intro book psy 2100

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PSY2100

Research methods in

psychology AFaculty of SciencesDepartment of Psychology

Introductory bookSemester 1 2013


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Published byUniversity of Southern QueenslandToowoomba Queensland 4350

Australia

http://www.usq.edu.au

University of Southern Queensland, 2013.1.

Copyrighted materials reproduced herein are used under the provisions of the Copyright Act1968 as amended, oras a result of application to the copyright owner.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any

means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission.

Produced by Learning Resources Development and Support using the ICE Publishing System.


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Table of contents

Page

Essential information 1Introduction and welcome to the course 2Course personnel 2Study Desk for this course 12Using the Study Desk please read this carefully 13Productive use of support from the examiner 15

Study schedule 17

Assessment 19Assessment Toowoomba and external offerings only 19Assignments 1, 2, and 3 (the first three sections of an APA style research report) 19Moodle quizzes 19Examination 20On-line Moodle Quiz 1 and 2 21Assignment 1 Introduction section of an APA report 24Marking criteria, PSY2100 assignment 1, 2013 29Assignment 2 Method section of an APA report 30

Marking criteria, PSY2100 assignment 2, 2013 34Assignment 3 Results section of an APA report 35Marking criteria, PSY2100 assignment 3, 2013 38The examination 39Some final words 39


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PSY2100 Research methods in psychology A 1

Essential information

The topics in the following list provide important information that will assist you withyour study. You can access a handout containing the information on your StudyDesk through

the Essential information (study materials) link . You will need your UConnect username

and password to access the file. Please make sure you read this information carefully beforecommencing your study.

Getting started

Course specification

Support

UConnect

Assignment submission

Grading levels

Course evaluation

Residential schools

Library

Referencing APA

Referencing Harvard AGPS

Optional purchase of study materials

USQ policies and procedures

University of Southern Queensland
http://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/essentialhandout.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/essentialhandout.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/getting_started.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/course_specification.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/support.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/u_connect.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/assignment_submission.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/grading_levels.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/course_evaluation.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/residential_school.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/library.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/apa_referencing_guide.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/harvard_referencing_guide.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/optional_purchase.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/policies_procedures.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/getting_started.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/course_specification.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/support.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/u_connect.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/assignment_submission.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/grading_levels.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/course_evaluation.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/residential_school.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/library.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/apa_referencing_guide.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/harvard_referencing_guide.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/optional_purchase.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/policies_procedures.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/essentialhandout.pdfhttp://usqstudydesk.usq.edu.au/file.php/1/sitefiles/DeC/essential_info/essentialhandout.pdf


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2 PSY2100 Research methods in psychology A

Introduction and welcome to the course

The aim of this course is to introduce you to scientific methods of conducting psychological

research. The content that we will cover focuses on issues relating to the design, collection,

analysis, interpretation, and reporting of data in psychological research. This course sets thefoundation for skills and knowledge that you will build upon in other research methods

courses in your degree. What you will learn in this course is how to:

1. describe different research designs, identify when it is appropriate to use them, and

discuss their strengths and limitations;

2. identify the concepts used in a study, the variables used to operationalise those concepts,

and the control techniques used;

3. develop research questions and hypotheses to test psychological concepts and theories;

4. demonstrate an understanding of measures of central tendency, hypothesis testing,confidence intervals, Chi-Square tests, z scores, z test, t-tests, Correlation, and

Regression including the appropriate selection of analysis techniques;

5. demonstrate an understanding of data screening, assumption testing, and power and

effect size as they relate to the above statistical analyses;

6. use SPSS to analyse psychological research data;

7. critically analyse published journal articles by identifying and explaining article aims,

relevant method information, results, and potential methodological limitations;

8. write an introduction, method and results section of an APA 6th edition research report.

Course personnel

Members of the course team are:

Examiner and course leader

Dr Andrea Lamont-Mills has been a staff member in thePsychology Department at USQ since February 2000. Andrea

teaches Research Methods at the undergraduate level. She hasworked at four universities, including USQ, and is originally from

South Australia. Andrea is also the Undergraduate Coordinator inthe department and is a registered psychologist.



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Moderator

Professor Tony Machin commenced teaching in the Psychology

Department at USQ in 1992 and was promoted to AssociateProfessor from the start of 2007. Tony is also the current Head of

the Psychology Department. Prior to coming to USQ he worked asan Occupational Psychologist with the Department of

Employment, Education and Training. Tony was awarded his PhD

from the University of Southern Queensland in 1999 on the topic

of Understanding the process of transfer of training in theworkplace. Tony is a Member of the Australian Psychological

Society (MAPS) and is also a Member of the APS College of

Organizational Psychologists, the International Association for

Applied Psychology, and the Society for Industrial &Organizational Psychology. Tony is a registered Psychologist.

Why study a course on research methods?

Whatever your impressions of this course are at the moment, you know by now that the

formal study of psychology seeks to:

a. help you develop an organised knowledge base concerning the discipline of psychology

b. give you the skills needed to evaluate this body of knowledge

c. give you the additional skills needed to extend your knowledge of psychological

functioning.

In fact, some argue that the principal skill that defines students pursuing psychology, as

opposed to any other discipline in the social sciences, is their ability to apply effectively awide range of research methodologies. In other words, while many other professions have

accommodated and incorporated areas that were once the sole domain of psychology, we

know that students with psychology backgrounds generally have a much better appreciation

of the issues involved in the description, prediction, and understanding of any particularpsychological phenomena.

This course also comprises one of the key coursework components for any individual who is

training for a research, teaching, or practising career in the profession of psychology in

Australia. One of the basic requirements of any degree that seeks accreditation from theAustralian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) is that the degree must contain

adequate training in this vital area. APAC believes that all psychology undergraduates at the

end of their degrees should be able to understand the principles of scientific method and

[be] able to apply and evaluate basic research methods in psychology. (APAC, 2013, p. 31).

In particular, at the end of this course you should be about to do the following:

frame research questions

undertake literature searches

critically analyse empirical studies

formulate testable research hypotheses



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operationalise variables

appropriately analyse data and interpret results

communicating research in professional formats.

This course has been designed with the above skills and knowledge in mind and these arereflected in the objectives of this course.

What if Im not going to go on in psychology? Do I still have to do this?

Yes, you dont get out of this that easily!

Employers seek graduates who have strong analytical, critical thinking, and problem-solvingskills. A degree in psychology develops these skills through courses in research methods. As

a social science, psychology is widely regarded as the most rigorous degree in regards to its

training. As a result, psychology graduates with analytical, critical thinking, and problem-

solving skills are highly sought by employers. Some of the areas in which these skills arevalued include marketing, banking and finance, intelligence and policing, industry research,

policy analysis, human resources, the pharmaceutical industry, community and service

planning, service evaluation, and of course many other areas. Many students do not follow

the career path of psychologist. Often these students add alternative postgraduate programsto their undergraduate degree which enables them to enter different occupations and

industries. The skills and knowledge derived from courses in research methods underpin

these alternative career pathways and set psychology students apart from other social science

students.

Learning objectives of this course

The primary objective of this course is for you to develop beginning research skills andknowledge that you will build upon in other research methods courses. With this in mind at

the end of this course you should be able to:

describe different research designs, identify when it is appropriate to use them, and

discuss their strengths and limitations (Assessed in Assignment 1, Method Exam)

identify the concepts used in a study, the variables used to operationalise these concepts,

and the control techniques used (Assessed in Assignment 1 & 2, Method Exam)

develop research questions and hypotheses to test psychological concepts and theories

(Assessed in Assignment 1, Method Exam)

demonstrate an understanding of measures of central tendency, hypothesis testing,confidence intervals, Chi-Square tests, z scores, z test, t-tests, Correlation, and

Regression including the appropriate selection of analysis techniques (Assessed in On-

line Quiz 1, Assignment 3)

demonstrate an understanding of data screening, assumption testing, and power and

effect size as they relate to the above statistical analyses (Assessed in On-line Quiz 1 &

2, Assignment 3)

use SPSS to analyse psychological research data (Assessed in On-line Quiz 2,

Assignment 3)



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critically analyse published journal articles by identifying and explaining article aims,relevant method information, results, and potential methodological limitations (Assessed

in Assignment 1 & 2)

write an introduction, method, and results section of an APA 6 th edition research report(Assessed in Assignment 1, 2 & 3)

Links to other courses

As some of you know STA2300Data analysis is now a pre-requisite for this course and the

statistical material in this course builds directly upon the work that you have done in Data

analysis. You will revise this material and build upon it in this course by setting this

knowledge in the psychological context. The next research methods course you do, PSY3111Research methods in psychology B, is very much like this one, only you will be exposed to

more complex designs and analyses. So this course sets a foundation of skills and knowledge

that will be extended upon in PSY3111. The emphasis on research skills is continued in other

courses as well. For example, you will write a research report in PSY2010 Social processesof behaviour. You will save yourself a lot of time and effort if you ensure that you develop

research skills and knowledge now. The examiners in higher level psychology courses will

assume that you are competent in your research understanding and will be setting assessment

tasks that assume you know what a ttest is and when do you use it or what are the threeconditions required to make a causal inference.

GDPS pathway students and STA2300

If you are a student on the GDPS pathway we waive the STA2300 pre-requisite for this

course as we assume that because you already have a university degree in another area youprobably have been exposed to statistics in your first degree and that you are fairlycompetent and confident in your statistical knowledge. However if you do not feel competent

or confident in your statistical/mathematical ability you are able to take STA2300 before

enrolling in PSY2100 (although STA2300 will not count toward your final GPA). I strongly

encourage any GDPS student in this situation to serious contemplate the following course ofaction un-enrol from PSY2100 and enrol in STA2300 and take PSY2100 in 2013. Given

the competitiveness of Honours, a poor grade in PSY2100 can significantly impact upon

your chances of being offered a place in a future Honours course. Thus completing STA2300

before taking PSY2100 may be an advantageous option. If you are considering this pleasefeel free to place a request through USQAssist where I can talk to to you about this option as

the Undergraduate Coordinator.

BSSC (Behavioural Science major) students and other non BSCI (Psychology)students

If you are a student in the above BSSC major or a non BSCI (Psychology) student taking thiscourse then it is expected that you have successfully completed STA2300 (or STA3100 if a

BSSC student) BEFORE you enrol in PSY2100. If you have not successfully completedeither of these courses (or their equivalent) then you should not be enrolled in PSY2100 and

have probably been enrolled without my approval. Which means that Arts has overridden the

pre-requisite for this course without my approval or support or you have enrolled yourself in

this course knowing full well you do not have STA2300 or STA3100.



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If this is the case then you must un-enrol yourself from this course immediately and enrol ineither STA2300 or STA3100 and successfully complete this course and take PSY2100 in

2013. If you continue on in PSY2100 you do so acknowledging and taking full responsibility

for your success or failure in this course. Last year a number of BSSC students undertookPSY2100 without having passed or attempted STA2300 or STA3100 and subsequently theydid not pass PSY2100.

What to expect in this course from me and you

As this is a second year or second level course, what I expect of you and what you should

expect from me as the examiner may be different to your previous experiences in first year

courses.

If this is your first USQ courseIf you have started studying at another university or have a degree or diploma from another

tertiary institution and this is your first USQ course, you may find USQ and our way of doing

things a little different from your previous experiences.

a. First, you will need to become familiar with the USQ way of doing things. As you will

come to learn, at USQ we make extensive use of course Study Desks. Please take the

time to become familiar with these as all examiners at USQ use these. This is regardless

of your study mode (EXT/ONC) or campus (Springfield/Toowoomba)

b. Secondly, please make sure you familiarise yourself with the USQ website. Many of your

questions about grade allocations, extension requests, ICT help, and so forth can easily

be located on the website. If you look there first you will probably find your answer andthen you aren't wasting your time hanging around waiting for a response from myself or

USQ support staff

c. Finally, many of your previous expectations regarding assignment and exam feedback,

examiner responses, and learning experiences may not match up with the USQ way of

working. You may need to adjust your expectations to meet the reality of USQ

Using your Student Relationship Officer (SRO)

Since 2009 USQ has allocated every student an SRO (and sometimes two SROs!). You need

to make friends with your SRO. You can find out who your SRO is from your study centre

in UConnect their name should be listed on the right hand side of the screen in the Advisorbox. SROs are there to provide you with support during your degree and they should be your

first contact point for assistance in most cases. Please use the SROs again many of your

more generic course questions don't need my input and you can save yourself quite a bit oftime and stress if you contact your SRO in the first instance for assistance.

The types of questions that SROs can help you with are:

I need an extension what sort of information or documentation will I need?

I cant upload my assignment into EASE help!!

Where is the best place to buy textbooks?

I dont know how to see my assignment results



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How do I know if my assignment has been received?

How do I use EASE?

EASE/UConnect/Study Desk isnt working am I doing something wrong?

Where do I find my exam timetable?

When is the exam for PSY2100?

I am thinking of withdrawing from PSY2100 what do I need to do?

Im an external student how do I submit my assignment?

Basically questions that are not course content specific should be directed to your SRO in thefirst instance. As an examiner I need you to use your SROs so that I can better manage all the

student queries that I get for PSY2100. By using your SRO for the more generic

administrative questions means that I will be able to answer your course related questions in

a more timely and detailed manner.

If you are not a BSCI (Psychology) or GDPS student

If you are taking this course as a student enrolled in a different degree than those mentioned

in the heading then some of the expectations and understandings that you may have gained

whilst studying your particular degree may not match what is expected in a psychology

course. You may need to adjust your expectations as a result. For example, common ways ofworking that may be accepted in the Faculty of Arts or Faculty of Education will most likely

not to be accepted in this course. This is a psychology course and has been designed with

psychology expectations and professional requirements in mind.

First year is now over please read this carefully. I really need you to do this

Some of you may find the transition into second year and my expectations of you different

from what you encountered in first year. Here are some points that will help you understand

what I expect of you as a second year student and what you can expect from me. Manystudents find it difficult to accept that I will treat you like a second or third year student and

ask you to work hard. So if you are not a second year student and are taking this course out

of sequence you may need to adjust how you approach this course.

I expect you to:

Access the Study Deskregularly. This is regardless of your mode of study (i.e., on

campus or external). This is regardless of where you are based (i.e., Springfield orToowoomba). I recommend accessing the forum three times per week, especially nearassessment submission

Know the extension policy and know what you need to gather as evidence before you

ask for an extension. If in doubt contact your SRO for assistance about what you need to

have before you contact me

Know whatplagiarism is. I know what information you have been provided with in first

year about plagiarism so I know you know about plagiarism. If you do not know what

this is then you will need to find this out. Your SRO will be able to help you locate

information about plagiarism on the USQ website



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Inform me immediately if something happens in your life that impacts upon your study

in this course. This way we can work together to help you through this difficult time.Informing me after the course has finished or after an assignment has been submitted

makes it almost impossible for me to assist you Purchase all the study materials and text books as per the course specifications. I have

more on this in the next section

Inform the university if you change your address or phone numbers so that if I need to

contact you I can. If you need help with this, contact your SRO

Workprogressively through this course. Unlike other courses you cant leave the study

for this course for a couple of weeks at the end of the semester and still expect to eitherpass or do well. This course has a heavier workload than your first year courses as it

should be as this is not a first year course this comes as quite a shock to many students

so you will probably need to do some work on this course every week of the semester

Accept and understand that the grades that you have received in your first year coursesmay not be valid or reliable indicators of how you will perform in this course. This is not

PSY1010Foundation psychology A. The content and skills being learnt and assessed inthis course are very different fromFoundation psychology A. You may need to work

differently and adjust your expectations accordingly. So just because you got a HD for

PSY1010 does not mean that you will get a HD for this course. Conversely just because

you got a C for PSY1010 does not mean you cant get a HD for this course!

Read the study materials, textbooks, and Study Desk and act in ways that indicate that

you are an independent adult learner. There is no spoon feeding or hand holding in this

course. There is learning assistance for students who take charge of their learningjourney. I have been asked in previous years to indicate exactly which pages and which

paragraphs students need to read in the study materials and textbooks. That is spoon

feeding because I dont know what you need to read only you know that. I know thatyou are more than capable of finding information for yourself so I will not be providingsuch detailed instructions in this course.

Organise your time appropriately. I know that you are busy. I know that many of you

wear many hats. So you need to make sure you are well organised and well prepared for

this course. Being busy is not grounds for an extension, not a justification for not readingthe Study Desk, and is not a reason why you didnt do as well as you thought you would

on the assignment/exam

Take responsibility for your successes and mistakes in this course. You will have

success and you will make mistakes. It is how you learn from your mistakes that willshape your overall enjoyment and grade outcome in this course

Not read inferences, meaning, or intent into Study Desk posts, especially those posted

by myself. So I am not being rude, sarcastic, angry, upset, or frustrated when I respond to

you. I am being direct, I am asking you to think for yourself, I am asking you to find outinformation for yourself, and most of all I am asking you to be responsible for your own

learning journey.



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You can expect me to:

Answer your queries in a timely manner. Depending on when you send me a query ormake a post on the Study Desk, I will normally respond to you within 2448 hours

Askyou to direct your administrative questions to your SRO

Apply USQ policy and procedures with fairness and equity

Not hold your hand and spoon feed you in this course. Rather I will work with you andhelp you best understand the content of this course. So I will treat you as an independent

learner

Keep you up to date on any course developments, problems, or issues that may impact

upon your progress through the course (e.g., USQ technical problems)

Markand return assessment pieces within reasonable time periods given the available

resources. Sometimes this is not always possible and I will inform you of this

Be available for consultation

Monitor the Study Desk at least three times per week

Not read inferences or meaning into your Study Desk posts. No I dont think your rude,

lazy, sarcastic, too busy, or trying to get a free ride (just some of the thoughts from

students over the years!)

Take responsibility for the running of this course

Challenge your thinking and ways of understanding in order for you to fully engage in

this course. Now you may not like this in the first instance as I ask you to justify your

response, show me the evidence, read a section again, take an alternative view of a

concept, ask you a question in response to your question. Yes this will be frustrating butthis is adult learning. Each year I get criticised for not just telling students where to find

something or for asking a student to read something and come back with what they

understand before I answer a question. I am not trying to frustrate you rather I am

asking you to re-read or reconsider or take a moment to think about your problem fromanother perspective so that you gain a deeper understanding of the issue and this is good

teaching practice based upon empirical data. By the way I tend to ask you to do this for

important foundation concepts that would probably make good exam questions

Ask you to workin this course. You will need to work and apply yourself in this course.It is unlikely that you will be able to read something once and get it. You will probably

need to read and re read and then re read information and then do some learning

activities before you get it yes you will need to get your hands dirty with some data!

The above may seem quite daunting but I have found over the years that if you are clear

about what I expect from you and what you should expect from me, then there is less chancefor misunderstandings and difficulties to arise.



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Study materials and textbooks

Main textsThere are four set textbooks for this course. They are required and thus you need to purchase

them to best meet the objectives of this course. Before you start complaining about the cost,

the following four texts and software package are required for both this course ANDPSY3111Research methods in psychology B. So the same texts and software are used across

the two core research methods courses in your degree. You do NOT have to purchase any

other texts for Research Methods B.

The texts are required texts and the software is the required software, all of these are

essential for this course. They contain the content information that you need for theassignments, on-line quizzes, and the method exam. You will seriously disadvantage yourself

should you choose NOT to purchase these texts and software.

The first required text is:

Shaughnessy J. J., Zechmeister, E. B., & Zechmeister, J. S. (2012).Research methods in

psychology (9th ed.). McGraw Hill: Boston. (Referred to as SZZ)

If you are not able to purchase the 9th edition you may use the 8th edition as the changes

between editions are not major. There will be some page number changes and two chapters

being merged into one. There will also be example changes, learning activity, and slight

content changes. However you just need to note that all of the study materials and StudyDesk posts will be based upon the 9th edition.

Do you need to purchase or be able to easily access this text? YES

Why?

This is the main research methods text for this course. SZZ contains information relating to

the content of this course, assignments 1, 2, & 3, and the method exam. You will need this

book as you work your way through the study book. I have been using earlier editions of thistext for some years. I have found this to be an excellent text. It is quite readable and has a

good range of examples and practice exercises. It is also good because it covers a diverse

range of methods and therefore encourages you to think broadly and creatively about

psychological research. PSY2100 covers about half the text and the remaining half is coveredin PSY3111Research methods in psychology B. This is for the Toowoomba and External

offerings only.

The text also includes learning activities that will assist you in learning this course content.

In addition, there is a website associated with this text that has some extra study material. I

will be directing you to this site frequently as part of module learning activities. The addresscan be found on page xiv.

The second and third texts are a text and its accompanying student study guide. These

are:

Aron, A., Aron, E. N., & Coups, E. (2013). Statistics for psychology: International

edition (6th ed.). Pearson: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. (Referred to as AAC)



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I recommend that you purchase the 6th edition of the AAC text if possible. If you are notable to purchase the 6th edition you may use the 5th edition as the changes between editions

are not major. There may be some page number changes but the chapter numbers are the

same. There may also be example changes, learning activity, and slight content explanationchanges. You also need to understand that all of the study materials, lecture notes, and StudyDesk posts will be based upon the 6th edition. The 6 th edition also comes with access to a

teaching and learning package called MyStatLab and we will be using this throughout the

course.


Why?

This is the main statistics text for this course. It has been selected because it covers theimportant statistical material in an integrated and uncomplicated way and emphasise

definition formulas of the various statistical analyses to encourage deeper understanding of

these procedures. PSY2100 covers 11 of the 15 chapters of AAC. The remaining chapters

and some chapters that you have already covered in this course will be covered in PSY3111Research methods in psychology B. The texts also include activities that will assist you in

learning the course content. In addition, the texts incorporate SPSS activities that I will be

directing you to as we cover each analysis technique. If all of this wasnt enough, the 6 th

edition comes with a specific teaching and learning package called MyStatLab. This packageincludes on-line quizzes that will help you learn the statistical concepts that we cover as well

as help you prepare for the two on-line quizzes that form part of the assessment for this

course.

The fourth textbook refers specifically to writing APA research reports. Whilst you

would already have the Burton APA writing guide from PSY1010Foundation psychology Aand PSY1020Foundation psychology B as it is a required text in these two courses, studentfeedback in PSY2100 has been that this text does not adequately cover the more detailed

APA nuances that a research report often requires. So on the basis of this feedback I have set

the APA publication manual as the textbook that will assist you in writing APA reports.

However I would not throw away the Burton text as it does contain an example of a goodreport that you may find helpful.

American Psychological Association. (2010).Publication manual of the American

Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological

Association.


Why?

The book contains information relating to how to write a research report. You will need thisbook for assignments 1, 2, and 3.

Software

You are also required to purchase a statistical software package for use in this course. Youmay already have this software from STA2300Data analysis. SPSS is available on the

computer labs at USQ Toowoomba, Springfield, and Wide Bay. In addition, many

workplaces have SPSS as standard computer software.



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PSAW Student Version 19.0 for Windows, Prentice Hall. Earlier versions of SPSS areacceptable as there are no real changes from version to version.

Do you need to purchase it? YES or at least be able to access the software

Why?

Many of the activities in this course make use of the SPSS package. Learning to use a

statistical package and to read and interpret the output is an important part of this course and

contributes to your understanding of the statistical concepts that are covered in this course.Assignment 3 requires that analyses be conducted with the package and on-line quiz 2

requires you to answer questions about an SPSS output that you have to produce. There are

some subtle differences between different versions of SPSS, but these should not negatively

impact upon your learning in this course.

Purchasing your textbooks and softwareTextbooks and software are best purchased from the USQ Bookshop. The bookshop can befound on the web at or email: .

Books take about a week to be delivered to students residing in Australia and about 10 days

overseas, although this depends on where you are. So make sure you allow yourself enough

time to order books so that they get there in a reasonable time. Ordering books late is not asufficient reason for an extension on an assignment.

Study Desk for this course

Access to the Internet is a requirement of this course. I make regular use of the Study Desk inthree ways:

to communicate matters of course administration

to communicate matters of course content

to communicate matters of assessment.

Thus it is YOURresponsibility to regularly access and monitor the Study Desk for

information. Failure to do so can result in you misunderstanding assessment requirements or

not being up to date on assessment details. I will NOT accept lack of knowledge as a reasonfor assessment performance, as Im making it clearYOU need to monitor the Study Desk for

information.

Similarly, make sure that the personal details that you have provided to USQ are up to date,

as I may need to contact you about a course matter. Failure to update your student

information will NOT be accepted as a reason for assessment performance.

http://bookshop.usq.edu.au/http://bookshop.usq.edu.au/mailto:[email protected]://bookshop.usq.edu.au/mailto:[email protected]


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Using the Study Desk please read this carefully

This course can be quite daunting when you feel you are all on your own. You will soon find

that many other students are struggling with some of the same things you are, and the process

of asking questions, or attempting to answer someone elses question are a valuable part ofthe learning experience. The Study Desk is not intended as a noticeboard for me to post

messages to you, nor is it simply an electronic consultation session. Though I will contribute

and answer questions, I want you to use it to discuss what you are learning and answer

questions posted by your fellow student learners and myself. That is, before I jump in andmake a suggestion I want you to assist yourself and your fellow students by attempting to

answer others questions. By doing this you actually deepen your understanding of that topic

in the process. And research is clear on the benefits of peer learning! So you will learn much

more if you actively engage in the Study Desk.

Please note the following suggestions with regards to the Study Desk:

1. There are many issues in PSY2100 that can act as stimuli for discussion on the Study

Desk. These include:

a. Clarification or extension of answers to student learning activities

b. Clarification of the examples in the study materials, for example in terms of variable

definitions, or interpretations of results

c. Sharing and discussing the various areas of interest in psychology and the kinds of

research questions relevant to those areas, or sharing examples of issues from themedia that are related to psychology research

d. If you come to understand a concept in a somewhat different way, or using a different

example from those in the study materials, share it with the forum. Your fellowstudents will benefit from your insight, and you will benefit from sharing it

e. Discussing your learning in this course. What are you learning well? What are youfinding difficult? What is the purpose of a particular task or learning activity?

f. Sharing your frustrations, but also sharing your successes. When you figure

something out, let others know that you did and what you found most helpful indoing so

g. Sharing your attempt at the on campus tutorial activities regardless of mode

2. There are also administrative issues that are usefully discussed on the Study Desk. They

include questions concerning clarification of materials, text issues, errors in the studymaterials, etc.

3. You may be used to a very fast response rate to questions in your first year courses.Some of these courses are very large and have very high levels of staff support. STA2300

Data analysis, for example, has several staff allocated to it plus PALS. By contrast, this

course has a much lower level of support allocated to it. As a result, the Study Desk is

generally monitored every few days, and at times there may be a backlog of queries beinghandled. Sometimes responses will come very quickly, and at other times they may take a

little longer especially if I ask someone to have a go at answering a query before I do.

You may need to modify your expectations accordingly to avoid frustration.



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4. Given what I have said earlier, you need to take collective responsibility for discussingand clarifying issues rather than simply waiting for a response from me. Sometimes a

response from myself can stifle discussion rather than facilitate it, so I may deliberately

hold back to see what others in the course think.5. Study Desk etiquette: There is a good history of the use of the Study Desk by students in

this course. In 2011 there were around 1000 messages on the Study Desk. About half thestudents in the course contributed to the discussion at some point during the semester,

and of course many others would have monitored the Study Desk for useful discussion

without necessarily contributing. A number of students found that contributing to the

Study Desk helped with their own learning.

6. This course can be a difficult, stressful, and confronting for many students. In most cases

students deal with this anxiety in constructive ways and make good use of the provided

support materials and discussion resources. Some students use the Study Desk to ventthat anxiety in less constructive ways and on occasion students have spoken

disrespectfully of myself or student peers. This is not an acceptable use of the StudyDesk. When considering the most productive use of my time, I will give priority to

responding to messages that constructively seek to clarify or extend knowledge of coursematerial.

7. The Study Desk is a TEACHING space not a social space. Your interactions in this spaceneed to be grounded within this understanding. This is important for you to understand. I

treat this space like an on-campus teaching space. This is not Facebook or any other

social networking site so how you communicate on those sites is not appropriate here.

The Study Desk areas are learning sites and thus we all need to interact in appropriateways.

8. You need to familiarise yourself with the following ICT policies and Codes of Practices.

Failure to adhere to these policies and codes will taken seriously

9. An analysis of previous Study Desk use shows that the best posts are those that raise aquestion and where the student posting the discussion has had a reasonable attempt at

answering the question based on the material, or setting out the potentially confusing

interpretations that require clarification. Such posts allow an elaborated discussion that

not only clarifies the material but deepens understanding as well. Posts that ask an un-elaborated question are less useful because they do not provide any clues to the reader

about where the confusion or misunderstanding lies, and a common reply to such

questions is to seek clarification about the question. The more you can elaborate the

question in the first instance, the quicker and more useful will be the reply anddiscussion. So include page numbers, what you have read, what you understand, what

you dont understand, where you think your confusion lies. Doing this allows your fellowstudents and myself to best help you.

10. Please make sure that you have read the next section on productive use of support from

the examiner carefully. Especially read the section on how to ask questions as I often get

criticised for being rude and unapproachable because I wont just give students answers

to their questions. Also you need to understand that I may be the only staff memberworking in this course. So in order to facilitate smooth running of the Study Desk I do

need you to help me out by posing questions in the appropriate way.

http://www.usq.edu.au/ict/guidelineshttp://www.usq.edu.au/ict/guidelines


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Productive use of support from the examiner

There are several ways of getting support from myself and they vary in appropriateness and

efficiency. As a general rule you will find the following guidelines helpful:

1. General questions about the course content, assignments, or administrative issues are best

addressed to the Study Desk. I give priority to issues raised on the Study Desk becausesuch discussion is helpful to the greatest number of student.

2. When asking questions of myself or the Study Desk I need you to ask the question in a

manner that informs the reader clearly: (a) what is the problem that you are having; (b)

what have you done to attempt to answer your question yourself; (c) set out your

interpretation of the area that you are having problems with so that the reader can judgewhat it is that you know and dont know or are confused about; and (d) include as much

detail and information about the problem including page numbers and text information (if

the question refers to text materials) as you can. By doing this the reader (i.e., me) canbest help you by providing you with an answer that is constructed specifically for youand your problem. Should you not do this Ill only ask you to do it before answering you

and this inevitably delays your learning. And will frustrate you.

3. Even if you do the above I sometimes do not give you a straight answer to your question.Often Ill ask you to go back and re-read a section or ask for your thoughts on something

that I pose to you that I think will help you with the ah ha! moment. Then I ask you to

come back after having re-considered some old or new information and then have a go at

answering your own question again. Sometimes I ask your fellow students to help youout by explaining the issue that you are having difficulty with as peer learning has been

proven to be more effective than teacher driven or didactic approaches. Some students

find this process (i.e., not just giving you a straight answer) very frustrating because I am

asking you to be responsible for their own learning. Research strongly supports thisapproach, for active learning environments result in increased learning compared to

passive learning environments. As this is a research course it would be remiss of me not

to use learning approaches that are grounded in empirical evidence.

4. If you have a question that is more personal in nature please email or call me. If Im not

available at the time, a message can be left. Be aware that at certain times in the semester

the number of calls exceeds the time I have available and there may be some delay inreturning your call. To make this process more efficient I suggest that you do the

following:

a. Talk to your SRO in the first instance. They may be able to assist you with your

question.b. Provide an email address if possible. Email responses are more efficient than playing

phone tag.

c. Provide a clear question that can be addressed without further clarification. Vague

questions such as please contact me are inefficient because they require furtherclarification before an answer or suggestion can be given. It should be no surprise

that when under time pressure, I give priority to questions or issues I can address

immediately rather than vague requests to contact someone.



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d. If you have registered a query through USQAssistor the Universitys phone or faxnumber (refer to Support section) and do not receive a timely reply, note that it may

be because I am overwhelmed and working through the queries and/or that you have

not been specific enough in your request and it has been given a lower priority.Please be patient and provide more information about your request if possible orredirect the query to the Study Desk.

Note

Please avoid using direct email contact in the first instance. Such contact is best

reserved for following up issues that have been raised first on the Study Desk or

are of a personal nature. Please post your message on the Study Desk first sothat all students can benefit from your query and thus my answer.

Residential school

There is no residential school for this course.



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Study schedule

A study schedule has been provided to help you progress through the course. It is important

that you do not fall behind as steady progress through the semester will give you the best

possible chance of success.

Note

Not everything in the text readings are associated with this course. In order

to streamline your readings, make sure that you are reading and noting

that text information that is related to the module objectives.

Week Module Activity/Reading Assessment

125 Feb 1 Mar

Scientific foundations SZZ Chapters 1 & 2

SB Module 1

248 March

Independent groups designs SZZ Chapter 6

APA Chapter 1

SB Module 2

31115 March

Research report writing: the

introduction section and

critical analysis

APA Chapters 2, 3 & 4

IB Assignment 1

section

41822 March

Survey designs SZZ Chapter 5

APA Chapter 5

SB Module 3

Reminder: End of week 4 is the last date to drop S1 courses without academic or financial penalty.

52529 March


method section

APA Chapters 2, 6 & 7

IB Assignment 2

section

615 April

MID SEMESTER BREAK

7812 April

MID SEMESTER BREAK

81519 April

Observation designs SZZ Chapter 4

APA Chapters 3 & 4

SB Module 4

Assignment 1:

Introduction Section

of an APA research

report

Due: 15th April 2013

Reminder: End of week 8 is the last date to drop S1 courses without academic penalty.



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Week Module Activity/Reading Assessment

92226 April


results section

Measures of central

tendency

APA Chapter 5

IB - Assignment 3section

AAC pp. xv-xvi,

Chapters 1 & 2

SB Module 5

1029 Apr 3 May

Hypothesis testing AAC Chapters 3 & 4

SB Module 6

Assignment 2:

Method Section ofan APA research

report

Due: 3rd May 2013

11610 May

Hypothesis testing, effectsize and statistical power

AAC Chapters 5 & 6

SB Module 6

121317 May

T-tests AAC Chapters 6, 7 & 8

SB Module 7

132024 May

Correlation and prediction AAC Chapters 11 & 12

SB Module 8

142731 May

Chi-square tests AAC Chapter 13

SB Module 9

Assignment 3:

Results Section of an

APA research report

Due: 31st May 2013

1537 June

Revision week

On-line Quiz 1 and

On-line Quiz 2:

Due: 7th June 2013

16171021 June

EXAMINATION PERIOD

SZZ = 9th edition Shaughnessy, Zechmeister & Zechmeister text

APA = 6th edition APA Publication Manual

AAC = 6th edition Aron, Aron & Coups text



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Assessment

Assessment Toowoomba and external offerings only

The assessment for this course consists of six assessment pieces for this course. There are

three research report assignments (which equate to the first three sections of an APA styleresearch report), two on-line Moodle quizzes that assess the statistics part of this course, and

one examination that assesses the method part of the course.

Assignments 1, 2, and 3 (the first three sections of an APAstyle research report)

Based on student feedback in 2012, the former partial research report assignment that

consisted of an introduction, method, and results section of an APA research report has beenseparated into three separate assignments in 2013. Yes you guessed correctly Assignment 1

is the introduction section, Assignment 2 is the method section, and Assignment 3 is the

results section of an APA style research report. By doing this you will receive early feedback

on your APA style adherence skills, your understanding of how research hypotheses link toparticular analyses, and your understanding of research methodology. In this way you can

work to improve the quality of your work across the three assignment pieces. You can do this

by using the feedback you receive on earlier pieces of work and apply this to the laterassessment pieces. It is also anticipated that this break down of a large assessment task willhelp you better manage your workload and will better introduce you to the rigours of

research writing and how strict adherence to APA is an expectation not an option.

With that, please make sure you read each assignment section carefully and regularly

monitor the Study Desk for information about these assignments. Given the timing of these

assignments, extension requests will be strictly limited to 5 days that includes the assignmentdue date to ensure that all students receive feedback in a timely manner. Given the spread of

the assignments, I do not anticipate many assignment requests as your load is now spread

across three assessment pieces and each assessment piece is quite contained.

Moodle quizzes

There are two Moodle quizzes in this course. Both assess your understanding of statistics

with Moodle Quiz 2 also assessing your ability to use SPSS. These are timed Moodle quizzes

and given this, it is an expectation of this course that you have reliable access to the Internet.If you do not the I strongly suggest that you contact me so that we can work together to

ensure you have reliable access. Unreliable access will not be grounds for an extension on

these quizzes.



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Examination

There is one exam for this course. It assesses your understanding of the method section of the

course. This exam will be held in the end of semester examination period.



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On-line Moodle Quiz 1 and 2

Description Weighting (%) Due dateOn-line quiz 1 25% 7 June 2013

On-line quiz 2 10% 7 June 2013

The on-line Moodle quizzes in this course are summative. This means that they docontribute to your final result (this is unlike some other courses that you may have taken

where on-line quizzes are formative and thus do not contribute to your final result). The

quizzes will only assess the statistical part of the course. There may be occasions where aquestion draws upon your methodological knowledge (e.g., a research scenario may be

presented where you need to know the research design in order to answer the statistical

question), however the aim of these quizzes to assess your statistical knowledge. You willonly be allowed one attempt at each quiz and each quiz is a strictly timed quiz. This is

because I am assessing your understanding and ability to problem solve. I am not assessingyour ability to look up information in your text using the index.

Accessing the on-line Moodle quizzes

You will find the on-line Moodle quizzes on the Study Desk under the topic On-Line MoodleQuizzes. In this section you will also find a discussion forum where you can place your

questions and comments about this assessment piece. I will also be placing a practice quiz in

this area that has nothing to do with statistics but is a bit of fun that allows you to test out

your computer and internet system to ensure that any bugs are identified and problems solvedbefore you attempt the real assignment. I strongly recommend that all students engage in this

practice quiz.

Please do not to discuss the actual answers or questions on the Study Desk as different

students will complete the quizzes at different times. Posting of comments or discussion will

be treated as possible cheating and will be dealt with under the appropriate policy.

Purpose

The on-line quizzes has been designed to assess the following learning objectives:

demonstrate an understanding of measures of central tendency, hypothesis testing,

confidence intervals, Chi-Square tests, z scores, z test, t-tests, Correlation, andRegression including the appropriate selection of analysis techniques

demonstrate an understanding of data screening, assumption testing, and power andeffect size as they relate to the above statistical analyses

use SPSS to analyse psychological research data.

Further, each on-line quiz question is directly linked to a module objective (please see the

study book for module objectives).



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On-line Moodle quiz 1

This quiz consists of 25 multiple choice questions. Each question contains four response

categories of which one is correct. No marks are deducted for incorrect answers. Somequestions will require you to do some statistical analyses in order for you to choose the

correct answer. The questions are designed to be medium to hard level questions given that

this is an open book assessment. There is a mixture of applied and conceptual questions with

emphasis more on application of your knowledge of statistics. There are five modules in thiscourse that focus on statistics, these being modules five through to nine. Given this, of the 25

questions, five questions assess your knowledge, understanding, and skills associated with

module 5, five questions assess your knowledge, understanding, and skills associated with

module 6, and so on.

Time

Both on-line quizzes are timed quizzes. That is, each quiz will need to be completed andsubmitted during this time. The aim of these quizzes is not to assess your ability to look up

information in a textbook. They are designed to assess your knowledge, understanding, and

skills in statistics. Thus you will need to study for these quizzes in a similar way in which

you would study for an exam. This is an on-line open book exam if you like.

Based on the data from last year where I can access how long it took students to completeand then submit on-line quiz 1. In 2013 you have 35 minutes to complete the 25 questions.

Last year the average time to complete and submit quiz 1 was 29.13 minutes so 35 minutes is

ample time.

Opening and closing dates and timesOn-line quiz 1 will be opened on the 24th of May at 12:05am and will close on the 7th of June

at 11:55pm. Extensions are typically not permitted with Moodle quizzes as the quiz is openfor two weeks and this means there is ample time to complete the quizzes. I strongly suggest

you do this quiz earlier rather than later to avoid any possible last minute internet or

computer problems that always seem to arise.

On-line Moodle quiz 2

This quiz consists of 10 short-answer questions. You will be presented with a research

scenario and you will be asked a series of questions pertaining to this scenario that requireyou to analysis some data in SPSS. Thus to answer each question you will need to analysethe data and use the SPSS output to answer the questions. No marks are deducted for

incorrect answers. You need to be exact in your answers and read each question carefully.

For example, if you round incorrectly you will be marked incorrectly.

The data that you require for on-line quiz 2 will be uploaded onto the Study Desk in the topic

On-Line Moodle Quizzes five days before the assignment is due. Thus on the 3rd of June. Istrongly recommend that you download the file on that day and upload it into SPSS so that

you know your SPSS is working. If you do not do this and something goes wrong with SPSS

such as your license expires and you only find out about this on the due date, then this will

not be grounds for an extension or re-submission of the quiz. It is your responsibility to

ensure that your SPSS works on your computer right up to and including the due date forquiz 2.



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Time

Both Moodle quizzes are timed quizzes. That is, each quiz will need to be completed and

submitted during this time. The aim of these quizzes is not to assess your ability to look upinformation in a textbook. They are designed to assess your knowledge, understanding, and

skills in statistics. Thus you will need to study for these quizzes in a similar way in which

you would study for an exam. This is an on-line open book exam if you like.

Based on the data from last year where I can access how long it took students to completeand then submit on-line Moodle quiz 2. In 2013 you have 15 minutes to complete the

10 questions. Last year the average time to complete and submit quiz 2 was 11.46 minutes,

so 15 minutes is ample time.

How to approach the on-line moodle quizzes

Before you attempt each on-line quiz you should have completed the student learningactivities associated with the statistics side of the course as these will provide you withpractice and feedback on the module objectives. I also suggest that you go to the MyStatLab

website and work through the learning activities that are relevant to the topics that we cover

in this course. You will be required to analyse some data using SPSS and answer questions

relating to the SPSS output in the second on-line quiz. Thus I strongly encourage you to haveworked through all the SPSS exercise sections in the AAC text before attempting this quiz.

All of you should have access to the study guide that accompanies the AAC text. It is found

on the MyStatLab website if you have purchased the 6 th edition of the AAC text. This guide

also contains SPSS exercises and multiple-choice practice questions that I would encourage

you to complete before attempting the two Moodle quizzes.



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Assignment 1 Introduction section of an APA report

Description Weighting (%) Due dateAssignment 1 10% 15th April 2013

please note that this isa Monday

Rationale

Understanding and doing research is paramount to studying psychology. Following

systematic procedures involved in conducting research helps us to be confident about what

we think is happening in the research setting. Being able to assess and evaluate researchassists us in determining the value of the research results and their applicability to our ownresearch and/or consultancy work. Further, being able to communicate to others in the field

precisely what was done and why, what was found, and how the results fit in with the

existing academic literature is important in psychology.

Typically in psychology this is done via a research report. A complete research report

includes four major components: Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion. The section

of the research report that this assignment focuses on is the Introduction. Assignment 2 will

focus on the Method section with Assignment 3 focusing on the Results section.

Purpose of Assignment 1 Introduction section

This assignment has been designed to assess your skills and knowledge of the objectives of

this course. In particular, Assignment 1 assesses the following learning objectives:

describe different research designs, identify when it is appropriate to use them, anddiscuss their strengths and limitations


and the control techniques used

develop research questions and hypotheses to test psychological concepts and theories

critically analyse published journal articles by identifying and explaining article aims,relevant method information, results, and potential methodological limitations

write an introduction, method, and results section of an APA 6 th edition research report.

Time

You will need to set aside approximately 10 hours for Assignment 1. The actual time that it

takes you will depend on your level of skill and knowledge.

What you will need

You will need the following texts: SZZ, ACC, and APA.



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What do you need to do?

1. You will need to access the three empirical research articles that I have set for you to use

for this assessment piece. Information about how to access these articles will be

presented on the Study Desk. You will also use these articles in the second assessmentpiece.

2. You may cite one (and only one) additional source in your assignment. This source is

only to be cited in the introduction to the introduction section and/or the justification

section of the introduction section. The introduction to the introduction is the section

where you set the research scene for the reader. The justification section is where youjustify why your study needs to be conducted.

You are not to critique and thus cite an additional empirical research article as

identifying appropriate articles has proven to be a difficult task for students in past years.I want you to concentrate and focus your energy on critiquing rather than identifying

appropriate articles.

3. You will need to review and critique the three set research articles. I will be presentinginformation on the Study Desk to assist you in this task.

4. You need to develop and write appropriate research question/s for your research report.

5. You need to develop and write appropriate research aim/s for your research report.

6. You need to develop and write appropriate hypotheses for the design and data presented.

7. You need to present a literature review, research questions, research aims, and research

hypotheses as per APA guidelines for an introduction section of an APA research report.

8. The introduction section will also need to include an introductory paragraph (this is

where you may cite one additional source) and a justification for the research (you mayuse your additional source here as well) section. All of the introduction section

information is to be presented according to APA guidelines. APA is clear about what

needs to be included in an introduction section of a research report.

What will help you?

Information relating to the research study that forms the basis of this assignment will be

presented on the Study Desk by the end of Week 4. This delay is to discourage contract

cheating. Unfortunately some students are engaging in contract cheating whereby theypay others to produce their assessment pieces. Best practice recommends that

information about assessments be delayed as long as possible. In keeping with this

practice recommendation I will post information about each assignment no mater than 4weeks before each piece is due.

Reading empirical research articles will give you an idea of how an introduction sectionshould be written. But be careful in selecting articles as not all psychology articles are

written strictly to APA guidelines. Editorial rules override APA style guidelines in many

journals (yes I know that is frustrating and I share your frustration but that is how it is).

In terms of what goes in the introduction section of an APA research report, you will

need to follow Chapter 2 of the APA manual closely for assistance with this assignment

and also follow the lecture recordings and notes that I provide.

The SZZ text will help you in writing your aims and hypotheses.



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Focusing on APA content is important in Assignments 1 to 3 you need to readthis carefully

For this assignment you are to concentrate on what APA recommends to include in theintroduction section of an APA research report as well as remembering to adhere to overallAPA format guidelines. I am including marks for general adherence to APA format in each

assignment. There are specific format guidelines that APA requires for the sections that we

cover and you need to adhere to these as well as adhere to the overall format guidelines that

you have covered in PSY1010Foundation psychology A.

General overview of the study

First of all, you are to take up the role of researcher in each assessment piece and pretend

that you came up with the research idea, collected the presented data, and so on.

You will be using the three set research articles as the basis for your study.

Typically in an APA introduction you would need to identify a model/theory that

explains the variables you are interested in. However as this assignment is designed toassess your understanding of the research process and not models/theories you are not

required to identify and describe any model/theory in your introduction section. You may

do so if you wish but this will not be marked and will not contribute to your overall mark

for this assignment.

Introduction information

You will need to read Chapter 2 of the APA (2010) manual as this contains information

regarding the structure of an APA introduction section.

I will covered what goes in the introduction section in week 3. This lecture will be

recorded. I recommend that you access this recording as soon as it is available.

You will need to read the three articles that I have set.

Accessing the three set articles

You need to obtain the three articles yourself. You do this by using EBSCOhost MegaFile

Premier. You need to do this now so you get used to using this psychology database!

By the way do not contact the library and ask them to locate these articles for you. I havealready warned the library that part of the general academic skills that this course is

attempting to impart is searching databases. If you take the time to learn how to use this

database now it will save you headaches in future courses. I will post more information on

using this database on the Study Desk in the early weeks of the course.

Please make sure you locate and download the articles as soon as Assignment 1 informationis posted. Last year a number of students left the assignment until the week before it was due

and had trouble accessing and downloading the articles due to technical problems at their

end. Poor planning is not grounds for an extension.



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Due date and extensions

You are more than welcome to submit the assignment in before the due date. Unfortunately I

cannot return these early as I need to wait until all assignments are in before I send them

back.

Should you need an extension for this assignment then you will need to apply for an

extension as per USQ extension policy which is before the due date. This is found in the

USQ Handbook under Academic Regulations 5.6 Assessment. It is your responsibility to be

familiar and understand this policy. Applications that do not adhere to USQ policy will not

be accepted and thus not granted. If you are unclear about what you need to do regarding

asking for an extension, please contact your SRO in the first instance as they will help youwith this.

Please note, given that you need the feedback from this assignment to complete the following

assignment, the maximum extension I would give you would be until the 19 th of April.

Otherwise I cannot get your marked work back to you in time for you to use the feedback

productively.

Note

There are NO automatic extensions granted in this course. The due date is

the due date.

Assignment submission

All students are to submit their assignment via EASE.

Plagiarism

I am assuming that you are well aware of what is and is not plagiarism. If you need to brush

up on your understandings please go to this website for more information

. You can also talk with your SROand they will be able to help you access USQ information regarding plagiarism.

One last point about plagiarism

Over the years I have found that the main problem students have is not understanding

how to paraphrase or misunderstanding what is OWN words. To assist I have included

the following as a guide:

Directly using the information presented in a source as if you wrote it yourself is

plagiarism (e.g., directly using information presented in an article as if you wrote it

yourself is plagiarism)

Changing just the tense of a phrase or sentence from a source is plagiarism. (e.g.,

Changing just the tense of a phrase or sentence from a source was plagiarism)

Changing the order of words in a phrase or sentence is plagiarism. (e.g., Plagiarism is

changing the order of words in a sentence or phrase)

http://policy.usq.edu.au/portal/custom/detail/assessmenthttp://www.usq.edu.au/plagiarism/infostud/default.htmhttp://policy.usq.edu.au/portal/custom/detail/assessmenthttp://www.usq.edu.au/plagiarism/infostud/default.htm


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Changing a few words in sentence or phrase. (e.g., Changing some parts of a sentence

or phrase).

None of the above bold information is paraphrasing information in your own words.Paraphrasing is presenting information using your OWN words. To not do this is to engage

in plagiarism.

Turnitin software

All students are encouraged to run their assignments through Turnitin prior to submission in

order to detect early instances of possible poor paraphrasing and amend appropriately.



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Marking criteria, PSY2100 assignment 1, 2013

Use this as a guide when completing your assignment. Do NOT submit this with your

assignment.

Introduction

Introductory paragraph

Review of relevant literature

Justification for your research

Aims and research hypotheses

Total /30

Adherence to APA Format

Not covered in other sections please make an effort in this section as it could be the

difference between a B and an A. If you include a title page or reference list I will mark this

and deduct marks for non-adherence to APA. You are not to include a title page or

reference list as part of this assignment

Total /5

Final mark /35



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Assignment 2 Method section of an APA report

Description Weighting (%) Due dateAssignment 2 10% 3rd May 2013

Rationale

Understanding and doing research is paramount to studying psychology. Following

systematic procedures involved in conducting research helps us to be confident about whatwe think is happening in the research setting. Being able to assess and evaluate research

assists us in determining the value of the research results and their applicability to our own

research and/or consultancy work. Further, being able to communicate to others in the fieldprecisely what was done and why, what was found, and how the results fit in with theexisting academic literature is important in psychology.

Typically in psychology this is done via a research report. A complete research report

includes four major components: Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion. The section

of the research report that this assignment focuses on is the Method section with Assignment

3 focusing on the Results section.

Purpose of Assignment 2 Method section

This assignment has been designed to assess your skills and knowledge of the objectives ofthis course. In particular, this assignment assesses the following learning objectives:

describe different research designs, identify when it is appropriate to use them, and

discuss their strengths and limitations


and the control techniques used

demonstrate an understanding of measures of central tendency, hypothesis testing,

confidence intervals, Chi-Square tests, z scores, z test, t-tests, Correlation, and

Regression including the appropriate selection of analysis techniques

use SPSS to analyse psychological research data write an introduction, method, and results section of an APA 6 th edition research report.

Time

You will need to set aside approximately 10 hours for this assignment. The actual time that it

takes you will depend on your level of skill and knowledge.

What you will need

You will need the following texts: SZZ, ACC, APA, and the SPSS software.



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What do you need to do?

1. Please use the feedback you have received from Assignment 1 when writing up this

assignment. Particularly any feedback relating to your adherence to APA formatting. Not

using this feedback may significantly disadvantage you in this second assignment.

2. You will need to access the assignment data that I will place on the Study Desk for this

course. You only need to access the participant information at this stage.

3. You need to re-write the data collection information that will be posted on the Study

Desk by the end of week 5 of the semester and present this according to APA method

section guidelines. APA is clear about what information needs to be included in eachsub-section of a method section. You will need to source some of the participants data

from the raw data that I provide you with. See point 2 above.

4. Students in previous years have struggled with understanding the method section of andAPA report because they do not activity engage in any data collection associated with

their assessment. Thus based on student feedback you have the opportunity to engage in amock data collection activity that is designed to help you write this assessment piece.

You do not have to engage in this activity if you do not wish to do so. You will beencouraged to recruit one person to participate in this learning activity whereby you

will recruit this person as if they were really going to participate in your study. They will

fill in the questionnaires that we use in this assignment however you will not be usingtheir data in your assignment. You will destroy their data as soon as you have entered

their data onto a practice SPSS spreadsheet. More information about this task will bepresented on the Study Desk as the semester progresses as at the time of writing ethical

approval for this learning activity was being sought.

What will help you? You will find information relating the second assignment posted on the Study Desk for

this course by the end of week 5.

Reading empirical research articles will give you an idea of how a method section should

be written. But be careful in selecting articles, not all psychology articles are written

strictly to APA guidelines. Editorial rules override APA style guidelines in many

journals (yes I know that is frustrating and I share your frustration but that is how it is),

In terms of what goes in the method section of an APA research report, you will need to

follow Chapter 2 of the APA manual closely for assistance with this assignment and also

follow the lecture recordings and notes.



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Focusing on APA content is important in Assignments 1 to 3 you need to readthis carefully

For this assignment you are to concentrate on what APA recommends to include in themethod section of an APA research report as well as remembering to adhere to overall APAformat guidelines. I am including marks for general adherence to APA format in each

assignment. There are specific format guidelines that APA requires for the sections that we

cover and you need to adhere to these as well as adhere to the overall format guidelines that

you have covered in PSY1010Foundation psychology A.

General overview of the study

As a reminder you are to take up the role of researcher in this assignment and pretend

that you came up with the idea, collected the presented data, and so on. As I have

mentioned above you will have the opportunity to recruit a participant and collect data

so that you actually experience the researcher role. Remember you will not be using thisdata in your assignment

A copy of the surveys and demographic sheet that were used to collect the data for theassignment will be uploaded onto the Study Desk for this course under the Assignment 2

section by the end of week 5 of the course.

These are the surveys and demographic sheet that you are to use when you engage in the

recruitment and mock data collection learning activity.

Method information

There are three sub-sections in a method section. For the participants sub-section you will

need to access the raw data that I have provided to obtain much of the information that youneed for this section. Other pieces of information that you need for this sub-section will be

found on the Study Desk in the recruitment and data collection learning activity informationsection, the participant information sheet, and the consent form. Information that you need to

complete the materials and procedures sub-sections will also be found on the Study Desk and

on the participant information sheet and consent form. You will need to know what

information you are looking for so what information is needed in each section before youstart searching through these documents. Some information that you need about the scales

and questionnaires that we used to collect the data will be contained in the three articles that

you used in Assignment 1. You will need to read the method sections of these articles to

obtain that information. Again you will need to know what information you are looking for so what information is needed in the material section before you start searching through

these articles.

Now please read these next points very carefully:

You must re-write the method information in your own words, putting the

information in each appropriate sub-section of the method

Failure to do this will be treated as plagiarism

I take plagiarism very seriously and so should you.



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Where is the data for the assignment?

The data for analysis will be placed on the Study Desk for this course. It will be in the

Assignment 3 section. It is raw data so you will need to enter the data into SPSS yourself. I

strongly suggest that you check and re-check your data when you enter it. Incorrect dataentry will result in incorrect statistical outcomes and they will be marked as incorrect.

Entering raw data into SPSS is what researchers do. Hence this is why I am requiring you to

do this for Assignment 2 and 3. My tip when I do it I get a colleague to read out the raw

data to me so that I can concentrate on entry rather than reading. So this is your time to rope

in friends or family to help you with this!

Due date and extensions

You are more than welcome to submit the assignment in before the due date. Unfortunately I

cannot return these early as I need to wait until all assignments are in before I send themback.

Should you need an extension for this assignment then you will need to apply for an

extension as per USQ extension policy which is before the due date. This is found in the

USQ Handbook under Academic Regulations 5.6 Assessment

. It is your responsibility to be

familiar and understand this policy. Applications that do not adhere to USQ policy will notbe accepted and thus not granted. If you are unclear about what you need to do regarding

asking for an extension, please contact your SRO in the first instance as they will help you

with this.

Please note, given that you need t

intro book psy 2100

Documents