CTE Rockhurst - PY 3100 Experimental Methods in Psychology

Instructor: Steven W Brown, Ph.D

Office: Van Ackeren 422a

Phone: (816) 501-4039

Email: steven.brown@rockhurst.edu

HomePage: http://cterockhurst.imodules.com/browns

Fax: (816) 501-4169

Office Hours:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10:00 – 10:50

Tuesday, Thursday 1:00 – 2:00

I am also happy to meet with you by appointment. Call or email and let me know when you are available.

Text: recommended but not required

Martin, D.W, (2000). Doing Psychology Experiments 5th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth.

Course Description:

Experimental Psychology is a basic laboratory course designed to teach you the rudiments of psychological research. Do not expect to have the skills of a Ph.D. after finishing this course, but do expect to have some understanding and appreciation of the research process. One thing that is confusing to some students is that research skills are learned by doing research. I can teach you the basic concepts in lecture, however, the ability to perform good experiments is an art learned by conducting supervised research. The skills learned in this course are critical to all branches of psychology. Those that feel that clinical and counseling psychologists, or occupational and physical therapists do not need this training are simply wrong. Though many practitioners may not actually conduct research, they must be skilled at evaluating current research and the claims made by researchers in their discipline. But even beyond vocational considerations, I believe the critical thinking skills we will be learning over the course of the semester are an essential component of what it means to be an educated person.

Learning Objectives:

Specific learning objectives will be provided before we begin studying a particular section of material, however, below I have listed several global objectives I have for the course. I believe a student completing experimental methods should:

be comfortable formulating a research idea and designing a study to investigate the idea.
be able to use the internet, databases, and library resources to investigate previous literature related to a research idea.
have the ability to critically evaluate psychological literature in terms of the experiment’s rationale, methodology and interpretation of data.
perform systematic observation of a phenomenon, analyze the data using statistical software, and interpret the results of the analysis.
understand the basic terminology of experimental methods and be able to communicate research finding in oral, written, and poster formats.
understand the rationale underlying basic research designs and techniques.

Grading

Your grade will be based on three unit exams, a final exam, several components of research paper development, a major research project and an oral and poster presentation.

Exams

There will be three tests during the semester. Each unit exam will only cover material presented in the unit being tested. I strive to return exams the following class period; if you are forced to miss a test, it is your responsibility to contact me so that a make-up time may be arranged before the next class meeting.

Final Exam

There will be a comprehensive final exam. My intention is to obtain an overall assessment of your understanding of course material and provide you with a final opportunity to demonstrate you have learned material that you may have missed on earlier exams.

Major Research Paper

You will write a complete APA style research report based on an experiment we conduct in small groups. The reports should be around twelve double spaced pages in length. One critical element of writing research reports is the process of making revisions. Consequently, everyone will have the opportunity to rewrite the major paper after I have graded then initially. Another aspect of writing is learning to meet deadlines; there will be a penalty for late papers. It is also your responsibility to keep a copy of your research paper on file.

Minor Paper

You will write one minor paper. This paper is similar to the major paper in format except that you will not be required to perform library research on the topic or write the introduction section to the paper (a time consuming process). The paper will be based on an experiment we will perform as a class.

Homework

Reading questions- I will provide you with articles from the psychological literature to evaluate and discuss. Your responses to questions I ask about these articles will be graded.

Short Assignments- There will be a few short out of class assignments that will be graded.

Presentations

Oral presentation- Each class member will present a summary of a journal article that they find particularly interesting. The presentations should be limited to 10-12 minutes. I will hand out a sheet describing how the presentation should be structured and the criteria that will be used for evaluating presentations.

Poster presentation- We will construct a scientific poster based on the experiment used for our major paper and present the poster at the Festival of Student Achievement.

First Search Assignment

If you are notFirst Search Certified you are required to sign up for and attend a First Search Class at the library. This class is approximately 2 hours in length and is generally held during the mid- to late- afternoon. Classes are limited in terms of offering and space, so it is to your benefit to sign up early. You must have your Rockhurst University computer account activated before the class. You can find a schedule and sign up for the class at: http://www.rockhurst.edu/3.0/service_and_resources/library/workshops/index.html

Rational Underlying the Assignments

1. The Unit exams allow me to assess your understanding of the lecture/discussions.

2. The Final exam allows me to evaluate your retention of course content.

3. The major paper provides you with what is likely your first opportunity to engage in scientific writing.

4. The minor paper allows you to rehearse several aspect of constructing a scientific paper before beginning the major paper.

5. The questions I ask you about journal article are designed to allow you to apply information we have discussed in class and exercise you’re critical thinking skills.

6. The short assignments provide opportunities to rehearse skills needed to write the major paper.

7. The class presentations allow you to further develop your oral presentation skills in a fairly non-threatening environment.

8. The poster presentation allows you to gain experience conveying the results of scientific research in a format popular at scientific conventions.

Final Grades

Grades will be calculated as follows:

Three Unit Exams ……………... 30% (10% each)

Minor Research Paper >>….……08%

Major Research Paper (first draft).10%

Major Research Paper (final draft).10%

Class Presentation ………………10%

Poster …………………………. 10%

Short Assignments …………….. 02%

Final Exam …………………..….20%

The following grading scale will be used:

93-100% = A

90- 92% = A-

87- 89% = B+

83- 86% = B

80- 82% = B-

77- 79% = C+

70- 76% = C

67- 69% = D+

60- 66% = D

Below 59% = F

Students with Disabilities:

If you have a disability that might affect your work (in or out of class) it is your responsibility to contact :

Mike Anderson

Director, Access Office

109 Massman Hall

(816) 501-4856

This office works with students and faculty in planning necessary accommodations.