Research
Design & Analysis 2 Psychology
2023 Course Outline, Winter 2006
Last revised:
01/09/2006
|
Professor:
Dr.
Peter McLeod
|
Instructor:
Dr. Karmen Bleile
|
| Office: Horton Hall, Room 426 |
Office: Horton Hall, Room 305 |
| Hours: 8:45 -
9:45
Monday-Thursday; or by appointment |
Hours: 9:30-11:00 M&W, or by
appointment |
| Phone: 585-1589 |
Phone: 585-1521 |
| E-mail: peter.mcleod@acadiau.ca |
E-mail: karmen.bleile@acadiau.ca |
| Homepage |
|
Lectures
| Section
A: Slot 14 |
Section
B: Slot 12 |
| 2:30-4:00
M & W |
10:00-11:30
Tu &Th |
| Room BAC 207 |
Room BAC 141 |
class
schedule
|
Labs (PSYC 2020)
| LA2 |
LB2 |
LC2 |
| 1:30-3:00
Tu |
3:00-4:30
Tu |
1:30-3:00
Th |
| HSH
147 |
HSH
147 |
HSH
147 |
Lab
schedule
|
|
*Note: class and lab locations
may be changed by registrar’s office. |
Two Required Text Books:
1. Bordens, K.S. & Abbott, B.B. (2005) Research
Design and Methods: A Process Approach (6th ed.) Mountain View, CA:
Mayfield. [The same material can be found in earlier (3rd, 4th,
or 5th) editions by Bordens and Abbott. If you are
willing to look, you can get by with a used text.]
Publisher’s web site
2. Stanovich, K.E. How to think straight about
psychology. (7th Edition) Toronto: Allyn & Bacon.
Required Reference:
Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association [5th (2001) Edition]. Washington: American
Psychological Association.
Additional required or recommended
readings will be placed on course reserve throughout the term. Note
that we will cover quite a lot of material that is not in the text book this
semester (e.g., Ex Post Facto designs, Signal detection theory,
and multiple regression). It is thus very important that you attend
classes if you wish to do well. See Library
link from ACME course page for reserves.
Note:
Prerequisite is PSYCH 2013 with a C- or better (see 2005/06 calendar, p.174)
Outline (tentative
summary of material I expect to cover)
This continuation of Research
Design and Analysis I (Psyc 2013) will introduce you to the logic
of more complicated experimental designs and the quasi-analytic
research methods frequently used by psychologists and other social scientists.
Our most important goals in this course are to become adept at critically
evaluating scientific results and interpretations based on those results,
as well as to gain proficiency in the design and analysis of psychological
research. In addition to covering the remainder of the text we will go
into more detail in our coverage of the research methods used in developmental
psychology and psychophysics (including signal detection theory). The prevalence
of multiple regression techniques in current psychological studies makes
it very important for you to understand these, at a conceptual level at least,
so a fair bit of time will be spent on these relatively small portions of your text. [Note
that many undergraduate research methods courses do not cover either signal
detection theory nor multiple regression. I mention this to let you know
that we have high expectations of you.] Time permitting, we may also talk
about 'objectivity' in social sciences, everyday people getting involved
in evaluating scientific data, and the distinction between 'statistically
significant' and 'important' group differences. I will use examples
of real psychology studies to illustrate the principles we discuss in class.
This will also require some knowledge of the specific areas of psychology
from which the examples come. In particular, we will use examples from
studies of human memory, eyewitness testimony, and on the relationship
between stress and health, including some medical literature on risks associated
with breast cancer. This material cannot be found in the text book although
you will be expected to know it for tests and exams. Class attendance is
very strongly recommended. Those who go to class regularly perform significantly
better on tests than those who do not (p<.01 in most of my analyses
for all midterms and final exams).
There will also be labs that you will
be required to complete and write-up as well as an independent research
project. You will also be required, with your partner, to present your
project and your results in class (see lab handouts/manual). The schedule
for classes will be geared to correspond with the lab assignments where
possible, while still covering all the necessary course material. This
will mean that we jump around the text book some. See the course schedule and watch for revisions to it as we
proceed through this material.
If you are repeating this course to improve your
grade and did well (at least 60%) in the lab portion of the course last time, we
may waive the lab requirement (and carry forward your previous lab grade
from last year). Please come and see Dr. Bleile or me if you wish to be
considered for this ASAP.
Use of information
technology in this course
My lecture notes will be posted prior to class
on ACME and can be downloaded for you to use, however
these are not extensive and are not a suitable substitute for class attendance.
It is suggested that you annotate the downloaded notes in class. The internet
may also be used in several of the lab assignments and national data files
may also be made available to you to download for lab assignments. We will also
use the Rice University simulations to illustrate some of the statistical concepts discussed
in class. You
can obtain a better idea of the internet links and resources we will take advantage of by examining the course links page.
Evaluation
Lab Assignments: The
lab component of this course will include conducting and writing up an
independent research project and additional laboratory (experimental) assignments.
There may also be shorter assignments and optional tutorials. Dr. Bleile
will provide you with details on the due dates for these assignments and
the evaluation procedures. Some scheduled class time may be devoted to
helping you with your independent projects, If you stick to the schedule,
this will distribute your lab work quite evenly throughout the semester.
Both Dr. Bleile and I will be available to help with your projects during
office hours. Do not expect us to help you during office hours with parts
of your project (e.g., data analysis) that were covered in previous labs
if you did not attend those sessions or were not prepared for those scheduled
'help' sessions. If you chose to procrastinate, don't expect us to cram
with you!
Midterms:
As was the case for 2013, midterm exams will be a mixture of multiple choice, short answer, and problem
solving questions. As part of these you might be asked to design a study
and/or critique a study described to you. You may also be asked to read
summaries of studies or a published scientific paper (taken in whole or
in part from a recent psychology or general science journal), followed
by questions to assess your understanding of the research design used in
the paper, its strengths and weaknesses. All tests given in this course,
will emphasize applying your knowledge where possible.
Final Exam:
The final will be similar in format to the midterm exams and will cover
material from the entire course, with some emphasis on material covered
after the second midterm. Do not make your travel plans until you
know the date and time of all your exams.
Note:
Make-up tests will not be given for any reason. If you will be away
for the midterm you can arrange to write it ahead of the scheduled
date. Students who miss the test for a legitimate reason will have
their final worth more. All lab assignments and the project must be
completed. Failure to hand in any
lab
assignment will result in an F.
Tentative
grading system and schedule
|
Item |
Dates |
Value |
|
Section A2 |
Section B2 |
|
Midterm |
February 6th |
February 7th |
15% |
|
Midterm |
March 8th |
March 9th |
15% |
|
Extra Point |
Experiment
participation assignment or written assignment: March 31st |
2% |
|
Lab
Section |
See lab handouts: includes all
assignments and the independent research project |
32% |
|
Final
Exam |
time and place t.b.a. |
38% |