The end of term examination has now been changed to an alternate form of assessment. Please see your Moodle site for details of the assessment
Overview
This unit will introduce you to key concepts in research methodology as employed in psychological research and the social sciences. The material covered in this unit provides the necessary background for you to conduct and/or appraise research as part of your undergraduate or professional careers. The primary goals of this unit are to a) provide you with an awareness of the range of methodologies available (both quantitative and qualitative) to researchers and to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches and b) design research studies to understand psychological phenomena, including writing sub-sections of research reports in APA style.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Successful completion of 24 credit points.
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 - 2020
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 Student feedback
High level of support from lecturers.
Continue to offer good support and where possible continue to adopt a team teaching approach.
Feedback from Student feedback
Students appreciated the depth and breadth of research experience the teaching team had.
Ensure that research led teaching experience is incorporated into lectures and tutorials.
Feedback from Student feedback and self reflection
Some students not taking the group task seriously enough and not enough marks for personal contribution.
Retain group task as it imparts transferable graduate skills. Look to allocate some marks for personal contribution over and above current peer ratings.
Feedback from Student feedback and self reflection
Section A of the exam could be an in-class quiz, or even remove the exam and add a piece of coursework.
The exam will be retained in 2020 and section A will continue to assess breadth of knowledge. But, the four separate short answer questions (section B) will be replaced by one longer answer question that requires drawing on material from multiple lectures and relating to a real-world research scenario. This will assess depth of knowledge and integrate better with the coursework assessments.
Feedback from Student feedback
Component 2 of Portfolio task (Methods section) needs a narrower focus.
Provide more guidelines, whilst still requiring students to think critically and allowing some novel input for the final assessment piece.
- Evaluate basic research designs
- Design studies to investigate psychological phenomena
- Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts in research methods.
The major aim of this unit is to provide an in-depth understanding of the methodology employed in psychological research.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Portfolio - 55% | |||
| 2 - Group Discussion - 15% | |||
| 3 - Examination - 30% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 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 - First Nations Knowledges | |||
| 11 - 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 | 11 | |
| 1 - Portfolio - 55% | |||||||||||
| 2 - Group Discussion - 15% | |||||||||||
| 3 - Examination - 30% | |||||||||||
Textbooks
CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY: MEASURING THE WEIGHT OF SMOKE
- Edition: Fifth (2018)
- Authors: Brett W. Pelham and Hart Blanton
- Sage
- Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks , California , United States of America
- ISBN: 9781544333342
- Binding: Paperback
Publication Manual of American Psychological Association
- Edition: 7th (2019)
- American Psychological Association
- ISBN: 978-1-4338-3216-1
- Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
The APA guide is now in its 7th edition (released in October 2019). We will be using the 7th edition from Term 1 2020. This title can be purchased as a hard, soft, spiral bound, or e-copy.
Copies are available for purchase at the CQUni Bookshop here: http://bookshop.cqu.edu.au (search on the Unit code)
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.
d.j.walker@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 09 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Introduction to Research
Chapter
1, 2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 16 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Validity, Reliability and Measurement
Chapter
3, 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 23 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Threats to Validity
Chapter
7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 30 Mar 2020Module/Topic
Experiments
Chapter
9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Portfolio Component 1 Due: Week 4 Monday (30 March 2020) 11:55 pm AEST
Week 5
Begin Date: 06 Apr 2020Module/Topic
Quasi-Experiments
Chapter
10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation Week
Begin Date: 13 Apr 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 6
Begin Date: 20 Apr 2020Module/Topic
Research Designs
Chapter
11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 27 Apr 2020Module/Topic
Writing in Psychology (focus on Methods section)
Chapter
13
McBurny & White, Ch. 4 (available online)
Burton, Chs. 1 & 3 (available online)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 04 May 2020Module/Topic
Surveys
Chapter
6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Group Discussion Due: Week 8 Monday (4th May 2020) 11.55 pm AEST
Week 9
Begin Date: 11 May 2020Module/Topic
Understanding and Representing Data
Chapter
12
De Veaux, Vellman & Bock, Chs. 2, 3 & 4 (available online)
Neuman Ch. 9 (available online)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 18 May 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 25 May 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
Richardson, Goodwin & Vine, Chs. 7 & 8 (available online)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 01 Jun 2020Module/Topic
Bringing it all together and exam revision
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Portfolio Component 2 Due: Week 12 Monday (10 Feb. 2020) 11:55 pm AEST
Review/Exam Week
Begin Date: 08 Jun 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 15 Jun 2020Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Portfolio
This assessment item will provide you with the opportunity to practice the skills and knowledge gained throughout the
unit in an applied setting. The portfolio assessment will test your understanding of how to construct a testable
hypothesis from a research question, how to design an experiment to test this hypothesis, and how to interpret
experimental findings. The assessment task will also develop your research report writing skills and evaluate your
understanding of fundamental concepts in psychological research. This assessment task closely relates to each of the
unit learning outcomes.
Details:
During the unit, you will be required to submit two (2) components related to the research process and the
research report writing process. Each component will be submitted independently. The components are:
1. Constructs, Variables and Hypotheses
2. Experimental Design
Your unit coordinator will provide a list of research questions at the start of the unit to help you with each of the
components.
See Moodle for more detailed requirements
Components are due by 11.55pm on Monday at the start of weeks 4 and 12
Each component will be returned within 2 working weeks of the submission due date.
Component 1 - Constructs, Variables and Hypotheses
Your Unit Coordinator will provide you with a set of five research questions at the start of the unit. For each question,
you will be asked to identify the constructs in the research question, describe a variable that could be used to measure
the constructs that you have identified, and construct a testable hypothesis using the variables that you have described.
Requirements/criteria: Identify the constructs, describe variables to measure the constructs, construct a testable
hypothesis (4 marks for each question). See Moodle for more details.
Due Date: 11:55pm Monday - start of week 4
Component 1 Weighting: 20%
Word Count Range: 500 – 600 words (max 600 words)
Component 2 – Experimental Design
For this component, you will need to choose one of the two questions from the list provided by your Unit
Coordinator. Your task is to design an experiment to answer your research question. You will
‘write up’ your experiment in the form of an APA style methods section containing the following sections: design
statement, participants, materials, procedure, and use of data.
Requirements/criteria: Design statement (5 marks), Participants (7 marks), Materials (10 marks), Procedure (10
marks), Use of data (3 marks). Marks per section will be awarded via a detailed criteria and feedback sheet
available on Moodle. For example, to get a HD for the Design Statement, students would need "All of the major
aspects of the design (including hypothesis, type of design, IVs, DVs) have been clearly described".
Due Date: 11:55pm Monday - start of week 12
Component 2 Weighting: 35%
Word Count Range: 700 – 800 words (max 800 words)
- Evaluate basic research designs
- Design studies to investigate psychological phenomena
- Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts in research methods.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Ethical practice
2 Group Discussion
Task Description
Objectives:
Contributing to a group discussion provides you with the opportunity to demonstrate a functional knowledge of the issue
under discussion and to apply the knowledge and skills learned throughout the unit in a practical setting reflecting the
research process. Participation in a group discussion will further reveal the extent to which you have synthesised theory
and practice associated with various issues within the field.
Details:
From Week 3, you will assign yourselves into groups of four (4). The task for the Group Discussion will be posted on the
unit website in Week 2. You will be required to discuss the task within your group and to submit a single group solution
to the task in the form of a Wiki page. Briefly, the task requires your group to evaluate and comment on four (4)
research designs. Private discussion forum spaces and private chat sessions will be provided to each group to assist with
communication (although groups may choose any method of communication that they like). The world count range for
the submission is 500 – 700 words.
The task is due Monday of week 8
The group task will be returned within 2 weeks of submission
Grading of the Group Discussion assignment will be based on:
Group solution (10 marks).
Identify which type of validity is threatened. Explain how/why you think validity is threatened. Explain how the
design could be changed to eliminate/reduce the threat. (2.5 marks for each design)
Peer review of contribution (5 marks). Each member of your group will assess your participation and
contribution to the assignment. A peer review of contribution form will be available on the unit website and must
be submitted by the due date.
- Evaluate basic research designs
- Design studies to investigate psychological phenomena
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Information Literacy
- Team Work
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
Examination
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?
