Experimental Psychology (PSYC 269)
Spring 2008
T Th 8:30-10:20am, BGC M228
Instructor: Dr.
Raymond Phinney
Office: M253,
Billy Graham Center
Office Hours: M,W,F
3:10-4:30, T-Th 1:30-3:00, or by appointment
-----Please
sign up 24hrs in advance for office hours.
Office Phone: 752-5159
Email: Raymond.E.Phinney@wheaton.edu
Required
Texts:
Christensen,
L. (2007). Experimental
Methodology 10th Ed.
Allyn &Bacon
Stanovich,
K. (2007). How to Think Straight About Psychology 8th Ed. Allyn & Bacon
Goals of the course: Various experimental methodologies will be surveyed as well as why such proper methodologies are important in the science of psychology, and in general science. These will be further contextualized with a very brief survey of non- and quasi-experimental methods. Students will participate in a research project to supply detailed practical knowledge of the concepts covered in the lecture and readings. After completing the course, the student will be a more erudite and discriminating consumer of scientific information both in the popular and scientific media. In addition, the student will gain sophistication in how to plan, execute, analyze and communicate research that furthers scientific knowledge, as well as why, how and when the experimental method is superior to other methods of knowledge acquisition.
Course grades are determined
from the following sources:
3 Exams (100 pts each): There will be three exams worth 100 points each, composed of multiple choice, short answer, and
essay questions.
Stanovich Presentation (50
points)
Pairs of students will sign up to present one
chapter of the Stanovich text and lead a class discussion of the material.
Stanovich Reaction Papers
and Discussions (50 points)
Each student (even the
presenters) will write a short (~250 words) reaction paper to each Stanovich
chapter to prepare them for the discussion and bring it to class on the day it
is discussed. Non-attendance on that day, OR FAILURE TO BRING THE PAPER TO
CLASS, will result in no points for the paper or the discussion.
Individual Research Proposal (50 points): each student will write a proposal (details forthcoming).
Research Proposal Review (10 points): each student will review the research proposal selected for the research group to which they have been assigned. The review will outline comments and concerns about the study's design and ethical nature as well as suggestions for enhancing the proposed study.
Group Proposal Revision (25 pts): After the reviews, each research group will submit a revised proposal along with a summary sheet detailing how review comments and concerns have influenced the revision
IRB Application and In-Class Review ( 15 pts): Each group will engage in an in-class review of another group’s protocol and a summary of the application will be completed in class
Final Group Research Report (25 pts): After the review process, each research group will revise their study and conduct the experiment. Data collection and statistical analysis will be conducted and a manuscript will be submitted that presents the findings of the study.
Final Group Research Presentation (25 pts): During the Final Examination period, each group will orally present the results of their study to the class.
Group Research Proposal: students will be placed in groups and one proposal from the group (or one presented by the professor) will be written by the group and the group will receive a grade for the common product.
Percent |
Grade |
93% |
A |
90% |
A- |
87% |
B+ |
83% |
B |
80% |
B- |
77% |
C+ |
73% |
C |
70% |
C- |
60% |
D |
50% |
F |
Total = 550 points
Grading Scale: The typical grading scale will be used in which the following percentages correspond to the grades listed next to them.
Policy Regarding Make-up Exams and Papers: Make-up exams will only be given by pre-arrangement as a result of illness (verified by the health service) or death in the family. English translation: if you wake up sick the day of the test, leave me a voice mail and/or an email (since they are timed and dated) before the exam time, then go to student health. If you hear of a family death, contact me (voice mail or email) before you leave town and before the exam period. Coming to class the next day with an excuse will not allow you a make-up exam. Make-up exams will be of the same format and number of questions, but different from the regularly scheduled exam. Late papers that are not prearranged late for similar reasons will be docked one letter grade per day late.
Class Attendance, Participation and Out-of-Class Responsibilities: Enrolling for this course means you are making a good faith commitment to attend and participate. Please do so. Ask lots of questions in class, during my office hours, or via email (my favorite is in class, so everyone can benefit from the discussion). Also, I encourage you to form study groups and work with one another to prepare for tests. Your colleagues are bright and caring will add much to your education. It is the student's responsibility to read assigned text before attending the lecture, to be aware of additional information that is covered in the lectures but not found in the book, and to be aware of changes to the syllabus that are announced in class.
Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism and Cheating: Cheating on exams, plagiarizing papers, or using another’s thoughts to write them, defeat the purposes of those works and will not be tolerated. This policy can be found in the Psychology Department's Student Handbook which defines plagiarism as the "theft of paragraphs, sentences, phrases or ideas without giving proper credit to the person who originated them" (p. 7). In this course, cheating – that is, representing others' work as your own – is most often committed in the copying of assignments or exam answers. In addition, academic dishonesty may also be committed by sharing this information with another (i.e. allowing a classmate to copy your assignments, etc). Any student found to have committed academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade of zero (0) for the assignment/exam and may be subject to additional discipline based on the severity of the offense. See also the section on Academic Integrity contained in the current Wheaton College Catalog.
Struggles with class material: If you get a poor grade on one or more tests or assignments, or you feel that you do not understand the material, please contact me. I encourage you all to ask questions during lecture and during exam reviews in class, to see me after class (I will be available most days after class), come to my office hours, email me, or phone me at the office. You may also arrange to meet with me at a different time than my regular office hours. If you are thinking about speaking with me but keep avoiding it, that’s a sure sign you should come see me! If there is a problem, the sooner it gets acknowledged, the sooner and better we can address it.
Tentative Schedule This is updated as of Feb 20, we'll see how it goes!
Month |
Date |
Lecture |
Reading(s) |
Research Project |
Jan |
15 |
Introduction |
Read and think about topic |
|
17 |
What is Science? |
Ch1, Stan1, Stan2 |
||
22 |
What is Science? |
Ch1, Stan3 |
||
24 |
Problem Identification |
Literature review (serious) |
||
29 |
Problem Identification –Lib |
Ch4 |
Literature review- class meets in the
library |
|
31 |
Non-experimental approaches |
Ch2, Stan5 |
||
Feb |
5 |
Faculty Development Day – No Class |
||
7 |
|
|
||
12 |
Exam 1 |
|||
14 |
Experimental Approaches |
|||
19 |
Ethics, Data Collection |
|||
21 |
Reliability and Validity |
Ch6, |
||
26 |
Validity in Research |
|||
28 |
Control Techniques | Ch9, Stan6 (Riggs, Kirschner) | ||
Mar |
4 |
|
||
6 |
Exam 2 |
|
||
11, 13 |
Spring Break – no class |
|||
18 |
Consultations |
|
||
20 |
Consultations |
|
||
25 |
In Class IRB | Stan7 (Bae, Moy), |
Revised group proposal due, IRB Applications due |
|
27 |
Experimental Designs |
Ch10, Stan8 | ||
Apr |
1 |
Quasi-experimental Designs |
C11 |
|
3 |
No class-work on project |
|||
8 |
No class-work on project |
|||
10 |
Consultations |
|||
15 |
Single Case Designs |
C12, Stan4 (Burt, Wolberg, Kimball) |
||
17 |
Stan9 (Ferrell, Eschmann), Stan10 (Verseput, Li) |
|||
22 |
Consultations |
|||
24 |
Psychology’s Image |
Stan11(Still, Sorensen, Walton), Stan12 |
Preliminary Results Due |
|
29 |
||||
May |
1 |
Exam 3 |
Last Day of Class |
|
6 |
Tue- 8-10 am Final Exam Period |
Oral reports to class; final report due |
||
* Note that this schedule is tentative and may change based on our progress through the topics covered during the semester. |
||||
*Scheduled Consultations: At times during a scheduled lecture hour, each lab group will be required to meet with me for a 15-20 minute session to discuss the progress that they are making and to deal with logistical matters. Sign up sheets for consultations will be available outside my office (BGC M253).