Course

Academic and Professional Development in Psychology

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Psychology
Course code
PSYC 2150
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15
Max class size
25
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Seminar
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course is recommended for students who plan to complete a BA degree in Psychology. The course addresses four areas of academic and professional skill development. First, students will learn how to write papers and research reports using the writing and referencing style of the American Psychological Association (APA). Second, students will develop the necessary skills to construct interview questions and conduct effective interviews. Third, students will develop the research and critical thinking skills necessary to find, review, and evaluate research on given topics in psychology. Finally, students will learn to apply ethical guidelines and other practical skills to research in psychology.
Course content
  • APA Writing Style
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Procedure
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • References
  • Interviewing
    • Constructing interview questions
    • Probes and follow-up questions
    • Interviewing skills
  • Finding, Reviewing, and Evaluating Research
  • Psychology as a science
  • Peer review researchheory-testing
  • Operational definitions
  • Case studies
  • Correlation and causation
  • Experimental control
  • Representative samples
  • Converging evidence
  • Multiple causation
  • Inferential statistics and probability
  • Research Ethics
  • American Psychological Association Ethics Code.
  • Canadian Psychological Association Ethics Code.
  • Informed consent.
  • Confidentiality.
  • Deception.
  • Minimal-risk research.
  • Risk-benefit analysis.
  • Debriefing.
Learning activities

The primary method of instruction will be the lecture, but the course may involve various other methods of instruction, such as small group activities, discussion groups, oral presentations, video tapes, and guest lectures.

Means of assessment

The course evaluation will be based on the course objectives and in accordance with Douglas College policy

An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:

 

 

APA Style research paper   20%
In-class writing assignments       30%
Interviewing assignment   10%
Midterm exam   20%
Final exam   20%
Total 100%
Learning outcomes

At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:

  1. Write a research report in APA style. 
  2. Construct well-designed interview questions, probes, and follow-up questions.
  3. Conduct an effective research interview.
  4. Critically evaluate empirical research.
  5. Apply ethical guidelines to psychological research.
  6. Work in teams to plan and conduct minimal risk research.
Textbook materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students:

 

Texts will be updated periodically.  Typical examples include both of the following:

American Psychological Association. (2009). Mastering APA style: Student’s workbook and training guide

         (6nd ed.).  Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.   

 

Stanovich, K. E. (2011). How to think straight about psychology (9th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn &    

         Bacon.

Requisites

Prerequisites

PSYC 1100 or PSYC 1200

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for PSYC 2150
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) KPU PSYC 2XXX (3)
Langara College (LANG) LANG PSYC 2XXX (3)
Simon Fraser University (SFU) No credit
Thompson Rivers University (TRU) TRU PSYC 2XXX (3)
University of British Columbia - Okanagan (UBCO) UBCO PSYO_O 2nd (3)
University of British Columbia - Vancouver (UBCV) UBCV PSYC_V 2nd (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) No credit
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) UFV PSYC 2XX (3)
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC PSYC 2XX (1.5)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025