RESEARCH METHODS AND DATA ANALYSIS IN PSYCHOLOGY TESTBANK 2024

Research Methods and Design I is the first course in a two-semester sequence that focuses on the foundational concepts of research methodology in psychology, including the scientific method, APA formatting, significance testing, and normal curves. It will cover the basic statistical tools associated with these methods (descriptive statistics, correlations, and the basics of inferential statistics like z-scores, t-Tests and ANOVAs). In Research Methods and Design I, we will shift in and out of units on research methods and statistics. First, you will learn about research design and asking the right questions in research. Second, you will learn about the statistical tools needed to analyze and draw conclusions from research designs. The goal of this course is simple – to help you to appreciate the different methodological approaches and tools available to psychologists and why they are necessary. Success in this course requires regular class attendance and participation in activities, the timely reading of class material, and the timely completion of assignments. Readings come from two required textbooks, with the course covering roughly half of the material in each book this semester. Please keep these two books, as you will use them again during Research Methods and Design II next semester, where you will get the chance to implement the concepts you learn in Research Methods and Design I in hands-on research labs. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, students will: 1. be able to read, critique, and understand an empirical psychology research article 2. identify which types of information are provided by descriptive and inferential data analysis methods and recognize the assumptions of each. 3. describe the nature of variability (including variance and standard deviations) 4. describe the nature of correlations (compared to causation). 5. identify the difference between a normal curve (and a not-so- normal curve!). 6. define, understand, and calculate a z-score and a t-Test 7. be able to identify when something is significant (and in what way) 8. understand the ins and outs of APA formatting IMPORTANT INFORMATION POLICIES Please review the FIU's Policies webpage. The policies webpage contains essential information regarding guidelines relevant to all courses at FIU, as well as additional information about acceptable netiquette for online courses. As a member of the FIU community you are expected to be knowledgeable about the behavioral expectations set forth in the FIU Student Code of Conduct. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS AND SKILLS One of the greatest barriers to taking an online course is a lack of basic computer literacy. By computer literacy we mean being able to manage and organize computer files efficiently, and learning to use your computer's operating system and software quickly and easily. Keep in mind that this is not a computer literacy course; but students enrolled in online courses are expected to have moderate proficiency using a computer. Please go to the "What's Required" webpage to find out more information on this subject. Please visit our Technical Requirements webpage for additional information. ACCESSIBILITY AND ACCOMMODATION The Disability Resource Center collaborates with students, faculty, staff, and community members to create diverse learning environments that are usable, equitable, inclusive and sustainable. The DRC provides FIU students with disabilities the necessary support to successfully complete their education and participate in activities available to all students. If you have a diagnosed disability and plan to utilize academic accommodations, please contact the Center at or visit them at the Graham Center GC 190. Please visit our ADA Compliance webpage for information about accessibility involving the tools used in this course. Please visit Blackboard's Commitment Accessibility webpage for more information. For additional assistance please contact FIU's Disability Resource Center. ACADEMIC MISCONDUCT STATEMENT Florida International University is a community dedicated to generating and imparting knowledge through excellent teaching and research, the rigorous and respectful exchange of ideas and community service. All students should respect the right of others to have an equitable opportunity to learn and honestly to demonstrate the quality of their learning. Therefore, all students are expected to adhere to a standard of academic conduct, which demonstrates respect for themselves, their fellow students, and the educational mission of the University. All students are deemed by the University to understand that if they are found responsible for academic misconduct, they will be subject to the Academic Misconduct procedures and sanctions, as outlined in the Student Handbook. Academic Misconduct includes: Cheating – The unauthorized use of books, notes, aids, electronic sources; or assistance from another person with respect to examinations, course assignments, field service reports, class recitations; or the unauthorized possession of examination papers or course materials, whether originally authorized or not. Plagiarism – The use and appropriation of another’s work without any indication of the source and the representation of such work as the student’s own. Any student who fails to give credit for ideas, expressions or materials taken from another source, including internet sources, is responsible for plagiarism. Learn more about the academic integrity policies and procedures as well as student resources that can help you prepare for a successful semester. It is my policy, as well as that of FIU, to provide individualized accommodations to students who have disabilities that may affect their ability to participate in course activities or to meet course requirements. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact me within the first week of class to discuss their individual needs. These conversations will be held in strict confidence. COURSE PREREQUISITES In order to take this course, you have to successfully pass STA2122 or STA3111. Review the Course Catalog webpage for prerequisites information. EXPECTATIONS OF THIS COURSE This is an online course, which means most (if not all) of the course work will be conducted online. Expectations for performance in an online course are the same for a traditional course. In fact, online courses require a degree of self-motivation, self-discipline, and technology skills which can make these courses more demanding for some students. TEXTBOOK The psychologist as detective: An introduction to conducting research in psychology (Highly Recommended) Smith, R. A., & Davis, S. F. Pearson; 6th edition (October 12, 2012) ISBN-10: ISBN-13: 978-0205859078 You may purchase your textbook online at the FIU Bookstore. The Smith and Davis textbook listed under “Optional Materials” is highly recommended, since lecture material is based on it. However, the lectures are detailed enough that I am making the Smith and Davis textbook recommended only, though HIGHLY recommended. Statistics for people who (think they) hate statistic (Required) Salkind, N. J. (2017) California: Sage; 6th edition ISBN-10: 1506333834 ISBN-13: 9781506333830 You may purchase your textbook online at the FIU Bookstore. 1. IMPORTANT: Your Salkind textbook comes with a free student version of SPSS, the statistical software program that you will use during your SECOND research methods semester (Research Methods and Design II). The time period access for this software is limited, so DO NOT ACTIVATE THE SPSS LICENSE THIS SEMESTER. You will activate it during your second semester. If you activate it now, you might have to pay for it again in the future, so just leave it alone for now! You will need to have a calculator with basic statistical functions (addition, division, subtraction, multiplication, square, and square root) for all classes, and especially for exams. Optional Materials: There are a number of books you can use in conjunction with the above texts. These are not required, but you can get them on your own if you want. 1. Main Lecture: Smith, R. A., & Davis, S. F.. (2016). The psychologist as detective: An introduction to conducting research in psychology (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 2. Schwartz, B.M., Landrum, R.E., & Guring, R.A.R. (2012). An easy guide to APA style. Los Angeles: Sage 3. Szuchman, L.T. (2008).Writing with style (4th ed,).Belmont, CA:Thomson / Wadsworth Publishing. 4. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (6th ed.). (HIGHLY recommended) COURSE DETAIL BLACKBOARD This course relies extensively on Blackboard. Blackboard provides you with assignment instructions, a place to turn in some of your written assignments, a place to determine your grades, and a place where you can find additional resource materials for this course (such as powerpoint slides, required readings, copies of in-class handouts and assignments, videos and other links applicable to psychology research methods). It is important that you become familiar with this software. If you have never used Blackboard before, or if you want to find additional information about the software, I encourage you to attend the Blackboard training sessions usually available to students during the first week of classes in MARC 115. You may contact University Technology Services at 7-2814 if you have any questions. There are several online training sessions available as well. Go to COURSE COMMUNICATION Communication in this course will take place via Email. The Email feature is an external communication tool that allows users to send emails to users enrolled within the course. Emails are sent to the students’ FIU email on record. The Email tool is located on the Course Menu, on the left side of the course webpage. Visit our Writing Resources webpage for more information on professional writing and technical communication skills. EVALUATION There are several different types of evaluations in this course, including exams, papers, discussions, and short assignments. Check the course calendar at the end of the syllabus for all due dates. COURSE EXAMS More than any other course, you need to be continually engaged in the material to do well in research methods. It is your responsibility to ask questions! Contact me via email about topics and concepts (any course material) for which you need clarification. During the semester, there will be several exams intended to encourage you to interact with the material or, in some cases, to assess your progress in the course. These exams are already announced on the syllabus and cannot be made up if you miss them. You may need your calculator for these exams, so make sure you have one available each and every exam. Questions will be based on assigned readings and lectures and usually cover two to three chapters. I will not give make-ups for exams unless you provide me with a written doctor note or other valid written excuse (e.g. funeral announcement, etc.). You must contact me within 24 hours by e-mail regarding an emergency situation. All exams take place online. The lowest score you receive on an exam will be dropped. For example, if you miss one exam, you will receive a “0” for that exam, which will be dropped. Thus only five of your six exam grades count (so if you score high on the first five exams, you can choose to opt out of the final exam! However, if you miss an exam or do poorly on one, then you can take the sixth exam to try to make up for that low score).