PS225-30 Further Methods for Psychology
Introductory description
Further Methods for Psychology addresses conceptual, design and analysis issues in psychological research, with a project component.
Module aims
The module will consolidate and extend your skills and understanding of issues in research methods that affect you as a producer and consumer of research. The module provides Research Methods instruction at the Level 5/Diploma (Year 2) level, in line with BPS accreditation requirements and prepares students for empirical final year projects (also an accreditation requirement) by developing knowledge and skills relating to quantitative and qualitative research and through empirical research in groups.
Outline syllabus
This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.
Significance testing and its rationale (including power).
Specific analyses and hypothesis tests and the designs for which they are appropriate: One-sample and two-sample tests; Extensions to >2 levels; Two-factor designs, moderation/interactions, simple effects; Correlation, regression, multiple regression.
Design, validity and reliablity. Questionnaire/survey design and validation. Project design and management
Data re-organization techniques to support hypothesis testing.
Qualitative Methods.
Ethics and ethical issues.
Conducting projects.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
- explore a data set and systematically test hypotheses about the data.
- evaluate the suitability of data for analyses and understand techniques to attenutate problems of data quality or reliability..
- present the results of data analysis clearly and concisely.
- understand methodological issues that affect validity.
- perform and report some qualitative analyses.
- propose a theoretically motivated extension to a published study.
- execute a medium-sized project implementing that extension.
- present work in poster and journal submission format.
- appreciate the ethical context of psychological research.
- follow procedures for the protection of participants in the light of ethical issues.
- understand and critique effective research design
Indicative reading list
Brace, N., Kemp, R., & Snelgar, R. (2006). SPSS for Psychologists. (3rd Edition). New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013) Successful qualitative research: a practical guide for beginners. Sage.
Howell, D. C. (2008). Fundamental statistics for the behavioral sciences (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. (or a more recent edition of this text)
Pallant, J. (2007). SPSS survival manual. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Shaughnessy, J. J., Zechmeister, E. B., & Zechmeister, J. S. (2006). Research Methods in Psychology (7th Edition). London: McGraw-Hill.
Sternberg, R., & Sternberg, K. (2010). The Psychologist's Companion: A Guide to Writing Scientific Papers for Students and Researchers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511762024.
Tabachnick, B. G., and Fidell, L. S. (2006). Using multivariate statistics (5th Edition). Needham Heights , MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Wood, C., Giles, D., & Percy, C. (2009). Your Psychology Project Handbook: Becoming a Researcher. Harlow: Prentice Hall.
Research element
Qualitative group work will involve either the collection and analysis of qualitative data or the analysis of existing qualitative data, and the writing of a group qualitative report.
Project work will involve as group work the design of a replication-extension study, the execution of that design and the presentation of a poster and as independent work, the writing of a journal article style report.
Subject specific skills
understanding of the principles of psychological research, different methods of research and the principles of qualitative methods
developing and extending existing research, application of research methods training, development of ethical awareness.
Transferable skills
critical analysis, formulation and testing of hypotheses
written communication skills;
data analysis (use of SPSS);
qualitative data analysis;
team working, communication and collaboration, data analysis, presentation skills
time management,
Study time
| Type | Required | Optional |
|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 16 sessions of 1 hour (5%) | |
| Seminars | 4 sessions of 1 hour (1%) | 2 sessions of 1 hour |
| Project supervision | 3 sessions of 1 hour (1%) | |
| Practical classes | 8 sessions of 1 hour (3%) | |
| Online learning (independent) | 8 sessions of 1 hour (3%) | 12 sessions of 30 minutes |
| Assessment | 261 hours (87%) | |
| Total | 300 hours |
Private study description
No private study requirements defined for this module.
Costs
No further costs have been identified for this module.
You do not need to pass all assessment components to pass the module.
Assessment group D
| Weighting | Study time | |
|---|---|---|
| Homework practice sheets | 5% | 40 hours |
|
Online homework worksheets for quantitative lectures supported by practical classes, leading to the exam. |
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| Qualitative assessment | 20% | 56 hours |
|
Group Work in groups of 4 or 5 |
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| Poster | 5% | 12 hours |
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A poster about the project element of the module. |
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| Second Year Project | 35% | 100 hours |
|
Individual report on an empirical project that is a replication and extension of prior empirical work, the prior work being selected from a list provided by the supervisor. |
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| Online Examination | 35% | 53 hours |
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Questions in similar formats to the homework sheets. ~Platforms - WAS
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Feedback on assessment
Homework feedback will be composed of automated feedback for questions marked automatically, augmented by group feedback as online recording.
Group exam feedback discussing issues affecting multiple questions across the question pool.
Academic guidance forms and annotations for feedback on written reports.
Academic guidance form for poster evaluation.
Pre-requisites
To take this module, you must have passed:
Courses
This module is Core for:
- Year 2 of UPSA-C800 Undergraduate Psychology
- Year 2 of UPSA-C801 Undergraduate Psychology (with Intercalated year)
- Year 2 of UPSA-C804 Undergraduate Psychology with Education Studies
- Year 2 of UPSA-C806 Undergraduate Psychology with Education Studies (with Intercalated Year)
- Year 2 of UPSA-C802 Undergraduate Psychology with Linguistics
- Year 2 of UPSA-C805 Undergraduate Psychology with Linguistics (with Intercalated Year)