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Psychology 203: Quantitative Research Methods in Psychology Tuesday/Thursday 2:40 - 4:00, Judd 113 Fall 2002
Instructor: Francine Rosselli Office: Judd 104 Phone: 685-2318 Email: frosselli@wesleyan.edu Office hours: TBA
Texts The following texts are required for the course. Copies may be found on reserve in the Psychology Library.
Course Goals and Format The primary goal of Psychology 203 is to teach the basics of experimental research in the field of psychology. There are essentially just five steps to conducting research: (1) pose a question, (2) design a study that can answer the question, (3) collect data, (4) analyze the data to determine the answer to your question, and (5) report your findings. You have hopefully already learned about how to analyze data in a statistics course. In this course, you will learn how to pose questions that can be answered, design studies that are methodologically sound and appropriate to the research question, execute a study and collect data, interpret the results of your statistical analyses, and present your research to the psychological community. The course will follow a lecture/discussion format, with time allotted for designing and conducting studies. Class starts promptly at 2:40. Please be punctual.
Course Requirements
Class Attendance and Participation. Your attendance and participation in class is essential. We will often be designing experiments and/or collecting data during class time. To encourage your participation, a portion of your grade will be based on your attendance and full participation in the course.
Research Projects. Students will conduct three experiments during the semester. Two of the experiments will be assigned by the instructor. These experiments will involve data collection, data analysis, and a written assignment of some sort. In addition to the experiments designed by the instructor, groups of students will design and conduct an original research project. Although these experiments will be done as a group, each individual must write a final report of the experiment in APA format (as though it were being submitted for publication in a psychological journal). Certainly there will be similarities between papers, but, unless otherwise specified, they are expected to be individual efforts. Accusations of plagiarism can be easily avoided if you write your assignments individually, use your own words and phrasing, and remember to cite any idea that is not your own. All written assignments should be typed (double-spaced) and in accordance with APA format. In addition to the written assignments, there will also be several homework assignments that require you to perform statistical analyses on the computer using SPSS. Additional information and guidelines for each assignment will be distributed in class. LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Research Presentations: Each research group will give a formal presentation of their project to the rest of the class. Exam. There will be a midterm exam consisting of short answer and essay questions.
Grades Your course grade will be determined by the sum of the following:
Letter grades will be assigned according to the following scale: A+ = 97-100%, A = 94-96%; A- = 90-93%; B+ = 87-89%; B = 84-86%; B- = 80-83%; C+ = 77-79%; C = 74-76%; C- = 70-73%; D+ = 67-69%; D = 64-66%; D- = 60-63%; F = < 60%
Academic Integrity By enrolling in this course you agree to abide by the Wesleyan Honor Code. While you are encouraged to discuss assignments with your classmates, please remember that submitting another person's work as your own constitutes plagiarism and is a violation of the Honor Code. Make certain that all work submitted for a grade (e.g., assignments, papers, exams, etc.) is your own original work. Academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. If you violate the Honor Code, you will be referred to the Honor Board with the recommendation that you receive an F in the course.
Students with disabilities If you have a disability and require reasonable accommodations to enable you to participate in this course, such as note takers, readers, or extended time on exams and assignments, please contact the instructor during the first two weeks of class. The Dean's office can provide you with additional information and review appropriate arrangements for reasonable accommodations.
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