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COURSE OUTLINE: EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY--Psic. 4006 5 March, 2005
Professor: Dr. Eric Phoebus
Phone: X3367
Email: ephoebus@helix.nih.gov (Use this to reach me directly. I usually check at least once a day)
Office: Ch-336C
Office Hours: T & Th: 12:00-1:30; T & Th: 4:30-6:00
Text: Methods in Behavioral Research, 7th ed., 2001,
Paul C. Cozby, Mayfield, Mountain View, CA.
Web Cites: http://www.nicenet.org/- access code: Y2Z266E28
Course Catalog:
PSIC 3018. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY. Four credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week and two hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisites: ESMA 3102 and PSIC 3002. Application of experimental and quasi-experimental methods to the problems of psychology, including the design, implementation, analysis, and presentation of a research project.
Course Objective:
A presentation of the scientific method as applied experimentally to the problems of psychology. The course focuses on the logic, principles and practices of modern science and how it is applied to understanding the nature of reality. Successful completion of this course will prepare the student for graduate work and advanced experimental concepts and also enable at a minimum to become an informed consumer of science.
GENERAL COURSE OBJECTIVE:
To familiarize the student with a basic and broad understanding of the scientific method and its application to the problems of Psychology.
At the end of the course the student must have the capacity to:
Identify the and explain the principles of empiricism, including how these are applied to implementation of research.
Identify and describe the fundamental components of published research papers.
Describe the principles and procedures of data acquisition and the application of methods of experimental control.
Describe the distinct differences and distinguish between the goals of basic vs. applied scientific research.
Describe the fundamental differences between the methods of carrying out an experiment vs. systematic observation and their effect on questions of causation.
Describe the fundamentals of sampling methods and how representative samples are obtained.
Identify the different research designs and their appropriate application to hypothesis testing.
Differentiate between the distinct methods of experimental control of extraneous variables, and determining their appropriate application in research design.
Identify sources of confounding and data contamination in published research.
Demonstrate skills in research criticism by identifying errors in experimenter's conclusions given the data gathered.
Identify and apply appropriate statistical tests with respect to measurement scales and experiment characteristics..
Course Content:
SCIENTIFIC UNDERSTANDING OF BEHAVIOR
Uses of Research Methods. The Scientific Approach, Goals of Science, Basic and Applied Research
WHERE TO START
Hypotheses and Predictions, Who We Study: A Note on Terminology, Sources of Ideas, Library Research, Anatomy of a Research Article
ETHICAL RESEARCH
Milgram's Obedience Experiment, Research Costs and Benefits, Major Ethical Issues in Research, Other Ethical Issues in Research, Formulation of Ethical Principles, Research With Human Participants, Ethics and Animal Research, Costs and Benefits Revisited, Fraud.
STUDYING BEHAVIOR
Variables, Operational Definitions of Variables, Relationships Between Variables, Nonexperimental Versus Experimental Methods, Independent and Dependent Variables, Causality, Choosing a Method: Advantages of Multiple Methods, Evaluating Research: Three Validities.
MEASUREMENT CONCEPTS
Reliability of Measures, Construct Validity of Measures, Reactivity of Measures, Variables and Measurement Scales.
OBSERVING BEHAVIOR
Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches, Naturalistic Observation,
CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS
Selecting Research Participants, Manipulating the IV, Measuring the Dependent Variable, Additional Controls, Debugging the Study, Debriefing, Using Computers to Conduct Research, Analyzing and Interpreting Results, Communicating Research to Others.
COMPLEX EXPERIMENTAL DESIGNS
Increasing the Number of Levels of an Independent Variable, Increasing the Number of Independent Variables:
Factorial Designs
QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL, SINGLE-SUBJECT, AND DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH DESIGNS
QuasiExperimental Designs, SingleSubject Experiments, Developmental Research Designs,
UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH RESULTS: DESCRIPTION AND CORRELATION Scales of Measurement, Analyzing the Results of Research Investigations, Frequency Distributions, Descriptive Statistics, Graphing Relationships, Correlation Coefficients: Describing the Strength of Relationships, Effect Size, Statistical Significance, Regression Equations, Multiple Correlation, Partial Correlation and the Third-Variable Problem, Structural Models.
UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH RESULTS: STATISTICAL INFERENCE
Samples and Populations, Inferential Statistics, Null and Research Hypotheses, Probability and Sampling Distributions, Example: The t and F Tests, Typel and Typell Errors, Choosing a Significance Level, Interpreting Nonsignificant Results, Choosing a Sample Size: Power Analysis, The Importance of Replications, Significance of a Pearson r Correlation Coefficient, Computer Analysis of Data, Selecting the Appropriate Significance Test.
GENERALIZING RESULTS
Generalizing to Other Populations of Research Participants, Cultural Considerations, Generalizing to Other Experimenters, Pretests and Generalization, Generalizing From Laboratory Settings, The Importance of Replications, Evaluating Generalizations via Literature Reviews and Meta-Analysis, Using Research to Improve Lives.
WRITING RESEARCH REPORTS
Writing Style, Organization of the Report, The Use of Headings, Citing and Referencing Sources, Abbreviations, Grammatical Considerations, Reporting Numbers and Statistics.
APPLYING STATISTICAL TESTS
Descriptive Statistics, Statistical Significance Tests, Correlation and Effect Size.
Pedagogic and learning responsibilities:
Your grade in this course will be determined by results of examinations covering lecture and assigned text material, successful completion of laboratory assignments, the professor's evaluation of your laboratory research experiment, class and laboratory attendance.
1. Four examinations will be administered, with the lowest of the first 3 partial exams eliminated. If for any reason you miss an examination, it will be considered your lowest score. There will be no makeup examinations given. The final exam is mandatory and must be taken (NO EXCEPTIONS). If you miss two examinations, you will have a very serious problem and will probably fail the course. Examinations will comprise 60% of your final grade. Laboratory and Research Project will comprise 40%.
2. Students can work alone or organize themselves into teams of 2 or 3 members, each of which will experimentally address a problem in psychology, usually limited to specific themes which I will provide. The group will formulate an hypothesis which if true, solves the problem. Then: 1) design an experimental plan, 2) implement the gathering of data, 3) analyze and report the results of the experiment in both verbal and written form. The quality of the individual group's work, along with a PC-based series of individual psychology experiments, will determine 20% of each student's final grade. Team members will evaluate their own and the other team members participation in producing the experiment. General laboratory comportment, cooperation, group participation and attitude will also affect students' final grades.
3. Class and Laboratory attendance is mandatory. Failure to meet this requirement will result in reductions of total points earned on examinations and possibly your final grade.