Experimental Psychology 
Psychology 203-04
9:30-1:45 Fridays
Science Hall 217C 

Required Reading      Myers, A. & Hansen, C.H. (2005).  Experimental psychology, 6th Edition. New York:  Wadsworth. ISBN: 0534634419      American Psychological Association (2001).  Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.).   Washington, D.C.

Course Objectives

Experimental Psychology is the underlying theme in all psychology courses. This course has three general objectives:

• To gain research experience. You will learn how to:  formulate and test hypotheses, gather valid data, perform the statistical analyses, interpret and critique the results, and present research to the group.
• To learn the tools of research. You will learn to:  locate, read, and critique professional research journals, navigate research databases and use professional level statistical programs.
• To become a scientific writer and thinker. You will practice and enhance your scientific writing skills and apply the conceptual logic of experimentation to your own research. (Also, see "Advice on Writing" below.)

Course Format

Class will follow a lecture/discussion/laboratory/workshop format. All students are expected to participate in class discussion and activities. Questions are encouraged. As the semester progresses, more time will be devoted to discussion and methodological problem solving. As a courtesy to other students please turn off all beepers and phones during class time.

Prerequisites

• General Psychology: PSYC110
• Experimental Psychology I:  PSYC202

If you did not successfully complete these classes you are not eligible for this course. If you completed these classes but received grades lower than a B, you may not be ready for this course. For example, you should have mastered the following skills and concepts in these classes: understanding the concept of an independent variable and dependent variable, descriptive vs. experimental research, validity, reliability, confounds, type I and type II errors, cause and correlation, random assignment vs. random selection, how to choose a statistical test given a research design, main effects and interactions, probability, theories and hypotheses, descriptive and inferential statistics (to name a few).

Evaluation
Experimental Lab Reports 30%  There are five (5) A.P.A. style lab reports due throughout the semester that will be about 10 pages in length each.  These labs will be started in class and finished at home.  Lab projects will be graded on A.P.A. style, clarity of writing, statistical analysis, and interpretation of data. All lab reports are due at the beginning of class on the day  that they are due. No late papers will be accepted. 

Independent Project 25%  At the end of the semester, everyone will complete an independent project and give a presentation during the final exam period .

Quizzes 25%
Quizzes may consist of multiple choice questions, fill in the blank, true false, and/or short answer. Quizzes will cover material from the text, web pages, handouts, lectures, and discussion. Answers to the quizzes will be posted on the web. There will be no make up quizzes; if you come late to class you will not be able to take the quiz. 

Assignments 10%   Throughout the semester I will give assignments to sharpen and enhance your research skills.  Some of these assignments include journal article review, annotated bibliography, and perusal of Psychology related web-sites.   

Class Participation/Attendance 10%
1.  All students are expected to participate in class discussion 2. Attendance is required. Missing more than one class ("excused" or otherwise)  will lower your overall grade. Leaving class before the period is over will also count as an absence; two latenesses will also count as one absence.

Advice on Writing

College Level Writing.  The course emphasizes writing skills and I expect all students to write at least on college level. College level means that papers are heavily edited, proof read, spell checked and stapled together. Editing requires as much time as actual writing; therefore, schedule extra time for the papers and visit the writing center if you need assistance in writing. I also expect that comments on previous papers be acknowledged and corrected on subsequent papers. 

Scientific Writing.  Scientific writing has an agenda: to tell the story of research. As a result, scientific writing has strict guidelines for format, language, precision, and even punctuation. Your A.P.A. publication manual is the most important piece of information for learning and improving your scientific writing. It is essential that you read the manual and refer to it any time you are writing a paper for Experimental Psychology.

Academic Honesty. It is expected that all work handed in for this class is based upon your learning and personal effort. Violations of academic integrity, including cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and lying, can not be tolerated. Please familiarize yourself with the University's Academic Honest Policy. 

Plagiarism.  While most plagiarism is unintentional, it will result in an F in his course and expulsion from the University. The most common type of plagiarism is a student’s "overusing" the author’s words in a research article because s/he does not understand the article’s content. To avoid plagiarism in this course, 1) read over the research article thoroughly before writing 2) keep notes IN YOUR OWN WORDS about the article rather than the author’s 3) do not use a thesaurus to replace words to make it appear as if the words are yours.

Collusion.  Collusion is working together in preparing separate course assignments in ways not authorized by the instructor. Academic work produced through a cooperative (collaborative effort) of two or more students is permissible only upon the explicit consent of the professor. The collaboration must also be acknowledged in stating the authorship of the report.

Communication 
Communication is essential to the learning process. In class I communicate with you by directing discussion, answering questions, giving instruction and providing feedback and you communicate with me by providing comment, asking questions, and performing on assignments and exams. I also believe that students should have individual attention. I strongly encourage student appointments and visits during my office hours. These appointments allow the privacy and individual attention you deserve. If the question is quick, email is the most efficient method of contact. Email also reduces phone-tag. Communication between students is strongly encouraged. The first day of class it is a requirement to get two students' so that you may collaborate on  notes, have a study partner, and/or to check on information you may have missed in class.

Important Withdrawal Dates:  Wednesday 9/14 last day for 100% refund for withdrawal from a course; Tuesday 10/11  last day for 50% refund for withdrawal from a course;  Tuesday 10/25 last day to academically withdraw from the course (no refund) .

	Course Schedule This schedule is a general outline and is subject to change.
Day/Date	Topic	Assignment
Friday, September 9th	Introduction to Epistemology	Chapter 1: Experimental Psychology and the Scientific Method (Myers & Hansen) Get phone number and email from at least two people in class
	Barriers to Critical Thinking	Chapter 1: Experimental Psychology and the Scientific Method (M & H)
	Why We Need Statistics	Chapter 13: Why We Need Statistics (M&H)
	Introduction to SPSS Descriptive Statistics: Frequencies and Means Types of Measurement	SPSS Notes In Class Activity: Data entry and analysis with  SPSS
Friday September 16th	Lab 1 The Basics of Experimentation and Validity	Quiz 1  Chapter 7: The Basics of Experimentation (M&H)
	Introduction to APA Style	Chapter 1: Content and Organization of a Manuscript  (APA)
	Alternatives to Experimentation: Non-Experimental Designs Surveys and Interviews Alternatives to Experimentation:  Correlational  and QDesigns	Chapter 4: Alternatives to Experimentation: Non-experimental Designs (M&H)  Chapter 5: Alternatives to Experimentation: Correlational and Quasi Experimental Design (M&H)
Friday, September 23rd	Anatomy of the Research Article Submitting Research, APA Style, APA Format:  Writing the Research Report The Use of Headings in Writing APA Style Resources	Quiz 2 Assignment #1 Due: Write up of Research Article Research Ideas for Final Project Due  Chapter 5: Manuscript Preparation and Submitting for Publication (APA)   Chapter 3: APA Editorial Style (APA) Chapter 16: Writing the Research Report (M&H) The Research Article|
Friday September 30th	Alternatives to Experimentation:   Quasi-Experimental Designs	Quiz 3 Chapter 5: Alternatives to Experimentation: Correlational and Quasi Experimental Design (M&H)
	Literature Reviews and The Scientific Research Article Writing Introductions: The Chronological Approach, The Opposing Theory Approach	PsycInfo and PsycArticles Comparison of Electronic Databases
Friday, October 7th	Formulating the Hypothesis Asking Research Questions	Quiz 4 Chapter 6: Formulating the Hypothesis (M & H) In-Class Activity: Formulating Hypotheses References/Annotated Bibliography  for Independent Project Due
	Lab # 2	Chapter 13: Why We Need Statistics (M&H)  Chapter 14: Pages 363-368 Analyzing Results (M&H)
Friday, October 14th
	Lab # 3 Within Subjects Design:  The Implicit Association Test The paired samples t-test Discussion of the Use of Reaction Times in Psychology Within Subjects Designs:   Counterbalancing, advantages/limitations.	Quiz 5 Chapter 11:  Within Subjects Designs (M&H) Chapter 14: Analyzing Results: Two Group Examples (pages 408-420) (M&H)
Friday, October 21st	Research Ethics	Chapter 2: Research Ethics (M&H) In-class Activity on Ethics
	Expression of Ideas in APA Style	Chapter 2: Expressing Ideas and Reducing Bias in Language (APA)   In class activity on bias in language
Friday, October 28th	Lab 4: Between Subjects Design Basic Between Subjects Design Selecting subjects, Random Assignment, Independent Groups, Placebos	Chapter 9: Basic Between Subjects Designs (M&H) Chapter 14: Analyzing Results: Two Group Examples (pages 408-420) (M&H)
Friday, November  4th	Solving Problems:   Controlling for Extraneous Variables	Chapter 8: Solving Problems Controlling Extraneous Variables (M&H)
	Multiple Groups Design Post Hoc tests	In Class Activity on One-way ANOVA: Candy and Exam Grades
Friday, November 11th	Between Subjects Factorial Designs:   Main effects and Interactions	Chapter 10:  Between Subjects Factorial Designs (M&H) In Class Activity: Design your own factorial Experiment
	Lab 5 on Main effects and Interactions	.
	Drawing Conclusions:  The Search for the Elusive Bottom Line Generalization, Validity, Null Effects	Chapter 15: Drawing Conclusions -- The Search for the Elusive Bottom Line (M&H)
Friday, November 18th	Presenting Research Ideas to the Group	Quiz 6
	Independent Projects	Visual Representation of Data:   Graphs and Tables.
Friday, November 25th	Thanksgiving Recess
Friday, December 2nd	Independent Projects	In Class Activity: Selecting Appropriate Research Methods
Friday, December 9th	Independent Projects	Quiz 7 PowerPoint Presentations to the Class
Wednesday, December 21st	Final Exam N.B. If you have a MW 9:30 class you will have a final exam conflict with our final. We will need to resolve it immediately	8:00 A.M.
08/29/05