Experimental Psychology

This course is designed to introduce students to the philosophy,

principles, and methods of scientific research in experimental psychology.

Students will learn how to plan, conduct and analyze their own

experimental research, and how to communicate the results of their

research to others. Students will develop the knowledge and skills to

apply and critique the scientific method in future courses (e.g.

empirical/theoretical paper, master thesis).

This course is designed to introduce students to the philosophy,

principles, and methods of scientific research in experimental psychology.

Students will learn how to plan, conduct and analyze their own

experimental research, and how to communicate the results of their

research to others. Students will develop the knowledge and skills to

apply and critique the scientific method in future courses (e.g.

empirical/theoretical paper, master thesis).

Course objectives:

 To help students become (more) comfortable with experimental

research. Although our goal is not (necessarily) to master

computational aspects of statistics, students will be expected to

master some statistical concepts.

 To develop an understanding of the language, methods, and

standards of scientific research.

 To enable students to generate research questions of interest,

and teach them how they can use the tools of research and

statistical methods to address their questions. This includes

learning how to phrase research questions, formulating

hypotheses, conducting computerized/internet literature

searches, following ethical principles, selecting an appropriate

design and sampling strategy, forming appropriate conclusions,

and writing a paper that effectively describes the research. If one

cannot effectively communicate one’s research findings, those

findings will remain generally unknown.

 To develop an appreciation of the need for a commitment to

research as part of the life of scientist or/and professional

psychologists.

 To help students develop a general spirit of inquiry and an ability

to think critically.

1) Shaughnessy, J. J., Zechmeister, E. B. & Zechmeister, J. J. (2000).

Research Methods in Psychology, 5th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

2) American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of

the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. Washington, DC

Students:

 Will learn practically the basics logic of empirical study

 Will develop skills with a range of practical procedures in order to

create and conduct empirical study.

 After completing the course student will be able to ask valid

research question, set correct hypothesis, plan and conduct study

to address the hypothesis. Analyze and interpret results and

report it in written and oral form.

 Students will be able to read and understand and evaluate

critically other empirical work.

Class participation is mandatory this is a 30 hours course so two absences

are allowed (regardless the reasons).

Research Project (40 points) Throughout the semester, you will be

working in a small groups to complete a research project. The research

project will include generation of a research topic, data collection, data

analysis, and presentation of the results. Your final grade will be based on

two things: group presentation, and paper.

 Paper (25 points): You will write up your research project in APA

format including a title page, abstract, introduction, method,

results, discussion and references. You will be graded on the

content of your paper, the quality of your writing, and APA

formatting.

 Presentation (15): On the last day of class, you will have a small

paper session for only the students in class. At this session, each

group will need to present their research project (~15 minutes)

and answer one question, regarding your research project.

Homework: During semester there will be several homework assignments

in total worth 30 points.

Exams: There will be two exams, midterm (10 points) and final (20 points)

if you fail you can retake any of them after end of the course.

Unannounced quizzes: During course You should expect ~3 unannounced

quizzes concerning assigned literature. A quiz can allow you to gain points

(if you score more than 70%), have no influence on your points (between

50% and 70%), or loose point (if you score less than less than 50%). In

total you can gain (or loose) a maximum of 15 points.

Course requirements:

 Class participation. (max 2 absences, regardless of excuse)

 Completing all class assignments (project and homework).

 Passing exams