Last modified: 27 Aug 2025 08:46
This course builds on from PS1511. It will help you hone the skills you need as a researcher in Psychology, including how to design a research project, how to treat participants ethically, how to present your data in visual format and how to write it all up in a report. The skills you learn will also be transferable to other domains so this course is a valuable addition to any degree. In addition, you will learn how to analyse your data with a statistical test – which is where this course builds on from PS1011.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | Second Term | Credit Points | 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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This course helps you refine the skills you need to do research. In weekly lectures, you will be introduced to many different ways in which we do research in Psychology and you will learn about statistics. In the weekly workshops, you will carry out your own research project in a group, building on skills you learnt last semester in PS1011. Doing research with people also means having to learn about ethical conduct – after all, we have a duty of care to protect them and ourselves. The final piece of coursework is a lab report, where you will describe the research project you did, and what the outcome means. To do this well, you will learn about data visualization (e.g., how to make a good graph), statistics, and writing in general. Transferable skills such as working in groups and presenting to a larger class are also honed.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback | ||||
| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 70 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 35 | Feedback Weeks | 37 | |
| Feedback |
Word count: 1,500 This is an experimental report students will work on throughout the semester. They get written feedback. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Being able to relate research findings to the wider literature. |
| Conceptual | Create | Being able to write up an experiment. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Being able to evaluate an experiment in terms of strengths and weaknesses of the methodology. |
| Factual | Understand | Having an increased awareness of ethics in research. |
| Procedural | Analyse | Being able to analyse research data. Students will be able to apply the correct statistical test to their data and interpret the outcome. |
| Procedural | Apply | Being able to set up an experiment and run it. Students will be aware of the principles of good research design and implement this when setting up their study. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 25 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
On-campus Multiple-Choice Questions Test, worth 25% of the overall grade. |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Assessment Type | Formative | Weighting | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | 29 | Feedback Weeks | 31 | |
| Feedback |
Word count: 800 Students compile a list of articles they will use for their experimental report and write a brief annotation for each one |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Conceptual | Analyse | Being able to relate research findings to the wider literature. |
| Conceptual | Create | Being able to write up an experiment. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Being able to evaluate an experiment in terms of strengths and weaknesses of the methodology. |
| Factual | Understand | Having an increased awareness of ethics in research. |
| Procedural | Analyse | Being able to analyse research data. Students will be able to apply the correct statistical test to their data and interpret the outcome. |
| Procedural | Apply | Being able to set up an experiment and run it. Students will be aware of the principles of good research design and implement this when setting up their study. |
| Assessment Type | Summative | Weighting | 100 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assessment Weeks | Feedback Weeks | |||
| Feedback |
SONA will have an alternative written summary of the methods/results of a given paper (500-1000 words). |
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
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| Knowledge Level | Thinking Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Procedural | Apply | Being able to set up an experiment and run it. Students will be aware of the principles of good research design and implement this when setting up their study. |
| Conceptual | Evaluate | Being able to evaluate an experiment in terms of strengths and weaknesses of the methodology. |
| Procedural | Create | Being able to write up an experimental report |
| Factual | Understand | Having an increased awareness of ethics in research. |
| Conceptual | Analyse | Being able to relate research findings to the wider literature. |
| Conceptual | Create | Being able to write up an experiment. |
| Procedural | Apply | Being able to carry out a statistical test |
| Procedural | Analyse | Being able to analyse research data. Students will be able to apply the correct statistical test to their data and interpret the outcome. |
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