SPRING 2013 SYLLABUS

Course Title: PSYC 201 Research Methods and Statistics I (3 credits) Pre-requisites: PSYC 101; MATH 101 recommended Course meeting days/time: TR 1:15 – 2:30 (Section V) Blackboard Course Log In: http://courses.francis.edu/ Instructor: Dr. Marnie L. Moist Office: Scotus Hall, Rm. 102-C Preferred Communication: E-mail: mmoist@francis.edu Office Phone: 472-2887 Office hours: MWF 10:00–11:30 a.m.; 2:15–3:15 p.m. TR 4:15–5:15 p.m.

BROAD PURPOSE OF COURSE

This course will teach you critical inquiry skills needed to think like a scientist, a clinician, and/or more generally an effective observer of behavior. When looking for the cause(s) of mental processes and behavior, there are various techniques used to rule out possible alternatives and logically find solutions to fascinating mysteries. Whether you are interested in mainly working with people in an applied setting, engaging in research to advance knowledge more generally, or both, the skills you will learn in this class will improve your ability to solve psychology-related problems.

More specifically, the purpose of this course is to introduce you to the process of carefully and ethically planning psychological research, as well as using descriptive and inferential statistics to analyze and interpret data. Students will learn how to properly conduct experiments, write effective surveys, and accurately distinguish between quasi-experimental and correlational designs and results. Emphasis will be placed on understanding research variables, threats to internal validity, other basic research design issues, and critical reading of research articles. Hand calculation of descriptive statistics, supplemented by Excel and SPSS software instruction, will be required as students learn to apply basic statistical concepts in the context of studying human participants. An APA-style research proposal will be the final project.

NOTE: By taking this section of PSYC 201, please understand that you will need to enroll in PSYC 202 (Part II of this course) next semester in order to complete coverage of the material that is offered in STAT 101 and in order to complete the research project you will have planned by the end of the current semester.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Course Goal	Assessment Method
Ethics and Community Service (APA Goal 5 – Values; Goal 4 – Application)
Create solutions for ethical issues that arise during the planning of psychological research.	Assignment 2; Final proposal
Recommend how to best spend donated money based on data analysis of actual United Way PA resident surveys.	Assignment 4
Communication (APA Goal 7 – Communication)
Distinguish relevant from irrelevant information in order to judge the quality of research designs and results.	Assignment 1; Midterm
Write up an APA-style research proposal that is readable by professionals.	Assignment 2; Final proposal
Quantitative Reasoning (APA Goal 2 – Research Methods)
Identify the most appropriate measure of average behavior and calculate it.	Assignments 3–4
Understand the role that sampling and statistical variability play in determining significant results; calculate measures of spread.	Assignments 3–4
Determine the appropriate statistical analysis test for various research methods and designs, and correctly state statistical hypotheses.	Assignments 1–4
Create appropriate frequency distributions and graphs, understand common distribution shapes and their role in statistical analysis.	Assignments 3–4
Reorganize data to fit needs, calculate descriptive statistics, and interpret the meaning of the results.	Assignments 3–4
Critical Thinking (APA Goal 2 – Research Methods; Goal 3 – Critical Thinking)
Distinguish between the purposes of different psychological research methods and the common types of results generated by their use.	Assignments 1–2; Midterm
Deductively reason from theories/constructs to operational variables.	Assignments 1–2; Midterm
Analyze key study elements like conditions, independent and dependent variables, and confounds.	Assignments 1–2; Midterm
Integrate past research to build onto the science of psychology through effective hypothesis generation.	Assignment 2; Final proposal
Evaluate the quality of research according to accepted psychological standards, in order to fix identified problems.	Assignments 1–2; Final proposal
Information Literacy (APA Goal 6 – Information and Technological Literacy)
Distinguish between the usefulness of review articles, empirical sources, and online sources in development of research.	Assignment 2; Final proposal
Identify ways to generate useful keywords, in order to find the most relevant library resources needed.	Assignment 2; Final proposal
Access psychological research from professional sources and cite/reference information accurately using APA-style.	Assignment 2; Final proposal
Use SPSS and Excel to organize data as needed and statistically analyze it.	Assignment 4

REQUIRED MATERIALS

Bordens, K.S. & Abbott, B.B. (2011). Research Design and Methods: A Process Approach

(8^th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

*You (or your Assignment 4 partner) are required to purchase a 1–year, downloadable version of SPSS (Version 21.0 available through SFU bookstore; Version 18–21 all very similar though) and to install it on your laptop. Buying this once for PSYC 201 will last you through PSYC 202 so long as you don’t exchange your laptop. All 202 individual students will need SPSS access.

RECOMMENDED TEXTS

American Psychological Association (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6^th

Ed.). Washington D.C.: APA.

Note: A copy of the 6th edition is held on 4-hour in-library reserve in the SFU library at the Reference Desk. Also, please see the APA online resource link in our Blackboard course. There is a 6th edition online tutorial that includes a sample APA paper. Finally, please refer to Ch. 16 of our Bordens and Abbott textbook for tips on APA style (see p. 521 for example references, keeping in mind that all lines are double-spaced once in the actual paper).

Salkind, N.J. (2011). EXCEL Statistics: A Quick Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Note: This manual corresponds to Excel 2010. I will provide Excel Help Sheets in class that should suffice.

Morgan, G.A., Leech, N.L., Gloeckner, G.W., & Barrett, K.C. (2011). IBM SPSS for Introductory Statistics: Use

and Interpretation (4th Ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Note: This book was written for an earlier version of SPSS than is now available, but all versions are extremely similar (mainly differing in graphics quality). I will provide SPSS Help Sheets in class.

HOW TO USE BLACKBOARD

Log On Instructions

1. Using Internet Explorer, type http://courses.francis.edu/ on the command line. Alternatively, if your browser is set to automatically go to http://my.francis.edu, you can select the Blackboard link under Campus Resources.

2. To the left of the username/password screen, select the link that says, “Please login using your SFU username and password”. It will tell you how to search for your username (which is identical to the first part of your SFU e-mail address, i.e., the part that comes before @francis.edu). For those who are using Blackboard for the first time ever, your initial password will be: the first 2 letters of your lastname + the first 2 letters of your first name + the four digits (month & day) of your birthday. It is recommended that you change your password ASAP (see link within this same area for how) since the same username/password will be used to access your e-mail, Blackboard, and my.francis.edu.

EXAMPLE: Student: John B. Conrad Birthdate: 05/23/1991

John might have the following login info: Username: jbc101 Initial Password: cojo0523

LAPTOP POLICY

You MAY use your laptop during class to take notes. I am not the thought-police; laptop misuse during class time means you have only yourself to blame should your grades suffer. If you observe someone misusing their laptop during class time in way that is disruptive, I will address any concerns brought to my attention.

ACCOMMODATIONS, TUTORING, AND LIBRARY HELP

Accommodations: Any student who feels she/he may need an accommodation based on a disability, in this or any other course, must contact Ms. April Fry in the Office of Disability Services in 106 Saint Francis Hall at 814-472-3176 or afry@francis.edu, before the semester begins or as soon as possible after the semester begins. A student requesting accommodations must provide recent documentation of his or her disability to Disability Services. After the proper documentation is approved, students must then schedule individual meetings with individual faculty in their offices to discuss the specific needs for courses.

Tutoring: The Writing & Tutoring Center is located in the SFU library, and it is open weekdays all afternoon and some early evenings. Students may walk in as needed without advance notice, but you may also make an appointment with someone to fit your specific needs by contacting April Fry at tutoring@francis.edu .

Library research help: The SFU library strives to support student learning and research by providing access to reliable, academic research materials, quiet and group study areas, and expert research assistance. Students can receive help with their research (selecting the best topic, finding materials, citing materials, etc.) by contacting a reference librarian at 814-472-3161, at AIM screen name sfulibrarian, or in person at the Research Help Desk in the library. For more information and hours available see http://libguides.francis.edu/researchhelp . Further library resources have been placed in Blackboard to help you with your research.

GRADING POLICY

NOTE: At any point in the semester, you can view only your own grades by going to Blackboard, then selecting Gradebook from the left-hand menu list.

One midterm exam - 350 pts. Four homework assignments – 950 pts. (I = 200; II = 250; III = 200; IV = 300) APA-style research proposal - 300 pts. Class participation - 100 pts. Attendance grade – 100 pts. TOTAL = 1800 points

Grading Scale

92% - 100% = A 78% - 79% = C + 90% - 91% = A – 70% - 77% = C 88% - 89% = B + 60% - 69% = D 82% - 87% = B 59% and below = F 80% - 81% = B -

Note: To be fair, I do not round up grades at anyone’s request. Final proposal grade will be heavily weighted in my decision about any borderline course grade.

Midterm Exam

Material on the midterm will be taken from both the textbook and lectures. In order to do well, you will need to read the textbook AND attend the lectures. Some questions will be taken from the textbook that will not be covered in class, some will be from the notes only, and some questions will be from both. This exam will cover 4 1/2 chapters (Ch. 1-4 and part of Ch. 10), and the question format will be multiple-choice and short-answer. Please select Exam Tips in Blackboard for a short-answer question study guide and for examples of item formats used for the multiple-choice questions.

You can view your exam grade shortly after it is taken by viewing Blackboard Gradebook. Although graded exams will not be discussed in class, you are more than welcome to compare yours to the answer sheet and/or discuss it with me during my office hours.

You are required to complete the midterm on the date given. Athletes with scheduled away games MUST schedule the exam to be missed with me 1-2 days prior to the actual exam date in order to avoid making it up during final exam week. In the case of an absence on exam day, a non-athlete (or athlete who fails to set up a test time prior to the scheduled test) will only be allowed to take the missed exam during final exam week.

Homework Assignments and Final APA Proposal

All assignments and the final APA proposal instructions will be posted on Blackboard (i.e., select Assignments from the home page). They can be downloaded from there for printing out. I will not hand out the assignments in class, so you must go to Blackboard to get them. I expect a typed, stapled, hard copy printed out for all assignments. For all assignments, please use 12-size black font with 1-inch margins, making sure to double-space all lines. I prefer bullet points to outline your question answers rather than continuous text. Please DO NOT submit your assignments electronically to me; the only time you are allowed to electronically submit an assignment is if you happen to be absent from class the day the assignment is due.

Homework is due at the beginning of class on the date indicated. I will accept late assignments, but you will lose 10% from your grade for each week your work is late. For example, if you do not hand in an assignment on the due date, 10% will be taken off your grade immediately up through the following week. If the assignment is not handed in exactly one week from the due date, 20% will be taken off your grade. Late work beyond 2 weeks puts you at risk for possibly needing to withdraw from this course.

Assignments I and III MUST be completed individually. Assignment I will prepare you for the midterm short-answer questions, and Assignment III requires you to use hand–calculations for various descriptive statistics.

Assignments II (draft outline plan for APA final proposal), IV (United Way community needs survey data analysis using Excel and SPSS), and the final APA proposal can be completed either individually or with one partner of your choice (i.e., one set of answers receiving the same grade for both people).

NOTE: "Technical difficulties" is not an excuse for turning in late work. Because the assignments are available to be downloaded at any time, you should plan on printing them out in advance and/or using the computer labs provided to all students to allow time for technical difficulties. I recommend that you save all your homework files on the student SFU network drive (I: drive) or that you back-up all class files somewhere else other than on your laptop C: drive. If your laptop malfunctions you will still be able to obtain any needed files.

Participation and Attendance

Participation is worth 100 points. Points will be deducted at my discretion based on lack of participation in class and based on my own observation of any student’s lack of cooperation and effort. If you have a partner for Assignments II and the final APA proposal, that person will assign you 50 pts. out of the total 100 participation points for your effort and cooperation during both assignments.

Attendance is also worth 100 points. Three points will be taken off your attendance grade for each unexcused class day missed. Only the following will NOT result in removal of points:

a) Supervisor e–mailed verification of participation in a Saint Francis game as an athlete or in another official Saint Francis event (e.g., a play, awards ceremony, etc.)

b) a doctor-signed and dated proof of hospitalization for either yourself or an immediate family member.

During the first two weeks of class, all athletes must provide a copy of a game schedule listing the dates of all games, along with a team membership verification sheet from the athletic department. Any athlete who fails to provide this information will be penalized for each game day missed; please warn me of upcoming missed classes so I can remember to excuse your absence. Athletes have the same coursework due dates as everyone else; if you know you will be excused on the date of the midterm, please speak with me so that we can schedule the exam a day or so before the missed exam.

All other reasons for missing class, which are too difficult for me to verify (e.g., funeral attendance, not feeling well, etc.) will result in a removal of three points per day, so please do not ask for exceptions.

PLAGIARISM

Cheating is forbidden by Saint Francis University policy. Any student caught cheating will be assigned an automatic grade of F on the relevant assignment or test. Continued cheating will result in an F for the entire course. For a description of what is considered cheating, see the SFU Academic Honesty Policy at:

http://www.francis.edu/AcademicAdvisingHonesty.htm?terms=Academic+Honesty

CLASS SCHEDULE

NOTE: See the Blackboard Calendar in the left-hand menu list of the home page for all due dates. Click on the date itself in the calendar to view assignment/exam details.

Week of Topic_________________________________________________

Jan. 7^th Syllabus (T); The Scientific Method, Types of Research (TR) Ch. 1

Jan. 14^th Variables and Confounds (TR) Ch. 4

Jan. 21^st Practice Study Discussion (T); Research Design Issues (R)

Jan. 28^th Research Design Issues (TR) Ch. 10 p. 290-317

Feb. 4^th Practice Study Discussion (T); Theories, Constructs, Hypotheses (R) Ch. 2

Feb. 11^th Literature Review (T); Practice Study Discussion (R) Ch. 3

Feb. 18^th Midterm - Ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 (p. 290-317) (T); Ethics in Research (R) Ch. 7

Feb. 25^th Survey Research (TR) Ch. 9

Mar. 4^th SPRING BREAK/NO CLASSES

Mar. 11^th Measurement + Reactivity (T); Frequency Distributions (R) Ch. 5 (p. 135-159)

Mar. 18^th Measures of Center and Spread (TR) Ch. 13 (p. 391-421)

Mar. 25^th Correlation (T); EASTER BREAK/NO CLASS (R)

Apr. 1^st Chi-Square (T); APA-style Introduction Writing (R) Ch. 14 (p.453-455)

Apr. 8^th APA-style Methods Writing (T); Excel Instruction/BRING LAPTOP (R) Ch. 16

Apr. 15^th Assign. 4 Lab Day (T); SPSS Instruction/BRING LAPTOP (R)

Apr. 22^nd Assign. 4 Lab Day (T); NO CLASS/FINAL EXAM PERIOD (R)

FINAL EXAM WEEK: There will be no cumulative final exam. Instead, your final APA-style proposal must be turned in before or during Friday, April 26^th between 1–5:00 p.m. (Note: This due date is 1 day later than the scheduled final exam time for this class to give you extra time to complete it. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED – All papers must be printed out, stapled, double-spaced, and turned in to me in my office, Scotus 102–C).