BHS 204-03 -- Methods in the Behavioral Sciences I
T/Th 3:00-4:50
p.m., rm. 5-118, Winter, 2008 (CRN 10344)
Psychology and Sociology Department
California State Polytechnic University,
Pomona
Instructor: Jim Sturges, PhD, Associate Professor. Office:
5-252. Phone: 869-3894. Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays
Text: Cozby, P. C. (2007). Methods in behavioral research (9th ed.). Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. (Also see McGraw-Hill Online Resources insert; first page of text.)
Grading: > 90% = A; > 80% = B; > 70 = C; > 60 = D, < 60% = F. Components of course grade: Exam 1 = 25%; Exam 2 = 25%; Exam 3 = 30%; Homework assignments = 20%. The exams will consist of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. The exams will be comprehensive.
Homework: The major homework assignment will be a research proposal (deadline to be announced). The proposal is to be an APA-style paper, including an introduction (literature review) that supports the need for your proposed study, and a proposed research methodology, design and procedure, with proposed hypotheses to be tested and proposed statistical analyses (do not omit design, procedure, hypothesis, or analyses). You will include the title page, abstract, introduction, method, references, and appropriate appendices (e.g., complete text of any measures to be used). Additional assignments will be made in class. No data are to be collected: unapproved contact with human subjects will result in a failing grade on the paper. This is a proposed, not conducted, study.
|
Date |
Reading/Topic |
|
Jan 8 |
Course overview |
|
Jan 10 |
Chapter 1: Psychology as a science |
|
Jan 15 |
Chapter 2: Hypothesis formation; library research; anatomy of articles |
|
Jan 17 |
Chapter 3: Ethics: Informed consent, debriefing, plagiarism, APA Principles, etc. |
|
Jan 22 |
Chapter 3: Ethics, continued |
|
Jan 24 |
Chapter 4: Studying Behavior: Variables, Methods |
|
Jan 29 |
Chapter 5: Measurement Concepts |
|
Jan 31 |
Exam 1 |
|
Feb 5 |
Chapter 6: Observing Behavior |
|
Feb 7 |
Chapter 7: Survey Research |
|
Feb 12 |
Chapter 7: Survey Research, continued |
|
Feb 14 |
Chapters 8: Experimental Design |
|
Feb 19 |
Chapter 9: Conducting Experiments |
|
Feb 21 |
Exam 2 |
|
Feb 26 |
Chapter 10: Complex Experimental Designs |
|
Feb 28 |
Chapter 11: Single Case, Quasi-Experimental, and Developmental Research |
|
Mar 4 |
Chapter 12: Understanding Research Results: Description and Correlation |
|
Mar 6 |
Chapter 13: Understanding Research Results: Statistical Inference |
|
Mar 11 |
Chapter 14: Generalizing Results |
|
Mar 13 |
Exam 3 |
Final Exam Period (see University Exam Schedule) |
Instructor available in office for consultation and individual feedback |
Further information about this course
1. You will need an Intranet/email password. The Intranet account is required so that you can reach all areas of the web page for your class. Information about the Intranet is available at http://www.csupomona.edu/~intranet/. Cal Poly email account use is required because I send email to that account. If you typically use another email account, such as at a commercial internet service provider, you can easily set up your Cal Poly account to forward mail to your other account (configure your account on the Intranet Services page).
2. Anything I say in class or that is in your textbook is fair game for the exams. Yes they are cumulative. No, I'm afraid I can't really narrow it down, in answer to the perennial question, “Is this going to be on the exam?”. Exams are designed to sample the material and see how much of it you learned.
3. To discuss making up an exam, please see me during office hours or by appointment.
4. I don’t take roll. However, there is a lot of information given in class that affects your grade, and for which you are responsible, such as details regarding homework assignments. I view attendance as a requirement. Choosing not to attend class when you could is unwise. I also think it is unwise to sit in class without taking notes. What you think you will remember you may not, and you are depriving yourself the opportunity to go back over it.
5. My best suggestion to you is to start reading early and read the material more than once. If you look at headings, skim, and then re-read more slowly early in the course, then review before the exam, you will create the framework and understanding to really be able to remember what you read. Reading a first time early on will also give you a big advantage in lecture comprehension and retention.
6. It may be difficult for me to return phone calls, but I will respond to all email questions.
7. If you want to download PowerPoint slides, right click on the link to the slide set, then save the file, noticing the directory you are putting it in. From within Powerpoint you can "Print Slides/Handouts" 6 to a page, etc. The slides provide a very rough outline and set of terms for the discussion. Having the slides is more useful if you also have a good set of class notes. Browsing the slides online is a perfectly adequate way to view them--you don't need to print them out unless you wish to.
8. This course makes use of some mathematical formulas. When you are asked to define a term you may either use the formula or a verbal description (e.g., "the standard deviation is the square-root of the average squared deviation from the mean").
9. Please turn off your cell phone while in class.
jwsturges@csupomona.edu || http://www.csupomona.edu/~jwsturges/204