PSY 2321 - Research Methods and Statistical Analysis Professor: Dr. Stephen Lippi Email: stephen.lippi@angelo.edu Phone: 325-486-6923 (325-942-2068) Class time: MW 10-11:15AM Class location: RAS 111 Office hours: MTWR 1-3:30PM Office location: Academic Building 104C Text: Adams, K. A. & Lawrence, E. K. (2019). Research Methods, Statistics, and Applications, 2nd Edition. SAGE Publications, Inc. This course is meant to introduce students to various experimental and non-experimental methods utilized by scientists to gather and analyze data. Numerous analyses will be explored, including measures of central tendency, variability, correlation, regression, t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and chi-square. Statistics is like a foreign language: the more you practice it, the more you will be able to use and understand it. We will begin the semester with the basics: reliability and validity, what types of data exist, and how to describe, measure, and collect data. Then we will build on this foundation by exploring ways that scientists can make hypotheses and collect and run data to test these hypotheses. The second half of the semester will be devoted to running various statistical tests to answer research questions and how to interpret collected data and results. Course Learning Objectives 1) Gaining a basic understanding of the subject (e.g., factual knowledge, methods, principles, generalizations, theories) a) To understand and be able to discriminate between various research methods and statistical tests used to collect and analyze data 2) Learning appropriate methods for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting numerical information a) To develop skills required to be able to analyze and interpret datasets b) Learning how to run various statistical tests and understanding how to interpret outcomes Methods of Assessing Learning Outcomes Weekly quizzes (24% of total grade) On Mondays throughout the semester (see schedule below), there will be a quiz at the beginning of class. Repeated testing is utilized to keep students engaged in course material, rather than just close to exam times. Each quiz will take approximately 10-15 minutes and will consist of a various number of multiple choice or true false questions or will be a problem set. Students are allowed to bring a notecard with information written on it (front and back). These notecards will
be turned in with the quiz and must be handwritten. If a student is found to have typed material, he/she will not be allowed to use it. There are 9 quizzes in total; the lowest will be dropped. Each quiz (8 that count) counts for 3% of your total grade, for a total of 24%. Exams (bring a sheet of notes) (76% of total grade) There will be 3 in class exams and a semi-cumulative final exam (4 exams in total). The semicumulative final will include information from the entire semester; however, it will focus on information from after exam 3 primarily. Each exam will consist of some amount of questions that can be multiple choice, true false, fill-in-the-blank, matching, and/or short answer questions. Students are given the entire class period to complete the exam. Students are expected to show up on time to each exam. Should a student miss an exam, appropriate documentation must be provided to the professor before a make-up exam will be given. Any make-up exam will be structured differently than the original exam. For each exam, students are allowed to bring in one 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper (standard piece of notebook/printer paper) with handwritten notes. These notes can be anything: definitions, formulas, pictures of puppies, etc. These sheets will be turned in with each exam. If a student brings in a sheet of paper that is found to contain typed material, he/she will not be allowed to use it. Exams 1-3 each count for 17% of the final grade; the final exam counts for 25% (in total, exams are worth 76% of the course grade). Grades Students grades will be calculated out of 1,000 total points. 240 points out of the 1,000 are from quizzes and the remaining 760 points come from the exams. Course grades on Blackboard may not always be representative of the actual grade (since sometimes exams are out of a various number of points and Blackboard may compute based on those, whereas I do not). Final course grades will be rounded to 2 decimal places and letter grades will be assigned as seen below. Letter Grade Percentage Grade (rounded to 2 decimal places) A 90.00-100.00% B 80.00-89.99% C 70.00-79.99% D 60.00-69.99% F 0-59.99% Attendance policy Each student is expected to arrive on time to each class and attend class regularly. Although attendance is not a part of the grade, exam scores may reflect a subpar attendance record. Also, quizzes are given at the beginning of various classes and thus, poor attendance will reflect on quiz scores.
Honor Code Angelo State University expects its students to maintain complete honesty and integrity in their academic pursuits. Students are responsible for understanding the Academic Honor Code https://www.angelo.edu/student-handbook/code-of-student-conduct/misconduct.php Please do not cheat in this class. If you are found to have cheated, you and the individual from whom assistance was given will receive a 0% on the assignment. Disabilities ASU is committed to the principle that no qualified individual with a disability shall, on the basis of disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of the university, or be subjected to discrimination by the university, as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments of 2008 (ADAAA), and subsequent legislation. Student Affairs is the designated campus department charged with the responsibility of reviewing and authorizing requests for reasonable accommodations based on a disability, and it is the student s responsibility to initiate such a request by emailing ADA@angelo.edu, or by contacting: Mrs. Dallas Swafford Director of Student Development Office of Student Affairs University Center, Suite 112 325-942-2047 Office 325-942-2211 Fax Dallas.Swafford@angelo.edu Extra credit (SONA Systems participation) Since this course involves exploration of research methods and statistics, students can earn extra credit by participating in SONA system studies. Participation in these studies are important for graduate students/professors data collection. Each student can earn up to 3 points of extra credit for participating in SONA studies throughout the semester. You re welcome to do more, but you will only get credit for up to 3 hours (3 points). For additional details, see the Psychology department s Research Opportunities website menu. https://angelostate.sona-systems.com/default.aspx?returnurl=%2f
Course Schedule (This schedule is subject to change at my discretion) PSY 2313 MW 10-11:15 AM Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Course Introduction 27-Aug Syllabus, Ch. 1: Thinking Like a Researcher 29-Aug Ch. 1: Thinking like a researcher 3-Sep No Class: Labor Day Ch. 3: Reliability and Validity 5-Sep Scales of measurement 10-Sep Ch. 3: Scales of Measurement 12-Sep Ch. 4: Description, Measurement, & Sampling 17-Sep Ch. 4 & Review 19-Sep Exam 1: Ch. 1, 3, 4 24-Sep Ch. 5: Descriptive Statistics 26-Sep Ch. 5: Descriptive Statistics 1-Oct Ch. 6: Inferential Statistics 3-Oct Ch. 6: Inferential Statistics Week 7 8-Oct Ch. 7: One-sample T test 10-Oct Ch. 7: One-sample T test Week 8 15-Oct Exam 2: Ch. 5-7 Ch. 10 & 11: Independent and Dependent 17-Oct samples T tests Ch. 10 & 11: Independent and Dependent Samples T Week 9 22-Oct tests 24-Oct Ch. 10 & 11: One Way ANOVA: Between subjects Week 10 Week 11 29-Oct Ch. 10: One Way ANOVA: Between Subjects Ch. 11: Within-Subjects ANOVA 31-Oct Happy Halloween 5-Nov No class: Society for Neuroscience conference 7-Nov No class: Society for Neuroscience conference Quiz 1 (week 2 info) Quiz 2 (week 3 info) Quiz 3 (week 5 info) Quiz 4 (week 6 info) Quiz 5 (week 7-8 info) Quiz 6 (week 9 info)
Week 12 12-Nov Ch. 11: Within-Subjects ANOVA 14-Nov Ch. 12: Factorial ANOVA Week 13 19-Nov Ch. 12: Factorial ANOVA 21-Nov No class: Thanksgiving Holiday Break Week 14 26-Nov Exam 3: Ch. 10-12 Ch. 8: Relationships with Variables - 28-Nov Correlation Week 15 Week 16 Ch. 8: Relationships with Variables - Linear 3-Dec Regression Ch. 13: Nonparametric statistics 5-Dec Chi square Final Exam (semi-cumulative) 10-Dec 10:30AM - 12:30PM Quiz 7 (week 10-11 info) Quiz 8 (week 12 info) Quiz 9 (correlation info)