Spring 2024 Academic Schedule: PSYC2315 Intro to Research Methods

Topic(s), other notes

*** All noted College or University Reading and homework

Date(s) deadlines are tentative and subject to assignments due
change. It is your responsibility to check
these deadlines. ***

Week 1 Lecture: To be completed:

Tues 1/16 – 1. Syllabus/course outline 1. Syllabus
Sunday 1/21 2. How do you know what you 2. Ch 1, all
know? 3. Ch 2, pp 19-21
3. What is (and is not) science? Due 1/21
4. The theory-data cycle 1. syllabus quiz
2. student introduction
Lab: discussion board
1. Syllabus quiz 3. Chapter 1 Quiz
2. Student Introduction DB

Week 2 Lecture: Lecture/Lab

Mon 1/22 – 1. Confirmation bias, the method of 1. Ch 2, remainder
Sunday multiple working hypotheses, and 2. Lab Manual Section 1 pages
1/28 strong inference 1-10
2. Cause and effect
3. Goals and types of research in
Psychology Due 1/28:
4. How do we generate scientific 1. Chapter 2 quiz
ideas?
5. Formulating a scientific question;
independent and dependent
variables

Lab:
1. Structure of a Scientific Paper
2. Academic honesty, plagiarism,
and proper attribution
Week 3 *** Wednesday, 2/2 is Official Reporting Lecture:
1/29 – 2/4 Day: the last day you can drop a class 1. Ch 3, all
without receiving a grade. *** 2. Lab Manual

Lecture: Due 2/4:

1. Experimental vs. non- Research Proposal Brainstorming
experimental methods assignment
2. Reliability
3. Establishing validity
4. Measurement scales
5. Relationships between variables

Lab Manual:
1. How to read scientific literature

Week 4 Lecture: Lecture:

2/5 – 2/11 1. Observational Methods 1. Ch 4 all
2. Survey Research 2. Lab Manual
3. Sampling techniques
Due 2/11:
Lab: 1. Chapter 4 quiz
1. How to identify a research 2. Narrowing down research
proposal topic topic assignment

Week 5 Lecture: Reading:

Mon 2/12 – 1. Week 5 Slides 1. Lab Manual: “Writing a
2/18 2. Survey Research (continued) Research Proposal…” and
3. Sampling techniques (continued) “Steps in Writing a
Research Proposal” (pp 90-
Lab: 92)
1. Preview Proposal Topic Due 2/18:
assignment 1. Proposal Topic Assignment
2. Proposal Topic exercise

Week 6-7
Mon 2/19 *** WORK ON LIT REVIEW ***
Week 7 Lecture: Experimental Design I Lecture:
(continued) 1. Confounds 1. Literature Review from
Sun 3/03 2. Pretest/posttest designs section 1 Lab Manual
3. Between-/within-subjects designs Due 03/03:
(time permitting) 1. Literature Review
Assignment

Week 8 Lecture: Experimental Design III & Lecture:

Mon 3/04 – Conducting Experiments 1. Ch 8, all
3/10 1. Single-case and small-N designs 2. Ch 9, pp 167-176
2. Quasi-experimental designs
3. Studying changes over time Due 3/10:
4. Manipulating independent 1. Chapter 8 quiz
variables
5. Measuring dependent variables
6. Measuring the brain (somewhat)
directly

***Week of 3/11- 3/17 : UH is closed for Spring Break***

Week 9 Lecture: Lecture:

Mon 3/18 – 1. Controls and Manipulation Checks 1. Reread Lab Manual
3/24 2. Descriptive statistics sections on the Method
3. Graphing your results sections (pp 15-17, 102-
4. Kinds of correlations 103)
5. Regression 2. Ch 9, pp 176-186
6. Latent variables Due 3/24:
1. Methods section due
Lab:
1. How to write a Method section
2. How to present your results
3. Preview Proposal Topic revision

Week 10 Lecture: Lecture:

Mon 3/25- 1. Goals of inferential statistics 1. Ch 13, pp 249-254
3/31 2. Statistical significance (the basics)
3. Probability, sampling Due 03/31:
distributions, and the Central 1. Submit CITI Training
Limit Theorem Certification as PDF(submit
on Canvas)
Lab:
4. CITI research ethics training
Week 11 Lecture: Lecture:
Mon 4/1 – 1. z and t tests 1. Ch 11, lecture slides
4/07 2. Which test is appropriate? 2. Writing a Discussion
3. Chi-square test Section in Lab Manual
4. F test
Due 4/07:
Lab Manual: 1. Personality and Voting
1. Writing a Discussion Study assignment
2. Writing an Abstract

Week 12 Lecture: Lecture:

Mon 4/08 – 1. Effect Size 1. Chapter 12
4/14 2. More on statistical significance 2. Week 12 Slides on
3. Power effect size
4. Base rates and prior probabilities Due 4/14:
5. (A small sampling of) Bayesian 1. Chapter 12 Quiz
approaches

Week 13 *** Wednesday, 4/17, is the last day you Lecture:

Mon 4/15 can withdraw from a class with a W on 1. Ch 14, all
4/21 your transcript. *** 2. Ch 3, all

Lecture: Due 4/21:

1. Generalization 1. Discussion section due.
2. Who do you study?
3. Why does it matter?
4. Statistical inference
Week 14 1. Research Ethics and Scientific Due 4/28:
Mon 4/22- Integrity 1. Abstract section due
4/28 2. Animal Research
3. Research ethics scenarios

Week 15 Lecture: Due 05/05:

Mon 1. Review Unit 4 Material slides 1. Final Exam on Canvas
04/29- 2. Work on final touches for research 2. Full Research Proposal
5/05 proposal (semester paper) due.
3. Final exam is open to take

Sun, 5/5 *** Final Exam & Full Research Proposal (semester paper) due at 11:59 pm
***