Unit information: Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology in Education (Part 2) in 2021/22

Unit name	Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology in Education (Part 2)
Unit code	EDUC10006
Credit points	20
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
Unit director	Professor. Liz Washbrook
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Education
Faculty	Faculty of Social Sciences and Law

Description including Unit Aims

Building on RM & Stats 1, in this unit students will be introduced to research methods in psychology, research design, statistical analyses, psychometrics and measurement techniques, and quantitative methods. Examples of statistics and research methods will be taken from psychology in education.

The unit will have a 1 hour lecture on quantitative analyses or statistics, followed by a 2 hour session split into research methods and the application of the analyses/statistics. During the application component, students will collect and analyse data for their assessed lab report. By linking statistical analysis techniques to research methods through application, we will encourage students to develop:

(a) a conceptual understanding of the epistemology, content and analysis relating to the proposed empirical work;

(b) specification of the studies' theoretical content and study design;

(c) the conduct of the data collection phase;

(d) the analysis of these data;

(e) the write-up of the results of that study in the conventional APA format.

Topics will include: Research methods (experimental manipulations, independent designs, repeated measures designs) and statistical techniques related to t-tests; One-way ANOVA; Chi-square; non-parametric tests; and mixed methods.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit students will have:

1. acquired a conceptual understanding of the basic forms of quantitative study design;
2. acquired the practical experience of conducting and analysing quantitative research;
3. undertaken the full profile of quantitative and mixed-methods research by asking questions, designing a specific study to address a specific question, conducting a study on that question, analysing the data appropriately, and providing a written communication of the outcome of that process;
4. the ability to identify and create qualitative and quantitative research studies that implement these designs within the context of a particular psychological question;
5. gained an in-depth appreciation of how the implementation of research designs influences the nature of the psychological investigation to be conducted;
6. undertaken investigations of psychological topics requiring a quantitative approach and have understood the varying requirements of each kind of quantitative analysis;
7. planned and contributed to small-group discussion on these topics;
8. begun to acquire a wide range of transferable skills.

Teaching Information

This unit will be taught using a blended approach consisting of a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous activities including seminars, lectures, reading and discussions.

Assessment Information

Formative assessment Quiz (ILOs 1-4) Workbook (ILOs 1-5) Lab report support (ILOs 2, 5, 6, 7, 8) Support for interviews and analysis (ILOs 3, 4,7)

Summative assessment

ILOs 1-6, 8: Take-home exam (50%)
The exam will cover material presented in the unit and consist of short answer questions equivalent to 2000 words.
ILOs 1-8: Lab Report, 2,000 words (50%)
The lab report, focused on quantitative methods, will present the rationale, methods, analysis, and conclusions for quantitative data

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. EDUC10006).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.