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PSY 0423-1040 Spring 2018
PSY 0423-1040 (18390): COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY LAB
Spring 2018
Old Engineering Hall (OEH) 303
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:00 – 1:25 pm
Instructor:Michelle Colvin, M.S.
Office:601 Learning, Research, and Development Center (LRDC), 3939 O’Hara St.
Email:
Office Hours:Wednesdays 9:00– 10:00 am, Thursdays 1:30 – 2:30 pm, and by appointment
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The goal of this course is for students to gain familiarity with and to deliberately practice the skills necessary for conducting, evaluating, and understanding research in cognitive psychology. This lab course will provide you with the opportunity to learn practical research skills such as: performing literature reviews, designing and running empirical experiments, analyzing data, and writing scientific papers. The course builds upon concepts and skills taught in basic research methods and statistics, and applies these teachings to the context of cognitive psychology. I assume that you have successfully completed the cognitive psychology lecture course and the basic research methods and statistics course prior to taking this class.
By the end of the semester, you will be able to:
- Create an informative research question to pursue based on a review of prior work
- Design a study that is well-equipped to answer the research question
- Choose an effective method to implement the study, by identifying possible pitfalls when creating a study and avoiding these pitfalls
- Select and use the appropriate statistical tools in SPSS and Excel to analyze collected data
- Understand and make principled inferences about your data based on your research question
- Document and communicate the experimental process and results in a journal-article format and in a scientific talk
Consistent with the way research is typically done, you will practice these skills in research teams. The course is organized according to the research process, which will be implemented with two projects across the semester. For each of these projects, you will be reading background literature, developing hypotheses, designing experiments to test the hypotheses, conducting experiments, analyzing results, and finally writing up the experiments in paper format. An overarching emphasis of this course will be on developing the meta-skill of deliberate practice for skill acquisition: the process of decomposing broad competencies (e.g. being a “good researcher”) into component skills, and cultivating those skills through iterative, reflective practice.
Aside from preparing you to apply research methods and statistical analysis to a specific topic area in psychological science (cognitive psychology), this course is designed to help you develop teamwork, problem-solving skills, and communication skills that are valuable assets in today’s job market, regardless of your choice in profession.
ORGANIZATION
Class meetings will consist of lectures, in-class activities, and group discussions. We will review and discuss skills through short lectures and spend the most of our time practicing those skills with in-class activities, homework, and paper assignments.
EXPECTATIONS
What you can expect from me:
I take teaching seriously and will devote a significant amount of time to this course. You can expect that I will foster and maintain a safe classroom environment conducive to learning and intellectual growth. You can expect me to arrive early to each class meeting and to always be prepared to stimulate and encourage your learning. I will challenge you to think critically about scientific methods in cognitive psychology and I will promote appropriate and topic-driven group discussions during class. I encourage you to see me if you would like to talk about the course material, study strategies, career/graduate school plans, or anything else related to the course.
What I expect from you:
I expect you to take primary responsibility for your own learning and to adopt a constructive approach to learning the material in the course. This means that I expect you to come to class on time and be prepared to participate actively and productively. You are encouraged not only to ask questions in class, but to also answer questions that I pose during lectures and to offer your own perspective and insight. I expect you to work hard and to always show respect for other students. I also expect you to turn off/silence your cell phones, not text during class, not eat or drink during class (computer lab policy), to keep conversations with other students not related to the course limited to before/after class, and to file away other work or reading materials during class time. Finally, I expect you to monitor your overall learning and performance in the course (with feedback given on assignments) and to come and see me at office hours if you feel like you are falling behind. Ultimately you are responsible for your grade.
GRADING
The grade that you receive in the course will be based on in-class activities, homework, empirical papers based on research you conduct, peer reviews, and a presentation.
In-class Activities: You will complete an in-class activity every day and turn it in at the end of each class for points. Since in-class activities are performed in class, attendance points are incorporated into this section. I still expect that you arrive on time for class and to actively participate in class discussions. Some in-class activities will only be available for the first 15 minutes of class. I encourage you to come to lab even if you will be more than 15 minutes late; however, you will not be able to pick up the day’s activity sheet and will not receive points for the activity that day. At the end of the semester, I will drop your two lowest in-class activity scores. I understand that you may not be able to attend every class, but as a reminder, you are responsible for your own learning.
Homework Assignments: You will have10homework assignments. These will
include reading and summarizing articles, practicing with data analysis, and working on assignments to help you complete your empirical papers.
Reflections: Two times throughout the semester (one mid-semester and again near the end of the semester), you will be asked to respond to short prompts on CourseWeb designed to help you reflect on your learning in the course. Dates for these reflections will be announced later.
Research and Empirical Papers: You will design and conduct two experiments (collaboratively) and write two8-10 page research papers that correspond to your studies(individually). These papers will be submitted as APA-formatted manuscripts consisting of an abstract, introduction, methods section, results section, conclusion, reference list, and appendix. The first paper will have a first draft and then a final turn-in; the second paper will have a first draft, a round of peer review, and then a final turn-in. Peer review and revision are critical tools for improving one’s writing, and are standard practice in academic sciences. Though grades for the second paper will be determined by the instructor, grades will take into account feedback and scores from the peer reviews.
Presentation: Near the end of the semester, each research group will present their work in
another academic format: a talk. These will be 15-minute maximum presentations in which you will cover the two experiments you will have completed in the course. More details on this assignment will be presented later in the semester.
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The grade breakdown is as follows:
In-class activities50 points (27 labs x 2 pts each, drop lowest 2 scores, 25 x 2pts)
Homework75 points (10 assignments @ 7.5 pts each)
Reflections10 points (5 reflections x 2 pts each)
Empirical paper 160 points (first draft @ 20 pts, final @ 40 pts)
Empirical paper 270points (first draft @ 20 pts, peer review @ 10 pts, final @ 40 pts)
Presentation25 points
Bonus (ANOVA)(3 points)
Total290 points possible
A 93.30%C 73.30%
A- 90.00%C- 70.00%
B+ 86.60%D+ 66.60%
B 83.30%D 63.30%
B- 80.00%D- 60.00%
C+ 76.60%F< 60.00%
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Your final grade will be calculated by dividing total points earned by total points possible. Letter grades will be assigned according to the table provided above. Grades will be calculated to two decimal points, and there will be no rounding. These point totals and grading are non-negotiable. There will be absolutely no exceptions.
NOTE: You are responsible for keeping track of your grade. I will not put grades up on CourseWeb. Throughout the semester, I will be handing back your graded assignments. Below is a helpful template that you can use for calculating your grade. If you ever would like to discuss your grade, please come see me in office hours.
In-class activitiesHomework #Reflection #Empirical Paper 1
# classes attended1:/ 7.51:/ 5first draft:/ 20
drop 2 lowest2:/ 7.52:/ 5final: / 40
(x 2)3:/ 7.5
/ 504:/ 7.5
5:/ 7.5PresentationEmpirical Paper 2
6:/ 7.5/ 25first draft:/ 20
ANOVA Bonus7:/ 7.5peer review:/ 10
If completed,8:/ 7.5final:/ 40
+ 39:/ 7.5
10:/ 7.5
LATE ASSIGNMENTS
Please note that I will not accept late assignments, unless there is a legitimate reason, such as a documented medical emergency or family emergency, or in the case of limited university-sanctioned exceptions (e.g. certain Pitt team sports competitions). If you have a university-sanctioned event that conflicts with class or a deadline, you must let me know and provide documentation no later than Tuesday, January 23th. No scheduled exceptions will be approved after this deadline. With proper documentation, I will accept a late assignment within one week of the missed assignment. If you contact me more than a week after missing a class or deadline, you will not be permitted to make up the assignment, regardless of the circumstances.
ATTENDANCE
Attendance is required. Many assignments will be difficult or impossible to complete without attending the lab. To further emphasize its importance, note that in-class activities account for roughly a fifth of your grade. In-class activities are essentially your grade for actively attending class. There will be no opportunities to make up in-class assignments, except under the conditions outlined for late assignments above.
EXTRA BONUS OPPORTUNITY
An extra bonus point for the semester will be given to students who come to one of my office hours throughout the semester. In order to receive this bonus, you must come to my office prepared with a question (or comment) that you would like to discuss. I prefer your question to be related to the course, but if you would like to talk about things beyond cognitive psychology, ask me about my pets or Pittsburgh history.
READINGS
There is no required textbook for the lab. You will read review papers as well as research articles throughout the semester, which will be critical to completing homework assignments and having satisfactory performance in the class. All assigned articles will be available on-line at our course website: Writing assignments will follow APA-style formatting, as described in:
American Psychological Association (2009). Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: APA.
This is a useful manual to have. A tutorial on the basics of APA Style is also available online:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY
Cheating/plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students suspected of violating the University of Pittsburgh Policy on Academic Integrity, from the February 1974 Senate Committee on Tenure and Academic Freedom reported to the Senate Council, will be required to participate in the outline procedural process as initiated by the instructor. A minimum sanction of a zero score for the quiz or exam will be imposed. Your obligations regarding academic dishonesty may be viewed at the following website:
Everything that you hand in for this class must be your own work. Do not plagiarize. Lecture notes that are posted on the web or handed out in class are not exempt from this, so do not copy them into your papers. Do not turn in a paper that you purchased from the web. Do not turn in a paper that is available anywhere on the web, even if you wrote it and then posted it or sold it to a website. Do not turn in a friend’s work. Plagiarizers will receive the strictest disciplinary actions available according to university policies, including failure of the course.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
If you have a disability for which you need to request accommodation, you are encouraged to contact me and the Disability Resources and Services, 140 William Pitt Union (412-648-7890, 412-383-2355 TTY) as early as possible in the semester. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for the course.
STATEMENT ON CLASSROOM RECORDING
According to the University Policy, to ensure the free and open discussion of ideas, students may NOT audio and/or video record classroom lectures, discussions, and/or activities without the advance written permission of the instructor, and any such recording properly approved in advance is to be used solely for the private use of the student (e.g. it may NOT be posted publicly, distributed for use by other students, or sold).
*Note that the schedule below is subject to change at any time. All changes will be added to CourseWeb, sent via an email to the class, and also mentioned in class. Students are responsible to keep current with any changes through one of these methods (or ask a friend).
COURSE SCHEDULE
Homework
DateWeekTopic In-class Activity Assigned Homework Due
Tue, Jan. 9 1 Intro, Syllabus, 1) Interests & Goals HW1 (due Jan. 16)
Overview of research
process
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Thu, Jan. 11Literature review: 2) Writing Practice HW2 (due Jan. 18)
How to write
a summary
Tue, Jan. 16 2In-class discussion 3) Scientific Method HW1
of review article
------Thu, Jan. 18 Literature review: 4) Critical review practice HW3 (due Jan. 25) HW2
How to do a critical
review
Tue, Jan. 23 3Review of research 5) Dos and Don’ts of
concepts Research
------Thu, Jan. 25 Experimental design 6) Proposal of Testing Effect HW3
Study 1
Tue, Jan. 30 4 7) Stimuli design HW4 (Stimuli and data
collection for Study 1
due Feb. 8)
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Thu, Feb. 1 8) Stimuli design HW5 (Intro for Study
due Feb. 13)
Tue, Feb. 6 5 Structure of research 9) Writing exercises,
paper: APA style practice with APA
------Thu, Feb. 8 Data analyses: Data 10) Data organization HW6, HW7 (Statistics, HW4
organization, descriptive and analysis (t-test) due Feb. 20)
statistics, t-test
Tue, Feb. 13 6Data analyses: ANOVA 11) Data analysis for study 1 HW5
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Thu, Feb. 15Data analyses: How to 12) Writing up methods Study 1 Paper
write methods and results and results Draft (due Feb. 27)
Tue, Feb. 20 7 Putting it all together: 13) Analysis questions HW6, HW7
How to write a research
paper
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Thu, Feb. 22 Breaking down study 1 14) More data analysis
Tue, Feb. 27 8 15) Brainstorm for study 2 *BONUS-ANOVA Paper Draft
(due Mar. 13) Study 1
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Thu, Mar. 1 Experimental design 16) Propose Study 2HW8 (Study 2 summary, due Mar. 13)
Homework
DateWeekTopic In-class ActivityAssigned Homework Due
Tue, Mar. 6 9Spring Break NO CLASS Enjoy break
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Thu., Mar. 8 NO CLASS
Tue, Mar. 13 10 17) Stimuli design HW9 (Empirical HW8
summary, *BONUS*
due Mar. 22)
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Thu, Mar. 15 Paper Writing 18) Graph Mistakes HW10 (Stimuli and
Discussion data collection for study
2 due Mar. 27)
Tue, Mar. 20 11Open Science 19) Writing Workshop: Study 1
Transition between Final Paper
experiments
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Thu, Mar. 22 Advanced Methods in 20) Writing Workshop: HW9
Cognitive Psychology General intro and
Discussion
Tue, Mar. 27 12 How to write a peer 21) Peer review practice Study 2 HW10
review Paper Draft
(due Apr. 5)
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Thu, Mar. 29 22) Analysis of Study 2 data,
Writing Workshop: Results
Tue, Apr. 3 13 How to prepare for 23) Presentation preparation
a presentation
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Thu, Apr. 5 24) Presentation preparation Peer Review Study 2
Study 2 (due Apr. 17) Paper Draft
Tue, Apr. 10 14Presentations 25) Presentation feedback
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Thu, Apr. 12Presentations 26) Presentation feedback
Tue, Apr. 17 15Writing 27) Writing exercise Peer Review
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Thu, Apr. 19Graduate School *Optional Class*
Jobs
Tue, Apr. 24 Finals Week NO CLASS
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Thu, Apr. 26 Finals Week NO CLASS Study 2
Final Paper
(due Thursday,
4/26 by 5:00 pm)