Research Methods--Revised Spring, 2020
9:10-10:05 MWF, COE 247
 
[Syllabus] [Lab Syllabus]

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Instructor: Dr. William Langston
Office: JH 100
Phone: 615-898-5489 (office)
email: william.langston@mtsu.edu
Office Hours: 12-1 T, 1-2 W, please email if you plan to come to office hours, feel free to email to arrange appointments outside of office hours.

[Text] [Description] [Responsibilities] [Grading] [Policies] [Calendar]  
Required Text:

Ray, W. J. (2012). Methods Toward a Science of Behavior and Experience (10th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

You may have to buy a used copy or rent the book.

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Course Description:
 
In this course we will discuss how to design and conduct research in psychology. We will focus on several types of design including observation, correlational studies, surveys, and true experiments. We will also focus on how to report the results of experiments to others, and on how to interpret the results of experiments.

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Course Responsibilities:
 
1. Exams: We will have three exams spaced evenly throughout the semester. These exams will be cumulative. Exams are worth 100 points each.
2. Final: There will be a comprehensive final covering everything in the course. The final is worth 200 points.
3. Quizzes/Exercises: We will have a quiz or homework each week. I will count your top 10 quiz/exercise scores, so there will be no make-ups for missed quizzes or late homeworks. These assignments are worth 10 points each.
4. Research report: You will write one report based on a lab project.

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Points/Grades:
 

Assignments:	Description:	Points:
Exams	3 @ 100 each	300
Final		200
Quizzes/Homeworks	10 @ 10 each	100
Research report		100
TOTAL		700

Your grade will be based on the number of points earned.

Totals: >630 = A, >609 = B+, >581 = B, >560 = B-, >539 = C+, >511 = C, >490 = C-, >469 = D+, >441 = D, >420 = D-, >0 = F.
 
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General Policies:
 
1. Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. I will pass around a sign-up sheet every day. Only people with perfect attendance will be allowed to take advantage of extra credit opportunities.
2. Late policy: Complete assignments on time.

Type of assignment:	Penalty
Homeworks	Not accepted after Friday of the week they’re due
Quizzes	No make-ups offered
Papers*
Late, but doesn't inconvenience me	No penalty
Some level of inconvenience	10% - 100%

*Papers turned in before I start grading are not late, regardless of the due date.

3. Grading guarantee (my late policy): Exams will be returned within one week of the exam date. Papers will be returned within two weeks of the final due date. Bonus points will be awarded at the rate of five points per incomplete exam/paper per day until they are graded. Bonus points will be divided equally amongst all assignments turned in to me on time, for anyone with perfect attendance.
4. Missed exams: If you know in advance, notify me to make arrangements. Make-ups will only be given in cases where some emergency forced you to miss the exam.
5. Course notes are available on the web at www.mtsu.edu/~wlangsto/RM.html
6. Drop deadlines: The last day to drop without a grade is February 3. The last day to withdraw is April 10 (you will receive some sort of grade). If you stay in the class after this date, you will not be able to withdraw unless you experience a major tragedy or emergency. I am not the person who makes that determination. Incompletes will only be given if you have successfully completed the majority of the coursework and were prevented from finishing by a major tragedy or emergency.
7. Any student engaging in any form of academic misconduct will lose credit for the relevant assignment and will be subjected to the appropriate university proceedings.
8. If you experience problems in the course, see me. You’re welcome in my office anytime.
9. Reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities: If you require assistance or accommodation (e.g., testing, note-taking, etc.), or you have questions related to such accommodations, speak to me as soon as possible. Also, the Disability and Access Center (615-898-2783) can provide information about such accommodations. Additional information is here: http://www.mtsu.edu/ada/syllabus.php.
10. Do you have a lottery scholarship? To retain the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship eligibility, you must earn a cumulative TELS GPA of 2.75 after 24 and 48 attempted hours and a cumulative TELS GPA of 3.0 thereafter. A grade of C, D, F, FA, or I in this class may negatively impact TELS eligibility. If you drop this class, withdraw, or if you stop attending this class you may lose eligibility for your lottery scholarship, and you may not be able to regain eligibility at a later time. For additional Lottery rules, please refer to your Lottery Statement of Understanding form (http://www.mtsu.edu/financial-aid/forms/LOTFOD.pdf) or contact your MT One Stop Enrollment Counselor (http://www.mtsu.edu/one-stop/counselor.php).
11. MTSU faculty are concerned about the well-being and development of our students and are legally obligated to share reports of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking with the University’s Title IX coordinator to help ensure student’s safety and welfare. Please refer to MTSU’s Title IX site for contact information and details: http://www.mtsu.edu/titleix/
 
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Schedule of events:
 

Week of:	Topic:	Notes:	Read:
1/20	Holiday, Monday, 1/20
	Course introduction	1	Ch. 1
	Science	2
1/27	More science
	Hypotheses	3	Chs. 2 (pp. 41-47), 3, 7
2/3	Ethics	4	Ch. 4
2/10	Measurement	5	Ch. 5, 6
	Exam 1 Friday, 2/14
2/17	Kinds of design	6	Ch. 2 (pp. 26-41)
	Observation research	7	Ch. 12 (pp. 290-295)
2/24	Surveys	8	Ch. 14
3/2	Simple experiments	9	Chs. 8, 9, 10, 11
3/9	S P R I N G B R E A K
3/16	S P R I N G B R E A K
3/23	More simple experiments
3/30	Multiple groups designs	11
	Within participants designs	10
4/6	Start factorial designs	12	Ch. 9
	Exam 2 due Friday, 4/10
4/13	More factorial designs
	Strong inference	13
4/20	Non-experimental designs	14	Chs. 12 (pp. 266-289), 13
	Exam 3 due Friday, 4/24
	MTPA, Saturday, April 25--VIRTUAL
4/27	Correlational vs. experimental approaches
Finals	Final examination due Wednesday, 5/6, 12:00 PM

Please note: Some due dates and topics may shift to later dates. In no event will due dates be moved to an earlier date.

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