Overview
This unit is designed for first-time researchers. It provides you with an introduction to the research methods and critical thinking approach that will be used throughout your psychology degree. At the end of this unit, you will be able to describe, apply, and evaluate a range of basic qualitative and quantitative research methods used in the social sciences. You will develop critical thinking, problem solving skills and group work skills. You will gain introductory competence in critically evaluating scientific literature, constructing empirical arguments, generating research questions, applying basic statistical concepts, and preparing scientific research reports in American Psychological Association (APA) formatting style. A focus will be placed on conducting research with diverse populations and in an ethically responsible manner. The skills and knowledge gained in this unit will be developed further in Research Methods 2 (PSYC12048) and Research Methods 3 (PSYC13015).
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 2 - 2024
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 SUTE data
Some students found the quantity of content difficult to keep up with across the unit.
Provide clear indications on the Moodle site about which resources are essential and which resources are 'extra reading' for interested students.
Feedback from SUTE data
Students indicated that they found some of the wording of the provided instructions for Assessment 2 to be confusing.
Assessment 2 will be modified to ensure additional clarity is provided.
- Describe and apply foundational quantitative and qualitative research methods in psychology.
- Apply knowledge of research methodology and research ethics to the evaluation of academic and non-academic sources of information.
- Critically reflect on how personal and societal attitudes, experiences and values influence perceptions of ethical research and scientific knowledge.
- Write a scientific report using American Psychological Association (APA) format.
This unit addresses Foundational Competencies as specified by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). The unit specifically aligns to the following APAC graduate competencies:
1.1 Comprehend and apply a broad and coherent body of knowledge of psychology, with depth of understanding of underlying principles, theories and concepts in the discipline, using a scientific approach, including the following topics: i. the history and philosophy underpinning the science of psychology and the social, cultural, historical and professional influences on the practice of psychology; and xii. research methods and statistics.
1.2 Apply knowledge and skills of psychology in a manner that is reflexive, culturally appropriate and sensitive to the diversity of individuals.
1.3 Analyse and critique theory and research in the discipline of psychology and communicate these in written and oral formats.
1.4 Demonstrate an understanding of appropriate values and ethics in psychology.
1.5 Demonstrate interpersonal skills and teamwork.
1.6 Demonstrate self-directed pursuit of scholarly inquiry in psychology.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
1 - Written Assessment - 20% | ||||
2 - Group Work - 30% | ||||
3 - Report - 50% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
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 |
Textbooks
Psychology Research Methods (1st ed.).
Edition: (1st ed.). (2018)
Authors: Burton, L.J., Goodwin, C.J., Goodwin, K.A., and Jose, P.E
Milton, Queensland: John Wiley and Sons.
ISBN: ISBN-13: 9780730363255 ISBN-10: 0730363252
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
m.sprajcer@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
The science of knowing
Chapter
Burton (2018). Chapter 1: The scientific method
Harris (2021). How the scientific method works
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Ethical research
Chapter
Burton (2018). Chapter 2: Ethics
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Critical thinking
Chapter
Burton (2018). Chapter 1.4: Psychological science and pseudoscience
Burton (2018). Chapter 12: Finding research literature
Dunn (2013). Chapter 3: Searching and reading the psychological literature from The practical researcher: A student guide to conducting psychological research
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Introduction to qualitative research
Chapter
Creswell (2003). Chapter 10: Qualitative Procedures
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Critiquing qualitative research
Chapter
Braun & Clarke (2013). Chapter 2: Ten Fundamentals of Qualitative Research
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 1 - Ethics assessment (20% weighting) - Due Week 5, Monday at 9am (AEST).
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Experimental research
Chapter
Burton (2018). Chapter 3: Measurement and validity
Burton (2018). Chapter 10: Hypothesis and testing and inferential statistics
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Observation and surveys
Chapter
Burton (2018). Chapter 4: Types of observational analysis
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Correlations and quasi-experimental designs
Chapter
Burton (2018). Chapter 8: Variations on experimental design
Burton (2018). Chapter 9: Correlational research
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The researcher’s role in qualitative research
Chapter
Creswell (2003). Chapter 10: Qualitative Procedures (especially Pages 184-5)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 2 - Group work (30% weighting) - Due Week 9, Monday at 9am (AEST).
Group Work Critique Due: Week 9 Friday (13 Sept 2024) 9:00 am AEST
Module/Topic
Common qualitative methods
Chapter
Burton (2018). Chapter 11: Qualitative Methods
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Descriptive statistics
Chapter
Burton (2018). Chapter 5: Collecting and organising data (descriptive statistics)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Introduction to inferential statistics
Chapter
Burton (2018). Chapter 6: Experimental design 1
Burton (2018). Chapter 7: Experimental design 2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Assessment 3 - Research report (50% weighting) - Due Week 13 (review/exam week), Monday at 9am (AEST).
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
This assessment is your opportunity to share your thoughts and analysis as to what you have read and experienced about a classical experiment in psychology. This piece of writing is meant to illustrate your understanding of the experiment (for example, the ethical implications of why and how it was done), how it affects your ideas, and how it may possibly affect your professional practice in the future.
Specifically, this assessment requires you to (a) select and research ONE of the 10 listed psychological experiments, and (b) provide ONE 450-550 word personal reflection on the experiment, according to the marking criteria (see below).
Please select one of the following psychological experiments to base your reflection on:
- The Little Albert experiment
- Asch Conformity experiment
- The Bystander Effect
- The Milgram experiment
- Harlow's Monkey experiment
- Learned Helplessness
- Robber's Cave experiment
- The Monster Study
- Blue Eyed Versus Brown Eyed Students
- The Stanford Prison experiment
Please note that you are not expected to include any references in this assessment. The content is meant to reflect your thoughts, feelings and reflections. You can of course include a reference if absolutely necessary. The word count includes all words excluding the title (and would include references if you had them).
You are required to submit ONE personal reflection (worth 20% of your final mark for this unit). Responses should be posted on Moodle via the appropriate link in the Assessment tile.
This assessment does not require a cover page. Please COPY-and-PASTE your response from your word document into the relevant text box during submission. Do not attempt to upload a word file.
Week 4 Friday (2 Aug 2024) 9:00 am AEST
Submission due time is in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) / QLD time
Week 7 Monday (26 Aug 2024)
This assessment will be graded out of 20 marks. Marks will be allocated according to each of the following criteria:
- A brief overview of the experiment’s contribution to psychology [5 marks]
- An understanding of the ethics of the experiment is demonstrated [5 marks]
- Reference to personal experiences, situations, events, or new information is made [5 marks]
- The response is of sufficient length (i.e., adheres to the word limit), and is written with good spelling and grammar [5 marks]
- Apply knowledge of research methodology and research ethics to the evaluation of academic and non-academic sources of information.
- Critically reflect on how personal and societal attitudes, experiences and values influence perceptions of ethical research and scientific knowledge.
2 Group Work
Evaluating the value of diverse sources of information is an important research skill. Key differences exist in the way we evaluate qualitative and quantitative research and criticisms for one approach are not necessarily applicable to the other.
For this assessment, you will be required to work in a group to:
- determine whether common criticisms of research are applicable for qualitative research and/or quantitative research.
- provide a justification for each of your decisions, commenting on how each issue could impact research findings.
You will also need to complete an individual reflection of these answers. Please reflect on the processes, procedures, conflicts, and times your group worked well together during this assessment. What have you learned that could be implemented or improved in research teams that you might be involved with in the future?
Week 9 Friday (13 Sept 2024) 9:00 am AEST
Submission due time is in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) / QLD time
Week 12 Monday (30 Sept 2024)
Group component [24 marks]
For this assessment, you will be required to work in a group to assess 12 common criticisms of qualitative research and/or quantitative research. For each common criticism, you can receive 1 mark for each correctly identified paradigm and 1 mark for correctly identifying how each criticism could impact findings.
1. determine whether common criticisms of research are applicable for qualitative research and/or quantitative research. [1 mark x 12 critiques = 12 marks in total]
2. provide a justification for each of your decisions, commenting on how each issue could impact research findings. [1 mark x 12 critiques = 12 marks in total; approx. 50 words per item]
Individual component [6 marks; 250-word limit]
6 marks | 5 marks | 4 marks | 3 marks | 2 marks | 0 marks | |
Individual reflection on group work | Thoughtful and comprehensive reflection on group work. Reflection includes positive and/or negative experiences with an excellent, clear understanding of why things worked well or did not work well. Clear learnings are presented in the context of future research team work. | A comprehensive reflection on group work. Reflection includes positive and/or negative experiences with a good understanding of why things worked well or did not work well. Learnings are presented in the context of future research team work. | Reflection includes positive and/or negative experiences with a moderate understanding of why things worked well or did not work well. Learnings are presented in the context of future team work, but the research context is not addressed specifically. | Reflection includes positive and/or negative experiences with a basic understanding of why things worked well or did not work well. Some learnings are presented but with no specific context. | Reflection describes group work undertaken but does not present any specific learnings. | Not submitted |
- Describe and apply foundational quantitative and qualitative research methods in psychology.
- Apply knowledge of research methodology and research ethics to the evaluation of academic and non-academic sources of information.
3 Report
The aim of this assessment is to enable you to develop your writing skills and to practice preparing a research report. A research report is structured in the order that you actually conduct research; typically, a researcher becomes interested in a puzzling psychological phenomenon, designs a study to investigate it, collects and analyses data, then interprets the results. In PSYC11012, I aim to give you a taste of this exploratory research process! The only difference is that, because this is an introductory unit, you will not have to conduct any complicated statistical analyses, but rather, you will be given the results for the study (note, you will have to do follow some basic steps in order to write up the results correctly). You should be able to demonstrate that you can critically evaluate the literature on a given topic, communicate a research aim, construct a hypothesis, and discuss research findings.
You will be required to write a brief (1500- to 2000-word) research report. You need to write the report as if you are the researcher (rather than a participant in a class study or study conducted by the unit coordinator). You will be assessed on your ability to put together a scientific report, based on collected data (note you will also be a participant), in American Psychological Association (APA) format, with sections including an Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, and References. Five references will be provided to you, but at least five more must be found, and referred to, in your report (so, your reference list should have a minimum of 10 journal articles in it. Non journal articles such as books, government websites etc do not count towards the 10 but can be cited if necessary). You will need to do some independent searching and reading of the literature. Reading and conducting scientific reports, and the use of the APA style are skills that you will utilise all throughout your psychology degree and beyond. Please refer to the APA publication manual (2020) and utilise the APA template provided for further information on how to appropriately format your report.
Week 12 Friday (4 Oct 2024) 9:00 am AEST
Submission due time is in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) / QLD time
Exam Week Friday (18 Oct 2024)
MARKS AVAILABLE FOR EACH SECTION
Total Marks | Excellent | Good | Satisfactory | Unsatisfactory | Not completed | |
2 | Title | |||||
Report is appropriately titled (e.g., adequately describes the contents, main ideas or purpose of your paper), and presented on a title page as well as the beginning of the introduction | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | |
5 | ABSTRACT | |||||
Summarises the key points or details relating to the background, aims, method, findings, and implications of the study | 5 | 4 | 2.5 | 1 | 0 | |
10 | INTRODUCTION | |||||
Discussion of the research problem or issue, including justification for the research, and definitions of theories and concepts covered (where relevant) | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | |
Coverage of previous literature that is relevant to the study | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
Clearly stated research hypotheses. Must be justified by the literature reviewed and arguments posed | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | |
Statement of research aims and question (or theory) | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | |
6 | METHODS | |||||
Subjects, materials and procedure explained concisely, but in a way that it can be replicated. References included where needed (e.g., for psychometric scales used) | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
6 | RESULTS | |||||
Figures and tables presented correctly (including caption, and referenced in the text) | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | |
Summary of findings provided (e.g., direction of result) and correct write up of statistical findings relevant to the test carried out | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | |
10 | DISCUSSION | |||||
Summary of major findings/fate of research hypotheses | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
Discusses implications of results which relates back to the literature | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | |
Describes problems and limitations of study, and what the impact of this might have been to the outcome of the study | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | |
Suggestions for future research | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | |
6 | REFERENCES | |||||
A minimum of 10 journal articles referred to in the text (including the 5 articles provided, and any other sources cited such as government websites, books and newspaper articles) | 2 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | |
Adheres to APA style (presentation/formatting, in-text citations, and reference list) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
5 | GENERAL | |||||
Spelling, clear writing style, legibility, and logical flow | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
Adherence to work count (must be within range of 1500-2000 words) | 1 | - | - | 0 | 0 | |
50 |
- Describe and apply foundational quantitative and qualitative research methods in psychology.
- Apply knowledge of research methodology and research ethics to the evaluation of academic and non-academic sources of information.
- Critically reflect on how personal and societal attitudes, experiences and values influence perceptions of ethical research and scientific knowledge.
- Write a scientific report using American Psychological Association (APA) format.
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.