Keele Badge

PSY-40131 - Module Specification
School of Psychology
Faculty of Natural Sciences

For academic year: 2024/25 Last Updated: 11 September 2024

PSY-40131 - Quantitative research methods
Coordinator: David Walker Tel: +44 1782 7 34265
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 7
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733736

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25


Aims
This module will present students with an opportunity to study classic and modern quantitative research methods applied by psychologists to investigate human behaviour. Topics are drawn from across the discipline of Psychology and will provide students with the tools necessary to answer various research questions utilising quantitative techniques.

Intended Learning Outcomes

identify and calculate inferential statistics appropriately based on given hypotheses and types of data collected;: 1,2
conduct, analyse and evaluate an experiment;: 1,2
write an experimental lab report using APA formatting;: 1
take part in and experience (or write about) the practice of experimental design, data collection, and data analysis;: 3
design a study that complies with ethical standards.: 1

Study hours

Scheduled teaching:
12 x 2 hours lab classes = 24 hours
Total scheduled teaching and learning = 24 hours
Independent study:
12 x 3 hours asynchronous learning = 36 hours
3 x 1 hour for MCQs = 3 hours
82 hours to complete lab report
5 hours RPT (allowing time to sign up to studies)
Total = 126

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Report weighted 70%
Lab report
Students, in groups of 2-3, conduct a small-scale research project, which involves experiment design, execution, and analysis. Students must complete an ethics application which is reviewed by the lab tutors in advance of conducting the study. Each member of the group individually writes up the experiment (2,000 words) in the style of a laboratory report (i.e. abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion).

2: Multiple Choice Questions - Knowledge weighted 20%
Fortnightly MCQ's
Students will take 3 fortnightly MCQ quizzes. The average of the best 2 scores will be used for the final score for each student, as per the guidelines for continuous assessment in the School of Psychology. These will cover data analysis scenarios and application of the breadth of subject knowledge.

3: Assignment weighted 10%
Research participation
Students will complete approximately 3-4 hours of research participation time OR they will write a 500 essay on research methods or ethics.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 11 September 2024