Course Description

This course serves as a graduate-level introduction to the scientific methods and practical aspects of conducting research in social and personality psychology. Emphasis is placed on the development of such skills as experimental design, construction of reliable and valid measurement procedures, critical analysis of research literature, and effective writing of empirical papers. Requirements: (1) Three critical reviews of journal articles. The assignments are due Feb. 15, Mar. 1, and Mar. 15. Each review is worth 10% of the course grade. (2) Ten percent of the course grade is based on in-class participation in discussions of the reading assignments. (Assignments are to be read prior to the meetings for which they are listed.) (3) A term paper in the form of a detailed research proposal, worth 60% of the course grade. Hopefully, this proposal will provide the basis for the master's thesis or other degree- related research. Ideas for the proposal will be discussed, and the proposal will be presented in class. The term paper is due on Wednesday, May 24. It should be written in APA style, and it should include an abstract, an introduction with literature review and hypotheses, a method section describing methods and procedures in detail, a brief consideration of data analyses, and a discussion section that examines reliability, validity, reactive effects, ethical issues, etc. Relevant text: Singleton, R. A., Jr., & Straits, B. C. (1999). Approaches to social research (3rd Ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.