SP300 is concerned with methodology in psychology, with statistics in psychology, and how they interact. In the lectures, relevant topics in methodology and statistics are introduced over the course of the year (examples are design considerations, counterbalancing, sample versus population, descriptive statistics, histograms, summary statistics, hypothesis testing). There are a number of dedicated lectures looking at how the psychological literature reflects the methodological and statistical issues that have been addressed in the lectures, and how researchers have balanced the requirements of methods, statistics and theory-driven investigation
88 hours
Main Assessment Methods:
Moodle Participation (20%)
Group Project Report (2,000 words) (10%)
Individual Project Report (2,000 words) (20%)
2x Online Tests (45 minutes each) (25%)
2x In Class Practical Tests (60 minutes each) (25%)
This module is reassessed by 100% Examination.
Howitt, D. & Cramer, D. (2011/2014). An Introduction to Statistics in Psychology (5th or 6th Ed.). Pearson.
Howitt, D. & Cramer, D. (2011/2014). Introduction to SPSS in Psychology (5th or 6th Ed.). Pearson.
American Psychological Association (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Ed.).
Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. Sage. (Fourth edition)
Navarro, D. (2013). Learning statistics with R. (version 0.6 or greater)
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
8. The intended subject specific learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
8.1 Understand elementary principles of research design, the scientific method, experimental and descriptive research, and to understand how these three topics interact
8.2 Understand how principles of scientific method are instantiated in specific research examples taken from the psychological literature and the research done in the department
8.3 Understand about relationships between statistics and research hypotheses in psychology
8.4 Conduct simple statistical tests that are commonly used in psychology, using commonly used computer software. To interpret results of these inferential tests. To relate these results to psychological theories.
8.5 Learn and practice reading psychological papers and to learn how to write reports on psychological research adhering to the psychological standards in publishing (APA guidelines).
9. The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
9.1 Read, digest and summarise scientific papers
9.2 Write research reports that are complete, concise, and well-structured
9.3 Present statistical data and numbers in an accessible manner
9.4 Use generically available software for psychological statistics (for example, spreadsheet programs like MS Excel) and to use specialist software for psychological statistics (for example, statistical software like SPSS, SAS, or R).
9.5 Conduct small research projects with a group of peers
9.6 Demonstrate the ability to develop, monitor, and assess own learning
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