Course

Honours Thesis I

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Psychology
Course code
PSYC 4400
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15
Max class size
N/A; independent study with supervisor
Method(s) of instruction
Tutorial
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
The honours thesis provides students with an opportunity to conduct independent research within a specific area of interest in psychology. Under the supervision of a faculty member students will complete a literature review, and analysis of published empirical work on their selected topic. Students will be required to submit a paper outlining a summary of the previous literature, and the design for an original research project, which may include a completed research ethics review form.
Course content

A specific topic area will be agreed upon by the supervisor and student. The student and, if necessary, the supervisor will identify a list of readings for the literature review. The content and design of the research project must be approved by the supervisor and the Research Ethics Board (if necessary).

Learning activities

Faculty supervised independent research, with supervision provided weekly throughout the semester.

Means of assessment

Evaluation will be carried out in accordance with Douglas College policy.  Evaluation will be based on course objectives. The supervisor will provide the student with clear outcomes depending on the nature of the project.

The following is an example of a possible evaluation scheme:

Literature Review                                40%

Research Ethics Board application         20%               

Research Proposal                              40%                 

Learning outcomes
  1. To conduct a literature review of the published work in a specific topic area in Psychology.
  2. To critically analyze previous work in the topic area and identify potential limitations.
  3. To develop a testable hypothesis in the area of interest.
  4. To design a methodology to test an original hypothesis related to Psychology.
  5. To complete a Research Ethics Board application for research involving Human subjects.
Textbook materials

Textbooks and Materials to be Purchased by Students

To be determined by the topic and thesis supervisor.

Requisites

Prerequisites

Admission to the Bachelor of Arts in Applied Psychology Honours Program or Department permission.

Corequisites

PSYC 4390

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 4400
Capilano University (CAPU) DOUG PSYC 4400 (3) & DOUG PSYC 4410 (3) = CAPU PSYC 490 (3) & CAPU PSYC 4XX (3)
Capilano University (CAPU) CAPU PYSC 4XX (3)
College of the Rockies (COTR) COTR PSYC 4XX (3)
Columbia College (COLU) COLU PSYC 2nd (3)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) No credit
Simon Fraser University (SFU) SFU PSYC 4XX (3)
University Canada West (UCW) UCW PSYC 4XX (3)
University of Northern BC (UNBC) UNBC PSYC 2XX (3)
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) No credit
University of Victoria (UVIC) UVIC PSYC 3XX (1.5)

Course Offerings

Winter 2025