Overview

We are happy that you are in this class! You may have realized at this point in your education that mainstream psychology is based on scientific research, and that psychology is only as good as its research—and its philosophy. As a psychology major, minor, or cluster, you have bought psychological textbooks. Your textbooks are filled with knowledge based on research. Research is one skill that carries over to all kinds of jobs and all kinds of great grad schools. Research methods skills are highly respected and well-rewarded monetarily. 

Sometimes students really catch the research bug and have even attended some of the most prestigious psychological conventions to present research. They have held their own while they stood next to students from Michigan Ann Arbor, Texas A&M, Yale, etc. I hope you realize that you are getting a great education as a psychology major at BYU-I; our personal bias is that we have the “A” team here in the psychology department.

Most importantly though, research methods can help you be a better parent, a better employee, and a better tool in the hands of God. I hope you will discover early on that research methods are for you.

Requirements

Prerequisites

• PSYCH 111 and
• FDMAT 221
  • A, B, or C.

Required Materials

• Research Methods, Design, and Analysis, 13th Ed., by Christensen, Johnson, and Turner, 2020 (ISBN-13: 9780134743660)

The required textbook for this course is a low-cost auto access digital textbook. Access the textbook using the Course Materials link in the left menu. 

NOTE: You will be automatically charged for the digital textbook on the first day of the term.

If you do not want to use the digital textbook (perhaps you already purchased the print version of the textbook), you must opt out or you will be charged for the digital textbook. Follow this link if you wish to opt out: Course Material List.

Course Outcomes

1. Distinguish various philosophies of knowledge.
2. Critically evaluate psychological research by applying an understanding of methodological issues.
3. Select and apply appropriate research designs and statistical analyses for common research problems in psychology.
4. Weigh and make decisions about the ethical considerations involved when conducting psychological research.
5. Design a research experiment that you will be prepared to carry out in your psychology capstone course.
6. Communicate research findings following APA style conventions.

Successfully mastering the above outcomes will teach you skills you can use to:

• Serve other students, build the people around you and add value to the class and the community
• Think critically about research
• Write up scientific findings (Proposals and Poster)
  

  Major Assignments

  The table below is meant to help you see the relevance of each major assignment as it pertains to the course outcomes (CO).

  Major Assignment	Description	CO#
  W04 Exam 01	Review chapters 01, 02, 03, 04, 17	1.2.3.4.5.6
  W09 Exam 02	Review chapters 05, 06, 07, 09, 10	1.2.3.4.5.6
  W14 Exam 03	Review chapters 12, 13, 14, 16	1.2.3.4.5.6

  Weekly Patterns

  The table below displays typical weekly activities, due dates, and activity descriptions. 

  Due Date*	Learning Model	Activity Title	Description
  Midweek	Ponder/Prove	Assignment	Summarize and reflect on what you have read during the week.
  Midweek	Teach One Another	Discussion	Explore the interaction between your faith and how the world views psychological science.
  End of week	Prove	Quiz	Complete the quiz on the topic of the week.

  *Set your time zone within user preferences so the dates and times for course activities will display correctly for your time zone.

Learning Model

The BYU-Idaho Learning Model is first and foremost a “learning” model, not a teaching model. By following its principles, you will learn more, learn faster, and retain more.

You will prepare for the week’s activities by:

• reading the objectives and assigned chapters and
• then by reviewing the presentations associated with them.

You will teach one another by:

• selecting an objective for the week and
• making a discussion question out of it
  • while responding to your classmates’ questions.

You will ponder and prove what you have learned through:

• reading quizzes,
• research proposals,
• creating questions, and
• creating research cards.

Expectations

Since this is a 3-credit course, you will need to spend an average of 9-12 hours per week working on your assignments for this class. The time you spend learning the skills of this class will be a great investment in your future career as you prepare to use your research skills.

Grading Policies

Your grade for this course consists of several elements:

• The most important is your proposal, which you can use for the PSYCH 485 Experiencing Research class.
  • In that course you can conduct the study you will be creating in this class.
  • In this course, you will create the proposal for your study.
    • The proposal consists of several parts listed in the table below. These parts include:
      • two annotated bibliographies,
      • an APA style document,
      • a reference assignment with 10 peer-reviewed articles,
      • a draft of the Introduction section of your study,
      • a draft of the Methodology section of your study,
        • two peer reviews of these drafts,
      • a revised final version of your proposal, and
      • a poster of your study’s anticipated findings.
• You will also create outlines of the chapters you are reading in Research Methods, Design, and Analysis (your textbook) and discuss these outlines in regular discussion board activities.
• After you complete the assigned reading from the textbooks you will have quizzes on the material.
• This course includes three exams over the material in Research Methods, Design, and Analysis as well as outside readings.
• There are several participation activities including discussion boards on your outlines, assignments, and the syllabus quizzes. You can learn more about specific activities by reviewing the Course Summary Activities below.

Assignment Grading Breakdown

The following table will give you basic information of the points associated with each of the major activities. They determine your final grade:

Assignment	Point Value
Proposal	25 pts + 25 pts + 170 pts = 220 pts
Annotated Bibliography	10 pts x 2 = 20 pts
APA Style Doc	10 pts
Reference Page (10 references)	5 pts
Draft of Introduction	25 pts
Draft of Methodology	25 pts
Peer Review (2)	25 pts
Proposal Final Draft	170 pts
Poster (Future) Results	25 pts
Total	525 pts
Recurring Activities
Outlines	165 points (11 outlines at 15 pts each)
Reading Quizzes	140 points (14 quizzes at 10 points each)
Participation	290 points (various activities)
Exams	600 points (3 exams at 200 pts each)
Total	1195 pts
Grand Total	1720 pts

Grading Scale

A	93%
A-	90%
B+	87%
B	83%
B-	80%
C+	77%
C	73%
C-	70%
D+	67%
D	63%
D-	60%
F	<60%

Research Proposal

The Proposal is comprised of:

• 10 installments of a cumulative paper,
• an APA formatted research proposal.

This paper is intended to be the starting point for your work in PSYCH 485.

Outlines

For each chapter assigned, you will write a 2-page chapter outline.

Quizzes

For each chapter assigned, you will complete a 10-item multiple-choice quiz.

Participation

You will have 4 orienting exercises throughout the semester:

• connecting to turnitin.com,
• posting on a Getting to Know You Discussion Board,
• completing Plagiarism Primer, and
• completing a Syllabus and Orientation Quiz.

The Discussion Board assignments require 4 postings per week:

• 1) an initial posting
  • posted early in the week
  • worth 4 points
  • at least 100 words in length and
  • posing a well-thought out question from the current week’s reading,
• 2 & 3) 2 postings that respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ initial postings, and
• 4) at least one posting responding to anyone who responds to your initial posting.
  

Exams

There will be 3 multiple-choice exams comprised of 60 questions each.

Turnitin.com

This course uses turnitin to submit some assignments. Explanations for how to use Turnitin will be explained on those assignments. You can submit turnitin assignments through the course itself and do not need a separate turnitin account.

University Policies

Students with Disabilities

BYU-Pathway Worldwide is committed to providing a working and learning atmosphere that accommodates qualified students with disabilities. If you have a disability and require accommodations, please contact Accessibility. Reasonable academic accommodations are reviewed for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. Services are coordinated with students and instructors by Student Wellness.

This course may require synchronous meetings. If you are currently registered for accommodations and need a transcription for these meetings, please contact Accessibility.

Student Honor and Other Policies

Please click on the links below to learn more about the following policies:

• Academic and Administrative Grievances and Appeals
• Academic Honesty
• Copyright Infringement
• Disability Services
• Disruptive Behavior
• Honor Code
• Nondiscrimination
• Other University Policies

Go to the Student Resources module for further resources and information.

Support

If you need assistance, visit the I-learn help tab located on the left-hand side of your screen to contact the appropriate support center.