Research Methods Spring 2015
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RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE (Psych 301)
SPRING 2015
MWF 8:45 – 9:35
Room: Soc/Psych 319
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Instructor:
Teaching Assistant:
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Harris Cooper
Office: 249 Soc/Psych Building
Email: cooperh@duke.edu
Phone: 660-5446
Office Hours: MWF 9:40 - 10:30am
or by appointment
Hannah Moshontz
Office: 106 Soc/Psych building
Email: hannah.moshontz@duke.edu
Phone: (818)427-9823
Office Hours: Tu 2:30 – 4:00pm
Th 11:30-1:00pm
or by appointment
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Course Objectives & Description:
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Conducting and interpreting research in psychology can be fun, challenging, and very rewarding.
Many psychology students go on to graduate school where they will conduct research of their
own. Other students will go into careers -- in business, law, medicine and social service, for
example -- that require them to read and critically evaluate psychological research. This course is
meant to provide you with an understanding of the basics of psychological research so that you
(a) will have a solid foundation in many different research methods, (b) can begin to explore in
more depth the research methods used in the topic areas that interest you, and (c) are a critical
consumer of psychological research conducted by others.
In the course you will be introduced to:
 The philosophical underpinnings of research in psychology
 Ethical issues in conducting research in psychology
 The many different types of research methods psychologists use and how they relate to
the conclusions psychologists want to draw
 How to measure psychological attributes
 How to construct and conduct a survey
 How to design and implement an experiment
 How to conduct simple data analysis
 How to write up a study for journal publication
The running examples that will be used in lectures and that will be the topic for your class project
and writing assignments involve the question of whether or not extrasensory perception (ESP),
psychokinesis (PK) and precognition (seeing the future) exist. We will (a) conduct a survey about
your beliefs regarding these phenomena and compare it to national norms and (b) conduct a
simple experiment on ourselves to tests for their existence. In addition, you will read research
(both good and bad) conducted by others that explore these phenomena.
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Research Methods Spring 2015
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Course Requirements:
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 Class attendance, reading, and participation
 Successful completion of six exams
 Successful completion of writing exercises
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Exam Structure:
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 There will be six exams. Five will be in-class and one during finals week. The first three
exams will be worth 40 points each and the next two will be worth 30 points each. These
five exams are drawn from reading and lecture. Approximately three-quarters of the
points on each exam will be based on readings and one-quarter on lectures.
 The sixth exam is during finals week. It is worth 40 points. This exam is cumulative and
will ask you to apply what you have learned to hypothetical research scenarios.
 Each exam will be comprised of multiple-choice questions only.
 In-class exams will be gone over in class on the day they are given, so you will know
immediately what your number correct was.
 Because exam answers are revealed on the day of the test, exams cannot be made-up.
Exams can be taken in advance with satisfactory justification and appropriate timing.
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Class Attendance
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 Attendance will be worth 40 points toward the final grade. Attending each lecture is
worth one point. Four additional points will be awarded to students who attend all 36
lectures. Students with prior notification of illness or travel will be awarded the point for
a missed class, up to six excused absences.
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Research & Writing Components:
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 You will be responsible for submitting a research report describing an experiment. The
experiment will be conducted at the beginning of the semester with you and your
classmates serving as subjects.
 The write-up must follow APA style (Szuchman, 2011), so it could hypothetically be
submitted to an APA journal.
 You will be provided with the study’s materials and raw data but you will have to
conduct the statistical analyses on your own, using the skills you acquired in your
statistics course. Consultation with Dr. Cooper and Hannah is provided.
 The write-up will be divided into two assignments. The first assignment requires you to
write the Abstract, Introduction and Method sections of your paper. Using APA
formatting, the Abstract should be one page long and the Introduction and Method
sections combined should be seven pages of text, not including references. The second
assignment covers the Results and Discussion sections. It should have seven pages of
text, not including at least one table and references. The write-up will also contain an
appendix that includes the printouts from the computer data analysis.
 The write-up of the Introduction and Method sections will be worth 25 points and the
write-up of the Results and Discussion sections will be worth 25 points toward your final
grade. You will receive feedback on your write-ups and only write-ups that require no
second reading will get 25 points. Other write-ups will be required to undergo revision
until the write-up meets the standard to receive 20 points.
Research Methods Spring 2015
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
You will also be responsible to serve as a peer reviewer for the experiment write-ups of
two of your classmates. Each peer review will be two pages long, a one-page standard
questionnaire and a one-page single-spaced narrative.
 The peer reviews will be worth 15 points total. You will receive feedback on your peer
reviews. Only reviews that require no second reading will get 15 points. Other peer
reviews will be required to undergo revision until they meet the standard to receive at
least 12 points.
 Extra credit: Students with two write-ups and two peer reviews that require no second
reading will receive10 points extra credit. Students whose complete experiment write-up
reveals innovative thinking in the literature review, formulation of hypotheses, data
analysis and/or data interpretation will receive 5 points extra credit.
 Late papers: A paper that is submitted late loses 1 point for each three hours of tardiness.
(Students taking part in the Duke Readers Project have a three-day extension. See below.)
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Letter Grading
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Letter grades are based on the number of points you accumulate. Thus, exams will be worth about
two-thirds of your final grade. About one-fifth of your final grade will be based on your writing
and one-eighth on class attendance.
There are a total of 325 points to be accumulated (not including 15 points extra credit).
Students obtaining:
293 (90%) points or more will receive an A
260 (80%) to 292 points will receive a B
228 (70%) to 259 points will receive a C
195 (60%) to 227 points will receive a D
194 (59%) points or less will receive an F
Pluses and minuses are given at the discretion of Dr. Cooper.
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Lunch
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Over the course of the semester, you will be invited in groups of three to have lunch with Dr.
Cooper and Hannah. This will provide an opportunity to get to know you better, to learn about
your interest in psychology, to monitor the class through your experience and to receive your
recommendations about how the course can be improved.
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Texts to Purchase:
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Christensen, L.B., Johnson, R.B. & Turner, L.A. (2014). Research methods, design, and analysis
(12th Ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Krippner, S. & Friedman, H.L. (2010). Debating psychic experience: human potential or human
illusion? Santa Barbara CA: Praeger.
National Academy of Sciences. (2009). On being a scientist: A guide to responsible conduct of
research (3rd Ed.). Washington DC: National Academy Press.
Szuchman, L.T. (2014). Writing with style: APA style made easy (6th Ed.). Belmont CA:
Wadsworth.
Urdan, T.C. (2010). Statistics in Plain English (3rd Ed.). New York: Routledge.
All additional readings will be posted on Sakai.
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Research Methods Spring 2015
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Reading, Lecture & Test Schedule:
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Week 1
Reading Assignment: Chapter 1 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Introduction to Parapsychology (Ch 15, Pgs 222-236)
Psychic Powers (Ch 2, pp 48-74)
Lecture:
W
1/7
Introductions & Data Collection
F
1/9
1. Methods of Knowing
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Reading Assignment:
Week 2
Chapter 2 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Chapters 1-4, Pp. 1-67 in Szuchman (2014)
APA Publication Manual manuscript example
Bem, D.J. (2011). Feeling the future: experimental evidence for anomalous
retroactive influences on cognition and affect. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 100, 407-425. (Bem will not be on the test until
Week 13 but you need to read it to write your paper.)
Lecture:
M
1/12
2. Levels of Scientific Analysis
W
1/14
3. Determinism
F
1/16
4. The Nature of Causality
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Reading Assignment:
Week 3
Chapter 3 in Christensen et al. (2014)
National Academy of Sciences Pamphlet
APA JARS & MARS Article (for reference only)
Lecture:
M
1/19
No class
W
1/21
5. Writing Your Introduction and Methods: Journal Article Reporting Standards
F
1/23
6. A Roadmap of Research Designs
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Reading Assignment:
Week 4
Chapter 13 in Christensen et al. (2014)
The Gold Leaf Lady Ch 3& 4, Pgs 55-96
Lecture:
M
1/26
7. Qualitative Research Designs
W
1/28
8. The Case Study
F
1/30
First Exam
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Research Methods Spring 2015
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Reading Assignment:
Week 5
Chapter 4 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Ch 5-10, Pp. 67-137 in Szuchman (2014)
Lecture:
M
2/2
9. Institutional Review Board: Holly Williams
W
2/4
10. Concepts to Operations to Numbers (1st Day and Psych 150 Questionnaire)
F
2/6
11. Questions & Questionnaires
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Reading Assignment:
Week 6
Chapter 5, pp. 139-149 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Chapter 6 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Chapter 15 in Urdan (2010)
Abstract, Introduction and Method submitted electronically 2/15 before class
Lecture:
M
2/9
12. Sources of Variation in Measurements
W
2/11
13. Research with Animals: Warren Meck
F
2/13
14. Measurement Reliability
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Reading Assignment:
Week 7
Chapter 7 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Chapters 1, 2 and 3 in Krippner and Friedman (2010)
Lecture:
M
2/16
15. Measurement Validity: Criterion & Content
W
2/18
16. Measurement Validity: Construct
F
2/20
Second Exam
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Reading Assignment:
Week 8
Chapter 5, pp. 149-166 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Chapter 12 in Christensen et al. (2014)
American Piety in the 21st Century (pgs 45-51)
Chapter 6 in Krippner and Friedman (2010)
Lecture:
M
2/23
17. External Validity: Populations & Samples
W
2/25
18. External Validity: Settings
F
2/27
19. Causal Modeling
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Research Methods Spring 2015
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Reading Assignment:
Week 9
Chapter 8 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Chapter 9 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Chapters 7, 8, 9 and 12 in Krippner and Friedman (2010)
Lecture:
M
3/2
20. The Nature of Experiments
W
3/4
21. The Nature of Experiments II
F
3/6
22. History of Experimentation and the Theory of Causal Inference
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Spring Break March 9-13
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Reading Assignment:
Week 10
Chapter 10 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Chapter 11 in Christensen et al. (2014)
Lecture:
M
3/16
23. Quasi-Experiments
W
3/18
24. Time Series
F
3/20
Third Exam
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Reading Assignment:
Week 11
Chapters 1-6 and 14 in Urdan (2010)
Results and Discussion sections submitted electronically before class 3/29
Lecture:
M
3/23
25. Peer Review
W
3/25
26. Descriptive & Non-Parametric Statistics: Chi-Square Analyses
F
3/27
27. Correlational Analyses (the components of a correlation, limitations, influences)
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Reading Assignment:
Week 12
Chapters 7-11 in Urdan (2010)
Lecture:
M
3/30
28. t-test and One-Way ANOVA (components of variance, df)
W
4/1
29. Two-way ANOVA (interactions, variance components, similarity of results)
F
4/3
Fourth Exam
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Week 13
Reading Assignment:
Re-read: Bem, D.J. (2011). Feeling the future: experimental evidence for
anomalous retroactive influences on cognition and affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
100, 407-425.
How to Think Straight about Psychology
Comments on Bem, D.J. (2011).
Peer reviews due before class 4/12
Lecture:
M
4/6
30. The Bem Studies and Comments I
W
4/8
31. The Bem Studies and Comments II
F
4/10
32. Effect Size Estimation & Research Synthesis
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Research Methods Spring 2015
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Reading Assignment:
Week 14
Cooper, H. & Dorr, N. (1996). Conducting a meta-analysis. In F.T.L. Leong &
J.T. Austin (Eds.). Psychology research handbook: A primer for graduate
students and research assistants. Newbury Park: Sage.
Bosch, H., Steinkamp, F. & Boller, E. (2006). Examining
psychokinesis: The interaction of human intention and random
numbers generators – A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin,
132, 497-523. (with comments)
Lecture:
M
4/13
33. The Bosch et al. Meta-Analysis
W
4/15
34. Comments on Bosch et al.
F
4/17
35. Data Fabrication
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Reading Assignment:
Week 15
Chapter 16 in Urdan (2010)
Extraordinary Claims of the Paranormal 245-267.
Lecture:
M
4/20
36. Publishing Ethics
W
4/22
Fifth Exam
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Final papers due to instructor and reader May ? noon
Final Exam May ?
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Critical Dates for Duke Readers Project
Date
1/21
1/24
1/30
before 2/7
Item
Class visit by DRP personnel
Deadline for student sign-up
Matches announced by this date
Intro meetings during this window
Date
Item: first half of report
Student sends [draft of Abstract, Intro and Methods] to reader by this date
Real time meeting (in person or via webcam or phone) to discuss draft by this date
If readers have time: provide written feedback for students prior to meeting
Item:
2nddraft
halfisofdue
report
Revised
to professor
Student sends [draft of Results and Discussion] to reader by this date
Real time meeting (in person or via webcam or phone) to discuss draft by this date
If readers have time: provide written feedback for students prior to meeting
Revised draft is due to professor
2/9
2/11
2/11
Date2/18
3/23
3/26
3/26
3/30
12/10/14
Research Methods Spring 2015
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