APSY A341:  Social Research Lab  (Spring 2007)

 


Professor:                        Dr. Laura May (LauraM@usca.edu)

Class Location:                211 Penland Administration Bldg.

Meeting Time:                  Tuesday  1:40-4:20pm

Office:                                    237-O Penland Administration Bldg. (641-3217)

Psych. Dept. Office:             226 Penland Admin. Bldg. (641-3579)

Office Hours:                    MWF 10:00-11:00am; Th 12:10-1:30pm; or by appt.

Recommended Text:           Publication Manual of the American Psychological

                                      Association (5th Ed., 2001).

Credit Hours:                        1 Credit Hour

 

Course Structure

DEPARTMENTAL MISSION STATEMENT:  The mission of the USCA Department of Psychology undergraduate program is to educate students in the knowledge, research techniques, basic and applied perspectives of the various subfields of psychology, and the appreciation of psychological values, in an individualized learning environment, involving classroom, laboratory, and applied experiences.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:  The Social Research Lab is designed to give individuals first hand knowledge of the types of research conducted within the field of social psychology, to read and understand research studies as reported in the empirical literature, and to design and conduct their own social psychological research studies.  Thus, the course objects are to:  (1) become familiar with the different methodologies employed to study social psychology; (2) learn how to conduct a review of the literature on specific topic areas and how to cite such research in a formal paper; (3) develop the skills necessary to conduct research in social psychology; (4) understand how research results are reported and interpreted; (5) be able to summarize research results and integrate them with extant literature in APA format; and (6) be able to formally present research in oral/visual format.

 

COURSE GRADING:  Course grades are comprised of the following components:

(1)  Class Attendance and Participation (75 points):  Class attendance and participation is mandatory as you will serve as one another’s experimental subject pool.  You will also be working in groups of 4-5 people and every person is responsible for his/her own attendance, participation (both as an experimenter and as a participant), writing, etc.  You are permitted one absence without penalty in this course.  Any additional absences, regardless of cause, will result in a five point deduction per absence.

 

(2)  Group Projects (50 points each):  During this semester, you and your chosen group members will conduct three social psychological studies of your own design: one observational study, one correlational study, and one experimental study.  It will be your responsibility to design the study, conduct the study (i.e., collect data), enter and analyze the data, write up the results, and orally present your study and results to the class utilizing a PowerPoint presentation of pertinent material.  For the experimental study, you are to employ a one-way, between subjects design with two levels of the independent variable (this will allow for analysis utilizing a one-way between subjects ANOVA and/or t-tests to determine the effect of the IV on the dependent variable-DV).

 

(3)  Research Presentations (25 points each):  An oral presentation of pertinent, existing literature on the topic of the research project, a detailed account of the experiment conducted, the results found, and an overall discussion of the research findings in relation to the existing literature will be given by each group to the class.  Each person in the group is responsible for the presentation and is expected to participate therein; therefore, it is important for group members to carefully coordinate the will be assigned to cover one of the topics described and thus, each individual in the group is expected to participate in the oral narration of the research project.  Presentations are expected to be 8-10 minutes in length and ought to include a PowerPoint presentation format.  A copy of the PowerPoint presentation (with all group members’ names listed) is to be turned in immediately following the in-class presentation.  Of the 25 possible presentation points, 20 will be determined by your professor and the remaining five will be determined by your fellow classmates’ average evaluation.

 

(4)  Research Papers (100 points each):  A 5-7 page (excluding title and references pages) research paper is due from each individual in the course for each research project.  Papers must be in APA-format, typed, double-spaced, and in 12-point font.  The research papers ought to include a detailed review of the literature, which comprises the Introduction portion of the paper; a Method section; a Results section; and a Discussion.

(a)      Review of the Literature (Introduction):  A review of empirical literature related to your topic of interest will require you to:  (1) find articles from psychological journals on the topic area of choice; (2) briefly summarize articles according to purpose, participants, method, results, and discussion; and (3) provide a critical analysis of the articles.  Copies of each article ought to be turned in along with the literature review.  The literature review should utilize a minimum of 3 empirical articles.

(b)      Method:  The method section describes the participants and procedure employed in the experimental design.  Thus, you will need the following sections:  (1) Participants, (2) Materials, and (3) Procedure.

(c)      Results:  In this section, you describe the statistical data analysis.

(d)      Discussion:  In this section, you discuss your research findings and their relevance/importance to the field with regard to the existing empirical literature.

 

 

Final Grade Distribution

Final grade distribution will be as follows:

 

            A          =         537-600 points

            B+       =         519-536 points

            B          =         477-518 points

            C+       =         459-476 points

            C          =         417-458 points

            D+       =         399-416 points

            D          =         357-398 points

            F          =         000-356 points

 

 

Additional Comments

(1)  Your instructor values good writing in this course.  Please remember that the written work that you produce in this class can be included in your rising junior writing portfolio.  For further information on the portfolio requirement, please consult your USCA Undergraduate and Graduate Studies Bulletin or visit Dr. Lynne Rhodes, Director of Writing Assessment, or Karl Fornes, Director of the Writing Room.

 

(2)  It is the policy of the Psychology Department that work submitted for completion of the requirements of this course must not have been previously submitted for the completion of requirements in any other course.  Simultaneous submissions are also disallowed.  Potential instances of academic misconduct will be treated in accordance with relevant University policies as outlined in the USCA Student Handbook and other pertinent documents.

 

(3)  Academic Responsibility:  The USCA Academic Code of Conduct that prohibits giving and receiving unauthorized aid is in effect for all assignments and tests in this class (see the USCA Student Handbook for a full version) and all students must adhere to this honor code.  Any breach of this code can result in a failing grade and a letter placed in your permanent file.  The following statement should appear on all major examinations and assignments:

"On my honor as a USCA student, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this assignment/exam. To the best of my knowledge, I am not in violation of academic honesty."  __________________________________ Signature

 

(5)  If you have a physical, psychological, and/or learning disability which might affect your performance in this class, please contact the Office of Disability Services, 126A B&E, (803) 641-3609, as soon as possible. The Disability Services Office will determine appropriate accommodations based on medical documentation.

 

 

 

 

                                               

 

 

Lab Course Schedule

 

January 16th:                  Research Methods in Social Psychology & Research Ethics

 

Jan. 23-Feb. 6:               Observational Study:    in-class research instructions; group assignment & meetings; research participation & data collection; data entry & analysis; discussion of results

 

Feb. 13th:                         Observational Research Paper & Group Presentation Due

 

Feb. 20- Mar. 6:             Correlational Study:      in-class research instructions; group assignment & meetings; research participation & data collection; data entry & analysis; discussion of results

 

Mar. 20th:                         Correlational Research Paper & Group Presentation Due

 

Mar. 27- Apr. 17:            Experimental Study:     in-class research instructions; group assignment & meetings; research participation & data collection; data entry & analysis; discussion of results

 

April 24th:                         Experimental Research Paper & Group Presentation Due (Last Day of Class)