SUBJECT

Title

Basics of Research Methods

Code

PSYB17 - 104

Type of instruction

lecture

Level

Bachelor

Faculty

Faculty of Education and Psychology

Part of degree program

Psychology BA

Credits

Recommended in

Semester 2

Typically offered in

Spring semester

Course description

The course of Basics of Research Methods provide the basic knowledge about psychological research related to the main approaches and methods. During the lecture examples and practical exercises help in the transformation of theoretical information into practical competencies. The aim of the course is getting theoretical and practical information related to research planning and the execution of scientific research.

Learning outcome, competences
knowledge:

about the different theoretical aspects and research traditions, an overview about their aims, similarities and differences
about the steps of a research planning process
the possible methods, tools of a study

attitude:

openness towards the research of different psychological concepts
sensitivity related to the research problems of psychology
ethical sensitivity related to the psychological research

skills:

can plan a psychological study
can use literature individually, can use the literature information during the whole research process

Content of the course

Topics of the course

Introduction to research methods.
The historical roots of the psychological assessment, the problem of assessment in psychology.
Theories in research: main models and their related methods, research strategies.
The process of scientific research. Research ethics.
Literature in research. Research question and hypothesis.
Academic writing, presentation skills.
Qualitative methods.
Quantitative methods.
The types of the psychological tests, the process of testing. Sampling procedures.
Reliability of measuring tools.
Validity of measuring tools.
The use of the internet and computer in research.

Learning activities, learning methods

frontal method, cooperative learning, group work
Evaluation of outcomes

Learning requirements, mode of evaluation, criteria of evaluation:

requirements

knowledge of the theoretical materials related to the presentations and the required readings

mode of evaluation:

as a precondition to the final exam (the student has to pass it to have the exam in the exam period): written mid-term exam with a result of at least 50%, based on the materials of the course (presentations and the required readings).
final written exam in the exam period, based on the based on the materials of the course, with a result of at least 50%. The final grade can range from 1-5.

criteria of evaluation:

the quantity and quality of the theoretical material and their possible applications

Readings

Reading list
Compulsory reading list

1. Altermatt, B. (2008). The Scientific Literature in Psychology. URL: http://psych.hanover.edu/classes/ResearchMethods/Readings/The_scientific_literature.pdf

2. American Psychological Association (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (Chapter 1, 2, 7, 8.)

3. Biggerstaff, D. (2012). Qualitative research methods in psychology. In G. Rossi (ed.) Psychology – Selected Papers (pp. 175-206). Rijeka: InTech. URL: http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/36452.pdf

4. Cohen-Swerdlik (2009). Psychological Testing and Assessment: An Introduction to Tests and Measurement (7th Ed.). The McGraw-Hill Companies. (Chapter 1, 2, 5, 6)

5. Gosling, S. D., Vazire, S., Srivastava, S., & John, O. P. (2004). Should We Trust Web-Based Studies? A Comparative Analysis of Six Preconceptions about Internet Questionnaires. American Psychologist, 59 (2), 93-104.

6. Konradt, U., Syperek, S., & Hertel, G. (2011). Testing on the Internet: Faking in a Web-Based Self-Administered Personality Measure. Journal of Business and Media Psychology, 2(1), 1-10.

7. McBride, D. M. (2012). The Process of Research in Psychology. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Sage Publications, Inc. (Chapter 1. Psychological Research. The Whys and Hows of the
Scientific Method.)

8. McGuire, W. J. (1997). Creative hypothesis generating in psychology: Some useful Heuristics. Annual Review of Psychology, 48, 1-30. URL: http://sing.stanford.edu/cs303-sp11/papers/mcguire_hypothesis_gen.pdf

9. Overview of Psychology Research Methods. URL: http://my.fit.edu/~gabrenya/IntroMethods/eBook/methods.pdf

10. Riva, G., Teruzzi, T., & Anolli, L. (2003). The Use of the Internet in Psychological Research: Comparison of Online and Offline Questionnaires. Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 6(1), 73-80.

11. Sukamolson, S. (2007). Fundamentals of quantitative research. Bangkok, Thailand: EJTR. URL: http://www.culi.chula.ac.th/Research/e-Journal/bod/Suphat%20Sukamolson.pdf

12. Urbina, S. (2004). Essentials of psychological testing. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (Chapter 1, 4, 5, 7.)