SUBJECT

Research Field Practice in Social Psychology

PSYB17 - 126

practical

Bachelor

Faculty of Education and Psychology

3

Semester 2, 3

Autumn/Spring semester

The main goal of the course is to put theory into practice: students are required to conduct an empirical research (or part of it). Major research paper: Students are required to complete a small empirical study on an issue
relevant to social psychology and to present it in a research paper (introduction based on the literature, questions and hypotheses, method, results, discussion, maximum 15 pages and it has to be minimum 8 pages without references and appendices, single spaced, 1 inch margins). It is an independent work under the supervision of the instructor, but the topic of the research and data collection can be connected to the ongoing empirical research projects of the instructor.

A Minor Research Skills Paper offers students the opportunity to gain some practice in research by taking an active role in the ongoing research work of the instructor. Students do not need to submit an actual paper, only a summary of the tasks they completed during the course.
 

Learning outcome, competences
knowledge:

•  Knows the theoretical background of the topic of the research paper
•  Knows the methodology and measures of the research paper

attitude:

•  Shows ethical sensitivity to the research project
•  Shows opennes and sensitivity to the participant’s questions and problems

skills:

•  Able to design and conduct a social psychological research
•  Able to process the literature independently

Content of the course
Topics of the course

•  Selection of the topic
•  Design the research
•  Conduct the research
•  Statistical analysis of the research data
•  Interpretation of the results
• Oral and written presentations of the research

Learning activities, learning methods
Small group and individual consultations
 

Evaluation of outcomes
Learning requirements, mode of evaluation, criteria of evaluation:
requirements

•  Major research paper: participation in consultations; design and conduct the research from the beginning to the end; oral presentation of the research; written paper
• Minor research paper: participation in consultations; conduct part of the empirical research (e.g. translation and backtranslation of a questionnaire; recruitment of participants; data
  collection); oral presentation of his / her tasks and responsibilities; written summary mode of evaluation: the evaluation of the oral and written presentations of the student in a 5- point scale

criteria of evaluation:

•  Major research paper: the student’s ability to design and conduct a social psychological resarch. The quality of the oral presentation and the written research paper.
•  Minor research paper: the student’s ability to perform parts of a social psychological research. The quality of the oral presentation and the written summary.

Reading list
Compulsory reading list

•  Breakwell, G.M. (Ed.) (2004). Doing Social Psychology Research. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
•  American Psychological Association (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington: American Psychological Association.

Recommended reading list

•  Smith, E.R., Mackie, D.M., Claypool, H.M. (2014). Social Psychology 4th edition. New York, NY: Psychology Press