PSY-40189 - Module Specification
School of Psychology
Faculty of Natural Sciences

None
No
Aims

Talis Aspire Reading List
Any reading lists will be provided by the start of the course.
http://lists.lib.keele.ac.uk/modules/psy-40189/lists
1: Poster weighted 25%
Poster presentation
You will produce a research poster (A1 size) and deliver a short verbal presentation (5-minutes) of your poster. The poster will summarize key elements of one of the scientific papers discussed in the sessions (i.e., from the core reading supplied by the teaching team on KLE). The poster should include the research question(s), the theoretical framework proposed as an explanation of the observed human behavior, methodology, and key findings (e.g., results and their interpretation). Wider reading is expected to support criticality with evidence. Posters must be clearly structured, professionally presented, and appropriately referenced, making use of visual elements (e.g., figures, tables, diagrams) where relevant to aid clarity and impact. Posters should demonstrate clarity, critical insight, and the ability to communicate research to an academic audience. Following the presentation, students will participate in a Q&A session (approximately 10–minutes) with academic staff (i.e., markers). This will assess the student’s ability to articulate and demonstrate critical engagement with theory and evidence, and reflect on methodological, ethical, and practical aspects of the research process. Students will be provided with indicative questions in advance to support their preparation. However, staff may also ask additional questions to explore specific aspects of the project in more depth.

2: Essay weighted 60%
Critical evaluation
Students will write a 2,500 word critical evaluation on a chosen theory of cognition or cognitive neuroscience, that analyses how the theory has been applied to or explains a human behavior observed in the real-world, and where it sits within the research field. Students will choose from the topics covered in the sessions and are expected to use one of the papers provided by the teaching team as their starting point for their critical evaluation and further explore it with wider reading, demonstrating an understanding of strengths and weaknesses of the theories in the field, as well as criticality of methodological decisions and interpretation of results.

3: Assignment weighted 15%
Research summary
To develop theoretical understanding, literature search skills, critical valuation and communication of cognitive science, students will produce short summaries of scientific papers(s) that addresses limitations and/or reports a follow up study for a paper discussed in the journal club on that topic. Scheduled one-hour guided research sessions following the journal club sessions will enable students to conduct the literature search and preparation of the summary with the support of the expert on the topic. Students will submit three summaries, each on a different topic, from the topics covered in the guided research sessions only. A template for the summary will be provided. Each summary will be 300 words (900 words for the assessment in total).