Overview
This is an introductory unit designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills required throughout their studies in psychology and the social sciences. Students will cover study, learning, organisational and writing skills in relation to psychology, an introduction to critical evaluation of research and evaluating creditability of sources, as well as ethics in research. Students will learn the skills required to succeed throughout their study of psychology including constructing empirical arguments, conducting literature reviews, preparing research reports and essays, as well as referencing and formatting in APA style.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2017
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Self-evaluation
Greater student involvement in the research report
The research report should be more embedded across all topics of this unit as a way to demonstrate the research process. Providing students the opportunity to select the research topic, help develop the questionnaire, and analyse results will foster greater engagement and understanding of the research process.
Feedback from Student-evaluations
Greater development of research skills in preparation for the written research report
Students should have the opportunity to develop critical thinking and research skills prior to submitting their assignments
Feedback from Student-evaulations
Students appreciated assessment feedback that was practical and could be used beyond PSYC11012
Students are likely to appreciate greater opportunities to receive feedback as the quizzes and exams provide only a numerical grade. Alternative assessment items that provide students with more opportunities to receive formative feedback that contributes to life long learning is likely to be well received.
- Plan and construct written arguments within a logical, flowing, coherent structure.
- Synthesize ideas and extract themes from current psychological literature.
- Communicate ideas effectively in writing and in adherence with APA style.
- Apply basic concepts of research design and statistics to problems in relevant fields of psychology.
- Articulate the key values, ethics and principles of psychology and the study of human behaviour.
- Apply the philosophy of science to problems relevant to the field of psychology and the social sciences.
- Interpret data with consideration to diverse populations and individual differences.
- Apply the principles of effective learning to their own study as the basis for successful lifelong learning.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||
| 3 - Online Quiz(zes) - 10% | ||||||||
| 4 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Online Quiz(zes) - 10% | ||||||||||
| 4 - Written Assessment - 50% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
An interactive approach to writing essays and research reports in psychology
Edition: 3rd (2010)
Authors: Burton, L.
Wiley
Milton Milton , QLD , Australia
ISBN: 978-1-74216-649-0
Binding: Paperback
The Practical Researcher: A student guide to conducting psychological research
Edition: 3rd (2013)
Authors: Dunn, D. S.
Wiley
Hoboken Hoboken , NJ , USA
ISBN: 978-1-118-36004-0
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
Please note, both books (hard copies) are available packaged together at a reduced cost through the CQU Bookstore, ISBN 9780730308324.
The books are able to be purchased as E-Texts (electronic copies) direct from the publisher.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 6th Edition (APA 6th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
b.p.smith@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Science and psychology
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 1
Burton- Chapter 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Decide upon the research topic from a short list of ideas.
Module/Topic
Research approaches and generating research questions
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Participate in the online survey + get 5 people to complete the survey.
Module/Topic
Conducting experimental research
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Conducting ethical research
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Applied research and field research
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
No lecture (vacation week)
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Searching psychological literature
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 3
Burton- Chapter 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Critically evaluating research evidence
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 3
Burton- Chapter 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Writing in psychology 1 (overview)
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 4
Burton (Chapters 1 and 5)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Writing in psychology 2 (reports)
Chapter
Burton- Chapter 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Writing in APA style
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 9
Burton- Chapters 2 and 7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Data analysis
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The research process in action
Chapter
Dunn- Chapter 9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
A list of psychological experiments will be provided. This assessment requires you to (a) select and research one of the ten listed psychological experiments in detail, and (b) provide a 500 word (+/- 10%) personal reflection.
This assignment is your chance to add your thoughts and analysis to what you have read and experienced. This piece of writing is meant to illustrate your understanding of the experiment (for example, why and how it was done, the ethical implications), and how it affects your ideas and possible practice in future.
You are required to submit ONE personal reflection (worth 20%). Responses should be posted on the appropriate Moodle forum. Information relating to the list of psychological experiments to be reviewed will be made available after the lecture in Week 1, and remain open until Friday Week 5.
Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 7 Friday (28 Apr 2017)
Assignments will be returned within two weeks of submission
This assessment will be graded out of 20 marks. Marks will be allocated to each of the following questions:
1) An understanding of the issues and ethics of the particular experiment are demonstrated (5 marks).
2) Reference to personal experiences, situations, events or new information is made (5 marks).
3) Response is of sufficient length (5 marks).
4) Written with good spelling and grammar (5 marks).
- Synthesize ideas and extract themes from current psychological literature.
- Communicate ideas effectively in writing and in adherence with APA style.
- Articulate the key values, ethics and principles of psychology and the study of human behaviour.
- Communication
- Information Literacy
- Ethical practice
2 Written Assessment
This task is designed to help you apply critical thinking principles when reviewing research articles. You must apply critical evaluation skills and write a critique of a research paper that will be provided to you. When writing the review, you must use/answer the following questions (adapted from Dunn).
- What is the "problem" or issue being addressed?
- Is the problem/issue worth investigating? (why/why not?).
- What is the main argument/hypotheses presented in this text?
- Think about the authors of this text – are they authoritative/expert, do they have a biased agenda or perspective, is the text up to date? (did they declare a conflict of interest, and how might this impact the study or its findings?)
- Have the key terms been properly defined? (can a lay audience understand it?)
- Are the key arguments based on sound theory? (and what are the theories?)
- Have testable hypotheses been proposed? (and what are they?)
- Have alternative sides of the arguments been addressed? (and how did they deal with them)
- Can you identify any fallacies in the arguments? (are the arguments believable?)
- Is the methodology ethically sound? (what might some of the ethical issues be?)
- Was the research methodology appropriate? (e.g. does the study design match enable the research question to be adequately tested?)
- Have you identified who the participants were and how they were recruited? (and how might this influence the findings)
- Do the participants form a representative sample (can the results be generalised to the target population with confidence?)
- Have the appropriate analyses been used?
- Are the results presented clearly? (e.g. are all data provided and easy to follow?)
- What are the major findings?
- Do the results support the hypotheses?
- Have you ruled out any alternative explanations for the results? (what might some be?)
- Are the conclusions based on logical reasoning? (are you convinced by the author's conclusions?)
- Has the study made an important contribution to the research topic? (and what is it?)
Week 8 Friday (5 May 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 10 Friday (19 May 2017)
Students will receive feedback within two weeks of submission
This assessment will be graded out of 20. One (1) mark is allocated to each of the twenty (20) questions. There is no word limit for this assessment, however, responses to each item must be given in at least one or two sentences. One word responses will not be accepted.
- Plan and construct written arguments within a logical, flowing, coherent structure.
- Synthesize ideas and extract themes from current psychological literature.
- Communicate ideas effectively in writing and in adherence with APA style.
- Apply the philosophy of science to problems relevant to the field of psychology and the social sciences.
- Interpret data with consideration to diverse populations and individual differences.
- Apply the principles of effective learning to their own study as the basis for successful lifelong learning.
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
3 Online Quiz(zes)
The quiz will consist of 10 multiple choice questions. Questions will be related to the use of the APA referencing style. The quiz will remain open from Monday Week 6 until Friday Week 10. You will only be given one opportunity to complete the quiz.
1
Week 10 Friday (19 May 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Feedback provided upon completion of the quiz
One (1) mark will be given for each correct response. You will only be given one opportunity to complete the quiz.
- Communicate ideas effectively in writing and in adherence with APA style.
- Apply the principles of effective learning to their own study as the basis for successful lifelong learning.
- Communication
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
4 Written Assessment
The aim of this assessment is to enable you to practice writing and preparing a research report. You should be able to demonstrate that you can critically evaluate the literature, communicate a research aim, construct a hypothesis and discuss research findings. You will be required to complete a survey provided by the course coordinator over the first two weeks of the term. Results of the experiment will be made available in Week 4. You will be required to write a 1500-2000 word research report on this data including an abstract, introduction and literature review (brief), a methods and procedure section, a results section, a discussion section, and a reference list. No statistical analysis will be required (this will be provided to you). However, some general descriptive data may need to be calculated (e.g. demographic data, and basic means and standard deviations for some variables). For the literature review (5 references will be provided, but 5 more must be found and referred to in your report). The report must be written in APA format.
Week 12 Friday (2 June 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Exam Week Friday (16 June 2017)
Reports will be returned within two weeks of submission
The report will be graded out of 50 marks, and is worth. 50% of the overall unit. Marks are divided according to the following criteria:
- Title: 2 marks
- Abstract (summary of research and findings): 5 marks
- Introduction (discussion of research problem, aims, hypotheses): 10 marks
- Methods (subjects, methodology, procedure): 6 marks
- Results (clarity of reporting, inclusion of graphs/tables, summary of findings): 6 marks
- Discussion (summary of findings, implications, criticisms, future directions): 10 marks
- References (using APA style, and including 5 additional references): 6 marks
- General (formatting, style, spelling etc): 5 marks
More detail (and marking rubric) will be provided on the Moodle site.
- Plan and construct written arguments within a logical, flowing, coherent structure.
- Synthesize ideas and extract themes from current psychological literature.
- Communicate ideas effectively in writing and in adherence with APA style.
- Apply basic concepts of research design and statistics to problems in relevant fields of psychology.
- Apply the philosophy of science to problems relevant to the field of psychology and the social sciences.
- Interpret data with consideration to diverse populations and individual differences.
- Apply the principles of effective learning to their own study as the basis for successful lifelong learning.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
