Postgraduate - UnitEDF4604 - Research Project

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Synopsis

This unit covers all aspects of the conduct of research. Students undertake a study program in statistics and research design and under the guidance of a staff member plan an independent research project. This project involves designing research in relation to previous work on the topic of the study, gaining ethical approval for data collection or use of data, data gathering, data entry and analysis using appropriate statistical techniques or methodologies, and the preparation of a research report and a literature review according to the specifications of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Outcomes

Upon completion of this unit students will be able to:

1. appreciate the role of scientific research in the field of psychology,
2. describe, apply and evaluate the different research methods used by psychologists,
3. describe the strategies and processes involved in program evaluation,
4. Understand how to evaluate the validity of research conclusions,
5. collect, analyse and interpret data related to their independent research project,
6. correctly apply the appropriate statistical methods for designs commonly encountered in psychological research,
7. identify ethical issues that can arise in research in psychology and how these are to be addressed,
8. use an appropriate statistical package for analysing research data, such as the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS),
9. produce an assessable research project in a format consistent with the specifications of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA); and
10. produce a literature review to an acceptable standard on the topic of their search.

Assessment

Research proposal - oral presentation (hurdle requirement).
One two-hour short answer and multiple choice exam (held in Semester 1) and two short answer assignments (semester 1) on all topics covered in the statistics and research design program(15%) and a research project written in APA format, and presented as a report for assessment. The report should include a substantial literature review and may take the final form of a traditional thesis of 9000-12000 words (85%) or a literature review of 4000-5000 words (25%) accompanied by a report of the research presented in the format of a peer-reviewed scientific journal article of 5000-7000 words (60%).

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Louise McLean

Contact hours

24 hours per week (2 x 2hr weekly lectures and fortnightly tutorials in Semester One). Each student also plans, carries out and writes up an individual research project under the supervision of a staff member. In conjunction with this, students undertake an extensive literature review in the area of their research. The research is conducted over two semesters.

Prohibitions

PSY4518