Research Design and Analysis (Fall, 2005) 1

PSY 3392: Research Design and Analysis

The University of Texas at Dallas, Fall 2005

Section 501: MW 5:30-6:45 PM in GR4.204

Instructor: Robert Mather, M.A. Phone: (806) 742-3711 extension 438

Office: Green Hall 2.410 E- mail: robert.mather@utdallas.edu

Office Hours: Mondays 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM; Wednesdays 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM

Webpage: http://webpages.acs.ttu.edu/rmather/

Prerequisites
You MUST have completed either PSY 2317 or STAT 1342.

This course does NOT satisfy the core Math requirement.

Goals of the Course

This course concerns the research techniques that are commonly employed by psychologists. The
general goal of this course is to train you to be able to conduct psychological research. As such, during
this class, you will learn how to 1) establish and ground a research question, 2) design a sound study that
evaluates your research question, 3) analyze the data that stem from that study, and 4) document the
results of that study in an appropriate form. In contrast to many other psychology courses, this class will
focus on both what you know and can do.

General Information
You will be expected to come to each class prepared to take part in class discussion. The key to
success in any course is to read the material, attend class, ask good questions, take clear notes, and
complete the assignments on time.

Disabilities Statement
Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order
to meet course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible so that the necessary
accommodations can be made. Students should present appropriate verification from Disability Services
in the Student Union at (972) 883-2098 (ktate@utdallas.edu). No requirement exists that
accommodations be made prior to completion of this approved university procedure.

Required Textbook (to be purchased by Student)

Leary, M. R. (2004). Introduction to behavioral research methods (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
ISBN # 0-205-39676-3

Instructor’s Office Hours

Addressing questions or difficulties you may have with the course are appropriate. Remember that a
student’s sharing new insights into course material is also encouraged. Additional psychology related
material is available at my webpage.
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Student Etiquette
Course Policy 1: Children will NOT be allowed to attend classes. If a child comes to the class session,
the party responsible for the child will be required to write an additional 3-page paper ove r an assigned
developmental topic for each violation. Failure to write an acceptable paper will result in a 5% penalty
to the overall course grade. Whether making noise or sitting quietly and being cute, children have a
tendency to be a distraction to both the instructor and to other students.

Course Policy 2: All cell phones should be turned off during class sessions.

Students are expected to maintain a level of conduct described in all University handbooks.

Student Obligations and Regulations

Academic Integrity (From the Judicial Affairs)
http://www.utdallas.edu/judicialaffairs/UTDJudicialAffairs-maintainingintegrity.html
Every student at The University of Texas at Dallas is expected to exercise independent thought and
expression as he or she strives for academic achievement. Incorporated in the quest for intellectual
growth are the expectations of honesty, originality in written and oral expression, a respect for the
exchange of ideas, and acknowledgement and recognition of the abilities and contributions of others.

Academic Dishonesty (From the Judicial Affairs)

http://www.utdallas.edu/judicialaffairs/UTDJudicialAffairs-AvoidDishonesty.html
Every student will be held responsible for reading and understanding the following statement.

To submit to your instructor a paper or comparable assignment that is not truly the product of your own
mind and skill is to commit plagiarism. To put it bluntly, plagiarism is the act of stealing the ideas
and/or expression of another and representing them as your own. It is a form of a cheating and a kind of
scholastic dishonesty which can incur severe penalties. It is important, therefore, that you understand
what constitutes plagiarism, so that you will not unwittingly jeopardize your college career.

Policy on Absences
Attendance is strongly encouraged. Class discussion clarifies the course material. Many test
questions come from both any films shown and the lectures. Material presented during class has been
selected as the most important, and thus most likely to appear on the tests. In addition to the advantage
of a more guided instruction of the material, attendance may also provide in-class extra credit
opportunities.

Policy on Late Assignments

All assignments are to be completed upon the due date as announced in the syllabus or by the
instructor. A late penalty of 10% will be deducted for each subsequent class meeting an assignment is
late. An assignment is due at the beginning of class on the day it is due. Once that class period is over, it
is considered to be the next class meeting. Therefore, assignments turned in between class meetings are
graded as if they were handed in during the next class meeting. A late assignment may not be turned in
more than one class period after the original due date. All assignments that are turned in after the late
deadline has passed will receive a grade of zero. It is unfair to the students that complete their
assignments on time (at the sacrifice of quality) for other students to complete assignments late without
penalty.
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Policy on Make-Up Tests

As a policy, NO MAKE-UP TESTS WILL BE GIVEN! However, make-up tests will be
administered with reasonable medical verification or verification of a school-sponsored activity/religious
holiday. You may be asked to provide verification of any absence, including absences due to the
observance of a religious holy day. To qualify for a make- up test, the student must notify the instructor
of the acceptable absence (see above) by the end of the class meeting after the test was missed. All
make-up tests will be comprised of randomly selected questions from the appropriate sections of a test
bank, therefore many questions will probably be over items (a) that were not covered thoroughly in class
and (b) were not included in any study guide given to the student.

Experimental Credits (Required)

Because this is a core course, you must complete 3 experimental credits by the last day of classes,
November 28th . If you do not turn in your experimental credit sheet by this time you will receive an NR
for the course. Your course grade will be posted when this requirement is satisfied.

Article Review (15 % of Course Grade )

Students will be required to summarize a psychology article selected by the instructor. The article
will be available from the UTD library.

The review should summarize the issue, logic, conclusions, and implications for future research that
the article raises, with each section headed as such. An integration of the article’s premise with course
material should also appear in the paper. Specifically, the review should contain an intelligent discussion
of the article’s research design and measurement issues. At the end of each paper, the review should list
A) the two most important points the author made, and B) an identification of the independent and
dependent variables. The Article Review is due on November 16th.

The summary should be typed, double-spaced, and 1 ½ to 3 pages in length. All text should be typed
in 12 point Times New Roman font. The body of the summary (not counting the title or your name)
must be contained within 1” margins. You must hand in: (1) your summary, and (2) a copy of the
original article, highlighted with the sections you used in the paper. All items should be stapled together
with a title page. These guidelines must be strictly followed on this assignment. Remember, you may
NOT re-write this assignment!

Application Problems (10% of Course Grade)

These will be short problems and questions assigned by the instructor during the course. They will be
due the class period after they are assigned. Application problems will be assigned once a week, and will
be given to the students IN CLASS to be completed OUTSIDE OF CLASS.

Exams (75 % of Course Grade )

There will be a total of 4 equally weighted tests. Tests will consist of multiple-choice questions and
short answer essay questions from the book, films, and lectures. The dates for these tests are given in the
course outline. The date and time for the final examination is listed in the University Course Schedule
and below on the syllabus. The final examination will NOT be comprehensive.
 Research Design and Analysis (Fall, 2005) 4

Extra Credit
Extra credit is just that—extra credit. It is outside of the scope of this course syllabus and should not
be counted on to occur. Any extra credit assignments made will be made available to the entire class. All
points will be added directly to the lowest test score. Example: If you score 8 of 10 on an extra credit
assignment, 8 points will be added to your lowest test score.

Evaluation of the Student

Grading Scale
Exams 75% A = 90 - 100%
B = 80 - 89%
Article Review 15% C = 70 - 79%
D = 60 - 69%
Application 10% F < 60%
Problems
Total 100%
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Course Schedule

8-22: Monday Introduction: Functional Relationships Between Conceptual Variables

8-24: Wednesday Chapter 1: Research in the Behavioral Sciences

8-29: Monday Chapter 2: Behavioral Variability and Research

8-31: Wednesday Chapter 3: The Measurement of Behavior

9-5: Monday Labor Day—No class

9-7: Wednesday Chapter 4: Approaches to Psychological Measurement

9-12: Monday Catch Up

9-14: Wednesday Test # 1

9-19: Monday Chapter 5: Descriptive Research

9-21: Wednesday Chapter 5: Descriptive Research

9-26: Monday Chapter 6: Correlational Research

9-28: Wednesday Chapter 6: Correlational Research

10-3: Monday Chapter 7: Advanced Correlational Research

10-5: Wednesday Catch-Up

10-10: Monday Test # 2 (Chapters 5-7)

10-12: Wednesday Chapter 8: Basic Issues in Experimental Research

10-17: Monday Chapter 8: Basic Issues in Experimental Research

10-19: Wednesday Chapter 9: Experimental Design

10-24: Monday Chapter 9: Experimental Design

10-26: Wednesday Catch-Up

10-31: Monday Test # 3

11-2: Wednesday Chapter 10: Analyzing Experimental Designs

11-7: Monday Chapter 11: Analyzing Complex Designs

11-9: Wednesday Chapter 12: Quasi-Experimental Designs

11-14: Monday Chapter 12: Quasi-Experimental Designs

11-16: Wednesday Chapter 13 Single -Case Research*Article Review due*

11-21: Monday Chapter 13: Single-Case Research

11-23: Wednesday Chapter 14: Ethics

11-28: Monday Chapter 15: Scientific Writing

Test 4: Final Examination (Chapters 10-15)

Section 001: 5:00 PM Wednesday, November 30, 2005

*This syllabus is subject to change. Any changes will be announced by the instructor during a class meeting.