2021/22 Undergraduate Module Catalogue
PSYC3422 Intercalated Programme: Research Skills 3
15 creditsClass Size: 20
Module manager: Dr Gina Koutsopoulou
Email: G.Z.Koutsopoulou@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2021/22
Pre-requisite qualifications
Successful completion of Level 1 & 2 Medicine or Dentistry MChD or BChDCo-requisites
| PSYC3423 | Intercalated programme: Research Skills 4 |
This module is mutually exclusive with
| PSYC2522 | Research Skills 3 |
This module is not approved as a discovery module
Module summary
This is a course on advanced research methods and statistics, through a series of lectures running in parallel with two linked laboratory-based practicals.Objectives
Lectures will develop the research skills of students including: literature searching, report writing, analysis of variance designs (ANOVA) interactions and mixed design ANOVAS, 3-way interactions and ANCOVA; and qualitative research including interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPS) and interview-based research.The two practicals are designed to develop students' skills in identifying research questions, designing and conducting psychological investigations, analysing data, and writing reports. The practicals will cover two key areas: experimental psychology and qualitative methods. These will build on the practicals and skills developed at Level 1 (Research Skills 1 & 2) and, in conjunction with Research Skills 4 prepare students for their final year project.
From this module students will develop a critical understanding of:
1) theoretical, ethical, and practical issues concerned in the design and conduct of psychology experiments.
2) the application of selected statistical methods for the analysis of experimental data in psychology.
3) approaches to the study of human behaviour, and cognition, including qualitative methods.
Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should:
1) Have developed their research skills relating to the generation of hypotheses and the development of research designs.
2) Have developed skills in the conduct of psychology experiments in a range of research contexts.
3) Be able to identify and apply appropriate core statistical techniques for the analysis of psychological data.
4) Have further developed their skills in critical evaluation and report writing.
5) Have developed skills required for the major project they will complete in their final year.
Skills outcomes
Literature searches, report writing, understanding of experimental design and analyses along with the critical view brought by quantitative and qualitative research.
Syllabus
This module has two related components: 1) The two practicals; 2) a series of 10 lectures on research methods & statistics
Each practical will be completed over a five week period - with students required to submit a report of their work in the sixth week for assessment.
The lectures will cover: research report writing, performing literature searches in psychology, ethics in psychological research, two-way and three-way ANOVA and interactions, mixed ANOVA and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), introduction to qualitative research, interview-based research, phenomenological analyses (IPA), and values and vulnerabilities in qualitative research.
Students on this module only attend for one year and this is reflected in these additional sessions. These statistics sessions at the start of the module provide an intensive and focussed consideration of the following topics: the science of Psychology, the role of statistics, Descriptive statistics - visual presentation of data, measures of central tendency, measures of variability, Chi-square Goodness of Fit and Test of Association, The Normal Distribution and z-scores, Correlation coefficients and regression, Testing for differences between sets of scores - the t-tests, Non-parametric alternatives to the t-tests - Mann-Whitney U-test and Wilcoxon's T, Analysis of variance - one-way and two-way. A series of five two-hour lectures will be delivered in the first part of the semester and supplemented by ten weekly practical sessions in which students will be introduced to the statistical package SPSS and shown how to conduct basic descriptive and inferential analyses.
Teaching methods
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
| Lecture | 10 | 1.00 | 10.00 |
| Practical | 2 | 10.00 | 20.00 |
| Seminar | 10 | 2.00 | 20.00 |
| Private study hours | 100.00 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 50.00 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 150.00 | ||
Private study
Essential reading for statistics lectures: 10 x 1.5 hoursStatistics and research methods revision: 10 x 1.5 hours
Independent small group practical work: 3 x 10 hours
Report writing for practicals: 2 x 20 hours
Opportunities for Formative Feedback
Progress during each practical will be monitored by the staff who will be meeting with the students in both large and smaller groups (appropriate to each practical design). More generally, the spread of assessment points across the two semesters will facilitate monitoring of student progress and intervention if necessary. As students must pass all components of the module, a failure of any of the practicals would lead to an alternative assignment being given, and the student's personal tutor would also be notified - so that future progress could be monitored. Personal tutors will have the opportunity to discuss Semester 1 performance in their individual meetings with tutees at the beginning of Semester 2. Key will be feedback provided in written form on each of the practical reports: such feedback is both on the script itself and on new forms which break down each section of the report for detailed grade-specific feedback. The alternative assignments will be a piece of written work requiring the students to demonstrate the same skills as were required for the failed practical.Students need to complete a Statistics Workbook to pass through the module. Students have been supported in this work during 10 practical seminars.
Methods of assessment
Coursework
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
| Practical Report | Report 1 | 35.00 |
| Practical Report | Report 2 | 35.00 |
| Portfolio | Statistics Workbook | 0.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 70.00 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Exams
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
| Online Time-Limited assessment | 1 hr 00 mins | 30.00 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 30.00 | |
As the two main assessments (practical reports and examination) relate to distinct components of the module students will be required to pass both elements.
Reading list
The reading list is available from the Library websiteLast updated: 08/11/2021
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