Psy 3902 -- Major Project in Psychology Syllabus

Monday, 12:20am-2:15pm
50 Elliott Hall
Spring 2003

Instructor: Chaitra M. Hardison (Syllabus adapted from the syllabi of former TAs).
N498 Elliott Hall
hard0211@umn.edu
Office hours: After class or by appointment

Overview:

Experienced students majoring in psychology have the opportunity to design and propose novel scholarly research in an area of their interest. All students complete an independent American Psychological Association (APA) style research proposal requiring the synthesis of past coursework commensurate with the level expected at the completion of a bachelor's degree in psychology.

The final paper includes an in-depth literature review of the topic area, an original testable hypothesis to further scientific understanding, appropriate research design to address the proposed research question, and discussion of implications of the expected results.

Student research proposals are subject to peer review, held to APA standards for journal submission, and presented orally in symposium format at the end of the course.

Required Texts:

Scott, J. M., Koch, R., Scott, G. M., & Garrison, S. M. (2002). The Psychology Student Writer's Manual (2nd Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

*American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th Edition). Washington DC.

*Please Note:

APA format is required! Credit will only be given for format as described in The Publication Manual of the APA (5th Edition); it is the only acceptable format for this course. The 5th Edition has changes that are not reflected in previous editions, nor in the required text for this course.

Prerequisites:

Psych 1001, Psych 3005, Junior or Senior Psychology Major. If you have not met these prerequisites you must request instructor permission to remain enrolled.

Research Proposal: **

The major requirement of this course is a 15-20 page scholarly paper (no less than 15 pages of text) in APA format. This paper should take the form of a research proposal on some psychological issue. The proposal will include a literature review, a statement of theoretical relevance, a proposed design and methodology, and a discussion of expected results and the implications thereof. While it is a research proposal, for the purposes of this course (and this course only) it is to be written in past tense, as if the proposed experiment was actually done. Please make note of the section on fictitious data under policy notes.

Oral Presentation: **

The final two weeks of the semester will be spent on student oral presentations. Each presentation will consist of 10 minutes for presentation of the proposed study and 5 minutes of questions and discussion with the rest of the class. Visual materials (e.g. overheads) will be part of the presentation format; however, be sure to inform the instructor of any additional multimedia requirements before the class presentation day.

**Please Note: Failure to complete either the paper or the oral presentation will result in failure of the course.

Course Evaluation:

Grading will be completed by the instructor. If necessary, faculty in relevant domains may be consulted based on the content of each major project. Grades will be assigned on the basis of total points earned during the course. Points will be allocated as follows:

Homework assignments: (roughly 25% of total grade)

Topic Paper5 points

Two-min talk10 points

Article critiques5 points

Introduction draft and outline10 points

Methods draft10 points

Results draft5 points

Discussion draft10 points

Peer review of paper5 points

Research proposal (final paper): (approximately 50% of total grade)

Format (APA style):25 points

Including (but not limited to):

Title page

Abstract

Running head

Headings

Citations/references

Content:70 points

Including (but not limited to):

Writing style

Organization

Appropriate detail of intro

Quality of critical thinking

Appropriateness of topic

Appropriateness of conclusions

Changes addressing Instructor feedback

Other: (roughly 25% of total grade)

Oral presentation30 points

Participation15 points (attendance required for all oral presentations)

Grades will be assigned using the following cut-offs:

A180 to 200 points

B160 to 179 points

C140 to 159 points

D120 to 139 points

Fbelow 120 points

Students who have registered as S-N must earn at least 140 points to receive a grade of S.

Notes on Final Papers:

Papers are due May 5th at 12:20 am (the last day of class) and must be turned in to me by that time; any time after 12:20 am is considered late and points will be deducted accordingly. Papers may be submitted early in my mailbox on the second floor of Elliott Hall or my office at N498 Elliott Hall. Feedback from earlier drafts should be used to revise papers prior to the final due date. Late papers will not be accepted unless you have received special permission from me prior to the deadline. Late papers may be subject to the loss of up to 15 points per day late.

I am happy to look over drafts of the paper or any section until November 20th. After this date I will not be able to return materials in time for revisions.

Remember: the paper must be written in APA format. If you have questions about APA style, please first consult the APA Manual then ask the instructor. Do not try to guess or use a format that "seems sensible." APA style may not always make sense, but you will be graded on how well you adhere to its rules.

All papers will be retained by the Psychology Department, so make a copy of your paper before you turn it in. Students may inspect their graded papers and review the instructor's comments after December 20th: papers can be viewed in the Undergraduate Advising Office, 105 Elliott Hall.

Incompletes:

Incompletes will not be granted except under very exceptional circumstances. Students who do not complete the major project or give an oral presentation will receive a grade of F. Students who know in advance they will not be able to finish the paper within the space of a semester should drop the course and re-register for a subsequent semester. In the event that a student desires a grade if I, the instructor must be contacted at the earliest possible time with a legitimate and verifiable excuse; in addition, students should have completed at least a rough draft of the paper to receive an incomplete.

Missing Class, Late Work and Key Information:

As the vast majority of the work is completed outside of class, it is your responsibility to keep up with your assignments. You will not receive full credit for late work unless you have a legitimate excuse and you obtain approval from the instructor to turn in the work at a specified time. The Instructor will request a verifiable doctors note for class missed due to illness. Late work (not excused by the Instructor) will automatically have 20% of the points deducted for the assignment. Furthermore, if you miss a class in which an irreplaceable assignment is given (e.g. peer review), you miss the assignment and receive a ‘zero.' If you need to request an extension on an assignment, contact the instructor immediately. If the instructor does not hear from you one week after the assignment is due, you forfeit your right to request an extension. If you are unable to attend a class in which an assignment is due, turn it into your instructor's box at least 1/2 hour before the class begins. Your instructor will determine how much credit will be assigned for late work.

You are responsible for information covered in class. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact another student for the information that you missed from lecture. The Instructor will not cover material a second time.

Lecture Format:

In order to provide course credits commensurate with the level of work required, class is scheduled for 2 hours. Because the work you complete requires extensive time both writing and reviewing literature outside of class, lecture often will not take up the full 2-hour time allotted. Instead you are expected to use the extra class time for additional writing and revision of your paper. Thus, on some occasions class will be short, however during oral presentations the class will meet for the whole 2 hours.

This course is designed to review material that should have been touched on in prior classes. If there is an area where you feel you need additional review, please let me know so I can provide assistance either via additional lecture material or individual meetings with you outside of class.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism will result in an F in the course. The matter will then be referred to the CLA Committee on Student Scholastic Conduct (see policy notes below). If you are not sure if you are plagiarizing unintentionally, please consult with the instructor. When in doubt, cite your sources.

Some Policy Notes:

Fictitious Data:

One of the goals of Major Project is for students to demonstrate the ability to write an entire research paper, including a results section. However, practical limitations prevent the running of real participants. This means that students in Major Project (unlike real researchers) will use fictitious data for the results section. This is acceptable for this class only. If the Major Project paper is given to anyone outside Major Project, the student must note on the title page that this study has not been performed and that fictitious data are presented only to show that the student knows how to present results in a scientific paper. Giving the Major Project paper without this disclaimer to someone who does not know that the data are fictitious would constitute academic dishonesty.

Reasonable Accommodations:

Every attempt will be made to provide reasonable accommodations to those students that require them. Please bring these needs to my attention as soon as possible. However, in order to provide accommodations to students, students must be registered with Disability Services (626-1333).

Notes from CLA:

1. The College of Liberal Arts does not permit students to submit extra work in an attempt to raise his or her grade, unless the instructor has specified at the outset of class such opportunities afforded to all students.

2. The College of Liberal Arts has defined academic misconduct broadly as "any act the violates the rights of another student in academic work or that involves misrepresentations of your own work. Scholastic dishonesty includes (but is not necessarily limited to) cheating on assignments and examinations; plagiarizing, which means misrepresenting your own work any part of work done by another; submitting the same paper, or substantially similar papers, to meet the requirements of more than one course without the consent of all instructors concerned; depriving another student of necessary course materials; or interfering with another student's work."

3. University policy prohibits sexual harassment as defined in the 1998 policy statement. Copies of the policy statement on sexual harassment are available at 419 Morrill Hall. Complaints about sexual harassment should be reported to the University Office of Equal Opportunity at 419 Morrill Hall.

Course Assignments & Schedule

Jan. 27, Week 1 - Introduction/Course overview/Choosing a topic

Homework due Week 2

Read: Scott Text-Chapter 1, p. 12-19, p. 24-32, and Chapter 5

Choose a topic and write a topic paper (no longer than 3 pages and no less than 2).

Include in the topic paper:

• Your topic (general, but not too general)
• Definition or explanation of any terminology and background information necessary to understand your topic
• Explain why the topic is interesting to you
• Give and example about real life situations to which your topic applies
• Conclude with a question that logically follows from your paper. It should be one that could potentially be answered using psychological research, and that clearly relates to the example you described in your paper.
• References are not a requirement, but if you do use information from a text you must include a citation and give the author credit.

Feb. 3, Week 2 - (Turn in Topic Paper) Discussion of research interests/ Literature search & summarizing journal articles/Generating hypotheses

Homework due Week 3

Read: Scott Text-Chapter 9, & Chapter 6

Locate, copy and summarize 3 empirical journal articles that relate to your topic of interest. Prepare for 2-minute presentation.

Feb. 10, Week 3 - (Turn in Article Summaries) 2 Minute Presentations of General Hypothesis/Writing the Introduction/Literature Review/Proper format of Hypothesis

Homework due Week 4

Read: Scott Text-Chapter 11, & Chapter 2

Write proposed hypothesis in conceptual and operational terms. Begin literature search and start writing Introduction Draft.

Feb. 17, Week 4 - Discussion of Hypothesis/Writing the Introduction

Homework due Week 5

Write draft for Introduction/Literature Review and Hypotheses in APA format (Including Reference page with 10 references, at least 8 empirical).

Feb. 24, Week 5 - (Turn in Introduction) Effective and Appropriate Research Design/ Ethics/Writing the Method Section/Set up individual meeting times (10 min. Individual Meetings on Wed, Thurs, and Fri of this week).

Homework due Week 6

Read: Scott Text-Chapter 12

Write Method Section

Mar. 3, Week 6 - (Turn in Method Section) Statistics/Appropriate tests/Tables & Figures/

Homework due Week 7

Work on your data and results

Mar. 10, Week 7 - Writing up the Results & Discussion Sections

*No Homework due Week 8 (Spring Break)*

Homework due Week 9

Write Results and Discussion sections (including tables and figures)

Mar. 17, Week 8 - (No class) Spring Break! Have fun!

Mar. 24, Week 9 - (Turn in Results & Discussion) Discuss problems with method sections (short class)

Homework due Week 10

Bring 3 complete revised versions of paper for Peer Review

Mar. 31, Week 10 - Peer Review sessions (full class period)/Set up oral presentation schedule

Apr. 7, Week 11 - (Rough Draft Due) Hand back results of Peer Review/Careers in psychology/Oral presentation format/Set up individual meeting times

Apr. 14, Week 12 - (no class) Individual Meetings /Return Intro Papers

Apr. 21, Week 13 - Presentations

Apr. 28, Week 14 - Presentations

May 5, Week 15 - (Final Papers Due!) Presentations/Last day of class

Papers are due at the start of class (12:20 am); any time after 12:20 am is considered late and points will be deducted accordingly.

May 12, Finals Week - No Final Exam (no class) Good luck on exams, and enjoy the summer break!

***Any of the above may be subject to change at the discretion of the Instructor during the course of the semester.