the group should participate in the presentation in some way, but it is up to the group how to divide the work (e.g., one person could make the slides, and another do most of the talking). Everyone in the group will get the same grade, and each person in the group will have at least 1 question to answer. Click on the hyperlink above for more information.
Homework/Lab exercises: There will be homework exercises and/or lab exercises each week that will be assigned in class to give you practice with course concepts. They may include assignments, computer exercises, class demonstrations, and data collection. The individual pre-paper assignments (e.g., reference section) count as part of your homework grade. In-class assignments such as practice sheets and small group activities will also be included in this part of your grade. Active participation in lab activities is worth 10 points per week, although group-based lab assignments will count as a different part of your grade. In-class activities are generally worth 5 pts. Points for homework assignments vary from 5 to 25 depending on the assignment. Click on the hyperlink above for more information.
Course Schedule
The schedule is tentative—it’s possible that
some topics may take a little longer or get covered more quickly depending on
class understanding, which may also affect due dates, especially for smaller
(e.g., homework) assignments. Exam dates and due dates for the paper should be
set, but we may still need to be flexible. At any rate, the exams and paper
assignments will not be moved forward.
Further details on each assignment are
provided here and in
Blackboard. Unless indicated otherwise, all assignments should be submitted via
BlackBoard.
Hyperlinks on dates are to PowerPoint slides.
They will be posted each week by the start of class. If you have trouble
opening a link, right click on it, choose “open in another window” and then hit
return at the end of the url in that new window. It should then download. Dates
in bold are lab days.
Unless specified otherwise, all assignments should be done individually.
Topic |
Assignment |
|
Welcome and introduction to the course |
·
Discuss
working in groups ·
Turn
in ranking of topics |
|
Scientific vs. nonscientific ways of knowing |
·
Read
JCCL Chapter 1 (textbook) ·
“Me” slide due ·
Groups
assigned |
|
Library session/ Scientific ways of knowing |
·
Read this
article on how to read empirical articles. ·
Lab 1: Library resources and taking notes,
introduction to Zotero in Rod
Library 373 |
|
Logical fallacies |
·
Read
chapter on logical fallacies (Bb) ·
Logical
fallacies assignment due |
|
Basics of experimental design |
·
Read
JCCL Chapter 2 |
|
Hypotheses and operational definitions |
·
Questions
on assigned articles due ·
Lab 2: Group discussion of assigned
articles |
|
Understanding articles |
|
|
Understanding tables and figures |
·
Hypotheses
assignment due |
|
Theory |
·
Lab 3: Group discussion of articles and
ideas; work on group bibliography questions (each group member needs to bring
in two articles that they have read and are ready to discuss) |
|
Replication |
·
Listen
to podcast on replication: https://youarenotsosmart.com/2019/03/01/yanss-147-the-replication-crisis-rebroadcast/ |
|
Feb 9 (SPSP) |
Scientific writing (Class will be online b/c prof is at a conference) |
·
Read this
article: Sternberg, R.
J. (1993). How to win acceptances by psychology journals: 21 tips for better
writing. APS Observer. https://www.csustan.edu/nelson/how-win-acceptances-psychology-journals-21-tips-better-writing ·
Read
JCCL Chapter 11 ·
References due
in APA style (individual assignment) and group bibliography file due (group
assignment) |
Scientific writing |
·
Plagiarism
assignment due (upload screen shot of final grade) ·
Lab 4: Writing a literature review and
outline |
|
Scientific writing |
|
|
Feb 16 |
Exam 1 |
|
Writing |
·
Lab 5: Work on study design ·
Turn in outline
for paper |
|
Scale creation |
·
Read
JCCL Chapter 4 |
|
Reliability and validity |
|
|
Measurement scales |
·
Lab 6: Finish designing your study; Present
idea to class (group assignment) |
|
Observation |
||
Observation |
·
Read
JCCL Chapter 6 ·
Introduction
section due ·
Zotero
and google spreadsheet updated and ready to be graded (group assignment) |
|
Sampling |
·
Lab 7: Qualtrics implementation; Finalize
design |
|
Surveys |
·
Read
JCCL Chapter 7 |
|
Surveys |
||
Correlation |
·
Lab 8: Peer review studies |
|
Mar 20 |
Correlation |
·
Final
study design due and ready to go (group assignment) |
Mar 22 |
Exam 2 |
|
Mar 25 |
Results and discussion |
·
Lab 9: Collect data (and provide data) |
Measurement and sampling redux |
||
Mar 29 |
Correlation and survey redux |
|
Experiments |
·
Lab 10: Analyze data ·
Read
JCCL Chapter 5 |
|
Within vs. between designs |
||
Apr 5 |
Exam 2 retake (optional) |
·
Need to bring
previous Exam 2 with rationale for why the correct answer is correct on all you
missed for possible half credit back and then score on retake will be
averaged with that to replace Exam 2 score |
Apr 8 |
Visit Inspire conference |
·
Lab 11: Making graphs or tables honestly |
Factorial designs |
·
Read
JCCL Chapter 9 ·
Inspire
assignment due |
|
Main effects and interactions |
·
Method
and results sections due |
|
Types of validity; experiment review |
·
Lab 12: Interpret data |
|
Apr 17 |
Main effects/interactions review (online) |
|
Apr 19 (MPA) |
Quasi-experiments (class will be online b/c prof is at a conference) |
·
Read
JCCL Chapter 8 |
Apr 22 |
Project presentations |
·
Lab 13: Project presentations |
Ethics |
·
Read
JCCL Chapter 10 ·
Read
JCCL Chapter 3 |
|
Apr 26 |
Experiment mini-test (5% of grade) |
·
Last
day to participate in extra credit or turn in extra credit papers |
Ethics |
·
Lab 14: Peer review for paper |
|
Ethics |
||
Small n/Review |
·
Final paper due
along with paper addressing changes you made in response to feedback from
peer and instructor |
|
May 7** |
Tuesday, 10-11:50 Final exam (20% of grade) |
|
FAQs
How can I do well in this course?
The most important thing to do if you want to do well in this course is
to come to class and pay attention. Keep up with assignments, especially for
the project and paper, and read the extra information I put online for that and
the other assignments. Start on the paper assignments early. Talk to me about
anything you don’t understand, and meet with me about your paper/study. Read
the book and other assigned readings.
I’ve heard this is a hard class and
a lot of work. I’m scared.
Not technically a question, but yes, this is a challenging class, but one
that you can totally do well in if you try. Use the resources (e.g., readings,
information in Bb) and ask for help from me when you need it. It’s a 4 credit class and writing intensive, so you should expect
to spend about 12 hours a week on the class on average. You’ve got this.
What is this “lab” thing?
The main thing we’ll do in lab during the semester is the group work of
designing a study. There will also be a few nonproject-related
labs where you might practice writing or evaluate a study.
Why do we have to work in groups? I
hate people.
Most jobs will require some coordination with other people. Even as a
professor (a relatively solitary job), I have to work on lots of committees and
consult with others, and almost all of my research projects are done
collaboratively. Working in groups helps you develop skills you’ll need for
work (and for life—most likely you also will need to collaborate at some point
with family members or others). It’s also a way to make the workload lower and
make it possible to complete a study in this short time frame. If you’re having
trouble with your group, talk to me early so we can try to sort things out—or
better yet, try to solve the problem among yourselves.
Can I just do my project on my
own/Do it on a different topic?
No. One of the goals of the class is to learn to work effectively in
groups. The topics were chosen so that you have a solid background and idea to
start with. This is one project in one semester out of your life—I’m not asking
you to spend the rest of your life studying this topic or hanging out with your
group.
Do we have to get together with our
groups outside of class?
There will be some time each week in class and/or lab to get together
with your group members. You will definitely need to work on parts of the
project outside of class, but they may or may not require your group to
actually meet (and if you do need to meet, you could use zoom). You may also
want to meet with me outside of class, but that also could be with a subset of
the group.
Since we’re working in groups, can
we just write a group paper?
No. You need to write a separate, individual paper to show that you’ve
learned writing skills and understand your study. Some parts of the paper will
be similar—the references, method, and results will be very similar across
group members—but the paper should be written on your own.
Why are there so many assignments?
I’ve been teaching research methods for a long time, and I don’t assign
things just for the thrill of grading them. Every assignment has a purpose, and
they are designed to help you become a better critical thinker, writer, and
consumer of research and prepare you for later assignments and tests. The
rationale for each assignment, how many points it is worth, and its grading
criteria are detailed here.
What if I can’t make it to class
because I’m sick or for other reasons?
If you email me by 9am the day of class, I can send you a zoom link for
class. I don’t recommend doing this regularly, as it’s harder to pay attention
online and people who’ve done this frequently in the past have tended to do
poorly in the class. If you let me know before class that you’re missing class,
you can also make up any in-class or lab activities we do that day in class.
You’ll need to turn those in by the next class period.
What if the weather is bad?
If UNI cancels face-to-face classes, we’ll move class online to zoom at
the regular time. If they don’t cancel, I will be here as usual, but if it’s
dangerous for you to get in, you can email me and get the zoom link.
Can I turn things in late?
You get two “free” late passes--that is, you can turn in up to 2
assignments up to 48 hours late with no penalty and no need for a rationale.
Turning things in late may delay you getting feedback on them. The “free
passes” do not apply to the final
paper, extra credit, or your group study. Any additional late assignments, or
ones later than 48 hours, will have half a letter grade (5 points on a
100-point scale) taken off per day. If illness or other things become an issue
for you, talk to me.
What if I’m sick and can’t take the
test on time?
If you are sick or have a family emergency (vacations are not a good
excuse), let me know before the test and we will discuss options. Your test may
be different from that given to the rest of the class in that case.
What’s the deal with plagiarism and
cheating?
They are bad. Make sure you read and follow the UNI Academics
Ethics Policy (http://www.uni.edu/policies/301).
We’ll also talk about plagiarism and ways to avoid it in class. Cheating and plagiarism
of any kind or amount will result in lowered grades, including a possible 0 on
the assignment in question and/or F in the class, regardless of intentions. If you have any questions about what is
acceptable, ask. Note that it is not acceptable to use secondary sources in
scientific writing—you should cite and
read the primary source—that is, the study written by the authors
themselves that describes their methods and results in detail. We’ll also
discuss the proper use of AI in class—it may be used to help you brainstorm
ideas or proofread your writing, but should not be used to generate written
responses or papers.
How do I find materials for class?
The syllabus is online and can be accessed directly from my home page,
but it is also linked in Blackboard. Many resources are linked directly from
the syllabus, including the PowerPoint slides. If the slides don’t open when
you click on them, then right click on the link and choose “open in another
window.” You should then be able to hit return on that page and download the
slides. Slides will be posted sometime before each class session (usually but
not always the day before). Other resources, such as sample papers, are only
available in Blackboard. The textbook for the class is online and free and linked
from the syllabus.
How will you get in contact with me
or share class information?
There is a class listserv that will be used to contact you with
additional information about assignments, notices if class goes online, etc.
Make sure to check your UNI email so you get those notices. I may also post
them in Blackboard, but the default and first place they will show up is in
email, so check there first.
What is the best way to reach you?
The best way to meet with me is to talk to me before class—I have another
class after this one and will have to leave quickly after class--or email me to
set up a time to meet. We can meet over zoom or face-to-face, depending on your
preference. You can also stop by my office hours, but you may have to wait if
there is another student ahead of you.
Are there any opportunities for
extra credit?
Yes! You can get up to 8 points of extra credit on your final exam by
participating in research projects through the department’s SONA system,
getting your IRB certification (see https://rsp.uni.edu/irb-training)
and/or attending research-relevant talks (only those announced in class or via
email will count). One hour of research or talk is equivalent to a maximum of 2
points, depending on the quality of the paper turned in. For both talks and
research participation, to receive any credit, you must turn in a 1-2 page
informal summary and analysis of the experience (i.e., relating it to class
topics, critiquing it based on knowledge of research methods) within a week of
participating. For IRB certification, you can get 6 points for your training
certificate (doesn’t count if you’ve already done it for a previous class).
You can also get up to 10 points of extra credit from presenting your group
study at the UNI Inspire conference on April 8 or 9. This would entail
submitting an abstract by the deadline (roughly spring break), having your data
analyzed and a poster created by April 3 to submit to me for feedback (that you
need to address) and presenting the day of the conference. This credit would
only go to group members who are actively involved in the presentation
(creating and presenting).
See further information on
assignments for more information.
What if I’m having other issues I
need help with?
I’m happy to help you with class or psychology (as a field, e.g.,
graduate school, research) questions. I can also help direct you to other
places to get help, such as the UNI Counseling Center, The Learning Center @
Rod Library, or the Panther Pantry (food bank on campus).
Are there other things you or the university want me to know?
You can find more information on university policies related to free speech, nondiscrimination, and accessibility, along with opportunities for tutoring here.