Research Methods (PSYC 314L)
Richard S. John, Ph.D.
Spring Semester, 2008
Lectures:
Labs:
SGM 226; Monday and Wednesday, 8:30 – 9:50
King Hall; Tuesday, 2:00-3:50 or Thursday, 10:00-11:50
Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
Office hours:
E-mail
Richard John, Ph.D.
SGM 621
213-740-4011(no voice mail)
Mon. 10:00-11:00 & Thurs. 11:00-12:00
richardj@usc.edu (best contact)
TA:
Office:
Office hours:
Email:
Mo Zheng
SGM
TBA
mzheng@usc.edu
Course Objectives
You will design and conduct research to address psychological questions and
develop professional presentations of your findings. You will develop skills
that are essential in psychology and related professions, and will benefit you
in almost any field. Social science research becomes more common and
more public in our culture and this course aims to make you a wise
consumer of scientific knowledge.
Specific skills you will develop include:
 Formulating research questions, developing testable hypotheses, and
designing an effective means of investigation
 Identifying and interpreting published empirical and theoretical papers
 Drawing valid conclusions from research findings
 Selecting, applying and interpreting statistical analyses of quantitative
data
 Communicating research in scientific papers and presentations using
the format of the American Psychological Association

In addition, note that this course requires working in small groups or
partnered relationships outside of class time and will provide experience in
the collaborative nature of most social science research.
Required Text:
Pelham, B. W. & Blanton, H. (2007). Conducting research in psychology:
Measuring the weight of smoke (3rd ed.) Belmont, California:
Thomson-Wadsworth.
Grading
Class Participation
Learning Experiences
Labs
Mid-term Exams
Research Paper
Points
100
240
200 (10 @ 20 pts each)
360 (3 @ 120 pts each)
100
Total
1000
Laboratory Activities. Graded lab activities will be assigned and due each
week; there will be 3 strategically placed “byes.” These activities reinforce
what is covered in class and in the text. Specific requirements for each
activity will be provided in lab meetings. You should attend the lab section
for which you are registered; you must request and obtain permission to
attend another lab session on a week by week basis. Graded components of
lab activities are due at the end of the 2 hour lab session and may not be
completed or submitted outside of the scheduled meeting time. If you must
miss a lab due to a prescheduled event (i.e., being out of town), you must
arrange in advance of the lab period to complete the work in another of my
lab sections. It is due at the end of the lab attended.. Only a limited and
number of such arrangements will be made per student per semester, and
requires advanced notification of all TA’s involved plus written evidence that
you cannot attend your lab. If you miss lab without such arrangements,
make-ups will only be allowed if you can document a lab-day emergency
(see Justifiable Absences below); otherwise, a score of 0 will be assigned.
Course Policies: Please read carefully!!!
Attendance: Attendance in lab is required in order to receive points for
the activity.
Deadlines: All deadlines are firm; simply being absent the day an
assignment is due, given or amended, does not grant you an extension.
Written work must be printed (not emailed), and turned in during class or
placed in my mailbox by the end of class on the due date.
Be aware that you are responsible for information communicated in
class, which is more extensive than that posted on Blackboard. I strongly
recommend you attend and get notes from another student or two if you are
absent. If you have a justifiable absence, you may email or come to my
office hours to see if additional information was given in class.
Justifiable Absences: You will be granted deadline extensions ONLY
FOR THE FOLLOWING: (1) serious illness, (2) personal/family emergency,
(3) school-related activity, or (4) scheduled graduate school or job interview
with proof from the organization. I must have in writing from a doctor or an
appropriate staff person a statement that you could not possibly attend class
on specific dates which must include the lab/due date. Your extension is one
class/lab period for every period you were excused. One day is assumed
unless your note states otherwise. Show me your excuse the first class day
after it expires and I will notify your TA that you are to make up any missed
lab(s).
Exams: All 3 exams are open notes (handwritten or printed; no
photocopies of text). Exams will cover material in the reading assignments and
in lectures. Unexcused missed exams will receive scores of 0. Make up exams
will be given with written documentation as noted above and must be
completed immediately after your excuse expires. You must notify me that you
have an excuse within 24 hours of the exam.
Using Blackboard: I post lecture slides, assignments and
announcements as promptly as possible. Your TA will post or distribute lab
assignments and grade and enter your lab scores. Please monitor your
scores often and keep all assignments until after final grades have been
determined. You will need to bring a graded assignment in as proof if it was
misrecorded in Blackboard. All score corrections must be requested with
proof by the scheduled final exam period. No changes will be made
thereafter.
Academic Integrity
Cheating during an exam will result in a score of zero on that exam.
No cell phones or electronic devices may be out or on during an exam.
Gross dishonesty during an exam will result in a grade of F for the
entire course.
Plagiarism is the appropriation and subsequent distribution of another's
ideas or words as one's own. If the words or ideas of another are used,
acknowledgement of the original source must be made through recognized
reference practices (APA style in this case).
Data fabrication is creating or altering research data.
Any papers judged to violate the USC academic integrity guidelines,
such as evidence of plagiarism or data fabrication, will result in a grade of 0
for the work or an F for the course depending on severity, and the incident
will be reported to the appropriate University Officials.
All learning experiences (assignments) and quizzes will be assigned and
discussed in class and posted on Blackboard. All learning experiences are due
IN CLASS at 8:30 A.M. on the due date. Assignments must be submitted in a
printed form.
Disability Services and Programs Statement
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required
to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of
verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be
sure the letter is delivered to me (or to the TA) as early in the semester as
possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday
through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
Research Methods
Psychology 314L
Spring 2008
Richard S. John, Ph.D.
Course Outline
Wk
1
Day
MON
WED
2
MON
WED
3
MON
WED
4
MON
WED
5
6
7
Chap
Overview of Course: Objectives and
14-Jan Requirements
Ways of knowing: Intuition, logic, authority, observation
16-Jan Science and Pseudo-science and Common Sense
1
Determinism, Empiricism, Parsimony, Falsifiability
21-Jan No Class---University Holiday
23-Jan Intuition and Introspection
Nisbett and Wilson, 1977, 1978
28-Jan Probabilistic Reasoning and Inference
Kahneman and Tversky, 1973, 1974
30-Jan Laws, Theories, Hypotheses
Wanted: A good idea
4-Feb Measure Validity
2
3
3
MON
6-Feb Measure Reliability
Measurement Scales
11-Feb Psychological Measurement
WED
13-Feb Evaluating and Creating Scales
4
MON
18-Feb No Class---University Holiday
WED
20-Feb Exam #1
MON
WED
8
Date Topic
MON
Selection bias, nonresponse bias, History,
25-Feb Maturation,
Regression to the Mean, Testing Effects, Attrition
27-Feb Participant Reaction bias, Experimenter bias
Confounds and Artifacts
3-Mar Case studies
Population surveys, Public Opinion, Epidemiology
4
1-4
5
5
6
WED
9
MON
5-Mar Correlational Research and Confounds
Archival Research, Observational Research
10-Mar True Experiments
Strengths of true experiments
12-Mar Experimental realism and artificiality
Internal vs. External Validity
24-Mar Catch-up and Review
WED
26-Mar Exam #2
MON
31-Mar Quasi-Experimental Design
MON
WED
10
11
WED
12
MON
15
7
5-7
8
8
MON
WED
23-Apr Exam #3
MON
28-Apr Writing research papers
11
WED
30-Apr Talking about research and storytelling
11
MON
WED
14
7
7-Apr One-Way and Factorial Designs
Testing Interactions
9-Apr With-in Subjects Designs: Pros and Cons
Mixed Model Designs: The best (and worst) of
both
14-Apr Why Descriptive Statistics are important: review
What Inferential Statistics really mean: review
Alpha, Beta, and Power; Effect size and
16-Apr Significance
Testing; Meta Analyses
21-Apr Catch-up and Review
WED
13
2-Apr Evaluation Research
6
FINAL MON 12-May Final Papers due; Final Presentations
EXAM
11:00 A.M.
9
9
10
10
8-10