Methods Syllabus PDF

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Psych&241:&Methods&of&Inquiry&in&Psychology&–&Spring&2019& !

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Instructor:!Matt!Davidson&& & &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Time&and&location:!TuTh!10-11:15!in!Bartlett!65! Office&hours:!Tobin!416,!Tuesday!11:30-1!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!Or!by!appointment!(email!works!well!for!me)& Course&email:[email protected]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Course&website:!moodle.umass.edu! Lecture&TA:&Jon!Burnsky!–[email protected]!! !!!!!!Office&hours:!Tobin!426,!Thursday!1:00-2:00! Text:!Shaughnessy!et!al.,!10th!Ed.!!Research!Methods….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!See!link!to!required!materials!on!Moodle!! Course&Overview:!Methods!is!one!of!the!most!important!courses!you!will!take!as!an!Undergraduate.!! Throughout!the!course,!we!(you,!me,!and!the!TAs)!will!work!together!to!help!you!develop!an!in-depth! understanding!of!scientific!inquiry!and!the!research!methods!crucial!to!studying!humans,!and!our! interactions.!!This!understanding!will!help!you!comprehend!and!critically!evaluate!research!you!may! encounter!in!your!courses!and!in!everyday!life.!!To!enhance!this!understanding!we!will!adopt!a!blended! classroom!format!to!allow!more!active!learning!and!more!discussion!of!research!from!various!subfields! of!psychology.!!!This!range!of!topics!will!provide!you!with!a!solid!foundation!for!current!and!future! courses,!and!for!the!wide!range!of!career!paths!possible!in!Psychological!and!Brain!Science!fields.! Course&Objectives:&Our!primary!objectives!are!to!sharpen!your!intellectual!skills!in!reading,!evaluating,! understanding,!and!creating!research!activity.!!The!ability!to!extract!information,!to!evaluate!it!critically,! and!to!suggest!something!new!can!be!important!skills!in!all!walks!of!life.!!You!can!help!achieve!these! objectives!by!attending!class!and!lab!consistently!and!digging!in!to!the!research!topics!and!lab!projects!to! see!what!piques!your!interests.!!!The!lab!projects!have!been!designed!to!mesh!with!the!lecture!material! and!you!are!strongly!encouraged!to!make!connections!between!these!components.!!One!will!give!you!a! theoretical!perspective!while!the!other!provides!practical!hands-on!experience!conducting!research.!! Together!they!will!help!you!truly!master!the!material!and,!hopefully,!help!you!learn!a!bit!about!your!self! along!the!way.!!! Course&Requirements:!Assessments!are!weighted!evenly!for!the!Classroom!and!Lab!components.!!For! the!Classroom,!we!will!cover!12!main!topics!and!you!will!have!opportunities!to!earn!up!to!20!points!per! topic.!!These!opportunities!will!occur!through!on-line!assignments!and!in-class!activities.!!! On-line!assignments:!There!will!be!readings!and!quizzes!to!be!completed!within!the!Connect!system!for! each!topic.!!Each!quiz!will!be!worth!5!points!and!made!up!of!50!multiple-choice!questions!(60!points).!! You!will!have!one!hour!to!complete!a!quiz,!any!time!between!Friday!at!9!and!Tuesday!at!9,!and!you!can! complete!each!quiz!up!to!two!times!(with!the!system!calculating!the!average!of!the!two!completions).!! In-class!activities:!There!will!be!40!in-class!activities!(~3!per!week).!!These!will!take!the!form!of!quizzes! with!short!answer!or!multiple!choice!questions!related!to!the!readings,!or!activities!based!on!research! studies!and!scenarios!discussed!in!the!book!or!in!class.!!We!will!count!the!top!36!activities!toward!your! final!grade!(5!points!each!for!180!points).! Finally:!There!will!be!a!cumulative!final,!based!on!the!readings,!the!discussions,!and!in-class!activities! from!the!semester.!!The!final!exam!will!count!for!60!of!the!300!points!from!the!Classroom!component.! For!the!Lab!component,!we!will!complete!4!projects!involving!data!collection!and!analysis,!as!well!as! some!research!design!and!creation!of!group!projects!and!materials.!!Lab!projects!will!include:!Project!1! (20!points),!Project!2!(30!points),!Project!3!(70!points)!and!Project!4!(100!points).!!In!addition,!there!will! be!8!lab!activities!(8!x!5!=!40!points)!and!a!series!of!4!homework!exercises!(4!x!10!=!40!points)!rolled!out! over!the!course!of!the!semester!(for!300!points!from!lab).!!! This!approach!provides!300!from!Lecture!and!300!from!Lab,!for!600!points!in!total,!and!means!there!are! many!chances!to!earn!points!in!the!course,!without!too!much!weight!being!placed!on!any!one!assessment.!! Your!letter!grade!will!be!based!on!the!number!of!points!you!earn!in!both!components,!using!the!scale!below.!

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& Total!points! 558-600! 540-557! 522-539! 498-521! 480-497! 468-479! 444-467! 420-443! 360-419! 300-359! !!!!!0-299!

Percent! 93-100! 90-92.9! 87-89.9! 83-86.9! 80-82.9! 77-79.9! 73-76.9! 70-72.9! 60-69.9! 50-59.9! !!0-49.9!

Letter!Grade! !!!!!!!A! !!!!!!!A-! !!!!!!!B+! !!!!!!!B! !!!!!!!B-! !!!!!!!C+! !!!!!!!C! !!!!!!!C-! !!!!!!!D+! !!!!!!!D! !!!!!!!F!

Extra credit: You have an option to earn up to 8 extra credits by completing the on-line prescreen survey between 01/22 and the end of 02/13, and by participating in human research studies by the end of 05/01. The rules and available studies are found at: http://www.umass.edu/pbs/undergraduate/sona-and-human-subjects-research

Alternatively, you may earn up to 8 extra credits by attending evening lab hours for assistance with assignments or lab projects. The extra credits may be a combination of SONA studies and the evening lab hours, but cannot exceed 8 credits for the course. Each credit will be converted to 0.5 percentage points, and added to your final percentage earned from lecture and lab (4% max).

Incomplete&grades:!Will!only!be!issued!for!fully!documented!issues.!!If!you!are!having!personal!difficulties! (in!or!out!of!school)!please!let!me,!or!your!Lab!Instructor,!know!as!soon!as!possible.&&We!are!here!to!help!!! Attendance&policy:!You!are!strongly!encouraged!to!attend!all!classes!and!lab!meetings!to!get!the!most!out!of! this!course.!!In!the!event!of!an!absence,!prompt!documentation!will!be!necessary!for!any!make-up! assignments!or!projects!to!be!graded.!!We!will!provide!feedback!on!ALL!submissions!but!only!excused! absences!will!receive!points.!!Documentation!for!an!excused!absence!may!include!a!note!from:!UHS,!CCPH,! PSC,!Doctor,!Dentist,!Therapist,!Minister,!Rabbi,!Imam,!etc.!or!clear!evidence!that!a!natural!or!judicial!event! blocked!your!attendance!on!a!given!day.!!Make-ups!must!be!scheduled!for!completion!in!a!timely!manner!to! stay!current!(within!one!week,!if!possible).!!If!you!will!be!absent!for!University!sanctioned!events!(academic,! athletic!or!performance)!please!submit!the!appropriate!paperwork!from!your!Advisor!as!soon!as!possible.!!! Classroom Behavior: You and I have a shared responsibility for maintaining a positive and supportive learning environment within our classroom. I will strive to treat all students with dignity and respect, to guide classroom activities effectively, and to encourage learning whenever I can. You will strive to arrive on time and prepared for class, to be attentive and engaged, and to contribute whenever you can. We start at the quack of 10, Apple time. Individual Differences: I encourage students with special needs to speak with me about specific assistance or accommodations to help facilitate your mastery of Methods. Information about services available on campus can be found at: http://www.umass.edu/disability/index.html or by calling 413-545-0892 or by visiting 241 Whitmore during regular business hours. I suggest contacting them early so they can be the most helpful. UMass Policy on Academic Honesty: You are expected to abide by the University policy concerning academic honesty. Please see: http://www.umass.edu/honesty/ to read and fully understand this policy. To summarize: There should be NO cheating, in any way, shape, or form, and ignorance is not an excuse. We will be using the Turnitin originality software for all lab project submissions. Turnitin compares each submission to ALL available electronic materials (including current and previous submissions and all internet sources). All cases of inappropriate overlap will result in a ZERO for any submissions involved in that overlap. We will be using smartphones and iClickers for the in-class activities. If you will not have access to both by week TWO you need to let me know quickly so you won’t miss points. You are on your personal honor with your clicker and I trust you will protect that at all costs. Any violations of the UMass policy on academic honesty will be detected and then an official report must be filed with the Academic Honesty Board for all parties involved. Those are the rules so that is our policy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------***This!syllabus!may!change!slightly!with!appropriate!discussion!and/or!forewarning***!

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