LECTURES: Why do we need to do research; approaches to research in psychology; basic concepts in research methodology; ethics in psychological research; descriptive statistics; distributions, correlations; z-scores; testing statistical significance.

ON-LINE TUTORIALS: Email and communication in the School; Accessing the internet and Canvas; Using the library catalogue; conducting a literature search (Web of Science); Presenting references; Wordprocessing, Powerpoint; Presenting graphs and tables; On-line support for statistics.

SUPPORT SESSIONS: Good and bad examples of research; Using the library; How to read a research paper; How to write for a scientific audience; Plagiarism and its avoidance.

PRACTICAL PSYCHOLOGY: 2 Practicals (4 two hour sessions).

STATISTICS COMPUTER LABS: Using SPSS to carry out statistical analyses.

STUDY SKILLS LECTURES: General study skills, Plagiarism, Critical thinking, Library and literature search, Scientific writing, Using feedback.

RESEARCH PARTICIPATION: 10 hours of participation in current research

• Describe the different approaches that are taken by research psychologists.
• Describe the scientific method of knowledge acquisition and its advantage over common sense.
• Apply simple statistical concepts and methods and use SPSS to carry out simple analyses.
• Describe the need for principled ethical research in psychology.
• Conduct (with guidance) simple research studies and summarise the processes involved.
• Critically read and interpret a research paper.
• Think logically and critically about their own and other people’s work.
• Use physical and electronic facilities for communication, knowledge acquisition, and presentation of work.
• Use reflective self-assessment to revise their own writing
• Write essays and reports that are clear, well-organised and persuasive
• Understand the concept of plagiarism in a scientific context.