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

Contact Information

Lecture Section
Instructor: J. Cooper Cutting
Office: De Garmo 435D
Phone: 438-2999
e-mail: jccutti@ilstu.edu
office hours: M 11-12
Th 9-10
By appointment
Select your section
 

Graduate Assistant: Shauna Summers
e-mail: srsumm2@ilstu.edu
web page: ??
office hours: Tu 2-3
office hours location: Desk 1
(near DeGarmo 431)

General Course Information

Where and When?

    Main lecture:

      Sec 01: MW 1-1:50 in DeGarmo rm 206
      Sec 06: TuTh 1-1:50 in DeGarmo rm 206

    Lab/Discussion Sections

      Section 02: Th 3:30-5:20 in DeGarmo rm 19
      Section 03: Th 3:30-5:20 in DeGarmo rm 39
      Section 04: Friday 12 - 1:50 in DeGarmo rm 19
      Section 05: Friday 12 - 1:50 in DeGarmo rm 48
      Section 07: Monday 4:00-5:50 in DeGarmo rm 19
      Section 08: Monday 4:00-5:50 in SCH rm 115
      Section 09: Wed 4:00-5:50 in DeGarmo rm 19
      Section 10: Wed 4:00-5:50 in SCH rm 115

    The course web pages are also available for students in Blackboard

    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)
(2)
McBride, D. (2009). Conducting Behavioral Research: A Step-by-Step Approach, Sage Publishing (required)
this book is not yet in print, the version that we are using is available at PIP, packet #107 (should be available on the first day of classes) here

 McBride, D.M. & Cutting, J. C. (2008). Lab Manual for Psychological Research. 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.
(2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (5thEdition.).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 (45%) - There will be three exams. Each is cumulative. Each exam will be worth 15%.

      • Homework exercises (10%)

      • Lab Assignments (30%)
      • 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 Office of Disability 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 Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TDD).

    Topics

    Class Dates Tentative topic calendar Readings
    		Lab Topics
    WK1 M&Tu Introductions Syllabus
    		 Introductions
    Expectations
  • Plagarism
    • W&Th Ways of knowing
    Scientific method
    Psychology as a science

    Chpt 1

    WK2 M&Tu Getting your ideas
    Reviewing the literature     		Chpt 2

    		 Library research
  • library assignment
    labs meet in Milner 164d (lower level) & 3rd floor NorthEast classroom
    • W&Th Using the scientific method
    Basic Research Methods     		Chpt 3
    Assefi & Garry (2003)
    WK3 M&Tu APA style Chpt 8
    Opt: APA chpt 1
    APA resources
  • Reading Journal articles
  • Reading checklist
    • W&Th Ethics in experimentation Chpt 5
    WK4 M
    LABOR DAY: No class.
    Tu catch up and review Chpts 1, 2, 3, 5, & 8
  • Ethics
    		•
    W catch up and review Chpts 1, 2, 3, 5, & 8
  • Ethics
    		•
    Th Monday lab sections meet in class
  • Ethics
    		•
    WK5 M&Tu
    Exam 1
  • Observational research exercise
  • APA style exercise | text for assignment
    		•
    W&Th Class experiment
    WK6 M&Tu Variables Chpt 4
  • Class experiment exercise
    group project literature review
    • W&Th Control and variability Chpt 4
    WK7 M&Tu Validity and sampling Chpt 6
  • Variables exercise
    Journal Assignment 1 Due in Lab this week
    Results of the class experiment
    		•
    W&Th Experimental control Chpt 11
    WK8 M&Tu Experimental designs Chpt 11
  • Bias and control exercise
  • APA style exercise #2
    group project methods section
    Turn in: GP RATING SHEET #1
    • W&Th Experimental designs: cont. Chpt 11
    WK9 M&Tu Experimental designs: cont. Chpt 11
  • Factorial Design exercise
    Paper Draft due in labs
    • W&Th catch-up and review Chpts 4, 6, & 11
    WK10 M&Tu
    Exam 2
    		 Pilot group projects
  • APA style exercise #3
    		•
    W&Th Survey research Chpt 9
    WK11 M&Tu correlational designs Chpt 11 Run group projects
    W&Th Quasi-experimental designs
    		 Chpt 12
    WK12 M&Tu Specialized designs Chpt 13
  • APA style exercise #4
    begin analysing your group project data
    • W&Th Using and interpreting statistics Chpt 7
    WK13 M&Tu Using and interpreting statistics: cont. Chpt 7
    		Journal Assignment 2 Due in lab
  • Statistics Exercise 1
    • W&Th Using and interpreting statistics: cont. Chpt 7
    WK14 M&Tu Using and interpreting statistics: cont. Chpt 7 Final paper due
  • Statistical tests exercise
    		•
    W&Th Presenting research: Posters and talks
    WK15 11/24
    THANKSGIVING - No class
    11/26
    WK16 M&Tu Summing up the research process group presentations
    GP Results and Discussion sections
    GP ratings sheet #2
    W&Th Review for the final exam
    Finals Week FINAL EXAM
    Sec 01 Wed., Dec. 9 1:00 p.m.
    Sec 06 Wed., Dec. 9 3:10 p.m.
    Fall '09 finals schedule

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