Research Methods 1
Overview
- Credit value: 15 credits at Level 5
- Convenor: Professor Clare Press
- Assessment: a 1.5-hour examination (60%) and two 3500-word lab reports (20% each)
Module description
This module allows you to:
- apply statistical techniques by hand and use SPSS to analyse data
- differentiate between statistical techniques and use these techniques for various research designs and research questions
- understand the theoretical rationale behind different statistical techniques
- generate data analysis, interpret relevant parts of the SPSS output, and critically think and comment about different findings that are produced by the analysis
- demonstrate acquired research skills through the writing of lab reports.
Indicative module content
- Research design and analysis
- Experimental and correlational methods; factorial designs
- Laboratory materials and techniques
- Principles of experimental design and statistical analysis
- Statistical methods of analysis
- General linear model
- Linear regression and analysis of variance
- Conduct of experiments
- Data collection, analysis, and report writing
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
- identify when and understand how to use the following statistical techniques, and subsequently interpret statistical findings from the following topics in a comprehensive manner: correlational analysis and simple linear regression; factorial analysis of variance: between and within subject designs; simple interaction effects; and post hoc tests
- understand and discuss the fundamentals of experimental designs issues relating to selection of participants, and ethics in experimental design.