Instructor:

Instructor: Dr. Robert Rosati

Teaching Assistant: Ms. Lindsay Pyc

Class Meetings: Lecture Tuesday 6:20 - 9:20

Thursday 6:20 - 7:20

Lab Thursday 7:20 - 9:20

Office Hours: Tuesday 5:40 - 6:20 (By Appointment)

(212 Hauser Hall) Tuesday Available After Class

Thursday 5:40 - 6:20 (By Appointment)

Messages: Phone 516-463-5624 (Psychology Department)

Email psyrjr@hofstra.edu

Home Page: http://people.hofstra.edu/faculty/Robert_J_Rosati

Principal Course Textbooks:

American Psychological Association (2001). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Author.

Kantowitz, B.H. & Roediger, H.L., III & Elmes, D.G. (2008). Experimental Psychology: Understanding Psychological Research (9th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth

Norusis, M.J. (2008). SPSS 16.0 Guide to Data Analysis. Englewood Cliffs, N J: Prentice Hall. (http://www.spss.com)

Supplemental Readings:

American Psychological Association. (2002). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. American Psychologist, 57, 1060-1073. (http://www.apa.org/ethics)

Campbell, D.T. & Stanley, J.C. (1963). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Chicago: Rand McNally College Publishing Co.

Cook, T.D. & Campbell, D.T. (1979). Quasi-Experiments: Design & Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Chicago: Rand McNally College Publishing Co.

Kazdin, A. E. (1992). Research Design in Clinical Psychology (2nd. ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

King, B.M. & Minium, E.M. (2008). Statistical reasoning in the behavioral sciences (5th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons.

Shadish, W.R., Cook, T.D. & Campbell, D.T. (2002). Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Optional Textbook:

Rosnow, R.L. & Rosnow, M. (2008). Writing Papers in Psychology: A Student Guide (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

Supplies:

USB Drive or Disk, Inexpensive Statistical Calculator

Homework:

A series of readings have been assigned that follow along with the schedule of lectures. Students are responsible for reading each assignment and should begin readings immediately. Exercises for each Chapter are listed on Page 5. These exercises are due the Thursday of the week that the topic is discussed.

Additional homework assignments will be made periodically during the course. Assignments are to be turned into the Lab Instructor on the same night they will be discussed. When handing in all homework assignments always try to illustrate answers with sufficient detail so that the Lab Instructor can understand how the answer was obtained. Neatness is also very important. Late homework will not be accepted unless the Lab Instructor approves based on extenuating circumstances. Further, assignments will not be accepted after two weeks from the due date.

Labs:

Students are required to attend all lab sessions. Several of the labs require class participation and cannot be missed because the work must be completed during lab. Assignments given during lab session will be due the following session. If you miss a lab, you are still responsible for the assignment and it must be turned in on the day that it is due. Bring SPSS book and disk to lab.

In addition, two research studies will be conducted based on procedures discussed in the labs. Each study will require a short APA style research report (typed, double-spaced). The first report is due mid-semester on the date listed below. The second report is due one week before the final. Grades will be reduced if the reports are late. Both research reports are to be written using APA format for publications. Failure to actively participate in the group assignments and presentation for Study 1 will have an impact your grade. Lab reports will not be accepted after the date that graded reports are returned to the class. All work must be done independently.

Research Paper:

Students must critically evaluate a published experimental study. An outline will be distributed later in the semester as a guide to this critique. Research paper is due about a month after the outline is provided. However, you can start looking for a paper to critique after the 6th week. Do not wait too long to start the paper because there is a significant amount of work in the second half of the semester.

The critical evaluation must be typed (double-spaced). The article to be critiqued must be approved by the instructor before the paper is written. The deadline for approval is before Week 10. The article must come from the journal Psychological Reports. Submit a copy of the article with your critique. Grade will be reduced if the paper is late. Papers will not be accepted after the date that graded papers are returned to the class.
Exams:

Midterm and Final Exams. Both exams will cover all readings and lectures from this course including the lab material. No makeup exam is allowed unless there are extenuating circumstances. Please contact me as soon as possible if you miss an exam.

Grading:

Each student's grade will be based on a composite of all work assigned this semester. Composite is as follows:

Homework & Lab Assignments 20%

Lab Reports - APA Papers (2) 20%

Research Paper - Critique (1) 20%

Exams (2) 40%

Pay particular attention to what is specified in the sections concerning labs and the research paper, grading is partially based upon what is discussed.

Important Dates:

10/14 - Start looking for article to critique in Psychological Reports

10/28 - Midterm

11/6 - Presentation (Must be present for credit)

11/6 - Article from Psychological Reports has been approved

11/11 - Study 1 Paper Due (Survey)

11/12 - Last Day to Withdraw

11/25 - Research Paper Due (Critique)

12/9 - Study 2 Paper Due (Research Study)

12/16 - Final

Learning Goals and Objectives:

Learning Goal 2: Research Design and Statistics: Students will understand how research methods are used to test alternative explanations of human thought and behavior in a variety of problem domains, both basic (theoretical) and applied (practical).

Learning Objective 2a: Students will demonstrate competence in designing basic experimental, quasi-experimental, and correlational research designs; and will demonstrate an understanding of empirical research concepts such as experimental control of variables, confounds, reliability, and validity.

Learning Objective 2b: Students will be able to identify basic descriptive statistics, such assorted test of central tendency (e.g., mean, median, mode), variability (e.g., standard deviation, variance, range), and association (correlation); understand how they assess patterns in measurements and among variables; interpret these tests when encountered in the research literature; and in some instances calculate these tests from formulas or statistical software packages.

Learning Objective 2c: Students will be able to identify basic inferential statistics, such as the t-test and the F-test, and understand how they assess reliability of results; interpret these tests when encountered in the research literature; and in some instances calculate these tests from formulas or statistical software packages.

Learning Goal 3: Writing and Presentation Skills: Students will learn how to read, write, and speak about psychological theories, data, and practical applications.

Learning Objective 3a: Students will learn how to read and write empirical research reports and literature reviews in APA (American Psychological Association) style.

Learning Objective 3b: Students will gain competence in oral presentation of theories, research, and applications of psychology, using presentation software or visual (poster) formats where appropriate.

Learning Goal 4: Computer Use. Students will gain experience and expertise with computer use as it pertains to Psychology.

Learning Objective 4a: Students will gain knowledge and skill in the use of information technology (e.g., research databases, search engines) for gathering background sources for class work, literature review assignments, and the development of ideas for original empirical research projects.

Learning Objective 4b: Students will gain competence in the use of software for writing reports, organizing and analyzing data, and for communicating ideas and data using presentation software or by preparing visual (poster) displays.

Lecture and Reading Schedule

Week	Dates	Topic	Chapter
			(Kantowitz et al.)
1	9/2, 9/4	Introduction To Research Methods, Statistics Review	Appendix B (or Review Statistics Text)

2	9/9, 2/11	Scientific Psychology	1

3	9/18	Observation	2

4	9/23, 9/25	Correlation	2

5	10/2	Experiments	3

6	10/7	Experiments Continued	4

7	10/14, 10/16	Reliability and Validity	12
		---Start looking for review article---
8	10/21, 10/23	Research Reports	5 and APA - Chap. 1

9	10/28, 10/30	Midterm, Review of Measurement	6

10	11/4, 11/6	Psychophysics	6
		---Article Approved 11/6---
11	11/11, 11/13	Perception, Memory ---Study 1 Paper Due 11/11---	7, 10
12	11/18, 11/20	Attention & Reaction Time	8

13	11/25	Conditioning ---Research Paper Due 11/25---	9

14	12/2, 12/4	Applications of Learning	9
		Clinical Research

15	12/9	Applied Research	15
		---Study 2 Paper Due 12/9---

16	12/16	Final

Kantowitz Homework Assignments

Chapter	Discussion Questions

1	2

2	2, 3

3	2, 3, 5

4	-

5	-

12	1, 2, 5

6	4, 5

7	3 (or any other illusion)

8	3, 4, 5

10	1, 2, 3

9	1, 2, 3, 4, 5

15	1, 4, 5

Perception, Memory

---Study 1 Paper Due 11/11---