Time: Class:12:30-1:45, Tuesday, Thursday
Instructor: Dr. Gabrenya
Voice: 674-8104 Fax: 674-7105 E-mail: gabrenya@fit.edu
Office Hours: By appointment. See scheduling book in main office. You can often reach me more efficiently by email.
Teaching Assistant: Sara Lupo E-mail: slupo@fit.edu

How to reach the TA:Contact her by email. She will respond to you as soon as possible, usually within 24 hours. You can interact with her by email or make an appointment to meet her in the Psychology building. She will usually be able to schedule an appointment within 2 days.

Texts:
Neuman, W. L. (2004). Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2001). (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (You should still have this book from Introductory Research Methods. If not, you can often find it in the book store, or you can purchase it online.)

Readings: I will supply additional readings as needed.

Schedule of activities

Computer use

Data analysis
We will standardize on SPSS, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (cross-platform on Macintosh and Wintel) for data analysis in this course. SPSS is available in the Psychology Computer Lab and in the Olin Engineering building lab (EC130). The CD that came with the textbook has a student version that you can use at home.

Internet
You must have a computer account by the first week of the course; contact the Help Desk for information. Some parts of the course will rely on the Web.

Objectives

Advanced Research Methods is an advanced lecture/laboratory course in which you will apply much of your existing knowledge of psychology to the planning, execution, and report of social research. The goals of this course are:
1. Knowledge of research methods and designs used in Psychology.
2. Conceptual analysis of a research problem and its operationalization in specific procedures and designs.
3. Search of relevant literature, summary, and analysis.
4. Construction of measuring instruments, experimental procedures, laboratory setups, and selection and treatment of research participants.
5. Analysis and interpretation of data.
6. Expression of results in research reports that correspond to the standards of the scholarly journals in the field of psychology.
7. Ability to use modern research tools.

Schedule Strategy

The course will be organized around text reading, lectures, and projects. Class time early in the semester will be devoted to lectures and discussions of the seven points above, and later in the semester to group meetings and individual consultations concerning the main project. Class presentations of the main project will take place at the time normally scheduled for the final exam. There will be no final exam.

Projects

Project Grading
Grades will be based on the quality of the projects and the degree to which you meet their due dates. The projects may be turned in early for feedback as many times as you desire, although a minimum turn-around time of 3 days should be anticipated. I will automatically reduce the grades of late projects.Projects will be graded A-B-C-D-F with pluses and minuses. A "B" indicates you have done good work and an "A" that your work is exceptional.

Interpersonal relations
Students working together on group projects always experience a certain degree of friction due to differing values, goals, investment in the project, capabilities, external constraints, personality conflicts, etc. Although conflict is virtually unavoidable, I expect you to use your vast knowledge of psychology and interpersonal relations to deal with these conflicts within your groups.

Group projects
All projects will be performed in groups of 2-5, depending on the project. However, individual papers must be written by each member. You may choose your group members. The groups need not be the same for all projects.

General guidelines

Nature of the class
Advanced Research Methods is a combination lecture and laboratory class, combining traditional book learning with learning applied research skills experientially. Scientific writing is an important skill you must develop in this class and is learned best through practice and constructive feedback.

Timeliness
The main problem students face in this course is completing assignments on time. Since the semester goes by so quickly and the library is very poor, you must keep up with the class and plan ahead in obtaining literature. Inter-library loan takes about 10 days. A trip to the UCF library may be necessary.

Plagiarism
You must be sensitive to what constitutes plagiarism in this kind of course. There are two types of plagiarism: (1) unattributed use of published materials, and (2) use of classmates' work in your own papers. The APA Publication Manual describes the appropriate citation for published materials. As for use of a classmate's work, I expect each paper to be individually written from the ground up. Students may help each other analyze data, develop ideas, etc. but they must write their papers separately. You must sign the Code of Conduct and Ethics.

Attendance
You must attend class unless it is canceled for some reason or you have a valid, written excuse. Attendance is built into the grading system; however, if you skip more than 5 classes or are late for 10 (or combinations thereof) you will not pass the class

Grading Scheme

Links to Projects

SPSS Setup

Qualitative Study

Experimental Study

Main Project

Resources

Writing aids