PSY 3393 Experimental Projects 3.

0 Course Credit Hours

Call Number 11652 9-12 Workload Hours (est.)
Section 002

Instructor: Dr. Teresa Nezworski Spring 2006

Office Phone and Voice Mail: 214-905-3033 Primary Office: Callier Dallas
Class Meeting: T 2:00- 4:45 pm Classroom: GR 4.3204
Office Hours: M 1:00- 2:00 pm * Callier Richardson Office1.530*
email: nezworsk@utdallas.edu
*Please contact me to schedule an appointment and to verify my office location for the specified date and time.

Experimental Projects: Syllabus

Course Description
This is the final course of the quantitative/methodology sequence in Psychology. It is designed to
help Psychology majors fulfill the Advanced Writing Course requirement. The learning experience is
laboratory/experiential and so active participation in required classes is mandatory.

Course Goals
1. Develop skill in efficiently locating primary, secondary and tertiary, research reports in the
behavioral sciences domain.

2. Develop skill in reading and analyzing the overall quality of this type of research on
personally relevant issues in support of life-long learning.

3. Develop skill in effectively communicating one’s understanding of psychology research using

oral language, audio-visual supports, and written tools.

4. Develop familiarity with common statistical methods for identifying meaningful trends across
a pool of data or research findings.

2. Required Textbooks
Harris, R. Using Sources Effectively. Pyrczak Publishers. (2005). ISBN: 1-884585-57-4.
Pyrczak, F. & Bruce, R. Writing Empirical Research Reports. (2005). ISBN: 1-884585-58-2.
Publication Manual of the American PsychoDiaryical Association: Fifth Edition. ISBN1-557987-91-2.

Additional reading assignments will be made during class meetings. These readings will generally be
available on the web or obtained as part of a library research assignment.

Successful Achievement
The successful student will make it a priority to participate in class, and complete the required
reading, special projects and written assignments by the due date. They will bring required materials
for laboratory work to each class. Students who actively participate in the learning assignments and
ask relevant questions during lecture generally show better achievement.

During class we will cover material discussed in the required reading and I will also provide
experiential opportunities for participating in the research process and for developing critical thinking

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and communication skills. Learning to think clearly as a behavioral scientist is facilitated during the
process of scientific writing. So, we will spend significant portions of the class in writing exercises.

Policies
Students who are unable to attend the entire portion of the scheduled classes or who find themselves
unavoidably missing multiple classes due to illness, family emergency or other circumstances should
understand that their course grade will necessarily be reduced and they may wish to consider dropping
the course. If you find yourself in this situation, please contact me as soon as possible so that I can help
you review your options. No extra credit opportunities will be offered as the reading and assignments for
the course are already extensive.

Special Project assignments must be turned in to me personally during class time. Assignments that are
turned in past the due date will be penalized unless you provide acceptable documentation of your illness
or emergency.

It is each student’s responsibility to be an active learner and make their own notes from the readings and
presentations. Students who must be absent are responsible for obtaining all class materials
(announcements, changes in assignment dates, lecture notes, hand-outs,etc.) from a willing classmate. I
encourage you to maximize your learning by meeting with classmates to discuss the course materials and
lecture notes with a classmate who has been unavoidably absent. Research findings show that students
who tutor others consolidate their own learning and gain as much or more in enhanced achievement than
those they tutor.

I welcome your questions as I lecture, although at times I may need to minimize discussion in order for us
to cover the scheduled lecture content.

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Course Grading
Course Grading will be based on class attendance, student performance on class projects, homework
assignments, one research paper and two examinations. A total of 1,000 points may be earned for
successful completion of these learning activities. The distribution of points by type of learning
activity is outlined below:

Attendance 50

Class Projects 50
1 Writing Activity(5)
2 Sleep Questionnaire (5)
3 Sleep Diary (5)
4 Critical Summary (10)
5 Data Analysis Summary (25)
Homework Assignments 150
1 Sleep Diary (5)
2 Sleep Diary (5)
Library Research (15)
3 Critical Summary (5)
4 Sleep Diary Revision & Instructions (30)
5 Interview for Sleep Diary Volunteers (5)
6 Evaluating Your Sleep Diary Revision (70)
7 Obtaining Target Articles (5)
8 Critical Summaries of Target Articles (10)
Research Paper 250
Reference List A (15)
Methods & Data Analysis (50)
Results (75)
Discussion (25)
Introduction (75)
Reference List B (10)

Exam I = 250
Exam II= 250

Course Letter Grades will be assigned according to the following point distribution:
A = 920-1000
B = 860-919
C = 720-859
D = 650-719
F < 650

Missed Exam Policy

You must be present for exams.

If you might miss an exam, you must notify me prior to the exam date/time. If you wait to contact me
after the scheduled exam time, you will not be able to make up the exam.

Make up exams will be given only if you were seriously ill and have documentation from a physician
or
had another true emergency and provide acceptable documentation or
you made arrangements prior to the exam to attend an urgent family affair (funeral).
Students who miss an exam without following this policy will receive a test score of 0.

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 Class Schedule

Class Projects, Homework

Date Topic Research Paper Due Reading
Jan 10 Science of Psychology C1- Writing Activity (5)
C2- Sleep Questionnaire (5)
C3- Sleep Diary-Retro (5)

Jan 17 Foundations of Psych Research H1 Sleep Diary (5) Insomnia

Primary Sources, Secondary Sources articles
Library: Electronic Search Tools

Jan 24 Discuss Journal Articles C3 Critical Summary (10) Using Sources 1-2
H2 Sleep Diary (5)
Library Research (15)

Jan 31 Critique Journal Articles 2 H3 Critical Summary (5) Using Sources 3-4

Feb 7 Writing Instructions, Procedures H4 Sleep Diary (30) Using Sources 5-6
Importance of Pilot Work & Feedback Sleep Diary Instructions

Feb 14 Writing the Introduction: Creating H5 Interview for Sleep Diary APA Manual
Interest, Reviewing What is Known Volunteers(5) Chapter 1
& Unknown

Feb 21 Narrowing the Focus: H6 Evaluating Diary Revision APA Manual

Insomnia is the Problem (70) Chapts 4, 6
Do We Have Effective Treatments?

Feb 28 Exam 1 RP Reference List A (15)

H7 Obtaining Target Articles (5)

March 7 Spring Break

March 14 Overview of Meta-Analysis H8 Critical Summaries Writing Empirical Reports

Planning Your Data Analyses of Target Articles (10) Chapts 1-3

March 21 Using SPSS to Analyze Your Data C5 Data Analysis Summary Writing Empirical Reports
Hands On Lab Work (25) Chapts 4-6

March 28 Interpreting Statistical Results RP Method/Data Analysis Writing Empirical Reports

Using Tables, Graphs & Other Tools (50) Chapts 7-9

April 4 Writing Tutorials RP Results (75) Writing Empirical Reports

Chapts 10-12

April 11 Writing Tutorials RP Discussion (25) Writing Empirical Reports

Chapts 14 + Appendices

April 18 Writing Tutorials APA Manual

1-3, 5

April 25 Exam II RP Introduction (75)

RP Reference List B (10)

C1-5: Class Projects completed during the class meeting

H1-8: Homework Assignments
RP: Research Paper Sections