Psychology 401F: Advanced Research Methods in Psychology
Fall 2003
MW 11:15 to 1:10
451 MOORE

Instructor:         Janet K. Swim, Ph.D.
Office:              515 Moore Building
Office Hours:     Wednesday 9:30-11:00 or by appointment.  
                        I'm usually in my office just before class for quick questions. 
Office Phone:    863-1730 (please do not call me at home)
email:                JKS4@PSU.EDU
Home page:        http://psych.la.psu.edu/jswim/

T.A.:                Leah Warner
Office:             602 Moore
Office Hours:    111:00-1:00 Tues.
Office Phone:   865-1671
email:              lrw138@psu.edu 
Home page:      None

Psychology 201 is a prerequisite for this class.

The primary goal of this course is for you to experience how social psychologists conduct research. A large percentage of social psychological research uses laboratory experimental research and this form of research will be the focus of this course. Learning about the research process will occur largely by having teams of students in the class design and conduct an experiment and present the findings.

The course grade will be based 25% on team participation, 30% on group presentation of your completed study, and 15% on points accumulated from bringing material to class and assessment of readings, and 15% on each of two exams.

TEAM PARTICIPATION (25%)

Your grade for team participation will be based upon grades given to you by your fellow group members and your classroom attendance. This portion of your grade represents the effort you put forth on the project.  Classroom attendance is mandatory. Absences will affect your team participation portion of your course grade. If you come in 30 minutes late to class or leave 30 minutes early from class, this will be considered an absence.  If you have more than two unexcused absences your group participation grade will decrease by one full letter grade for every absence. Be sure to inform us immediately if you have an excused absence. Please provide written documentation of excused absences.

PRESENTATION OF  YOUR COMPLETED STUDY (30%)

The presentation portion of the class represents a grade for the quality of the work that you produce.  It will consist of grades for: 1) writing an APA style paper in the format that you would submit to a journal; and 2) shortening this paper to accommodate a poster format. These assignments will be completed as a team. Drafts of the introduction and method sections of your team’s paper will be due early in the semester and the results and discussions section near the end of the term.  The poster presentation will be done on the last day of class.  A final version of your paper will be due on the last day of class. The grades will be assigned only to the final version of your poster and paper.  

ASSIGNMENTS, READINGS, AND EXTRA CREDIT (15%)

You will accumulate points, mainly in the beginning of the semester, for bringing in material to class on time and completing assessment of readings.   These points will be summed together to form one grade based upon a grading system of A = 95% to 100%; A- = 90% to 94.9%; B+ = 87.9% to 89.9%; B = 83.33% to 87.8%; B- = 80% to 83.32%; C+ = 75% to 79.9% C = 70% to 74.9%; D = 60% to 69.9% and F = 59.9% and below.  Bringing in materials on time means that the assignments are completed prior to coming to class.  They are not to be completed during class.  A point will be deducted for each day that assignments are late.  Extra credit can be obtained by completing summaries of a research article from a social psychological journal. One summary would equal one extra credit point.

EXAMS (15% each for a total of 30%)

Two exams will be given. The first exam will require you to design a study through a series of guided questions. The second exam will require you to interpret results and critique a study.  The purpose of the exam is to test your ability to generalize what you have learned in lecture and your experience with designing and conducting a study this semester to another study. 

In order to have a make-up exam you must notify the instructor or T.A. prior to the exam to set up a make-up time.

POLICIES

Cheating in any form will result in flunking from the class. Cheating includes making up experimental data, plagiarism on papers, and copying during exams.   Please see the colleges statement on academic integrity.

The Pennsylvania State University encourages qualified persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this course or have questions about physical access, please tell the instructor as soon as possible.

Syllabus

Changes to the syllabus may occur, for instance, because of unexpected events occurring while conducting the experiment. These changes will be announced in class.

Note readings listed below are not in the same order as found in your reading packet.

Please see the University web page for the University Calendar and general deadlines you might need to Know.
Date Topic
9-3 In class:
     a) Lecture        Overview of conducting a study
9-8

Preparing for class
     a)  Read:  Aron & Aron.  "What is social psychology?"
     b)  Read: Nisbett, et al. "Telling more than we can know:  Verbal reports on mental processes."
     c)  Read:  Fiske & Leyens.  "Let Social Psychology be Faddish or, at Least, Heterogeneous."

Bring to class: 
      a)  Hand in a copy of your class/work/etc. schedule. (Mark times you are NOT available.  Note if there are particular people you really want in your group.)
      b) Assessment of readings     

In class: 
      a)  Lecture: Why do research?  

9-10

Preparing for class
      a)  Read: Devine, "Getting Hooked on research in Social Psychology:  Examples from eyewitness identification and prejudice."
     b)  Read: Levy, "Deductive and inductive reasoning:  Two methods of inference."
     c)  Research Methods:  Introduction

Bring to class
     a) Assessment of readings     

In class
      a)  Lecture:  Forming ideas
      b)  Form groups and start initial ideas for hypothesis
      c)  Find relevant background information. Each group should print a list of 10 possible studies to examine for background material for their study.  (see Doing library research for help with searches.  See list of Social Psychology journals for a guide to journals that might be helpful).  You will be using these studies to write a summary of an empirical study

9-15

Preparing for class
     a) Read:  Baumeister, Wotman, & Stillwell, Unrequited love:  On heartbreak, anger, guilt, scriptlessness, and humiliation.
     b) Read:  Levine, Sweeny, & Wagner, "Depicting women as sex objects in television advertising:  Effects on body dissatisfaction."
     c) Read:  Leary & Jones, "The Social Psychology of tanning and sunscreen use:  Self-presentational motives as a predictor of health risk."

Bring to class
     a) Assessment of readings 

In class
      a) Lecture: Experiments & Correlational studies; Connecting hypotheses to statistical designs
      b) Resources for determining sample size
9-17 Preparing for class.  BOOK WITH THESE ARTICLES IS NOW AVAILABLE AT THE BOOK STORE.
      a) Read:  Mook.  In Defense of External invalidity.
      b) Read:  Smith & Leigh.  "Virtual Subjects:  Using the Internet as an    Alternative Source of Subjects and Research Environment.
      c) Read: Forsyth, " Social Psychology's three little pigs."

Bring to class. 
   a) Assessment of readings

In class
     a) Lecture:  Validity and control;   
     b) Refine ideas and hypotheses.  Write summary of your research idea.
9-22

 Prepare for class
     a)  Read web based  tutorial on random assignment and selection.  Read through example problems on web.   Do example problems at this link that will be discussed in class.

Bring to class.
     a)  Each group should turn in a one to two page summary of their research idea.
     b) Each student should turn in a copy of a summary of an empirical study relevant to research idea being conducted.  
     c) bring in your answers to the example problems.

In class
     a) Lecture:    Steps in conducting study:  Cover story and Introducing IVs; Participant and experimenter Biases
     b)  Feedback on group summary.   
     c)  Work on specific studies (Cover story and manipulation of the  independent variables, Design/Write Stimulus Materials)
9-24 Preparing for class. 
         a) Read: Schwartz, "Self-reports:  How questions shape the answers."

Bring to class
     a) Assessment of readings

In class
    a) Lecture:    Manipulation Checks and Dependent variables; Writing your paper
    b)  Work on specific studies (adding in dependent variables and manipulation checks)
9-29

Preparing for class. 
    a) Read:  Milgram "Some conditions of obedience and disobedience to authority."
    b) Read:  Baumrind, "Some thoughts on ethics of research:  After reading Milgram's 'Behavioral Study of Obedience.'"
    c) Read:  Milgram "issues in the study of obedience:  A reply to Baumrind."

Bring to class
     a) Assessment of readings 
     b) Cover story

In class
        a)  Lecture:  Ethics
        b)  Completing IRB test and application.   
             Example application.   Example consent form. Example Debriefing form.
       c)   Work on IRB applications including writing informed consent and summary of study (written debriefing to give to participants).
       d)   Settle on stimulus materials and dependent variables.
10-1 Preparing for class
    a) Read:  Mills, "A procedure for explaining experiments involving deception." 

Bring to class
     a) Assessment of readings 
     b) Completed IRB application, including consent form, measures and written debriefing.  Bring on disk as a word file.

In class
    a)  Lecture: Debriefing/The post-experimental interview
    b) Write debriefing to be used in study
    c) Feedback on IRB application; SUBMIT IRB
10-6

Bring to class.
     a)  All materials for your study to class.  (cover story, stimulus materials, dependent measures).  Copies of enough materials for each student in class, not in your group.  Bring copies in Word format on a disk.  

In class
     a) Logistics of running study and lab protocol.
     b) Pilot test study in class
10-8 Bring to class
     a) Draft of introduction.

In class
     a)  Feedback on introductionsn.
     b) Questions on upcoming exam?
                     Example midterm exam.
                      Answers to example midterm exam.        
10-13

EXAM 1   

Answers to exam 1
10-15 Bring in revision of introduction or beginning of draft of method section.
10-20 Bring in revision of introduction or beginning of draft of method section.
10-22 Bring in revision of introduction or beginning of draft of method section.
10-27 Data collection
10-29 Meet with T.A. to assess beginning of data collection
11-3 Data collection
11-5 Meet with T.A. for progress report.
11-10 Data Collection
11-12 Bring to class
    a)   Hard copies of all of your data

In class
     a) Lecture:   Data Entry and Analyses
11-17 In class
     a)  Data Entry
     b)  Correct input errors
     c)  Begin analyzing data
11-19 Bring to class
    a) all data entered from your study.  Raw data.

In class
     a) Lecture:  Writing results and discussion sections (see Writing your paper again)
     b)   Interpret results
11-24

In class:
   a)  Writing results & discussion sections.  
11-26 Thanks giving
12-1 Bring to class
    a) draft of results and discussion sections

In class
    b) feedback on results and discussion sections
12-3 In class:
   a)  Lecture: Making Posters;  If you want you can create a large poster in powerpoint, although this can cost more. 
   b) Write poster.

 
12-8 Bring to class
     a)  Draft of poster 

In class
     a) Feedback on posters
     b) Questions about final exam
                     Example final exam.
                     Answers to example final exam.
12-10 Lecture:  Poster Session
12-15

   451  MOORE

 		Bring to class:
   a) Papers due.  Include copies of the materials for your study and a disk with your data on it.

EXAM 2:       The university will have the final exam schedule posted sometime mid semester