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| Unit name |
Advanced Psychological Experiments and Statistics |
| Unit code |
PSYC21026 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
I/5
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
|
| Unit director |
Dr. Stollery |
| 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 continues, at a more advanced level, training in the range of theoretical and practical skills used in psychological research. In this unit students will be introduced to a particular design-analysis strategy, and a topic area, and develop a piece of empirical work that integrates the two. During the unit, two key statistical techniques will be covered (factor analysis, and multiple regression) and studies will be designed and conducted with these two analytical techniques in mind. These will be structured around (a) a conceptual understanding of the epistemology, content and analysis relating to the proposed empirical work, (b) the 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. Students will also attend and contribute to an undergraduate symposium where they will make a research presentation to an audience of their peers.
Aims:
- Consolidate and extend the student's interest and knowledge in the integration of experimental design and analysis in the pursuit of psychological knowledge.
- Introduce students to more complex methodological approaches to psychological research, through the application of specific methodologies to the study of psychological phenomena.
- Develop a thorough understanding of the role of empirical evidence in the formation of theory and how theory guides the collection and interpretation of empirical data.
- Help students to understand the conceptual basis for more advanced investigative techniques and their relation to progress in psychological science.
- Facilitate students to acquire a wide range of transferable skills including literature search, the asking and answering of specific, measureable and realistic questions, the use of relevant IT resources, and written and oral communication.
Intended Learning Outcomes
On completion of this unit, the student will have:
- Acquired a conceptual understanding of more complex forms of study design and the knowledge of when to apply these.
- Acquired the practical experience of conducting research studies that implement the appropriate designs within the context of a particular psychological question.
- Gained increased appreciation of how the implementation of research designs influence the nature of the psychological investigation to be conducted.
- Undertaken the full profile of undertaking 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.
- Planned and contributed to small-group discussions on these topics.
Teaching Information
The unit comprises 36 x 50 minute lectures/laboratory sessions as well as 4 hours of participation in research studies. Each student attends all sessions, and will work in small groups (n=4) for the design and data collection phases of the unit. Two research reports on the rational, methods, analysis, and conclusions of each study will be submitted. In addition, each student will make a presentation at a specially convened symposium attended by their peers. The unit will be supported by the Blackboard VLE.
Assessment Information
Summative assessment with two 2000-word written research reports (20% each) and one 2-hour written exam (60%).
Reading and References
- Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS (3rd ed.). Sage: London. BF39 FIE
- Lyons, E., & Coyle, A. (Eds.). (2007). Analysing qualitative data in psychology. London: Sage Publications. BF76.5 ANA
- Harris, P (2008). Designing and reporting experiments in psychology. (3rd ed.). Open University Press: BF200 HAR
- American Psychological Association (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). American Psychological Association. PN147 PUB
