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General Course Information | Topic calendar | Textbooks | Extra-credit policy

Contact Information

Lecture Section 001
Instructor: J. Cooper Cutting
Office: De Garmo 435D
Phone: 438-2999
e-mail: jccutti@ilstu.edu
office hours: T 2-3 & Th 9-10
By appointment
Lab sections
sections 4 & 3
sections 2 & 5
Graduate Assistant: Rosaury Hernandez
 Jennifer Gavin
e-mail: rherna8@ilstu.edu jjgavin@ilstu.edu
office hours: Wed 2-3
 Monday 2-3
office hours location: DeGarmo 4th floor, north hallway desk #18 DeGarmo 4th floor, north hallway desk #18
Website

General Course Information

Where and When?

    Main lecture:

      Sec 01: MW 11-11:50 in DeGarmo rm 206

    Lab/Discussion Sections

      Section 02: Th 3:30-5:20 in DeGarmo rm 209
      Section 03: Th 3:30-5:20 in DeGarmo rm 406
      Section 04: Fri 12-1:50 in DeGarmo rm 48
      Section 05: Fri 12-1:50 in DeGarmo rm 19

    The course web pages are also available for students in ReggieNet

    NOTE: PSY 231 is a 3 unit course. There are two hours of lecture and two hours of lab. Each hour of lecture counts for one semester hour and each TWO hours of Lab count as one semester hour.

Textbooks

Required
(1)
textbook		 (2)
labmanual
McBride, D. (2013). The Process of Research in Psychology, 3rd Edition, Sage Publishing (required)
 McBride, D.M. & Cutting, J. C. (2013). Lab Manual for Psychological Research, Revised 3rd Ed, Sage. (required)

Optional

Sternberg, R. J. (2003). The Psychologist's Companion: A guide to scientific writing for students and researchers. Cambridge Univeristy Press. (recommended) American Psychological Association.
(2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (6thEdition.).Washington, DC: Author. (recommended).

Note: There will also be assigned readings from articles that will be accessible through the Milner library web page. More information will be given about these articles in class.

Catalog Copy. Philosophy of science and inquiry with emphasis on experimental methodology and some application of principles through laboratory experimentation and demonstration.

Prerequisites.

  • PSY 110 or 111 req
  • ECO 138 or GEO 138 or MAT 150 or MQM 100 or POL 138 or PSY 138 or equivalent req or conc reg.

    • Course Description & Objective.

      This course is designed to introduce students to philosophy of science and inquiry with an emphasis on experimental methodology. This will be accomplished by combining traditional lectures with application of principles through laboratory experimentation and demonstration. The main course objectives include:
      • Learning to review the primary literature (improving library research skills, increase familiarity with scientific writing and reading scientific journals)
      • Getting a research idea (specification of a testable research idea, develop hypotheses on several topics in psychology)
      • Development and execution of a research plan (choosing the appropriate research method to test specific hypotheses, ethical guidelines, how to collect data)
      • Basic analysis of research results.
      • Presentation of the results (including both a verbal and written presentation).

        Department objectives

        •

      Roughly we will cover the "nuts and bolts" of putting together and completing a research project in psychology. To this end we will cover all fourteen chapters of the textbook. Classes will consist of both lectures and discussions and/or exercises related to the assigned readings. So it is critical that students read the assigned chapters prior to class. Homework and/or on-line quizzes will be assigned to facilitate learning and in-class discussions.

    Course Requirements.

      Each student will be evaluated based on several exercises, exams, and the planning, execution, and presentation of a research project. The grading is broken down below.

      • Exams (35%) - There will be three exams. Each is cumulative. The first two exams are each worth 10%, the final exam will be worth 15%.

      • Online quizzes (10%)  - 10 quizzes corresponding roughly to 1 per chapter.

      • Homework exercises (10%)

      • Lab Assignments (30%)
        • Lab exercises and participation (15%)
        • Lab Group research project (15%)

      • Class Experiment project (15%)
        • APA style first draft (5%) - includes literature review, the design of the experiment(s) hypotheses/predictions, and the references.
        • Final APA style manuscript(10%) - A complete write-up of the class research project using APA format.

        Extra-credit policy

    Class Policies

      Active participation is the central requirement for the class. Students will be expected to participate in a variety of ways, including several written and oral presentations and discussions. If you are going to miss a class, then you will miss an opportunity for participation. So it is critically important that you notify me AS SOON AS YOU KNOW that you'll be absent and WHY. Call, e-mail, or talk to me in person. Opportunity to make-up the missed work requires prior notification of the absence and an excused absence (that is one that you instructor accepts as reasonable and legitimate). How and when the work will be made up will be determined by the instructor.

      To ensure a smooth flow of discussions, the following policies are established: Students are encouraged to listen with an open mind, respect the contributions of others, and avoid personal attacks. Students will often be faced with alternative viewpoints from the professor or their peers. Thus, students should be prepared to defend their own positions with empirical data, obtained from the assigned readings, and reasoned argument.

      You are expected to do your own work. Plagiarism and cheating of any sort will not be tolerated. Either behavior will result in a grade of 'F'. Note that plagiarism includes situations where you meet with other students for group discussions and are asked write a summary. Unless otherwise instructed, this means that each participant in the group must write their own summary. Making up false excuses for absences will also be considered cheating and may result in a grade of 'F' for missed work.

      And finally, if you have any questions regarding anything in the syllabus and or the course in general, please feel free to ask. Talk to me in class, via phone, or e-mail. Don't just assume that you know (or should know) the answer, I may not have been clear enough or may have forgotten to mention something.

    The Student Access and Accomodation Services (formally known as Office of Disablity Concerns)

      Illinois State University is an institution and a faculty concerned with helping all of our students feel welcome, and with helping all students learn and develop to their full potential. Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact their office at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), http://studentaccess.illinoisstate.edu/.

    Topics

    Class Dates Tentative topic calendar Readings
    		Quizzes,  Lab Topics, & Assignments
    (some are done in lab, some at home)
    WK1
    Aug. 20
    22
    		 M Introductions Syllabus
    		 Quiz 1 due midnight Fri (Aug 24)
    Introductions/Expectations

    The Group Project (GP) -meet your group, talk about timeline
    W Ways of knowing
    Scientific method
    Psychology as a science

    Chpt 1

    WK2
    Aug.
    27
    29
    		 M Getting your ideas
    Reviewing the literature     		Chpt 2

    		 Quiz 2 due midnight Fri (Aug. 31)
    Plagiarism ex. (LM pg 136-139)
    Library research - using PsycInfo
    GP getting ideas (LM 82)
    GP: Formulate topic - discuss research ideas/questions
    W Using the scientific method
    Basic Research Methods     		Chpt 4
    reading#1
    WK3
    Sept.
    3
    5
    		 M
    LABOR DAY: No class
    W APA style Chpt 8
    Opt: APA Ch1
    APA resources    		 Quiz 3 due midnight Mon (Sept 10)
    Reading Journal articles
    Reading checklist library assignment (LM 21-22)
    reading#1 ex. (LM 11-12)
    GP: Finalize research idea, start lit. search
    GP report #1 (LM 101)
    GP article search (LM 84)
    WK4
    Sept.
    10
    12
    		 M Ethics in experimentation Chpt 3
    CITI training
    		Quiz 4 due midnight Fri (Sept 14)
    Ethics
    Ethics ex. (LM 23-24)
    GP: share and discuss articles, start work on introduction
    W catch up and review Chpts 1, 2, 3, 4, & 8
    WK5
    Sept.
    17
    19
    		 M
    Exam 1
    		Observational research
    Naturalistic Obs. ex. (LM 5)
    APA style (Cinderella) ex (LM 123-131) | text for assignment
    GP: continue working on Introduction
    HMWK: CITI ethics training must be completed, Due in Class on Wednesday
    W Class experiment
    WK6
    Sept.
    24
    26
    		 M Variables Chpt 5
    		 Quiz 5  due midnight Fri (Sept 28)
    Data for Class experiment due in class M
    Discussing the class experiment
    GP: start working on methods section
    Class experiment exercise
    Group Project Introduction Section Due
    Results of the class experiment
    W Control and variability Chpt 5
    WK7
    Oct.
    1
    3
    		 M Validity and sampling Chpt 6 Quiz 6 due midnight Fri (Oct 5)
    Variables in research
    HMWK: Journal Assignment #1 Due in labs
    Variables exercise (LM 25)
    GP: Variables (LM 85)
    W Experimental control Chpt 11
    WK8
    Oct.
    8
    10
    		 M Experimental designs Chpt 11
    		Quiz 7 due midnight Fri (Oct 12)
    Experimental Bias and Control
    Bias and control ex. (LM 65-69)
    GP: IRB form (LM 86-91) & Appendix/materials
    Group Project Methods Section Due
    Turn in: GP RATING SHEET #1
    W Experimental designs: cont. Chpt 12
    WK9
    Oct.
    15
    17
    		 M Experimental designs: cont. Chpt 12
    		 Factorial Designs
    Main Effects/interactions ex (LM 76)
    Class Exp Paper Draft due in labs
    W catch-up and review Chpts 5, 6, 11 & 12
    WK10
    Oct.
    22
    24
    		 M
    Exam 2
    		 GP: Pilot group projects (LM 92)
    Factorial designs ex (LM 70-72)
    W Survey research Chpt 9
    WK11
    Oct.
    29
    31
    		M Correlational designs
    		Chpt 10 Quiz 8 due midnight Fri (Nov 2)
    Run group projects
    W Quasi-experimental designs
    		 Chpt 13
    WK12
    Nov.
    5
    7
    		 M Specialized designs
    		Chpt 14
    		Quiz 9 due midnight Fri (Nov 9)
    Statistical Analyses
    Group Project Data Analysis (start on LM 93)
    HMWK: Journal Assignment #2 Due in labs
    W Using and interpreting statistics
    		Chpts 7 & 15
    WK13
    Nov.
    12
    14
    		 M Using and interpreting statistics: cont. Chpts 7 & 15 
    No Formal Lab meetings this week,
    use the time to work     on     Group Project Data Analysis
    W Using and interpreting statistics: cont. Chpts 7 & 15
    WK14
    THANKSGIVING - No class
    WK15
    Nov.
    26
    28
    		 M Presenting research: Posters and talks Chpt 8
    		 Quiz 10 due midnight Fri (Nov. 30)

    Final class experiment paper due in Labs on Thurs & Friday
    Descriptive Stats ex. (LM 45-46)
    Inferential stats ex. (LM 55-57)
    GP: Statistical Analysis ex. (LM 93)
    W Using and interpreting statistics: cont.
    		 Chpts 7 & 15
    WK16
    Dec.
    3
    5
    		 M Summing up the research process
    		group presentations
    GP Results and Discussion sections
    Turn in: GP RATING SHEET #2
    W Review for the final exam Chapters 1-13
    Finals Week FINAL EXAM
    Tuesday Dec. 11 3:10-5:10PM

    If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at jccutti@ilstu.edu.