Spring 2008
830:300 – Research Methods in Psychology
Section 01: Tuesdays / Fridays, 10:20 - 11:40, LCB 110
Section 02: Tuesdays / Thursdays, 3:20 - 4:40, LCB 103

Instructor: Dr. John Ackroff

ackroff@rci.rutgers.edu

Tillett 609

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 1:15 - 2:30,

and by appointment

Web Page:

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~ackroff/RM PowerPoint presentations for each lecture will be available here before each lecture. Other information may also be found here.

Textbook:

MacLin, M. Kimberly, and Solso, Robert L. (2008).Experimental Psychology: A Case Approach. (Eighth Edition). New York: Allyn and Bacon. ISBN-10: 0-205-41028-6, ISBN-13: 978-0-205-41028.

To be available at the Livingston Book Store, packaged with a brief summary of APA formats.

About Research Methods in Psychology

This course has three primary goals. First and foremost, you should learn how to design and conduct research in psychology to allow you to answer questions and test hypotheses. Secondly, by extension, you should become a better "consumer" of research, since knowing some of the pitfalls can allow you to find them in others' research. Thirdly, generalizing one step more, your critical thinking skills should be better at the end of the semester than they were before you took this course.

During the semester, we will discuss various aspects of designing and performing psychological research. We will analyze published research, looking both for clever ways that people have devised to find the answers to their questions, and for weaknesses or flaws that might raise questions about some of their findings. We will do some pilot-like experiments in class; we will also design design and conduct two major experiments, using student volunteers as subjects. You will write a paper in APA format suitable for submission to a psychological journal describing the first experiment, its results, and its implications. For the second experiment, you will prepare a poster suitable for presentation at a professional meeting, and you will have to participate in presenting the poster.

While this is a writing-intensive class, it is structured so that the writing for each major assignment is spread out over the course of several class meetings. This will help you avoid procrastination, and since you will be reviewing each others' papers (see below), it should ultimately result in higher quality work, and thus a better grade.

We will do a fair amount of work in small groups; this is one of the reasons that class attendance is highly important in this course. As you are in the process of writing your paper and poster, we will spend time in class in reading and critiquing each others' work. Attending class (and participating with your group) will help you turn in better work.

Many of the in-class exercises will revolve around the journal articles at the back of your textbook. This being the case, you should bring your book to each class meeting.

Exams and Grading:

There will be two non-cumulative exams consisting of multiple-choice and short-answer questions each based on the text and other materials presented in class. You are responsible for bringing pencils with erasers to each exam. Exam scores will be posted in the SAS Gradebook; a link will be available on the course web page.

If you have questions about your score on an exam, you must discuss it with your instructor before the next exam.

If you have a schedule conflict with an exam, you may be allowed to take the exam before the scheduled date at the discretion of the instructor. If you miss an exam, you will be allowed to take a make-up exam only if you present a note from your Dean's office verifying that you missed the exam due to an excused absence. This note should also indicate a reasonable time frame in which you will be able to make up the exam. You should give this note to the instructor within 1 week of the scheduled date of the exam.

Exams are often given in a different location in order to allow for more room between students. Room changes will be posted on the class web page. If an exam is cancelled or postponed on the day of the exam, there will be a member of the Psychology Department in the room at the scheduled time to make the announement. Notices posted on doors or the blackboard are likely to be hoaxes.

Academic integrity is highly valued, and may not be compromised. If you cheat on an exam or quiz, you will receive a 0 for that exercise. Plagiarism on either the paper or the poster will result in a grade of F for the course.

Final grades will be determined by your performance on the exams and other class assignments. Assignments will be weighted as follows:

Two exams, the first worth 20% of your grade, and the second worth 15%, for a total of 35%
One Research Paper, worth 25% of your grade
- You will lose 1/2 of a letter grade for each day your paper is turned in late.
One Research Poster, worth 25% of your grade
- You will lose 1/2 of a letter grade for each day your poster is turned in late.
Your group's Poster Presentation, worth 5% of your grade
Bringing data for Experiment I to class: 5%
Bringing data for Experiment II to class: 5%

The following grades are "guaranteed":

A: 90% - 100%
B+: 88% - 89.99%
B: 80% - 87.99%
C+: 78% - 79.99%
C: 70% - 77.99%
D: 60% - 69.99%

I reserve the right to lower any of these cutoffs at my sole discretion.

Attendance and Correspondence Policies:

Attendance: You should attend all meetings of all of your classes. My lectures are based on the material in the assigned readings, but may also cover material not discussed in the readings. You are responsible for all of this material. Also, since you will be doing work in groups, the other members of your group will have to do more work if you are repeatedly absent. A fair amount of the learning in this course is experiential, and if you're not there, you will miss out on these experiences.

If you arrive late or must leave before class is over, please sit near a door and try to be as inconspicuous as possible. It is distracting to everyone to have people walking in and out of the classroom during class.

Classes are held according to the schedule below as long as the University is open. If the weather appears to be threatening, you can check the Campus Operating Status here.
Classroom Etiquette: Please turn off all cell phones, etc., before class begins.

If you wish to use a laptop computer to take notes, that is fine. If you wish to use a laptop computer to surf the web, play games, IM your friends, etc., I would suggest you go to the nearest Student Center. This advice also applies to having side discussions with your classmates, reading newspapers, doing puzzles, etc.
Questions: I encourage you to ask questions during class. If something is unclear, or if you have a question related to the material being discussed, please ask your question then. Chances are that some of your classmates would also like some additional discussion of the topic.

Because of schedule-related issues, I prefer not to answer questions before or after class.
Email: I try to answer email promptly. Having said that,
- Please use a Subject that gives me some idea what you are writing about. This is especially important if you send mail from an account other than eden. Mail from sexgoddess@aol.com with a subject of "hello" is likely to be considered spam and deleted unread.
- If you ask me a question whose answer is on the course web page or Syllabus, my reply is likely to say that.
- If you ask me a question about your standing in the course, please include your name and which course and section you are enrolled in.
- Please re-read the section on "Questions" above. I realize that there are times when you are reviewing notes after class and/or before an exam when you will discover that you have a question. But it is in everyone's best interest for you to ask your questions in class, rather than after the fact, if you have a question while class is in session.
- As stated on the course web page, you are responsible for any announcements, etc., I send to the class via email. Emails are sent to the address that appears when your name is entered into "Search People" on the "Search Rutgers" page. There is a link on the course web page that allows you to update this address.

Schedule

Date	Topic	Reading
Tuesday, Jan 22	Course overview and Introduction
Thursday and Friday, Jan 24, 25	An Introduction to Scientific Inquiry	Chapter 1
Tuesday, Jan 29	Ethics of Experimental Research	Chapter 8
Thursday and Friday, Jan 31, Feb 1	The Psychological Literature	Chapters 2 and 21*
Tuesday, Feb 5	Basic Experimental Design in Psychology	Chapter 3
Thursday and Friday, Feb 7, 8	Advanced Design Techniques	Chapters 4 and 12*
Tuesday, Feb 12	Psychophysics	Chapter 10*
Thursday and Friday, Feb 14, 15	Analysis of a journal article	Chapter 11*
Tuesday, Feb 19	Psychophysics, continued	Chapter 9
Thursday and Friday, Feb 21, 22	Some studies of memory	Chapters 13* and 24*
Tuesday, February 26	Exam 1	Chapters 1 - 4, 9, psychophysics
Thursday and Friday, Feb 28, 29	Experimental Design and Control	Chapters 5 and 18*
Tuesday, March 4	Library Research
Thursday and Friday, March 6, 7	Control of Subject Variables	Chapter 6
Tuesday, March 11	Stimulus Preparation for Experiment 1	Chapter 12*
Thursday and Friday, March 13, 14	Design Critiques	Chapter 7
Week of March 17	No class -- Spring Break
Tuesday, March 25	Pool data
Thursday and Friday, March 27, 28	Methods Section draft due
Tuesday, April 1	Results and Discussions drafts due	Chapter 14*
Thursday and Friday, April 3, 4	Introduction and Abstract drafts due	Chapter 15*
Tuesday, April 8	Paper due	Chapter 10*
Thursday and Friday, April 10, 11	Start planning Experiment 2	Chapter 14*
Tuesday, April 15	Design materials for Experiment 2	Chapter 17*
Thursday and Friday, April 17, 18		Chapter 16*
Tuesday, April 22	Pool data, analyze results
Thursday and Friday, April 24, 25	Method and Results drafts due	Chapter 22*
Tuesday, April 29	Abstract, Introduction, and Discussion Drafts due
Thursday and Friday, May 1 and 2	Poster due; in-class poster presentations*
Friday May 9	Section 02 (Tuesday / Thursday) Final Exam, 12:00 PM	Chapters 5 - 8
Wednesday, May 14	Section 01 (Tuesday / Friday) Final Exam	Chapters 5 - 8

*  Be sure to bring your book to class for discussion of these chapters.

**   Bring one 8½ x 11 inch color copy of the poster to class, and send an electronic version to your instructor by 5:00 PM on the day it is due. *  Be sure to bring your book to class for discussion of these chapters.

***   Each group must send an electronic version to your instructor at least one hour before class.

I consider the course materials used for lecture content and the course web page to be my personal intellectual property or the intellectual property of other parties, as identified. I view the sale or purchase of these materials as a violation of copyright laws.