Unit information: Psychological Research Methods in 2020/21

Unit name	Psychological Research Methods
Unit code	PSYC10010
Credit points	40
Level of study	C/4
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Fielding
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	None
Co-requisites	None
School/department	School of Psychological Science
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

In this unit, students will be introduced to experimental and qualitative approaches to conducting research in psychology, and the data collection and analysis techniques associated with each. Students will design and conduct psychological research studies, and present their findings in both oral and written formats.

The aims of this unit are to:

1. Introduce students to experimental and qualitative approaches to conducting research in psychology, and data collection and analysis techniques associated with each.
2. Provide students with opportunities to design and conduct psychological research, and interpret and report findings according to disciplinary conventions.
3. Facilitate students’ development of a range of transferable research skills, including sourcing and critically reading original research papers; asking and answering specific and feasible research questions; the appropriate use of relevant IT resources; and written and oral communication.

Give students exposure to the diversity of research being conducted in the School via their participation in the experimental hours scheme.

Intended Learning Outcomes

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

1. Outline the defining characteristics of experimental and qualitative approaches to conducting research in psychology.
2. Design and conduct experimental and qualitative studies to answer specific and feasible research questions.
3. Apply data collection and analysis techniques associated with experimental and qualitative approaches to psychological research questions, and justify the selection and use of these techniques.
4. Interpret and report experimental and qualitative research findings according to disciplinary conventions.
5. Describe a range of studies carried out by the School

Teaching Information

Weekly: asynchronous 'independent home work'; large group synchronous online Q&A and quiz associated with independent homework content; asynchronous lecture content ;student-led group meeting (online/in-person/hybrid) ; Lab group meeting with TA/supervisor (online/in-person/hybrid)

Assessment Information

Formative Assessment:

Students will receive regular formative feedback via their participation in learning activities dispersed throughout lectures and laboratory classes. Participation in these formative activities will assist students' progression toward the unit's ILOs.

Summative Assessment:

1. Weekly In-Class Active Learning Exercises (30%)
2. Poster Presentation (30%)
3. 1600-Word Research Report (40%)

Other Pass Requirements:

In addition to earning the requisite number of marks, to pass this unit students must (a) participate in the development and delivery of a group presentation; and (b) participate in a number of studies as a member of the school's experimental hours scheme (or complete an equivalent written activity).

Reading and References

Students will be directed to weekly readings via Blackboard. The majority of these readings will be drawn from the list of recommended texts below. Links to further readings (e.g., journal articles) will also be made available on Blackboard and lecture slides where applicable.

Essential

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

British Psychological Society. (2014). Code of human research ethics (2^nd ed.). Leicester, UK: Author. Retrieved from https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/bps-code-human-research-ethics-2nd-edition-2014

Recommended

Aron, A., Coups, E. J., & Aron, E. N. (2012). Statistics for psychology (6^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Bourne, V. (2017). Starting out in methods and statistics for psychology: A hands-on guide to doing research. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. London, UK: Sage.

Breakwell, G. M., Smith, J. A., & Wright, D. B. (Eds.). (2012). Research methods in psychology (4^th ed.). London, UK: Sage.

Coolican, H., (2014). Research methods and statistics in psychology (6th ed.). London, UK: Psychology Press.

Crawley, M. J. (2015). Statistics: An introduction using R (2^nd ed.). Chichester, UK: Wiley.

Cumming, G., & Calin-Jagerman, R. (2017). Introduction to the new statistics. New York, NY: Routledge.

Ellis, P. D. (2010). The essential guide to effect sizes: Statistical power, meta-analysis, and the interpretation of research results. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Field, A. (2016). An adventure in statistics: The reality enigma. London, UK: Sage.

Forrester, M. (Ed.). (2010). Doing qualitative research in psychology: A practical guide. London, UK: Sage.

Haslam, S. A., & McGarty, C. (2014). Research methods and statistics in psychology (2^nd ed.). London, UK: Sage.

Howell, D. C. (2017). Fundamental statistics for the behavioral sciences (9^th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.

Howell, D. C. (2013). Statistical methods for psychology (8^th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Howitt, D., & Cramer, D. (2017). Research methods in psychology (5^th ed.). Harlow, UK: Pearson.

Nicol, A. A. M., & Pexman, P. M. (2010). Displaying your findings: A practical guide for creating figures, posters and presentations. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Rosnow, R. L., & Rosenthal, R. (2013). Beginning behavioral research: A conceptual primer (7^th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Smith, J. A. (Ed.). (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (3^rd ed.). London, UK: Sage.

Stinerock, R. (2018). Statistics with R: A beginner’s guide. London, UK: Sage.

Walker, I. (2010). Research methods and statistics. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.