2024/25 Taught Postgraduate Module Catalogue

PSYC5909M MSc Research Project

60 creditsClass Size: 80

Module manager: Dr. Russell Hutter
Email: r.r.c.hutter@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: 1 May to 30 Sep View Timetable

Year running 2024/25

Pre-requisite qualifications

At least an upper second-class honours degree in Psychology or a discipline containing a substantial amount of psychology and research

This module is mutually exclusive with

PSYC5908M

MPsyc Advanced Psychology Research Project

This module is not approved as an Elective

Module summary

This module aims to develop students research capacity and expertise. Working closely with a supervisor, students will design, plan, implement, analyse, and critically interpret outcomes from a research project within the field of psychology. Work will be presented at the annual School MSc Conference, and a final project report produced in the style of an appropriate journal article.

Objectives

This module aims to:

1. Build understanding and experience of designing a psychological study informed by contemporary literature and appropriate methodologies
2. Extend knowledge of ethical research practice in students when conducting their own psychological study
3. Provide the opportunity for students to gain practical skills in pre-registration and open science
4. Enable students to experience research delivery in a real-world context
5. Promote applied knowledge of data collection and analysis
6. Develop confidence and skills in presenting research in both oral and written formats

Learning activities include regular and tailored individual and / or small group supervision across the research project. Such supervision will develop greater independence in designing, implementing, and reporting psychological research under guidance. Supervision meetings along with some small group discussions with students undertaking similar research (as appropriate) provides an excellent scaffold for the learning outcomes.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module students should be able to;

1. Perform a detailed and targeted literature search of relevant psychological and allied sources
2. Write a detailed research plan, aligned with pre-registration practice.
3. Write a concise, coherent and critically evaluative review of the literature in their area of research.
4. Design and carry out an appropriate empirical study to collect data (which may be quantitative or qualitative) which shows critical awareness of research practice in the relevant area.
5. Show critical evaluation of the design and practical limitations of studies in Psychology and their area of research and suggesting some strategies to address these.
6. Appropriately analyse (via statistical or other methods), using advanced techniques, as appropriate, and critically interpret the data collected.
7. Write a report of the study performed using a style and format similar to journal articles of the same type of data/research area as the area of the project itself.
8. Demonstrate a critical awareness of the limitations of the study performed.
9. Prepare and deliver a short oral presentation on the study, using appropriate visual aids, to an audience of peers and staff.
10. Engage in critical discussion of the study findings with peers and staff.


Skills Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:

1. The ability to retrieve, synthesis and utilise relevant research using suitable IT applications.
2. An advanced level of competence in managing project milestones and timeframes.
3. A high level of oral and written communication
4. Data collection, analysis and interpretation skills
5. The knowledge and skills to work in accordance with ethical and open science practices.

Syllabus

Identification of a research topic and supervisor; initial discussion of research topic, ideas and design with supervisor
Submission of a detailed research proposal form, including title of research, brief summary of relevant literature, description of the proposed methodology, outline of the research design and hypotheses; submission for ethical approvals; preparation of experimental materials; start of data collection
Literature and data collection, data analysis and written report;
While it is expected that students will undertake a project that reflects the nature of their selected pathway, the crucial issue is that the topic reflects both the interest of the student and staff expertise.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Supervision	15	1.00	15.00
Practicals	1	0.25	0.25
Private study hours			584.75
Total Contact hours			15.25
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			600.00

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Ethical review process will monitor students’ progress and understanding of literature, design and methodology. Ongoing supervision on one-to-one or small group basis, initially bi-weekly, with subsequent meetings as required by students, dependent on progress and understanding. Submission of 200 word abstract for school MSc conference programme will also ensure student understanding and progress. Supervisor can provide feedback on this abstract.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Oral Presentation	Oral Presentation (10 minutes plus time for questions)	5.00
Research Proposal	Project proposal	10.00
Project	Final Project Report (10,000 words)	85.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

There is no compensation between summative components of assessment, all components must be passed. In the event of failure of one or more component(s), the module mark will be capped at 50 on successful resit of the failed component(s).

Reading list

There is no reading list for this module

Last updated: 29/04/2024 16:19:53

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