Unit information: Continuing Psychological Research Methods in 2022/23

Unit name	Continuing Psychological Research Methods
Unit code	PSYC20006
Credit points	40
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24)
Unit director	Dr. Allen
Open unit status	Not open
Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units)	None
Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units)	None
Units you may not take alongside this one	None
School/department	School of Psychological Science
Faculty	Faculty of Life Sciences

Unit Information

In this unit, students will build on research skills developed in Psychological Research Methods. These skills will be applied in advanced experimental, correlational, and mixed methods contexts. Students will develop and conduct psychological research studies, and present their findings in varied formats.

The aims of this unit are to:

1. Introduce students to advanced experimental, correlational, and mixed methods approaches to conducting research in psychology, and data collection and analysis techniques associated with each.
2. Provide students with opportunities to develop and conduct advanced experimental, correlational, and mixed methods psychological research, and interpret and report findings according to disciplinary conventions.
3. Facilitate students’ continued development of a range of transferable research skills.
4. Give students further opportunities to engage with the diversity of research being conducted in the School via their participation in the school’s experimental hours scheme.

Your learning on this unit

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

1. Outline the defining characteristics of advanced experimental, correlational, and mixed methods approaches to conducting research in psychology.
2. Formulate specific and feasible psychological research questions which can be addressed using advanced experimental, correlational, and mixed methods research approaches.
3. Develop and conduct advanced experimental, correlational, and mixed methods studies to answer research questions.
4. Apply data collection and analysis techniques associated with advanced experimental, correlational and mixed methods research approaches, and justify the selection and use of these techniques.
5. Interpret and report advanced experimental findings according to disciplinary conventions.
6. Interpret and integrate correlational and qualitative findings in a mixed methods study, and report the findings according to disciplinary conventions.

How you will learn

There are two interlinked strands to this unit: The lecture strand and the laboratory strand.

In the lecture strand students will engage with a set of self-paced online learning materials each teaching week. These materials will include video lectures, readings and practical activities. After engaging with these materials, students will join live classes with two purposes. The first of these is to address any questions that students have about the online learning materials. The second is to assess their progress through the online learning materials with a short quiz. Students’ scores on a proportion of these quizzes will be aggregated, and are worth 30% of their final grades for this unit.

In the laboratory strand, students will work in small groups under staff supervision (who they will meet with weekly) to complete the tasks necessary for successful execution of two psychological research studies. Students will individually write-up both studies for assessment.

Full engagement with both strands of the unit is expected, and essential for success.

How you will be assessed

Formative Assessment:

Students will receive regular formative feedback via their engagement with learning activities dispersed throughout the unit. Participation in these formative activities will assist students' progression toward the unit's ILOs.

Summative Assessment:

1. Weekly In-Class Active Learning Exercises (30%, ILOs 1, 4, 5, and 6)
2. 1600-Word Research Report (30%, ILOs 2, 3, 4 and 5)
3. 2000-Word Research Report (40%, ILOs 2, 3, 4 and 6)

Other Pass Requirements:

In addition to earning the requisite number of marks, to pass this unit students must (a) develop and deliver a 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).

A reasonable attempt of all assessment must be made for the award of credit.

Resources

If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.

If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PSYC20006).

How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks, independent learning and assessment activity.

See the Faculty workload statement relating to this unit for more information.

Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit. The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. If you have self-certificated your absence from an assessment, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (this is usually in the next assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any extenuating circumstances and operates within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.