Course Syllabus
PSY280 FX 1: Research Design and Methodology
Spring 2025
Online
3 Credits
Course Syllabus
Instructor Information
Instructor Name: Kenneth Texeira Ph.D.
Office Location: Liberal Arts Department
Office Hours: By Appointment
Instructor Email: Ktexeira@quincycollege.edu
Dean’s Office Phone: Liberal Arts & Professional Programs: 617-405-5920
Course Description
This course introduces students to research methods in psychology, with a focus on critical evaluation of research design and methods. Students will be exposed to a variety of research designs as well as basic statistical theory covering hypothesis testing, ANOVA, and correlational analyses. Ethical guidelines in research and issues of variance in representation in research and program evaluation are emphasized. Students will participate in project-based learning through practical application of the research process.
Course Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Present practical applications of the scientific method, the research process, methods, and design.
- Critically evaluate ethical and sociocultural considerations in published psychological research and make recommendations for improvement.
- Exhibit effective presentation skills in a format appropriate to individual career trajectory.
- Utilize integrative thinking and problem-solving by designing basic psychological research.
(CLO = Course Learning Outcome)
Prerequisites and Co-requisites: Prerequisite: ENG 101 and PSY 101 and MAT 107.
Guiding Question: How can you use your understanding of research design and methods in psychology to enhance your own professional path, critically evaluate research studies, apply statistical theory, navigate ethical challenges, address representation issues, and engage in program evaluation?
Course Materials and Resources
American Psychological Association. 2020.Publication manual of American Psychological Association: The official guide to APA style.
Cuttler, C., Jhangiani, R. S., & Leighton, D. C. (2019). Research method in psychology (4th ed.). Kwantlen Polytechnic University. https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/research-methods-in-psychology-3rd-american-edition
Gruwel, C. & Ewing, R. (2022). Critical thinking in academic research. Minnesota State College and Universities. https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/critical-thinking-in-academic-research
Course Delivery Format
Hyflex (OT): This is an hybrid both online and in person class. All aspects of the class will take place in the Canvas Learning Management System. This class is sycronous and you can come to class in person or via zoom. Instructional features include instructor-made video lectures, discussion questions, assignments, assessments, other activities, and opportunities for questions and answers.
Communication and Feedback
Email: The best means of communication regarding an individual concern is by email. All emails will be returned within 48 hours. Please use your college-issued email. Please refer to the 2023-2024 Student Handbook for information about using your QC email.
Canvas Announcements: The instructor will communicate with the class throughout the course with announcements on Canvas. Items of an individual concern should be communicated to the instructor using your Canvas InBox or your QC email.
Canvas Messaging: Within Canvas, there is a message feature (Inbox) that will prove the fastest and easiest way to communicate on course specific items such as questions about the assignment, homework, or course.
Feedback: I will check and respond to emails and messages and the “Questions about the course” thread within 48 hours. Assignments completed on Canvas will be graded and returned within 7 days after the due date.
Please refer to the 2023-2024 Student Handbook for information about using your QC email.
Attendance/Participation
QC Attendance Guidelines for Online Classes: Reporting student attendance in online courses must follow federal regulations. According to these regulations, using Canvas LMS data showing that a student has only logged into the online course and not participated is not sufficient to demonstrate attendance.
Students must establish their “attendance” or “participation” by engaging in online course learning activities such as, but not limited to:
- Submitting assignments via Canvas
- Engaging in online discussion boards
- Completing assessments such as quizzes/exams
- Engaging in course group work via Google Collaborate, Canvas Groups
- Interacting with instructor via Canvas messaging and/or email or 1:1 Zoom
- Participating in third-party publisher activities
- Viewing and completing video quizzes
- Attending scheduled mandatory or optional virtual class sessions
Please note that these learning activities can easily be tracked by Canvas, email, and third-party publisher sites. Consistent attendance positively impacts learning and academic performance. Therefore, after two consecutive absences (or more scattered, yet frequent absences), a Notice of Concern is submitted to the Quincy College Registrar.
Class Cancellation Policy
In the event of college-wide cancellations, announcements are made through the emergency notification system on the campus portal, on local television, and radio stations. However, one advantage of an on-line courses is that we can still make progress. Unless otherwise notified by Dr. Connolly, assume that discussions and assignments will adhere to the due dates in the syllabus.
Grading Policy
Grading and Evaluation (Summary)
|
Class Discussion/Participation/Posts |
30% |
|
Research Reflections/Case Studies |
15% |
|
Research Case Studies |
15% |
|
Final Assessment (Part 1) |
20% |
|
Final Assessment (Part 2) |
20% |
All weekly discussion prompts, research project assignments, and peer feedback assignments will be posted on the course Canvas site. The due dates for these are listed in the syllabus and Canvas course content.
Class Discussion/Participation/Posts: To an even greater extent than traditional classroom-based courses, online courses rely on the active contributions of everyone. Students will contribute to online class discussions by responding to specific prompts relating to material covered in each module and to subsequent discussion points by the instructor and fellow students. Class weeks begin on Sunday. Students are expected to provide an initial response by the due date (Wednesday) and at least 2 substantive and relevant responses to other’s discussion points by the end of the class week (Saturday). Assessing class participation is a necessarily qualitative exercise, but contributions will be measured on dimensions like quality of contribution, insightfulness of questions, engagement with the material, and interactions with other students.
Reflection Assignments: Some weeks will have a reflection assignment covering a specific element of the research design/methodology development process.
Case Study Assignments: In other weeks, you will react to a case study aimed at illuminating specific elements of the research design/methodology development process.
Final Assessment: Based on the research question that you’ve developed over the course of the semester, you will generate two work products.
- Part 1: An APA-formatted research report describing your work. This parallels the process of writing for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. While you may not have been able to complete the research as you have designed it, you will be able to provide an Introduction, Research Methodology, and Conclusion/Discussion, and provide peer-reviewed research references to support your design.
- Part 2: In addition to peer-reviewed research articles, research results are often presented at conferences, via a Poster Session, or a session-delivered talk/slide deck. This part of the final assessment will be a Powerpoint, Google Slide or other presentation deck that would support presentation of your research at a conference.
You must have access to a computer each week. Experiencing computer issues is not an excuse not to fulfill the requirements.
The college grading scale will be used:
|
Letter Grade |
Percentage (%) |
Grade Point Average (GPA) |
|
A |
93 and above |
4.0 |
|
A- |
90-92 |
3.7 |
|
B+ |
87-89 |
3.3 |
|
B |
83-86 |
3.0 |
|
B- |
80-82 |
2.7 |
|
C+ |
77-79 |
2.3 |
|
C |
73-76 |
2.0 |
|
C- |
70-72 |
1.7 |
|
D |
60-69 |
1.0 |
|
F |
59 and below |
0.0 |
|
I |
Incomplete |
0.0 |
|
W |
Withdrawal |
0.0 |
|
AUD |
Audit |
0.0 |
Make-Up Policy
Not Applicable to class discussions, where deadlines are set and final. Deadlines for assignments are set and final. If extenuating circumstances require you to miss a due-date, make appropriate individual arrangements with Dr. Connolly. This is an advanced-level course, so adhering to due dates is expected under all but the most serious situations.
Additional Information
Canvas Learning Management System (LMS):
If you have any questions about Canvas, please email the IT Help Desk at itsupport@quincycollege.edu or submit a Help Ticket.
Quincy College strongly recommends you use the Firefox or Google Chrome web browser to access and participate in its online and hybrid courses. Internet Explorer is NOT recommended.
Academic Integrity:
Quincy College fosters a high standard of academic honesty for students, faculty, and staff, and expects all to adhere to the basic values of mutual respect and responsibility as well as individual and institutional integrity.
To promote the best environment for learning, courses utilize test proctoring and Turnitin, similarity/plagiarism software to maintain integrity of tests and coursework. Please contact your instructors for specific information about the academic integrity software used in your courses.
Our test proctoring software, Respondus Lockdown Browser, does require a working microphone and webcam. A student guide to Respondus Monitor will be made available during the course.
Please refer to the 2023-2024 Student Handbook for more information on our Academic Integrity Policy, Policy 5.15.
Turnitin:
Written assignments in the course may be submitted to Turnitin for a similarity/plagiarism review. This can be done by you or your instructor.
Turnitin generates a similarity report of your writing by comparing it with a database of journals, books, websites, student papers and other work. This report can help determine when the sources are used fairly, cited properly, and paraphrased effectively. Detection of similarities does not necessarily mean plagiarism has occurred, as the copied text might be properly referenced.
Turnitin helps to foster academic integrity and encourages you to produce original academic work.
The Use of AI Tools:
This class may integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in various ways as a legitimate research tool. However, any attempt to represent AI output inappropriately as your own work will be treated as plagiarism. Use of AI to generate class discussion posts are expressly prohibited. Be advised that every discussion prompt used in this class will be run through at least two major AI engines to generate model responses, and your posts will be compared to those model responses. Class responses identified as AI generated, even if edited, will have negative consequences, up to and including failing this class.
Course Accessibility Statement:
Quincy College is committed to providing access and inclusion for all persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities who need access to course content due to course design limitations should contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) sas@quincycollege.edu or by phone (617) 984-1682.
Please refer to our 2023-2024 Student Handbook for more information about Student Accessibility Services.
Title IX Policy:
Title IX prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual misconduct, sexual violence, sexual harassment, and retaliation. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, click here for more information about QC’s Title IX Policies and Procedures.
Course Schedule
|
Week/Module |
Read/Watch |
Assignment(s) |
Due Date |
|
Week #1 |
Welcome to Course
Module 1 Foundations of Psychology in Research |
Complete Start Here Module |
1.26 |
|
Week #2 |
Module 1
Cuttler et al. Ch. 1: The Science of Psychology
Gruwell Part 1: What is Critical Thinking?
Gruwell Part 2: Barriers to Critical Thinking.
|
Module 1 |
2.02 Resource Questions
|
|
Week #3 |
Module 2 Gruwell Part V: Research Questions
Gruwell Part VI: Sources & Information Needs
Gruwell Part VII: Types of Sources
Video: How to develop a strong research question. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71-GucBaM8U
|
Module 2 |
2.09
|
|
Week #4 |
Module 3
Cuttler et al Ch. 2: Overview of the Scientific Method
Gruwell Part VIII: Precision Searching
Gruwell Part IX: Evaluating Sources
Video: Three questions you ask yourself before you believe something. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyuGBi6joxY
|
Module 3 |
2.16 |
|
Week #5 |
Module 4
Cuttler et al. Ch. 3: Research Ethics
Gruwell Part X: Ethical Use & Citing Sources
Video: Ethics in Psychological Research – APA Code of Ethics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvg5DW8Mze4
|
Module 4 Assignments: Assigned Readings Discussion posts, and Research Assignment. |
2.23 |
|
Week #6 |
Module 5
Cuttler et al. Ch. 4: Psychological Measurement
Video: The dark history of IQ tests. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2bKaw2AJxs
|
Module 5 |
3.02
|
|
Week #7 |
Module 6
Cuttler et al. Ch. 5: Experimental Research
Video: What is experimental research design? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z_FCBGVIhA
Video: The danger of mixing up causality and correlation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B271L3NtAw
|
Module 6 |
3.09
|
|
Week #8 |
Module 7
Cuttler et al. Ch. 6: Non-experimental research
Video: Non-experimental designs in psychology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK7xQU5xGFg
|
Module 7 |
3.16 |
|
Week #9 |
Module 8 Survey Research
Cuttler et al. Ch. 7: Survey Research
Video: Pros and cons of public opinion polls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubR8rEgSZSU
|
Module 8 |
3.23 |
|
Weeks #10 3.24 – 3.31
|
Module 9
Cuttler et al. Ch. 8: Quasi-Experimental Research.
Video: What are quasi-experimental designs? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoQF92eXPkk
Video: Three types of research design: Experimental, quasi-experimental, non-experimental. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym3XXOjrJjU
|
Module 9 |
3.31 |
|
Week #11 |
Module 10
Cuttler et al. Ch. 9: Factorial Designs
Video: What are extraneous variables? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KSLf1Uknr8
|
Module 10 |
4.6 |
|
Week #12 |
Module 11
Cuttler et al. Ch. 10: Single Subject Research
Video: Single subject designs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5MlEIY39-o
|
Module 11 |
4.13
|
|
Week #13 |
Module 13
Cuttler et al. Ch. 12: Descriptive Statistics
Video: Turning powerful stats into art. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f09lQ8Q1iKE&list=PLuFSWQuu57Y1Zp40W98JEw_T8vrsfffSq&index=4
|
Module 13 |
4.20
|
|
Week #14 |
Module 14
Cuttler et al. Ch. 13: Inferential Statistics
Video: The best stats you’ve ever seen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVimVzgtD6w&list=PLuFSWQuu57Y1Zp40W98JEw_T8vrsfffSq&index=3 No classes! |
Module 14 |
|
|
Week #15 |
Module 15
Cuttler et al. Ch. 11 Presenting Your Research
|
Module 15 |
5.04 |
|
Week #16 |
Module 16
Cuttler et al. Ch. 11 Presenting Your Research
|
Module 16 Assignments: |
5.11 |
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|