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Research Methods Syllabus
Psychology 3300 Syllabus
INSTRUCTOR: Maureen A. McCarthy, PhD Catalog Course Description Prerequisites:
PSYC 3300L Required Texts American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual (5th ed.). Washington, DC: APA. Heiman, G. W. (2001). Understanding research methods and statistics. (2nd ed.) Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Optional Text: Rosnow, R. L. & Rosnow, M. (2006). Writing papers in psychology. Belmont, CA: Thomson. *Instructor Availability: I believe that it is important that students have access to assistance in a timely fashion. Assistance will be available through three avenues. First, I will be available through email 7 days a week. I will check my email at least once daily and I will respond to your questions as soon as possible. Second, you may come by my office during office hours. If you can not meet with me during this time, I will be happy to make an appointment at a time that is more convenient for your schedule. Attendance Policy: There is an expectation that students will attend class regularly and on time. Students are responsible for any material covered or announcements made in class during their absence. Any student who stops attending class should officially withdraw from the course. Grades: Grades will be assigned based on the university established scale for letter grades (i.e., 90%-A, 80% - B, 70% - C, 60% - D, below 60% - F)Note: A minimum grade of a C is required for psychology majors. Classroom Integrity: Students are adults and will be treated as such. In return, there is an expectation that students will behave as responsible, intelligent individuals. Academic freedom is respected and must be honored at all times by all persons. I am committed to creating a learning environment that is respectful and intentionally inclusive. The course will not espouse, foster, or harbor discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, language, geographic region, resident status, religious/spiritual and secular beliefs, family structure, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, physical disability, or health status. To create and preserve a classroom atmosphere that optimizes teaching and learning, all participants share a responsibility in creating a civil and non-disruptive forum. Students are expected to conduct themselves at all times in a manner that does not disrupt teaching or learning. Instructors have the right to limit classroom discussion in order to meet the educational objectives of the class session. Academic Integrity: Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University's policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an "informal" resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct's minimal one semester suspension requirement. Specifically, regarding plagiarism and cheating, the Student Code states: "No student shall receive, attempt to receive, knowingly give or attempt to give unauthorized assistance in the preparation of any work required to be submitted for credit as part of a course (including examinations, laboratory reports, essays, themes, term papers, etc.). When direct quotations are used, they should be indicated, and when the ideas, theories, data, figures, graphs, programs, electronic based information or illustrations of someone other than the student are incorporated into a paper or used in a project, they should be duly acknowledged. (http://www.kennesaw.edu/judiciary/code.conduct.shtml#II) Specifically within the Psychology Department: Although the Psychology Department supports multidisciplinary and focused scholarly interests, we do not ordinarily allow students to turn in (or modify) a paper from a previous course or use the same paper for concurrent courses. If students have references that apply to more than one paper, students can use them but must rewrite how you use the citations. If there are questions or concerns about potential violation of any of these statements, students are encouraged to meet with the course instructor to discuss these concerns. Also, refer to the current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for specific guidelines on APA format regarding citations and references. Specifically within this Course: In addition to the aforementioned definition of plagiarism unintentional plagiarism is also prohibited. Changing a few words in a sentence and then citing the author is plagiarism AND using exact quotations, with quotation marks and appropriate citations, is prohibited in this course. To help you avoid both the problems of what I call unintentional plagiarism (primarily attributable to inappropriate paraphrasing) and overuse of quotations, the information that follows clarifies differences between appropriate and inappropriate paraphrasing. Unintentional or intentional plagiarism may result in an automatic 0 for the paper. Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional. Most often students unintentionally plagiarize a published source. It is not enough to merely reference what you are reading. You must either place the information you are using in direct quotes or you must appropriately paraphrase the material. For example, if you were to try to paraphrase the following quote: “Detailed analyses revealed that with increased age adults in this time management activity were less likely to perform self-paced tasks and to attempt difficult auditory discrimination judgments” (Salthouse, Hambrick, Lukas, & Dell, 1996, p. 305). It is possible that you might try the following paraphrase: Analyses revealed that increased age adults in the time management activity were less likely to perform self paced tasks (Salthouse, Hambrick, Lukas, & Dell, 1996). This paraphrase is incorrect, even if you attach the appropriate citation. In other words, this constitutes plagiarism! Instead you should try to summarize the information in your own words. The following example is more appropriate: Researchers found that age inhibited willingness of participants to initiate difficult tasks (Salthouse, Hambrick, Lukas, & Dell, 1996). You will notice that this information has been summarized and that this is a better example of a correct paraphrase. It is important to realize that this paraphrase must still be appropriately referenced. Additional information can be found at: http://library.apsu.edu/guides/1_3_20.htm. IF ANY MEMBER OF THE CLASS HAS A DISABILITY THAT REQUIRES SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS, I WILL WORK WITH YOU. PLEASE NOTIFY ME OF SUCH DISABILITY DURING THE FIRST SCHEDULED CLASS MEETING. Course Objectives This course is the first in a sequence of courses that are designed to impart the basic scientific processes and tools for the discipline. In this first course, you will be introduced to the scientific method for study of human and animal behavior. The primary focus of this course will be on research methods that are not formal experiments. In other words, most of the designs will be non-experimental and will be very similar to information that is presented in the popular media. The emphasis of this course will be to provide you with strong critical thinking skills that will allow you to more fully understand the information that is presented both in psychology and other disciplines. Additionally, you will be introduced to non-experimental statistical techniques. Foundations of ethical practice of research will be presented and all of these scientific tools will be considered in this context. Key among the tools of the discipline is the ability to communicate effectively. Writing exercises will comprise a significant portion of this course. Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:
Learning Outcomes Evidence of competency in these domains will be evaluated on the basis of learning outcomes. In other words, specific competencies should include:
Exams: Four exams, predominantly multiple-choice, will be administered throughout the semester. Each exam will be weighted at 100 points. The final exam is NOT cumulative, but information is cumulative, so it is important to learn and retain the material. It is not acceptable to miss an exam. If an emergency precludes taking an exam at the regularly scheduled time, the following actions must be taken. You must provide written documentation substantiating the reason for your absence within 24 hours of the exam. A make-up exam will be administered immediately following Exam 4 (December 6). The make-up exam will not be the same as the originally administered exam. Research Proposal Introduction: Each person will need to complete a research proposal introduction. The paper will include a minimum of 6 empirically based research articles. Articles cited must be submitted with the paper. An electronic and print version of the paper must be submitted. Additional criteria for the paper will be distributed during the semester. Extra Credit: A maximum of 10 raw score points may be earned toward extra credit. Participation in a psychology experiment will result in 10 additional points. Extra credit may also be earned by bringing in newspaper or periodical articles (2 points per article) that include statistical information. All extra credit must be submitted prior to December 1, 2006. No extra credit will be accepted after December 1, 2006. All written work must conform to APA style. Specific instructions regarding font, format, and reference style can be found in the required APA style manual. All written work exceeding one page in length must be stapled in the upper left corner of the paper or it will not be accepted. Points
Course grades are calculated as a percentage of total points. Note: A research proposal introduction must be completed to obtain a passing grade in this course. Failure to complete the paper will result in a failing grade. Tentative Class Schedule*
* This schedule is tentative. Announcements regarding changes in the schedule will occur in class.
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