Basic Research Practicum:  PSYC 3156

The Basic Research course is intended to provide third year students, who are capable of succeeding in the Honours program in Psychology, with an opportunity to extend and integrate their knowledge of and skills in psychology through active participation in meaningful research projects under the supervision of a faculty member of the Department of Psychology.

Students get an opportunity to conduct literature searches, collect and score data, analyze data, and write reports.  This will help to develop skills necessary for completing a fourth year thesis and for succeeding in graduate school.  Students are required to find a faculty member who is willing to supervise them.  PSYC3156 may be taken in any term (Fall, Winter, or Spring) but may only be taken once.

Once students have found a faculty member who is willing to work with them, the faculty member and student should prepare a contract (see example of contract below) listing the tasks that the student will be required to complete with associated due dates.  A method of evaluation should be clearly outlined.  Students should expect to work about five hours per week.

At the end of the course, faculty members are responsible for submitting a final grade for the student to the instructor responsible for the course.  

EXAMPLE OF PSYC 3156EL-01 – Basic Research Practicum Contract

Supervisor(s):  

Email(s):         

Introduction

            This course is intended to provide students with an opportunity to extend and integrate their knowledge of and skills in psychology through active participation in meaningful research projects under the supervision of a faculty member of the Department of Psychology.

Objectives

            Specific objectives for each student will differ depending on the current projects that are being conducted in the lab. Each student should attempt to meet as many of the following objectives as possible:

·       Become familiar with a body of literature in a specified field.

·       Become familiar with research methods and data analyses techniques.

·       Become familiar with ethical guidelines and procedures.

·       Learn how to identify research in a specified field.

·       Learn how to critically evaluate research in a specified field.

·       Learn how to integrate literature in a specified field.

·       Learn how to develop a research question in a specified field.

·       Learn how to develop research methodology to address a specific research question.

Requirements

Meetings:

Students will be required to meet weekly to discuss progress and set goals for the following week. Students will also be expected to attend lab meetings as required.

Research Diary:

Students will be required to maintain a research diary. This diary should contain detailed information regarding tasks that are performed as well as the amount of time it took to perform them. Students should also record research decisions that were made with respect to testing participants and explain the reasoning behind their decisions.

Laboratory:

Students will be required to attend a lab orientation session with a supervisor where they will tour the lab facilities and become familiarized with some of the equipment. Students will undergo training on the equipment which they will be expected to use during the testing portion of their practicum. Students will obey all rules pertaining to the lab, including the handling, maintenance, and care of lab facility and equipment. Students will be required to sign an agreement stating that they will follow all lab rules and protocol.

Testing:

Students will be required to complete experimental testing as part of their practicum. Training sessions will take place before students are able to test participants on their own. The number of training sessions will vary depending on their performance. As part of the testing process, students will also be required to meet participants at the lab, obtain informed consent, and follow a step-by-step procedure which will serve to outline the testing process, equipment, and experiment to the participant. In addition, they will be responsible for addressing the concerns of any participants and debriefing participants after the experiment.

Experimental Data:

Students will be required to complete either data entry or eye movement coding which will subsequently be used in data analyses. Training sessions will also take place before students are given access to data. The number of training sessions will vary depending on their performance. It will be the student’s responsibility to access, save, and work with data as it is collected. In addition, they will be required to submit their data to supervisors on a weekly basis.

Final Report:

Students will be required to submit a 15-page final report of the work they accomplished during the term. The format of this report will depend on the type of work accomplished and will be discussed at the beginning of the term with the supervisors. It should demonstrate an understanding of the literature in a specified area. The report will also include a summary of any data that was collected as well as implication of those findings on the research question of interest. Due Date: TBA.

Evaluation:

Final evaluation will be decided as follows:

·       Attendance and punctuality with respect to weekly meetings, testing times, and submission of weekly data entry spreadsheets, eye movement data coding (including spreadsheets), and any other written work as required.  (15%)

·       Experimental testing including attendance at testing times based on submitted availability, handling and care of lab equipment such as eyetracker device and Eyelink system, and overall performance. (25%)

·       Data entry/eye movement data coding including ability to retrieve data from lab computer as it is collected, ability to enter or code data on a weekly basis, accuracy with respect to data entry or eye movement coding (to be verified by supervisor(s)), and overall performance. (25%)

·       Written final report (35%)

The following is an additional list of considerations to be made by the supervisors for the final grade:

·       Student’s initiative

·       Student’s ability to set and meet goals

·       Student’s ability to integrate literature findings

·       Student’s ability to work independently

·       Student’s ability to communicate ideas (both verbal and written)

·       Student’s ability to follow direction

Required Signatures:

______________________________________________

Student/Date

______________________________________________

Department Supervisor/Date

______________________________________________

Graduate Student Supervisor/Date

______________________________________________

Department Chairperson/Date