Psychology 589: Research Methods II

Spring, 2015: 11:00—12:15 PM, T & H

Instructor: Dr. Mark Galizio

Office: TL 2078; Office Hours: TBA

 

Syllabus

Textbook:

MacLin, M. K. & Solso, R. L. (2008). Experimental psychology: A case approach. 8th Ed., Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Other required readings will be made available on my home page http://people.uncw.edu/galizio/galizio.htm  

Recommended Reading:

            APA Publication Manual (2011) 6th Ed.

Course Outline

Unit 1 (Jan 15-22): The scientific method and psychology: Method & theory

            Readings:

                        Chap 1 & 2 MacLin & Solso

Pashler, H. & Wagenmakers, E. J. (2012). Editor’s introduction to the special section on replicability in psychological science: A crisis of confidence? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7, 528-530.

Unit 2 (Jan 27 -Feb 5): Statistical techniques & research design: Causality and correlation

            Readings:

                        Chap 3, 4 and Appendix A MacLin & Solso

Unit 3 (Feb 10-Feb 17): Research design and experimental control

            Readings:

Chaps 5, 6, & 7  MacLin & Solso

Unit 4 (Feb 19-26): Limitations of traditional statistical techniques: Small-N designs and other alternatives

            Readings:

Loftus, G. R. (1996). Psychology will be a much better science when we change           the way we analyze data. Psychological Science, 5 161-171.

Wagenmakers, E. J., Wetzels, R., Borsboom, D. & van der Maas, H. L. J. (2011). Why psychologists must change the way they analyze their data: The case of psy : Comment on Bem (2011). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,100, 426-432.

Cummings, G. (2014). The new statistics: Why and how. Psychological Science, 25, 7-29.

Perone, M. & Hursh, D. E. (2013). Single case experimental designs. In Madden (Ed.) APA Handbook on Behavior Analysis, American Psychological Association Press, pp. 107-127.

Unit 5 (Feb 26): Quasi-experimental designs

Unit 6 (Mar 3): Design critiques/Research ethics

            Readings:

                        Chaps 7 & 8 MacLin & Solso

Mar 5:  Midterm Examination

Unit 8 Grant proposal presentations

Two/Three presenters for each session:

Mar 17  (2)      _________________________________

 

Mar 19             _________________________________

 

Mar 24             _______________________________

 

Mar 26             _______________________________

 

Mar 31 _______________________________

 

Apr 7               _________________________________

 

Apr 9               ________________________________

 

Apr 14             ________________________________

 

Unit 9 (Apr 16-Apr 28): Analysis of published research

Apr 16—Chap 10

            Apr 21--Chap  11

            Apr 23—Chap 12

            Apr 28—Chap 13-24

April 23: Grant Proposals Due

May 5: Final Examination 11:30 PM

Grading and other matters:

Your grade will be based on five criteria: class participation (10%), grant proposal (written and oral presentations—20%), and the 2 examinations (35% each).

The operational definition of excellent participation: regular attendance, active and prepared discussion of the assigned readings, and prompt completion of any homework assignments.

Grant proposals should be written in the style described in the 6th  edition  (2011) of the APA manual (recommended purchase) and include an introduction, methods section, an anticipated results and discussions section, and a budget with justifications. The introduction should be patterned after a Psychological Bulletin paper in length and number of citations, with the additional feature of leading the reader to your specific proposed studies. The methods should provide detailed information on exactly what you will do and be structured like a research report in future tense.  The results and discussion should include brief details of how data will be reduced and analyzed, and one or more graphs that illustrate hypothetical results. The budget should be as detailed as possible (and as grandiose as you like), and should include a brief verbal justification of all major items.

Your presentation should be no more than 20 min in length and include overhead transparencies, slides, or computer-presented graphics. Your paper is due on April 23 and a late penalty will be applied to papers not received on that day. You may submit your paper as a Word document or as a hard copy (not pdf).

The examinations will cover the readings and class discussions. The final exam (but not the midterm) is cumulative and open book. Please bring blue books or equivalent to the exams.