Instructor: Carole S. Slotterback,
Ph.D. (slotterbacc1@uofs.edu)
Office: AMH 218
Office Phone: 941-7895
Office Hours: Tuesday 12:00-12:50pm
Thursday 1:00-1:50pm, 4-4:50pm
(or by appointment)
Teaching Assistants: Melissa Carlo (carlom2) Gina Ruggierio (ruggieriog2) Stephanie Tessing (tessings2)
Text: American Psychological Association (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition). Washington, DC: Author.
Purpose: The laboratory portion of this course is designed to give students hands-on experience with a variety of research methods utilized by psychologists. Thus, students will participate in a number of research projects linked to discussions in the Research Methods Class. Participation includes planning projects, gathering and entering data, analyses, and writing papers based on these projects.
Objectives: Students will
(1) Learn to
formulate hypotheses and choose appropriate statistical methods for analysis.
(2) Learn how
to code and enter data.
(3) Demonstrate
proficiency in SPSS/PC and in making web pages
(4) Learn to
apply APA format in writing papers
(5) Learn appropriate
format for poster presentations
Attendance: Attendance is required in all lab sessions: YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS ARE COUNTING ON YOU!!! Also, attendance is required at the University of Scranton’s annual Psychology Conference on Saturday, February 23 ($10.00 registration fee, not including lunch; for more info, e-mail Mark Fitzgerald at Fitzgeraldm2). You must attend the poster session and at least one other talk during the conference. This will serve two purposes: one, you will get to see first-hand what an actual poster presentation is like; and two, you will get to experience other presentation formats of psychological research.
Note: you are responsible for knowing all announcements made during the laboratory session, including any changes to the attached schedule of events.
Grading: There are no exams
in the laboratory portion of Research Methods. Grades will be issued
for the following projects:
(1) Observational
Study: gender roles and aggression in children’s cartoons
(50 points total)
(2) Survey: (a) conduct one (50 points total)
(b) analyze existing data set (15 points)
(3) Content Analysis: children’s letters to Santa Claus (50
points total)
(4) Experiment: Using Stroop Effect for windows (30 points)
(5) Your proposal/design for your own study
(50 points)
(6) Your poster presentation of your proposal (20 points)
NOTE: You MUST turn in your data sheets for each of the first three projects. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN A LOWERING OF YOUR GRADE FOR THE PROJECT.
Your proposal counts for a little over a third of your entire grade, SO MAKE IT GOOD!! You will go through several revisions of ideas, and can switch topics if you so desire. The proposal must be grounded in an area of research pertinent to your major (i.e., psychology or neuroscience). I would like these proposals to be realistic. Thus, if, in all the literature you’ve read for your project, no-one has more than 40 people in their study, don’t say you’re going to get 500 schizophrenic patients to participate!
Two proficiency tests must be passed during the course of the semester, one on Web page development and the other on SPSS/PC. Announcements will be made for deadlines during the lab sessions.
NOTE: If you are interested in working further on any of the projects and submitting it to our conference and/or EPA (Eastern Psychological Association) next year, you are welcome to do so. See me at the end of the semester for more details! (This means that you’ll do more work on the project to prepare it for a poster presentation).
Also, because the lab requires that certain aspects of projects must be done by your lab period, it is crucial that these be completed! YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS ARE COUNTING ON YOU TO BE PREPARED!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. If you are not prepared (i.e., data ready to enter, first drafts ready for comments), you will receive a penalty for your delinquency. Each penalty point results in an equivalent deduction from the total points that can be earned in this course. Failure to attend the conference earns you five penalty points (so be there!). Unpreparedness or late work may get you from one to three penalty points, depending on the severity of the situation. I plan on giving priority to work turned in on time; thus, if you hand projects in late, they will be returned to you at a later time than your on-time counterparts.
There are thus a total of 265 points that can be earned. Grades will be assigned according to total number of points earned in the class:
A
= 246+
C+ = 201-211
A- = 239-245 C
= 193-200
B+ = 228-238 C- =
186-192
B = 220-227 D+
= 175-185
B- = 212-219 D
= 159-174
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
WEEK OF: ASSIGNMENTS:
Jan 28
*Pick up an article from a TA: be prepared to give a
short summary next week during
lab
*Begin work on your web page
*Start working on your proposal
February 4
*Present article
*Web page must be up by your lab period
*Submit a hard copy of a broad area of research that interests you,
along with textbook
sources (in lab)
February 11
*Proposal: Annotated
reference for at least one article, along with a short citation for
2
more articles due on your web page by this week’s lab period. Copies
of first pages of all
articles submitted into envelopes on bulletin board by 1:00pm Friday Feb
15.
*Plan and conduct observational study: data must be ready
to enter by your lab period
next week! Also due next week (by your lab period):
a rough draft of a method section,
hypotheses, and ideas for analysis
February 18
*Enter data in lab period.
*You must have a rough draft of a Method section, hypotheses, and ideas
for analysis at
this time
*Second annotated reference due on your web page, and 2 additional short
citations.
Copies of first pages of NEW articles submitted into envelopes on
bulletin board; all by
1:00pm of Friday Feb. 22.
*Conference
is Saturday, February 23!!! Attendance is required. You must attend
the
poster session and at least one other presentation: be prepared to
discuss them in lab
next week!
Feb 25
*Plan survey
* Draft of Introduction, results, and short discussion due in your lab
*Discussion of Psyc conference in lab
*Third annotated citation due on your web page by 1:00pm Friday, March
1.
*A second version of your research area (more refined) is also due (hard
copy) by
1:00pm Tuesday March 5, in envelopes on bulletin board.
March 4
*Second draft of methods and hypothesis of observational data due, along
with 2nd draft of
the Introduction, results, and short discussion section (whole paper graded).
* Discussion of statistics & how to analyze your data
*Conduct survey and enter data by FRIDAY, MARCH 8---2 PM---also, turn in
your data
sheets in the envelopes on the bulletin board at this time!
March 11
*Multivariate analyses of existing data sets in lab. Annotated
output due by 1:00pm
Friday March 24 in envelopes on bulletin board.
*Discuss areas of research for proposal
March 18
*Rough draft of Introduction, Method and hypotheses of survey due by your
lab period,
along with ideas for analysis.
*Perform analysis of data from survey in lab, discuss write-up of introduction,
results,
discussion
*Work out coding scheme for content analysis of children’s letters to Santa
March 23-April 1 SPRING/EASTER BREAK!! (be safe)
April 2
*Second draft of survey Introduction, Method, and hypotheses due (by your
lab period),
along with Results and Discussion sections (whole paper graded)
*code Santa letters by April 8
*Rough draft of Introduction, Method, hypotheses due in your lab session
week of April 8
April 8
*Rough draft due by your lab period
*Data entry of Santa data; inter-rater reliability check
April 15
*Second draft (graded) of Intro, hypotheses, method due by lab period,
along with results
and discussion (whole paper graded)
*First draft of your proposal due by 2:30pm Tuesday April 23 (you know
the routine)
April 22
*Experiment—planning and procedures during the lab period.
*First draft of hypotheses and method due by next lab period, along with
ideas for
analysis
April 29
*Analysis of experimental data
*Second draft of hypotheses and method, plus intro, results, and discussion
due by
1:00pm Monday May 1 (You know the routine)
*Go over poster guidelines
May 6
*Work on Proposal (second draft (counts for 25 points) due
by 2:30pm Tuesday May 7
(YKTR))
*Work on poster
May
***POSTER FEST***Posters must be UP by ____ on this day. Presenters
must be at
their posters from _______ this afternoon (group photo will be taken around
_____). If
you can’t be there because of other classes or work, you must post a note
explaining your
absence!
May 13—EXAM WEEK—No lab!! HOWEVER, your final copy of your
proposal is due, along with copies of first pages of all articles used
by 12:00pm on WEDNESDAY, May 16. This is worth an additional 25 points.