Syllabus:  Psy 241 (Section 202 #22499)
Research Methods I -- Winter 2006

Prerequisite: Psy 240 (Statistics). You must complete Psy 240 before taking this course.

Course Objectives

·         Become a more informed consumer of research, critically evaluating whether claims are strongly supported by scientific evidence

·         Learn skills for reading and evaluating psychological research

·         Learn basic skills for designing, conducting, and communicating psychological research

In this course you will learn the basic principles of sound research design and practice applying those principles as you 1) read and evaluate research articles in psychology, 2) participate in research and evaluate its design, and 3) conduct your own research project. For the research project you are encouraged (but not required) to work with a partner. If you do work collaboratively, each of you must sign the drafts and paper that you turn in, indicating that you contributed equally to it. All other assignments must be completed individually unless otherwise indicated by the instructor. Additional instructions for the project and homeworks will be posted on the course web page.

Grading

·         20%     Midterm Exam

·         30%     Comprehensive Final Exam

·         50%     Homeworks, Project, quizzes, and other assignments    

Missed exams and assignments will be counted as a zero unless you present a valid written excuse for your absence immediately upon returning to class. Make-up exams will not be given for the mid-term. If you have a valid excuse for missing the midterm, the zero will be replaced by your final exam score -- in other words, the final exam will count as 50% of your grade for the course.

Homework assignments are due at the beginning of class on the dates listed in the syllabus. Late homeworks and project reports will be penalized up to 20% per day, and no project reports will be accepted after the final exam. If you arrive late to class, your homework will be counted as 1 day late. This policy is intended to discourage the phenomenon of students arriving late to class in order to finish homework assignments.

Unannounced quizzes will occasionally be given at the beginning of class. You must be on time to take the quiz. One missed quiz will be excused; subsequent missed quizzes will be counted as zeroes.  You will be responsible for all material in the assigned readings from the textbook, any additional readings assigned in class (including assigned material on the world wide web), and all material presented in class (lectures, videos, etc.).

You will be required to use ALARM, a set of web-based learning aids for research methods, as a course assignment. Further details will be provided on Blackboard and in class.

Grading Scale. The lower cutoffs for each grade are listed below. I sometimes make slight adjustments to this scale (in your favor), but this is not guaranteed.

Academic Dishonesty. Cheating will be dealt with according to university policy, and will result in (at a minimum) a grade of F on the exam or assignment in question. Plagiarism (using the words or ideas of someone else as if they were your own) is also a form of academic dishonesty, and carries the same penalties as other forms of cheating. Plagiarism can occur as a blatant attempt to cheat (buying a term paper over the internet and turning it in as if you wrote it), but it can also occur through careless writing (failing to provide a reference for an idea that you found in a book or article). A good rule of thumb is to always provide a reference for any idea that came from someone else's writing, and if more than a few words in a row are repeated exactly either put it in quotes or rephrase it. It is also possible to plagiarize yourself -- by turning in a paper from a previous class as if it were original work, for example.        

Students should consult the Academic Integrity Policy in the DePaul Student Handbook for more information on what constitutes plagiarism and other violations of academic integrity. Contact the instructor if you have questions about how to properly acknowledge source materials and the works of others.

Liberal Studies Program. For non-psychology majors, this course can be used to fulfill the Liberal Studies quantitative requirement for the Scientific Inquiry Domain. Please see the Liberal Studies web site for details.

Schedule. The schedule below is tentative, and may be changed as needed during the quarter. Changes will be posted here and announced in class.