Research Methods in Psychology
Curriculum guideline
This course will employ a number of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:
- lectures
- laboratory activities
- small group discussion
- problem based activities
There will be laboratory meetings throughout the semester in which students will develop and carry out their own research projects. It is expected that students may conduct research involving human participants as part of their coursework; instructors are responsible for ensuring that such research meets the College's standards for ethical research.
- The scientific understanding of behaviour
- Theories and falsifiability
- Developing questions, hypotheses and predictions
- Reviewing scientific literature
- Operational definitions and variables
- Ethical Research
- Testimonials and case study evidence
- Correlation and causation
- The experimental method
- Measurement concepts and practices
- Observational methods
- Surveys and questionnaires
- Experimental design
- Conducting experiments
- Multiple causation and complex experimental designs
- Quasi experimental and developmental research
- Understanding research results – describing data
- Probabilistic reasoning and chance – inferential statistics
- Converging evidence and consensus
- Generalizing results
- Research report writing
- The image of Psychology
At the conclusion of the course the student will be able to:
- Critically evaluate the design, measurement and inferential reasoning in psychological research articles.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the nature of knowledge in Psychology and identify common misunderstandings about Psychology.
- Identify the major ethical concerns as they apply to social research projects, especially those using human subjects.
- Identify the strengths and weaknesses of various research methods and designs (e.g., case studies, experiments, quasi-experiments, surveys, observational studies)
- Design, conduct, and analyse research projects.
- Write a research report using APA guidelines.
Evaluation will be carried out in accordance with Douglas College policy. Evaluation will be based on course objectives and may include some of the following: quizzes, multiple choice exams, essay type exams, term paper or research project, computer based assignments, etc. The instructor will provide the students with a course outline listing the criteria for course evaluation at the beginning of the semester.
An example of one evaluation scheme:
| 2 midterm exams | 40% |
| Research project report | 30% |
| Final exam | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
Textbook(s) such as the following, the list to be updated periodically:
- Cozby, Paul C. & Bates, S.C. (2017) Methods in Behavioral Research (13th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing
- Stanovich, K.E. (2019) How to Think Straight about Psychology (11th Ed.) Pearson Ed.
- Gravetter, F. J., & Forzano, L.-A. B. (2015). Research Methods for the Behavioral Sciences. Stamford, USA: Cengage Learning.
Courses listed here must be completed either prior to or simultaneously with this course:
- No corequisite courses
Courses listed here are equivalent to this course and cannot be taken for further credit:
- No equivalency courses