Unit information: Intermediate Psychological Experiments and Statistics in 2017/18

Unit name	Intermediate Psychological Experiments and Statistics
Unit code	PSYC20005
Credit points	40
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Chris Kent
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	PSYC10002
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Psychological Science
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

This unit provides continued training in the range of theoretical and practical skills used in psychological research. In this unit, you will be introduced to a particular design-analysis strategy, and a topic area, and develop a piece of empirical work that integrates the two. Four key studies will be conducted using a range of quantitative and qualitative designs.

The aims of the unit are to build on Year 1 Introduction to Psychological Experiments and Statistics, and extend the integration of experimental design and analyses by considering more complex methodological approaches to psychological research.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, a student will be able to:

1. Describe the more complex forms of study design and when to apply them.
2. Explain how the implementation of research designs influences the nature of the psychological investigation to be conducted.
3. Define a quantitative and a qualitative perspective, and the requirements of each when conducting research.
4. Design a specific study to address a research question, conduct a study on that question, analyse the data appropriately, and provide a written communication of the outcome of the process.
5. Demonstrate the skills necessary to stage a small-group discussion.
6. Compare a range of research experiments in the School of Experimental Psychology.

Teaching Information

Weekly lectures/mandatory laboratory sessions.

Assessment Information

Four 2,000-word Laboratory Reports (4 x 25%).

Completion of 10 hours of participation in the Experimental Hours Scheme.

Reading and References

Essential:

Stollery, B. T. (2015). Laboratory handbook: Reporting psychological experiments. Unpublished document, School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, UK.

Recommended:

Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics (4^th ed.). London: Sage.

Lyons, E. & Coyle, A. (Eds.). (2007). Analysing qualitative data in psychology. London: Sage Publications.

American Psychological Association (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6^th ed.). Washington DC: American Psychological Association.

Harris, P. (2008). Designing and reporting experiments in psychology. (3rd ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press.

Willig, C. (2013). Introducing qualitative research in psychology. (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Additional recommended and further reading will be made available through Blackboard