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 - 2021
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 and self-reflection
Textbook was not concise enough.
Retain main textbook for 2021 delivery, but signpost relevant material more clearly.
Feedback from Student feedback
Lectures were a little long and needed more interaction.
Make pre-recorded material more concise and live lectures more interactive.
Feedback from Student feedback
Variety of resources to support learning was good, especially formative quizzes.
Maintain existing resources, updating where appropriate.
Feedback from Student feedback
Weekly seminar with discussion topics aided learning.
Maintain smaller seminars in addition to larger lectures.
- Evaluate basic research designs
- Design studies to investigate psychological phenomena
- Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts in research methods.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Portfolio - 55% | |||
| 2 - Group Discussion - 15% | |||
| 3 - Take Home Exam - 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 - 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 - Portfolio - 55% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Group Discussion - 15% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Take Home Exam - 30% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN PSYCHOLOGY: MEASURING THE WEIGHT OF SMOKE
Edition: 5th (2018)
Authors: Brett W. Pelham and Hart Blanton
Sage
Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks , CA , United States of America
ISBN: 9781544333342
Binding: Paperback
Publication Manual of American Psychological Association
Edition: 7th (2019)
Authors: American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
ISBN: 978-1-4338-3216-1
Binding: Paperback
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.
d.j.walker@cqu.edu.au
t.mcadie@cqu.edu.au
m.sprajcer@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to Research
Chapter
1, 2
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Validity, Reliability and Measurement
Chapter
3, 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Threats to Validity
Chapter
7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Experiments
Chapter
9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Portfolio Component 1 Due: Week 4 Monday (29th March) 11:55pm AEST
Module/Topic
Quasi-Experiments
Chapter
10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Research Designs
Chapter
11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/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
Module/Topic
Surveys
Chapter
6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Group Discussion Due: Week 8 Tuesday (4th May 2021) 11.55pm AEST
Module/Topic
Understanding and Representing Data
Chapter
12
De Veaux, Vellman & Bock, Chs. 2, 3 & 4 (available online)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Richardson, Goodwin & Vine, Chs. 7 & 8 (available online)
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Bringing it all together and exam revision
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Portfolio Component 2 Due: Week 12 Monday (31st May 2021) 11:55pm AEST
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
End of year take home exam: Opens Monday of Week 13 (Monday 7th June 2021) 9am AEST, due on Friday of Week 13 (Friday 11th June 2021) 9am AEST
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". Two sample exemplars from previous cohorts (different research topics to those set in 2021) will be given.
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
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:
After Census Date (30th March 2021) 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 word count range for the Wiki submission is 500 – 700 words. There is an individual contribution component where you need to evaluate the teamworking skills of the other people in your group based on cooperation, participation and contribution.
The task is due by 11.55pm Tuesday 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)
Evaluation of teamworking skills individual task (5 marks). Each member of your group will assess your participation and contribution to the assignment. An individual evaluation of the teamworking skills (of other group members) 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
3 Take Home Exam
Task Description
Format:
There will be a take home exam, comprising of two parts. Part A will be a series of 'fill in the blank' (unseen) questions and a short answer question (one from a choice of three seen in the term). Part B will be an applied research scenario with separate questions. Students will have seen a similar scenario prior to the exam but will have to adapt their answers to fit the specific example given. Thus, the exam has seen, and unseen elements as indicated above and a guidance template will be supplied during the term.
Restrictions:
You have to complete the take home exam within a working week. Only one attempt is allowed. The assessment is to be done individually and submitted via Moodle using Turnitin.
Dates:
The exam will open on Monday of Week 13, 9am AEST, and will close on Friday of Week 13, 9am AEST. As the time allowed to complete the take-home exam is comfortably more than is needed (if students have prepared throughout the term) there will no extensions given. Students with documented evidence of being unable to start the assessment at the required time or experiencing problems (e.g. medical) during the assessment will be required to sit a new paper at a later point in time. This may delay conferral of grades for the unit.
Note: Responses after the close time will not be counted by the system.
Weighting:
The take-home exam counts for 30% of your final grade.
The take home exam will open on Monday of Week 13, 9am AEST, and will close on Friday of Week 13, 9am AEST.
Take home exam marks will be available after the assessment board. There will be no detailed individual feedback given.
Examinable Topics:
All topics covered in this unit are examinable.
Marks will be awarded as follows:
Section A - ‘fill in the blank’ questions will be worth 1 mark each, 20 question = 20 marks. Short answer question = 10 marks. Total = 30 marks.
Section B – part a (short answer) = 10 marks; part b (short answer) = 10 marks; part c (short list) = 5 marks; part d (short list) = 5 marks. Total = 30 marks.
Note: short answer questions will be evaluated using the generic CQU grade descriptor. For example, for a HD grade we would typically require – “Demonstrates imagination, originality or flair, based on proficiency in all the learning outcomes of the unit; work is interesting or surprisingly exciting, challenging, well-read or scholarly” ; whereas a P grade would typically require – “Demonstrates the learning outcomes of the unit, such as knowledge of fundamental concepts and performance of basic skills; demonstrates sufficient quality of performance to be considered satisfactory or adequate or competent or capable in relation to the learning outcomes of the unit. Unlike a coursework assignment during the 12 week term, detailed written feedback will not be given on each submission.
Examinable Materials:
Weekly videos/lecture notes, tutorials, & textbook.
- Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts in research methods.
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
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?
