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HUNTER COLLEGE, CUNY
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY 250: GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: SEC 005
(4 credits)
Mon: 10:10 am - 1:00 pm - HW 117 (lec)
Thu: 10:10 am - 1:00 pm - HN 614 (lab)
INSTRUCTOR: Philip Kreniske
Office: 151M North Building, Phone: 212-772-5550
Email: pkreniske@gc.cuny.edu
Office Hours: Thursday 1:00-2:00, or by appointment
Teaching Assistant: Sonia Sanchez
Email: soasanch@gmail.com
Office #: 151M North Building
Hours: Monday 1:00-2:00 and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is designed to be an introduction to psychological research methods. Topics
covered will include, but are not limited to, the ethics of conducting research, the process
of generating research questions and hypotheses, research methodologies and writing
scientific papers. Ultimately, the most important skill gleaned from this course may be
how to critically approach and analyze a psychological research report.
PRE-REQUISITES:
Declared psychology major; Engl 120 with a minimum grade of C; one semester of
acceptable lab science sequence with a passing grade; Psych 248 with a minimum grade
of C.
STUDENT PRIVACY STATEMENT:
At times, students may disclose personal information through class discussions. It is
expected that the class will respect the privacy of their classmates. The information
disclosed in this class will not be repeated or discussed with other students outside of the
course.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Come to class and be on time. If you are late, try to enter without disturbing the class.
When appropriate (during a break or after class) ask a classmate for notes or a quick
update.
An attendance sheet will be handed out during each class period. If you miss six or more
classes you may be withdrawn from the course.
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COURSE OBJECTIVES:
All students are expected to show competence in the following:
A. Research Design
1. Origin of research hypotheses.
2. Dependent and independent variables, determination of relevant variables, controlled
and uncontrolled variables, general and procedural (operational) definitions of variables,
internal and external validity, reliability.
3. Observational, correlational and experimental research.
4. Within and between subjects designs, order effects (counterbalancing), matching by
pre-test, random selection, factorial design, single and matched samples, single subject
and group data.
5. Organization, summarization and presentation of findings.
6. Calculation and interpretation of descriptive and inferential statistics.
B. Ethics
1. Informed consent, confidentiality, participant-experimenter interaction, and debriefing.
2. Completion of the CUNY computer based training (CBT). Note: Classroom exercises
cannot be conducted prior to CBT.
C. Information Literacy
1. Information retrieval through library databases (e.g., PsycInfo, PubMed).
2. Use of abstracts, research journals.
3. Evaluation of sources.
D. Techniques
1. Data collection and analysis.
2. Use of computers and other experimental materials/apparatus and equipment for data
collection.
3. Use computer programs such as Excel, SPSS, Word, and PowerPoint.
E. Communication of Research Results
1. Students in all sections must complete a minimum of four full APA research reports
based on data collected for the course. There may be additional assignments.
2. The final paper should be an original study designed by the student.
3. The results of this experiment are to be presented in class preferably in the form of a
PowerPoint presentation.
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REQUIRED TEXT (available at Shakespeare Bookstore):
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition. American
Psychological Association. ISBN: 978-1433805615. $20.99 on Amazon.
Research Methods in Psychology. Wendy Schweigert. ISBN: 978-1577664154 on
Amazon $27.46
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Research Methods in Psychology
Attendance
Participation
Timely completion of assignments and all 4 major papers
Grading Requirements:
Grades will be calculated as follows:
Criteria
%
Attendance and Class Participation % 10
Weekly Readings and Assignments % 10
Paper 1
% 15
Paper 2
% 15
Paper 3
% 15
Paper 4
% 15
Presentation
% 10
Quizzes
% 10
-------------------------------100%
%
Grade
100-97.5%
= A+
92.5– 97.4%
= A
90 – 92.4%
= A87.5 – 89.9%
= B+
82.5 – 87.4%
= B
80.0 – 82.4%
= B77.5 – 79.9%
= C+
70.0 – 77.4%
= C
0 – 69.9%
= F
Students will be graded based on the scoring rubric provided. The grades are assigned
according to the values published by the Hunter College Graduate catalog.
Date
1/27M
1/30 T
Topic
Introductions
Ethics and CITI Certificate
2/3 M
Introduce Study 1 and Literature Review
2/6 T
2/10 M
Reliability, Validity, and Hypotheses
Squirrel Observations
Writing the Introduction and APA style
2/13 T
2/17 M
2/20 T
Method and Results and APA style
No Class: Presidents’ Day
MEET @ HW 117: Discussion and APA style
2/24 M
2/27 T
3/3 M
3/6 T
3/10 M
Review Criteria, Rubrics, and Paper 1 Workshop
Designing Study 2, Intro to Between Groups Design
Surveys and Interviews
Introduce EF Collect Data
Review Between Groups Design
3/13 T
Enter data, Analyze Results & Begin Draft Outline
P#2
Quasi-Experimental Design & Writing Tips
Guest Lecturer Colette Daiute on Narrative Analysis
Paper 2 Workshop
Collect & Analyze Data, & Within-Subject Design
Lecture on Experimental Design, Outline paper #3
3/17 M
3/20 T
3/24 M
3/27 T
3/31 M
4/3 T
4/7 M
4/10 T
4/14-4/22
4/24 T
4/28 M
5/1 T
5/5 M
5/8 T
5/12 M
5/15 T
5/16 F
Assignments Due
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Read Ch. 2 Study Question 1,
Post to DB
Study Q2 on DB Read: Hopewell,
Leaver and Lea (2008)
Read Ch. 3
Study Q3 on DB
and read APA Manual, Ch. 2
Ch. 4 & 5
Study Q4 (Post to Course
Materials)
Bring a draft of paper 1 to class
Paper #1 Due
Ch. 11 and Study Q5
Read Hall et al. (2009)
Bialystock and Viswanathan
(2009) & Study Q6 (Post to CM)
Ch. 6 & Paper under Course Info
Ch. 8
Readings TBA
Bring a draft of paper 2 to class
Paper #2 Due
Read Hartley and Adams (1974)
& Study Q 7
Read Stroop Article Study Q 8
Single Subject Designs & Case Study Ch. 12 AERA
Designing Study 4 and Factorial Designs
Group Work Paper Review
Bring a draft of paper 3 to class
Spring Break!
Paper #3 due 4/14/14
Guest Lecture Prof. Downing and Statistical
Study Q 9
Approaches and future research
Designing Presentations, final projects, consents
Participate! Collect, Enter & Analyze Data for Study 4 Review Ch. 9 Factorial Designs
Gather data practice presentations, run analyses
Study Q10
Gather data practice presentations, run analyses
Presentations
Peggy Sue, Sarika, Malena
Presentations
Marina, Krystie, Yael, Santino
FINAL PAPER DUE (NO CLASS)
Paper #4 Due
All assignments must be turned in by 5/16
In the above course outline the chapter readings are from Schweigert (2012).
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Be aware the above schedule is subject to change, additional work may be assigned;
therefore please reference the course Blackboard page for the most current version.
Participation
Participation involves listening to peers’, contributing to class and blackboard
discussions, and asking questions during class. All phones should be turned off and put
away, and absolutely no texting is permitted during class.
Blackboard, Email, and Meeting
For many assignments and communications Blackboard will be the medium of
communication. Please make sure you can log into this course on Blackboard. In
addition, please be prepared to use your Hunter email account associated with
Blackboard.
Please understand I receive many emails each day. I will attempt to respond to emails
within approximately 48 hrs. To ensure your email is seen, read, and receives a timely
response use the following format for all email communications with me:
To: pkreniske@gc.cuny.edu
Cc: soasanch@gmail.com
Subject: PSYCH 250 YOUR LAST NAME (e.g. Smith) PAPER #1 (OR any brief
relevant words about the reason for your email)
I will be available for the office hours listed at the top of the syllabus. To assist with
scheduling, in the case of high demand, I suggest emailing me at least the day before to
check availability.
Pop Quizzes
Throughout the semester there will be a number of pop quizzes based on the reading for
that day. These quizzes are designed to encourage students to read prior to class, and to
arrive to class on time. They will be very short and take place promptly at the start of
class. If you are late, you will not be permitted to take the quiz. If you read the chapters
prior to class, and you arrive on time, you will likely receive the full 10%. If you do not
read, and you show up late, your grade will be negatively affected. Under no
circumstances will a makeup be given – NONE – please do not ask!
Expectations for Written Proficiency
Students must demonstrate consistently satisfactory written English in coursework. The
Hunter College Writing Center, on the fourth floor of Thomas Hunter, provides tutoring
to students across the curriculum and at all academic levels. For more information, see
http://www.hunter.cuny.edu. In addition, the Teacher Placement Office in the School of
Education offers a writing workshop during the semester and a series of free writing
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classes are offered to students who are in need of additional support in improving their
writing skills. In both cases, stop by room 1000 West for information and dates of
workshops.
Papers
Experimental Psychology requires students write four (4) scientific papers that are in a
form suitable for submission to a scholarly journal. These papers are based on original
research that we will conduct in class. However, you will spend a great deal of
time outside of class researching and writing your papers. Papers are due promptly at the
start of class. Every day that a paper is late, 5 points will be deducted from the grade,
starting at the end of class and including weekends and holidays. In addition, a grade
may not be given to your paper until it is posted on the Blackboard SafeAssign link
and emailed to pkreniske@gc.cuny.edu and cc TA. Any papers not posted to
SafeAssign and emailed to pkreniske@gc.cuny.edu may be graded as a zero.
Presentation
Paper 4 will be an independent project that you develop, collect data for, and write up.
You will be expected to do an oral presentation using PowerPoint or Prezi. Even if the
research is not complete, presentations should include sections that reflect an APA paper
(i.e. Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion and References). People working in
groups will do one presentation, but everyone is expected to speak.
Integrity and Plagiarism
Hunter College has subscribed to the online company, Turnitin.com. Turnitin.com allows
faculty to compare student papers with extensive databases of billions of documents in
order to detect and verify material that has been plagiarized. In this course, Turnitin.com
and SafeAssign are used to deter students from plagiarizing material. Please be aware that
student papers will be examined from time to time. Students who plagiarize will be
punished. “Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism, cheating
on examinations, obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official
documents) as serious offenses against the values of intellectual honesty. The college is
committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of
academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College Academic Integrity Procedures.”
Statement of Reasonable Accommodation
In compliance with the American Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) and with Section 504 of
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Hunter College is committed to ensuring educational
parity and accommodations for all students with documented disabilities and/or medical
conditions. It is recommended that all students with documented disabilities (Emotional,
Medical, Physical and/ or Learning) consult the Office of AccessABILITY located in
Room E1124 to secure necessary academic accommodations. For further information and
assistance please call (212- 772- 4857)/TTY (212- 650- 3230).