University of Baltimore Division of Applied Behavioral Sciences
COURSE SYLLABUS:
Research Methods APPL 632.185
(class no. 4426)
Fall 2009
Instructor: Tom Mitchell,
Ph.D. 410. 837-5348
Email:
TMITCHELL@ubalt.edu
Home Page: http://home.ubalt.edu/tmitch
Office Hours (Academic
Center 209 D):
Mondays & Tuesdays and 12 - 2:00
Class:
Tuesdays
5:30 - 8:10 PM Room AC
238
*** Participate in study for course credit: Personality in the Work Context **
1. Sign up with Sona system:
Participation in Research http://ubalt.sona-systems.com
2. Log on to Study:Personality
in the Workplace
at:
http://www.ubpsychportal.org/ssa/
Langsdale Library course website
American Psychological
Association
Association
for
Psychological Science
Psychological
Research on the Net (APS)
Psychological
Journals Online (Hanover College)
Cozby,
P. C. (2001). Methods in behavioral research. (7th edition).
Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.
Statistics
Homepage
SPSS
helper (UCLA)
Research
Methods Tutorial
Categorical Data Analysis (Prentice Hall Ppoint)
Journals of interest to this class:
Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology (APA)
Journal of Applied
Psychology (APA)
Psychological
Bulletin
Annual Review of Psychology
Sources attached to this syllabus:
Greek
Alphabet
Kerlinger definitions of theory and other
key terms
Tips for writing a paper (ARC Nancy
Bates)
Questions to critique an experimental
report
Guide for writing experimental reports
American Psychological
Association (1995) Publication
manual of the American Psychological Association
Using APA format for manuscripts
APA Style.org (tips on
style)
B. Course description: This course will provide a detailed description of fundamental research methods with their associated statistical procedures.
The primary objective of this course is to prepare the student to critically evaluate the validity, adequacy and relevance of psychological research. The student will learn the relative merits of various methods of studying behavior, and the circumstances under which each is appropriately applied.
A. To provide the student with an understanding
of how various research designs can be used to answer questions about behavior.
B. Understand the process of research
including shortcomings of the various designs and practical difficulties
that arise in conducting research.
C. Develop a sound understanding
of how statistical tools are used to describe and analyze data.
IV. Class format: Assigned material will be discussed and clarified. Class time will also be used to discuss students' SPSS lab projects.
Required: Whitley, B. E. (2002). Principles of Research in Behavioral Science. 2nd Ed. McGraw-Hill ISBN:0-7674-2175-2
Optional: APA (2009). Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association,
6th edition
Morgan, S. E., Reichert, T. & Harrison, T. R. (2002). From Numbers
to Words: Reporting statistical results for the
social sciences. Allyn &
Bacon, Pub.
ISBN 0 8013-3280-X
Exams: midterm and final exams
(30% each) 60%
Three SPSS data analysis labs
(10% each) 30%
Submission of Chapter questions
10%
total 100%
Notes: If you expect to miss a class,
it your responsibility to make sure you get notes or handouts and
changes in assignments.
*** Assignments turned in late will result in a reduction in grade points
****
(See
Guide for writing SPSS lab project reports)
Tips for writing a
paper (ARC Nancy Bates)
(see Critique questions to critique an
experimental report)
effect and
affect...know the difference!!!!
Other sources for writing the research report
Cozby:
See: Appendix A: Writing Research Reports http://methods.fullerton.edu/framesindex.html
Cozby:
See: Guides for writing research reports
http://methods.fullerton.edu/framesindex.html
Quality of SPSS lab project reports
The
important aspects in judging quality will be:
1. development of the literature
review
2. creativity of the design (be sure to cite reference if you borrow from an
existing design)
3. reporting of results
4. drawing conclusions
from the findings*
5. quality of writing
*This means integrating the literature (theories and opinions), offering explanations for resolving conflicting research findings, and drawing reasonable conclusions based on your research hypotheses.
Grammar/proofreading: It is imperative that the papers be grammatically correct and edited carefully. You must include a definitive title and a half page abstract.
Length: The three lab project papers must be in APA style and no longer than 5 pages including tables and figures (not including references).
Original sources: You will be expected to find original sources for your references. Secondary sources may be cited, but only rarely and only if the original is unavailable from the University of Maryland library system.
Class attendance and submission of assignments is essential. Failure to submit assignments when due and may result in a decrement of your grade.
Policy on Academic Integrity (Plagiarism): see more detail at Plagiarism (Tulane)
"Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional presentation of another person's idea or product as one's own. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to the following: copying verbatim all or part of another's written work; using phrases, charts, figures, illustrations, or mathematical or scientific solutions without citing the source; paraphrasing ideas, conclusions, or research without citing the source; and using all or part of a literary plot, poem, film, musical score, or other artistic product without attributing the work to its creator. Students can avoid unintentional plagiarism by carefully accepted scholarly practices. Notes taken for papers and research projects should accurately record sources of material to be cited, quoted, paraphrased, or summarized, and papers should acknowledge these sources in footnotes." (Anonymous).
Week 1: Sept 1
Review of Syllabus
SPSS
lab projects
Statistics Homepage
http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/stathome.html
Kerlinger's definitions of theory and
other key terms
Construct
Validity
Read the following articles to see how constructs are
operationally defined:
Affective
style and in vivo immune response: Neurobehavioral mechanisms
Phone conversations tax Drivers' minds
Week 2: Sept 8 Chapter 1 Behavioral Science: Theory, Research, and Applications (p. 1) Discussion Questions for Chapter
Week 3: Sept 15 Chapter 4 Formulating a Research Question (p. 89) Discussion Questions Chapter 4
Discussion of Lab topics topics
Chapter 17 Writing Research Reports
(p. 547) *** REVIEW***
Reading: Schroeder et al. (1985) (handout)
Maps for theory, procedures,
etc.
Cold Fusion: Another chance. Does theory matter?
Cost of Type II error
Variance calculator/linear regression/correlation
calculator
Week 4:
Sept 22
Chapter
2 Research Strategies An overview (p. 29
Discussion
Questions for Chapter 2
Scales of Measurement
ppt.
Chi Squared (Ppoint) for nominal data
Importing SPSS tables and figures into MS Word
Week 5: Sept 29 Chapter 3 Ethical Treatment of Research Participants Discussion Questions for Chapter 3
Chapter 5 Developing a Measurement Strategy (p. 121) Discussion Questions for Chapter 5
***Lab 1 DUE: Hypothetical Relationships ***
Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP)
http://ohrp.cit.nih.gov/search/asearch.asp
APA Ethical Principles
and Guidelines
Toronto Star article: TV Violence
If a women is catty is it due to
hormones? You decide (Balt Sun article)
Interrater reliability and agreement Excel
file
Fisher's exact test
for small expected values
Week
6: Oct 6 Chapter
6 The Internal Validity of Research (p. 155) Discussion Questions
for Chap 6
Please read for discussion the article:
WSJ article on experimenter
expectancy (Rosenthal)
*** Review Midterm ***
Week 7: Oct 13 ******** Midterm Exam *************** Bring blue book
Week 8: Oct 20 Chapter 7 The Experimental Research Strategy (p. 181) Discussion Questions for Chapter 7
(lab 2 due date moved to week 9)
Cozby Chapter
Factorial designs
Erwin
Segal, Buffalo
Week 9: Oct 27 Chapter 12 Data Collection (p. 389) Discussion Questions for Chapter 12
*** Lab 2 DUE: One Way ANOVA ***
Week
10: Nov 3
Chapter
13 Interpreting Research Results (p. 451)
Discussion Questions
for Chapter 13
***Second hour: Research Port tutorial with Lucy Holman at
Langsdale, room 401 at 7pm ***
Relations between
alpha, beta, power
Week 11: Nov 10 Chapter 14 The External Validity of Research (p. 451) Discussion Questions for Chapter 14
lab 3 due date changed to 17th.
Effect size indicators (Becker at UCCS
Effect size calculator ( Becker)
Week 12: Nov 17 Chapter 11 Survey Research (p. 343) Discussion Questions for Chapter 11
Survey Research (Cozby chapter 7)
**** Lab 3 DUE: 2 Way ANOVA **
Week 13: Nov 24 Chapter
8 The Correlational (Passive) Research Strategy
Discussion Questions
for Chapter 8
Discussion of Multiple Regression
Guess
Correlation
G. David Garson
North Carolina State
StatSoftInc.com
Multiple Regression
Week 14: Dec 1 Chapter 15 Evaluation Research Discussion Questions for Chapter 15
Week 15: Dec 8 **Final Exam -- bring blue book **
Schroeder, D. A., Johnson, D. E., & Jensen, T. D. (1985). Reading research reports: A brief introduction. In Contemporary Readings in Social Psychology. Schroeder, Johnson, Jensen; (Eds.). Nelson-Hall: Chicago. p35-42.