Psychology 200: Research Methods and Statistics
Term I, 2007 - 2008
Professor: Chris Wetzel
Office: 115 Clough
Class time:
MWF 11:00 - 10:50 & 3:00 – 3:50
Office hrs:
MWF 9 – 9:30 MF 1:30 -2:30 TuTH 9 -11; 2:30 – 3:30
Course Objectives
First, I will expose you to the basic research techniques used in psychology. You will learn the fundamental
principles of research design, how psychologists gain knowledge. You will also develop skills and
competencies needed to begin an experiment. Second, I hope to give you enough practical experience so that
you will be ready for upper-level laboratory courses and so that you can make an informed decision about
possibly pursuing a research career after you graduate. A final goal is to change your thinking so that you can:
1) critically analyze aspects of your personal life, 2) become an informed citizen who thinks scientifically about
social issues, and 3) become an intelligent consumer of research findings presented in the media. In sum, you
should finish this course with an appreciation of J.S. Mill's statement, "The logic of science is also that of
business and life."
In terms of the 12 IDEA objectives used to evaluate Rhodes courses, the following course objectives are
important: Learning fundamental principles, generalizations, and theories; developing
specific skills, competencies, and points of view needed by professionals in the field;
learning to analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view; and
gaining factual knowledge (terminology, classifications, methods, trends). The following
are not formally assessed: acquiring team member skills, developing creativity;
appreciating for the arts; developing skills in self-expression; developing personal
values; learning to apply course material; and asking your own questions and seeking
answers.
Assessment and Course Requirements
Your texts, Pelham & Blanton’s Conducting Research in Psychology, (3rd Ed.), 2006, and Rosnow and
Rosnow's Writing Papers in Psychology (7th Ed), 2006, will be covered at a very rapid pace. There will be 3
tests on this text, plus the final, and they count 40% of your grade. The exams are a combination of multiple
choice, short answer, and even some essays.
You will have other assignments such as presenting research findings orally in class, criticizing articles,
proposing alternative research studies for flawed experiments, etc. Handouts about these assignments, plus
information about the course are on WEBCT. There will be 10 - 12 writing or homework assignments, the top
9 or 10 of which will count 40% of your grade. Many of your homework assignments will mimic the research
process in the area of dissonance theory.
You will perform an experiment where you will collect data with a "canned" computer experiment, or you will
access a data base already generated by the experimenters. I will analyze data and present the results to you;
you will write up the findings as an APA style paper. You will also make a 5 minute oral presentation on a
research article. These two assignments are worth 20% of your grade. If your performance is unsatisfactory on
these assignments, you will have an option to write a second paper and/or a second oral presentation, which will
then be averaged with your first grades, with the 2nd paper/talk counting twice as much as first one.
The course material is not easy. You are expected to come to class prepared; that
means you are alert and actively engaged, you have done the reading assigned for that
day, AND you brought to class the day's lecture notes downloaded from WEBCT.
Because there will be many in-class exercises that count as homework, class attendance
