RESEARCH METHODS
Psychology 290a
Spring 2010
Instructor:
Victor A. Shamas, Ph.D.
Office Hours: By Appointment
Telephone:
621-7447 (message phone only)
E-mail:
vas@email.arizona.edu
Homepage:
http://vas.web.arizona.edu
Required Materials: Research Methods Course Reader (available at
http://www.ActOnWisdom.org; click on “Books and CDs” link)
Course Overview
Every fact that is presented in psychology textbooks has been verified through some form of scientific
research. To understand and evaluate the information that makes up the field of psychology, you need
to know how the information is gathered. This course will provide a thorough introduction to the
methods used by researchers in psychology to advance our collective understanding of human
thoughts, emotions, and actions. The course is divided into the following three units:
Unit 1: The Scientific Method
This unit will introduce you to fundamental ideas about the scientific method, starting with a definition
of science. You will learn to distinguish among the three kinds of methods used in psychology, and
you will discover how scientific hypotheses are developed. The unit concludes by giving you a
conceptual overview of the role that measurement and statistics play in psychological research.
Unit 2: Basic Research Issues
In this unit, you will learn to think like a researcher. You will be introduced to the basics of hypothesis
testing and the importance of experimental controls. Then, you will apply these concepts to the design
of two kinds of research experiments: between-subjects and within-subjects designs. Finally, you will
explore the social nature of the experimenter-subject interaction and discover the effects that this
interaction can have on the outcome of an experiment.
Unit 3: Advanced Research Issues
Emphasis in this unit will be placed on approaches to research that extend beyond the confines of the
laboratory. You will be introduced to the following designs: quasi-experimental, correlational,
naturalistic observation, and single-subject designs, as well as the basics of survey research. The unit
concludes with an overview of how to write up your research findings in the standardized format
required by scientific journals.
Course Structure
Although this is a Web-based course, it resembles a traditional lecture course in virtually every regard.
Here are the features of the course:
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Classroom. This course has a virtual classroom that you can access through D2L
(http://d2l.arizona.edu). By clicking on the Discussions link from the course home page,
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you will be able to access two forums: Classroom and Announcements. In the Classroom
forum, you will be able to post questions and discuss issues related to the course material with
the instructor and with other class members. The instructor will use the Announcements to
update you on the day-to-day business of the class. The difference between the two is that
content questions related to the subject of research methods will be addressed in the Classroom
forum and logistical questions about the class (e.g., deadlines, exams, grading) in the
Announcements forum.
Handouts. You will be able to download the materials you need from the instructor’s
homepage (http://vas.web.arizona.edu). These materials include the syllabus and a detailed
study guide that helps you navigate through the course readings and that includes a set of
practice tests.
Assignments. The main requirement in this course is that you keep up with the course
readings. These assigned readings are shown in the section entitled “Course Schedule” below.
All reading assignments are from the Research Methods Course Reader, which can only be ordered
online through http://www.ActOnWisdom.org (click on “Books and CDs” link).
Exams. You will be taking three multiple-choice exams in this course, which are described in
greater detail in the section entitled “Grading Policy.”
Grade Posting. You will be able to look at your exam scores and course grade by clicking on
the Grades link from the course home page.
Office Hours. You can send private questions to the instructor by clicking on the Mail link
from the course home page. The instructor will answer virtually all questions in less than 24
hours. In most cases, he will post his answers to one of the two forums so that other members
of the class can benefit from the information.
The course will proceed as follows: There will be assigned readings for each week of the session. You
will be expected to visit the course D2L site at least 2-3 times a week. Please note that any changes in
the course schedule, exam times and locations, or grading policy will ONLY be announced on the
website. If you do not check it often, you will miss out on important information.
When you enter the Discussions, you will find course announcements, questions about the material,
and discussion of issues related to the course content. Although you are not required to post to either
forum, you are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the learning opportunities it affords you. You
will be taking three exams in the course (see “Grading Policy” for more information).
Grading Policy
Your grade will be based on three multiple-choice exams, which will be held in at 6pm in a classroom
TBA on the following dates:
Midterm 1: Friday, February 19
Midterm 2: Friday, March 26
Final Exam: Friday, April 30
Attendance and punctuality are absolutely required at all three exams. If you miss an exam or arrive
more than 15 minutes late, you will receive an automatic score of zero. There are no makeup
exams except in the event of an extreme and verifiable emergency.
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The exams are multiple-choice and each question has four choices. The midterms have 30 questions
each and the final has 60 questions. Because the tests are computer-graded, you will need to bring a
Number 2 pencil to the exams and to make sure that you fill in the accompanying scantron form
according to the instructions that will be provided. Each question is worth one point. On the final,
approximately 40 questions will cover new material (Unit 3) and the other 20 will be review from Units
1 and 2.
All of the exams are closed-book and closed-notes tests. There are a total of 120 points for this course,
which are distributed as follows:
Midterm 1:
Midterm 2:
Final exam:
TOTAL
30 points
30 points
60 points
120 points
Your grade will be based on the grade cutoffs shown below:
Grade
A
B
C
D
F
Score___
100-120
80-99
60-79
40-59
below 40
Please note: There is no extra credit in this course and no grade of “incomplete.”
Required Materials
All readings listed in the course outline are taken from the Research Methods Course Reader, which
can be obtained from the following website: http://www.ActOnWisdom.org. If you click on the
“Books and CDs” link, you will find the reader for this course towards the bottom of the page.
There is no longer a required textbook for this course. The instructor has chosen to use an electronic
reader instead because it offers the following advantages over a standard textbook: 1) it saves the
students money; 2) the method of delivery of the materials is more eco-friendly; and 3) all the proceeds
go to a non-profit organization that the instructor supports. If you have any feedback concerning this
new format, please e-mail the instructor: vas@email.arizona.edu.
Course Schedule
You will need to read an average of about four lessons from your course reader per week in this course.
Please keep up with the readings so that you can post questions to the Classroom forum. You can
post any question about any of the course material on any day of the semester, and your
questions and thoughts are always welcome. But you and your classmates will get more out of the
course if you keep up with the readings and post your questions pertaining to a specific reading on the
day we are scheduled to discuss it.
The following is the schedule for this course:
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WEEK 1 (1/13 - 1/15)
WEEK 2 (1/18 - 1/22)
WEEK 3 (1/25 - 1/29)
WEEK 4 (2/1 - 2/5)
WEEK 5 (2/8 - 2/12)
WEEK 6 (2/15 - 2/19)
WEEK 7 (2/22 - 2/26)
WEEK 8 (3/1 - 3/5)
WEEK 9 (3/8 - 3/12)
WEEK 10 (3/15 - 3/19)
WEEK 11 (3/22 - 3/26)
WEEK 12 (3/29 - 4/2)
WEEK 13 (4/5 - 4/9)
WEEK 14 (4/12 - 4/16)
WEEK 15 (4/19 - 4/23)
WEEK 16 (4/26 - 4/30)
What Is Science? (Lessons I-1, I-2, I-3)
Introduction to the Methods of Science (Lessons I-4, I-5, I-6, I-7)
Developing the Hypothesis (Lessons I-8, I-9, I-10, I-11)
Description of Behavior (Lessons I-12, I-13, I-14, I-15)
Inferential Statistics (Lessons I-16, 1-17, I-18)
MIDTERM 1: FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 6pm
Testing the Hypothesis (Lessons II-1, II-2, II-3)
Control (Lessons II-4, II-5)
Applying the Logic of Experimentation (Lessons II-6 thru II-11)
Extending the Logic of Experimentation (Lessons II-12 thru II-14)
The Ecology of the Experiment (Lessons II-15, II-16, II-17, II-18)
SPRING BREAK
MIDTERM 2: FRIDAY, MARCH 26, 6pm
Quasi-Experimental, Correlational, and Naturalistic Observational
Designs (Lessons III-1, III-2, III-3, III-3, III-5)
Single-Subject Designs (Lessons III-6, III-7, III-8, III-9)
Questionnaires, Surveys & Sampling (Lessons III-10 thru III-14)
Sharing the Results (Lessons III-15, III-16, III-17, III-18)
FINAL EXAM: FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 6pm
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