PSYC 3340 - Research Methods Laboratory

Course Syllabus - Summer II, 2002

INSTRUCTOR:

• Dr. Bill Lammers  
• Office: MAS 257
• Phone: 450-5415 (office); 329-7494 (home)
• E-mail:  billl@mail.uca.edu
• Office Hours: M-F 11:15-1:00 and by appointment.

RESOURCES:  

• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition).
• All other resources are available from the course homepage.

ATTENDANCE: Attendance and active participation is expected at every class meeting.

COURSE DESCRIPTION: The purpose of the course is to provide actual experience in the process of conducting psychological research. These experiences include designing research studies, conducting literature reviews, considering ethical guidelines, collecting data, graphing and analyzing data, and communicating research findings through poster presentation, Powerpoint presentation, and research reports (using APA format).

COURSE OBJECTIVES - GENERAL:

• developing research ideas and hypotheses as part of a research team
• designing research protocols
• learning to collect data
• analyzing data
• learning ways to disseminate research findings
• learning methods to conduct effective research meetings

COURSE OBJECTIVES THAT RELATE TO TECHNOLOGY:

Students will understand how to:

• use concept maps to construct a meaningful knowledge structure of the crucial concepts in previous studies
• use concept maps to develop research ideas and hypotheses
• use technology (database and internet searching) to review the relevant literature
• use Superlab to create a computerized data collection protocol
• use SPSS-X to analyze data
• cut & paste output (text, tables, figures) into a word processing document
• generate a complete manuscript in APA style
• use computer hardware and software to effectively disseminate information through manuscript format, poster format, and multimedia format (Powerpoint)

CLASS STRUCTURE AND EXPECTATIONS:  Students in the class will be considered members of a research team.  As a member of a research team, each student should feel a responsibility to accept a variety of roles and to complete assignments for the other members of the team. Also, each student should be in a constant mode of critical thinking.  All ideas generated by the team will need to be critically evaluated.  Do NOT rely on Dr. Lammers to correct mistakes or make you aware of flaws in your research design.  This will truly be YOUR research and when you have completed a project, you should feel proud of your accomplishment.

GRADING:

Project #1 (Class Project - experimental study using SuperLab software)

Concept map of literature review	5 pts
Title Page, Introduction, References (draft)	10 pts
Method section (draft)	10 pts
Results section with Figure and Table (draft)	10 pts
Discussion section (draft)	10 pts
Research Report (final)	100 pts
Written Critique of Project #1	10 pts

 

Project #2 (Small Group Projects - experimental study using SuperLab software)

Concept map for the project methodology	5 pts
Poster presentation	50 pts
Powerpoint presentation	50 pts
Written Critique of Project #2	10 pts

 

Class Participation	30 pts
TOTAL POINTS	300 pts

 

Course Grade: A = 90% - 100%, B = 80% - 89%, C = 70% - 79%, D = 60% - 69%, F = 0% - 59%

LATE ASSIGNMENTS: Due dates for assignments will be announced approximately one week prior.  If any assignments are turned in late (this includes the above graded assignments and any other assignments - e.g. data sheets) the student will lose 5 points per day it is late. Assignments will be due at the beginning of a class period.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Completion of the above projects will involve much collaboration on the part of students and instructor. However, the actual writing of the reports must be an individual effort. Any sharing/copying of written work will be considered cheating. Cheating or plagiarism on the projects will not be tolerated and will result in severe disciplinary action according to University policy (see Student Handbook).

OTHER ACADEMIC POLICIES: Other academic policies (e.g., sexual harassment) can be found in the Student Handbook.

GRADING CRITERIA FOR RESEARCH REPORTS:

Abstract (10 pts)

• summary of purpose
• summary of methods
• summary of results

Introduction (20 pts)

• clarity of purpose
• literature review
• statement of hypotheses

Method (20 pts)

• adequacy of design
• quality and completeness of description

Results (20 pts)

• appropriateness of analysis
• correctness of analysis
• use of tables or figures
• clarity of presentation

Discussion (20 pts)

• summary of findings
• description of how findings relate to hypotheses
• comparison of findings with other studies
• implications of these findings
• shortcomings/limitations of the study
• future directions

Miscellaneous (10 pts)

• organization, style, format, appendix, etc.

note that the point values will be reduced in half for drafts.

For a list of Lammers' tips on writing a research paper, click here.

GRADING CRITERIA FOR POSTER PRESENTATION:

• accuracy of information
• clarity of expression
• readability from a distance
• use of visual depictions (tables, figures, etc.)
• overall appearance

GRADING CRITERIA FOR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION:

• accuracy of information
• clarity of expression
• readability from a distance
• use of visual depictions (tables, figures, etc.)
• overall appearance
• involvement of all members of the group

 

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