Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Honours and postgraduate diploma students in psychology are required to complete a substantial research project in an area of psychological inquiry. This unit is the fourth unit in a sequence that prepares you to successfully conduct quantitative research. In particular, this unit introduces the field of multivariate statistics and demonstrates how these techniques allow the testing of complex multifactor models of human behaviour.

Aims

This aim of this unit is to give you a firm understanding of a range of advanced statistical procedures as well as the skills in applying each analysis appropriately. In addition, this unit aims to prepare you to be critical consumers of psychological research.

Objectives

Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to demonstrate your ability to:

1. Differentiate between various analytic procedures and their appropriateness with a range of research questions and data sets.



2. Conduct a variety of multivariate analyses and interpret computer output.



3. Use statistical procedures as tools in psychological research.



4. Seek out and independently acquire knowledge about complex statistical procedures.

Graduate capabilities

In addition, your learning in PYB401 will foster the following graduate capabilities:

Knowledge and skills relevant to the discipline of psychology, including:

• Coherent theoretical and practical knowledge about the conduct of psychological research, and data analysis skills appropriate to the discipline of psychology

Critical, creative and analytical thinking, and effective problem-solving, including:

• Ability to critique current paradigms and contribute to intellectual inquiry
  
• Capacity to exhibit creative as well as analytical ways of thinking about research questions in psychology
  
• Ability to identify, define and solve problems in psychology

Effective communication and teamwork, including:

• Effective written and oral communication with discipline specialists
  
• Ability to be a cooperative and productive team member

Social and ethical responsibility and capacity for life-long learning, by demonstrating your ability to:

• search for and critically evaluate information from a variety of sources using effective strategies and appropriate technologies
  
• actively contribute to intellectual activities
  
• value and promote truth, accuracy, honesty, accountability in the conduct of psychological research.

Content

The unit covers a range of multivariate statistical techniques commonly used in psychological research, including multiple regression analyses, discriminant function analysis, principal component and factor analysis, multivariate analysis of variance & covariance, logistic regression and meta-analysis.

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit is designed to introduce you to multivariate research techniques and their application within authentic research contexts. Data from research projects carried out by staff and students in our school will form the basis for our work in the unit, allowing us to apply a range of advanced statistical techniques to real research questions. The teaching program is organised around a formal 2.5-hour lectorial and 1-hour tutorial each week. The 2.5-hour lectorial will provide the theoretical foundation for the unit, and will involve a combination of formal lecture and class exercises and discussion. Tutorials will involve a series of workshops in the computer laboratory, which will focus on detailed workings of each statistical technique. Most of the workshop presentations will be presented by members of the class, working in small groups, so your active involvement in the learning process, and a commitment to seek out and acquire knowledge independently, is essential. There is an opportunity for you to work together with modern technology, in an authentic research context, and in a manner which encourages creativity and critical thinking.

Assessment

There are three formal, summative assessment items in PYB401. The first two of these provide the opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills in multivariate research techniques, and to obtain progressive feedback about your progress in the unit (formative assessment), as well as carrying a significant weighting toward your final grade (summative assessment).There will be many other opportunities for you to develop your understanding and skills and to obtain feedback throughout the semester. In addition to in-class, tutorial, and homework exercises, there are self-paced activities available on the unit Blackboard site, where sample data sets, research questions, and exemplars are provided.

Assessment name: Data Analysis Report
Description: In the early weeks of semester, you will be required to complete a series of in-class and homework exercises designed to ensure that you have good current knowledge of the basic skills on which the more advanced topics covered in PYB401 depend. The exercises will cover basic proficiency using the SPSS statistical package, including data entry and data management, basic descriptive and univariate statistical tests, and tests of the assumptions underlying these procedures. You will apply these basic statistical techniques covered in your undergraduate study to a dataset in order to address some preliminary research questions, and write up the results of your analyses in the form of a partial results section in APA style.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2 & 3
Weight: 20%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 5

Assessment name: Tutorial Workshop Presentation
Description: At a specified time during the semester, you will work in a group of 3-4 students to conduct a workshop (of between 30-45 minutes duration) so that the actual running of a particular analysis is demonstrated to the class. Your group will be required: to identify an appropriate research question and appropriate data for demonstrating the analysis; to prepare appropriate support materials (visual aids and handouts); and to run a workshop during the tutorial time to demonstrate this analysis to the class. You will also be asked to provide an evaluation of the contribution of each member of your group to the group effort, and this peer evaluation will be reflected in
the individual mark allocated to each group member.
Preparation for this workshop will require you to work independently and as a group to master a new multivariate statistical technique that has not yet been covered in class. You are expected to read carefully and widely to ensure that you have developed a clear understanding of the technique and its application.
At the end of this exercise, you should be confident about your ability to independently seek out and master new statistical procedures.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3 & 4
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group with Individual Component
Due date: Progressive

Assessment name: Final Exam (Open Book)
Description: The final exam will be held during the examination period. You will be given a number of research scenarios, with associated statistical output, and will be required to respond to the research questions that are posed. This examination will test all work covered in all classes.
Relates to objectives: 1, 2, 3 & 4
Weight: 50%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Exam period

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Recommended text:

Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS (3rd ed.). London: Sage Publications.

Recommended reading:

Wilkinson, L., & Task Force on Statistical Inference. (1999). Statistical methods in psychology journals: Guidelines and explanations. American Psychologist, 54(8), 594-604.

Wright, D. (2003). Making friends with your data: Improving how statistics are conducted and reported. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 73(1), 123-136.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 18-Jan-2013