Psychology 468W Research
Methods in
Psychology
Spring 2007
Dr.
Chehalis Strapp
Teaching
Assistant: Daniel Lima
Todd
309
Todd
316-317
(503)
838-8316
Office
Hours:
strappc@wou.edu
Wednesdays
1:00-3:00
http://www.wou.edu/las/psychology/strapp/
or
by appointment
Office
Hours: Mondays
10-12:00
dlima05@wou.edu
Tuesdays
&
Thursdays 12:00-2:00
Or
by appointment
Course Description: This course provides a
survey of inferential statistics,
statistical programs, and research methods used by psychologists.
Students apply
their knowledge to an individual research project.
Course
Prerequisites:
Prior
to enrolling in
Psy 468W students are to have passed the following courses:
Math 105 or Math 111
Psy 217W or Psy 301W
Psy 467 (C- or higher grade required)
If
you have not completed
the above pre-requisite courses, you will be asked to drop this class.
Concurrent enrollment in any of the above pre-requisites will not be
allowed.
Course Objectives for
Psychology 467 & 468:
Students will
understand
and apply research methods in psychology including design, data
analysis and
interpretation. Additionally students will demonstrate information
competence
by their ability to access, evaluate and summarize in writing and oral
communication psychological literature following APA guidelines.
Accomplishing
these objectives involves:
·
understanding
how research methods address different types of hypotheses
·
differentiating
designs that permit causal inferences from those that do not
·
evaluating
conclusions derived from psychological research based on statistics
·
formulating
testable hypotheses
·
locating
and
using relevant databases to plan, conduct and interpret studies
·
designing an appropriate study to address a research
question
·
collecting,
analyzing, interpreting, and reporting data using appropriate
statistical
techniques and APA style
·
following
the
APA code of ethics in treatment of participants and data reporting
·
demonstrating
effective writing skills
·
demonstrating
effective oral communication skills
We will cover extensive material in this course. Please feel free to come talk to me in my office, call me, or send me an email at any time throughout the term if you have questions or concerns.
A student who feels she
or he may need an accommodation for
any type of disability, please make an appointment to see me during my
office
hours or contact the Office of Disability Services (838-8250v/tty) in
APSC 405.
Required
Materials for every class meeting
Gravetter, F. J. & Wallnau, L.
B. (2005). Essentials of statistics for
the
behavioral sciences. (5th
ed).
A scientific calculator
Students who fail to
bring these materials to class
regularly will receive lower class participation points.
Term
Work Plan
Exam 1 (April 26)
100 points
Exam 2 (May 22)
100 points
Research Project
Assignments 200
points
SPSS Assignments (3 @ 25
pts)
75 points
Class Participation
25 points
500
points
No Curve Calculated;
Final Grades are
as Follows:
A = 473-500
points
C
=
345-364
points
A- = 445-472
points
C- = 325-344
points
B+ =
425-444
points
D+ = 305-324
points
B = 405-424
points
D
=
285-304
points
B- = 385-404
points
D- = 265-284
points
C+ =
365-384
points
F
less than 265 points
Exams: Two 100 point exams
will be given on the dates listed in
the class schedule. Please note this exam schedule and mark your
calendars now.
We will not deviate from this schedule. Exams will be a combination of
multiple-choice
and problem solving. If for any reason you are unable to take exam 1 or
exam 2 on
the dates scheduled, you must take a makeup exam on June 11 between
10:00am
-3:00pm. Early exams will not be given.
Reworking exam questions: on the day that your
exam is returned in class, you can
choose to earn up to 50% of the points that you missed on the exam by
reworking
any question that you missed. Specific steps required for reworking
questions
will be discussed when the exam is returned. Please note that to be
eligible to
rework problems on an exam you must be in class on the day the exam is
returned.
Research Project
Assignments: 200 points can be
earned through completion of different portions of your research
project.
Portions will include submitting an abstract to the academic excellence
showcase, Draft #2, completing IRB paperwork, oral presentation to an
ethics
review board, Draft #3, and formal presentation to the
SPSS Assignments: You will complete 3 SPSS
assignments throughout the term.
These assignments will involve entering data into a computer program,
analyzing
the data using SPSS, printing out your results, and answering a set of
questions that accompany the data. Due dates for the assignments listed
in the
class schedule. Students are expected to be familiar with SPSS based on
successful
completion of the prerequisite course Psychology 467.
Class Participation: Class participation is
a very important factor and will be
strongly considered in determination of final grades. It is assumed
that all
students will come to class prepared for full participation (that is
reading and
homework completed, text and calculators ready for in class problem
solving and
calculations, ready to answer questions, etc.). Note that attendance is
not
taken in this class, but it will be impossible to receive full class
participation points if you do not regularly attend and participate in
class.
Homework: Homework problems will
be assigned regularly and are listed
in the class schedule. Answers to these problems will be discussed in
the next
class. Although
these
problems are not graded it is expected that you will come to class with
completed homework problems and that you are ready to work through the
answers
at the beginning of class. If students do not complete the homework
prior to
class, class time will not be spent going through homework and instead
we will
move on to new material. Success on exams depends upon completion and
understanding of homework problems. If no homework is assigned, it is
expected
that students will work on research project requirements or SPSS
assignments.
Extra Credit: You
may earn up to
15 extra credit points by either:
a)
participating in
research conducted within the Psychology Division
or
b)
attending,
observing, summarizing and critiquing three psychology power point
presentations
at the academic excellence showcase on May 31, 2007. Please note that
attendance at the academic excellence showcase poster presentations
DOES NOT
meet this requirement.
Specific
requirements
for extra credit provided in a separate handout. Extra credit is due
during our
final exam time. The specific date and time are listed in the class
schedule
that appears on the last page of the syllabus. Early or late extra
credit will
not be accepted.
Course Policies for
Psychology 468
Handouts &
returned assignments: Handouts will
be distributed regularly in class. If you miss class, check with a
classmate, or
stop by my office. I will only bring handouts to class on the day that
I plan
to distribute them. In addition graded and returned assignments (SPSS
assignments, writing assignments, and exams) are only brought to class
once. If
you miss the class where we go over an assignment please stop by during
my
office hours to pick up your work.
Late assignments: All class assignments
are due in class on the dates listed
in the class schedule. Assignments received anytime after class starts
will be
considered late and subject to the following conditions: ten percent of
the
maximum points will be subtracted for each school day (Monday through
Friday)
that the assignment is late. For example, if an SPSS assignment worth
25 points
is due on a Thursday and you turn it in the following Tuesday, it is 4
days
late and you’ve lost 10 points (10% of 25 is 2.5 points per day) from
the total
possible that you earned. If you know that you will be absent on the
day that
an assignment is due, turn in the assignment early.
Absences:
Dropping the class: Course
withdrawals require dropping the class through the Registrar’s Office
before
the end of the sixth week of the term (Friday May 11, 2007).
If you stop coming to class without officially dropping the class
as described above, you will probably receive an F grade.
Incompletes: I do not give
incompletes (I)
grades as a way for a student to avoid receiving a low grade. To be
eligible
for an incomplete in this class you must be passing the class but lack
one
essential requirement, such as missing one exam or one draft of the
paper. In addition, I must find your
reason for
requesting an incomplete acceptable (A serious illness or death in the
family
would probably be acceptable, whereas an early trip to
Fabrication &
plagiarism: According to the WOU
Code of Student Responsibility Section 574-31-030(1) the following
pertains to
academic dishonesty:
Fabrication: unauthorized
falsification and or/invention of
any information or citation in any academic exercise.
Plagiarism: representing without giving credit the words, data, or ideas of another person as one’s own work in any academic exercise. This includes submitting, in whole or in part, prewritten term papers of another or the research of another, including but not limited to the product of commercial vendors who sell or distribute such materials, and the appropriation and/or use of electronic data of another person or persons as one’s own, or using such data without giving proper credit for it.
Any student who is caught fabricating or plagiarizing will receive a 0 on the assignment and his/her name will be turned over to the Coordinator of Campus Judicial Affairs.
Cheating on exams: For exams, you will receive a sheet with formulas and any necessary critical value tables. You are allowed to use one 3 X 5 index card with notes during the exam. You are responsible for your own work on exams. Do not discuss exam questions with other students who have not taken the exam. If you hear other students discussing exam questions, please let me know immediately. Cheating on exams is not permitted and will result in a zero on the exam. In addition, your name will be submitted to the Coordinator of Campus Judicial Affairs.
Makeup exams: if for any reason you
miss exam #1 or exam #2, will you be
required to take a makeup exam on June 11 anytime between 10:00 am and
3:00 pm.
Early exams will not be given.
Office
hours: Feel free to stop
by my office, call me or email me
during any of my office hours listed on the front page. I do not
schedule
appointments during office hours, and am happy to work with students on
a first
come-first served basis. If you are unable to meet during my office
hours, let
me know after class and we can try to schedule a different time to
meet.
Additionally, feel free to send me questions via voice mail or email at
any
time. I do not check my voicemail or email during the evening or on
weekends
from off campus, but I will respond to your message as soon as possible
once I
return to campus.
Psychology 468W Schedule
Spring 2007
Date
Chapter Due
Topics
_______Homework
for next class
April
3
9
Welcome
back to Psy 468
Chap
9 #1-3, 7-8,
Hypothesis
testing review
10,
12-15
z
test vs. t-tests
single
sample t
April
5
9
468 Paper Overview, IRB Process
APA
guidelines for ethical research
Consent
& debriefing forms.
t-tests
reviewed
April
10
10 t-tests
for independent samples
Chap 10 #1-4, 6
11-12,
20-22
Date
Chapter Due
Topics
_______Homework
for next class
April
12
Student research/writing day
Locate
materials needed for draft#2
Develop
abstract for academic excellence showcase
April
17
11 ABSTRACT
DUE
t-tests
for related samples
Chap 11 #1-4, 7-8,
10-11,
18, 21-22
April
19
13 SPSS
#1 Due
Chap
13 #1-5, 14, 16-18
Abstract
returned
24-25
Intro
to ANOVA
April
24
13 ANOVA
& post hoc tests
ORAL
PRESENTATIONS
ACADEMIC
EXCELLENCE PROPOSAL TO PRESENT
FORM
(WITH ABSTRACT) MUST BE EMAILED TO
roscoel@wou.edu and strappc@wou.edu by 5:00 pm
Review
& catch up for Exam #1
April
26
EXAM
#1 (Chapters 9-11, 13)
May
1
14 Draft
# 2 DUE & IRB PAPERWORK
COMPLETED
Return
& Rework Exam #1
Chap 14 #1-5, 11,
Intro
to Repeated Measures ANOVA
13-14
May
3
14 IRB
feedback & data collection begins for approved projects
Repeated
measures ANOVAs continued
May
8
14 SPSS
#2 DUE
Chap
14 #15, 17, 22, 24
Return
& Review Draft #2
Two way ANOVAs Main effects &
Interactions
May
10
14 Two
way ANOVAs continued
ANOVA
HANDOUT
May
15
16 Chi
square/options for nominal data
Chap 16 #1-4, 12-13,
15-16,
21-23
May
17
Catch up & review for Exam 2
May
22
EXAM #2 (Chapters 14 &16)
SPSS
#3 DUE
Date
Chapter Due
Topics
_______Homework
for next class
May
24
NO
CLASS-STUDENT INSTRUCTOR MEETINGS
May
29
NO
CLASS-STUDENT INSTRUCTOR MEETINGS
May
31
ACADEMIC
EXCELLENCE SHOWCASE POSTER PRESENTATIONS
9:00-11:00
or 2:00-4:00 LOCATION TBA
June
5 NO CLASS-STUDENT
INSTRUCTOR MEETINGS
June
7 NO CLASS STUDENT
INSTRUCTOR MEETINGS
Friday
June 8 DRAFT #3
DUE TO TODD 309 OR 325 BY 5:00 PM
_____________________________________________________________
FINALS
WEEK
Monday
June 11th 10:00-3:00 Exam #1 & 2
makeup day
10:00
class Final
time Thursday
June 14th
8:00-10:00
2:00 class Final
time Tuesday
June 12th 12:00-2:00
Return
& Rework Exam #2
Extra
credit due
Draft
3 & Poster grades available
Powerpoint
presentations (if necessary)
___________________________________________________________________________________