CQUniversity Unit Profile
PSYC11012 Research Methods 1
Research Methods 1
All details in this unit profile for PSYC11012 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

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

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 1
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 10
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

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

Adelaide
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Townsville

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).

Class and Assessment Overview

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

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Written Assessment
Weighting: 20%
2. Group Work
Weighting: 30%
3. Report
Weighting: 50%

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.

Previous Student Feedback

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

Feedback

Some students found the quantity of content difficult to keep up with across the unit.

Recommendation

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

Feedback

Students indicated that they found some of the wording of the provided instructions for Assessment 2 to be confusing.

Recommendation

Assessment 2 will be modified to ensure additional clarity is provided.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Describe and apply foundational quantitative and qualitative research methods in psychology.
  2. Apply knowledge of research methodology and research ethics to the evaluation of academic and non-academic sources of information.
  3. Critically reflect on how personal and societal attitudes, experiences and values influence perceptions of ethical research and scientific knowledge.
  4. 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 Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

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 and Resources

Textbooks

Prescribed

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

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
Referencing Style

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.

Teaching Contacts
Madeline Sprajcer Unit Coordinator
m.sprajcer@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 08 Jul 2024

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

Week 2 Begin Date: 15 Jul 2024

Module/Topic

Ethical research

Chapter

Burton (2018). Chapter 2: Ethics 

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 22 Jul 2024

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

Week 4 Begin Date: 29 Jul 2024

Module/Topic

Introduction to qualitative research

Chapter

Creswell (2003). Chapter 10: Qualitative Procedures

Events and Submissions/Topic

Ethics reflection Due: Week 4 Friday (2 Aug 2024) 9:00 am AEST
Week 5 Begin Date: 05 Aug 2024

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). 

Vacation Week Begin Date: 12 Aug 2024

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 Begin Date: 19 Aug 2024

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

Week 7 Begin Date: 26 Aug 2024

Module/Topic

Observation and surveys

Chapter

Burton (2018). Chapter 4: Types of observational analysis

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 8 Begin Date: 02 Sep 2024

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

Week 9 Begin Date: 09 Sep 2024

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
Week 10 Begin Date: 16 Sep 2024

Module/Topic

Common qualitative methods

Chapter

Burton (2018). Chapter 11: Qualitative Methods

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 11 Begin Date: 23 Sep 2024

Module/Topic

Descriptive statistics

Chapter

Burton (2018). Chapter 5: Collecting and organising data (descriptive statistics)

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 12 Begin Date: 30 Sep 2024

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

Research report Due: Week 12 Friday (4 Oct 2024) 9:00 am AEST
Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 07 Oct 2024

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment 3 - Research report (50% weighting) - Due Week 13 (review/exam week), Monday at 9am (AEST).

Exam Week Begin Date: 14 Oct 2024

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Ethics reflection

Task Description

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.


Assessment Due Date

Week 4 Friday (2 Aug 2024) 9:00 am AEST

Submission due time is in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) / QLD time


Return Date to Students

Week 7 Monday (26 Aug 2024)


Weighting
20%

Assessment Criteria

This assessment will be graded out of 20 marks. Marks will be allocated according to each of the following criteria:

  1. A brief overview of the experiment’s contribution to psychology [5 marks]
  2. An understanding of the ethics of the experiment is demonstrated [5 marks]
  3. Reference to personal experiences, situations, events, or new information is made [5 marks]
  4. The response is of sufficient length (i.e., adheres to the word limit), and is written with good spelling and grammar [5 marks]


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Please COPY-and-PASTE your response from your word processing document into the relevant text box during submission on Moodle. Do not attempt to upload a Word file.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • 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

Assessment Title
Group Work Critique

Task Description

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:

  1. determine whether common criticisms of research are applicable for qualitative research and/or quantitative research.
  2. 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?


Assessment Due Date

Week 9 Friday (13 Sept 2024) 9:00 am AEST

Submission due time is in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) / QLD time


Return Date to Students

Week 12 Monday (30 Sept 2024)


Weighting
30%

Assessment Criteria

 

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

 


Referencing Style

Submission
Online Group

Submission Instructions
Both the Individual and Group component are to be submitted online via Moodle. Groups are to select one group member to upload their submission on their behalf.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • 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

Assessment Title
Research report

Task Description

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.


Assessment Due Date

Week 12 Friday (4 Oct 2024) 9:00 am AEST

Submission due time is in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) / QLD time


Return Date to Students

Exam Week Friday (18 Oct 2024)


Weighting
50%

Minimum mark or grade
50%

Assessment Criteria

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            


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Upload your Word document online through Moodle.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • 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.

Academic Integrity Statement

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?