Advanced Research Methods Unit 1 Seminar The Syllabus.

Advanced Research Advanced Research MethodsMethods

Unit 1 SeminarUnit 1 Seminar

The SyllabusThe Syllabus


We will discuss the syllabus at some We will discuss the syllabus at some length, as well as the Unit Two length, as well as the Unit Two ProjectProject

You should review the syllabus and, You should review the syllabus and, if you have questions arise after the if you have questions arise after the seminar is over, post them to the seminar is over, post them to the Course Questions discussion board Course Questions discussion board under the Course Home menu.under the Course Home menu.

The SyllabusThe Syllabus Instructor Name and Credentials:

Peter W. Lenz, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.

Instructor Contact Information: Kaplan Email Address: [email protected] AIM Instant Messenger Name: PlenzOfKaplan

Yahoo: plenz; Google Talk: [email protected] MSN Messenger: [email protected]

Course/Seminar Days and Times: Thursday, 8.00 pm ET (section 1) Monday, 10.00 pm ET (section 2)


Start/End Dates: July 6, 2011 – September 13, 2011

[Note: Final Projects are due at the end of Unit 9: Tuesday September 6, 2011]

Holiday Dates: This term contains one holiday that affects our class: Labor Day: Monday, September 5 No Unit 9 seminar on Monday, Sept. 5

The Syllabus

Course Materials Software:

Microsoft Word - All papers MUST be submitted in MS-Word format (.doc or .docx)

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) Texts:

Research Design and Methods: A Process Approach by Bordens & Abbott, 7th edition

Publication Manual of the APA, 6th Edition


Grading Criteria/Course Evaluation: Unit 2 Project (an annotated bibliography)Unit 2 Project (an annotated bibliography)

200 points200 points Unit 9 Project (a research proposal)Unit 9 Project (a research proposal) 350 350

pointspoints Discussion (Units 1-9, 50 points each)Discussion (Units 1-9, 50 points each) 450 450

points points

Total: 1000 points

The SyllabusThe Syllabus Late policies:

Projects and discussion boards must be completed by 11.59pm ET Tuesday of the unit they are assigned

Projects or discussion boards that are late are subject to a 10% per unit penalty (to a maximum of 30%).

If handed in very late, they may not be graded at all (see next slides or syllabus)

If there are verifiable extenuating circumstances, a late penalty might be waived once.


Late projects (syllabus, page 6): Late unit 2 projects will NOT be

accepted after the end of unit 5. Late unit 9 projects will NOT be

accepted after Saturday of Unit 10. Late penalties apply in all cases

The SyllabusThe Syllabus Late discussion boards (page 6):

Late postings for units 1-4 will NOT be accepted after Tuesday, 11.59 pm ET of Unit 5.

Late postings for units 5-8 will NOT be accepted after Tuesday, 11.59 pm ET of Unit 9.

Late postings for unit 9 will NOT be accepted after 11.59 ET on the Saturday of Unit 10.

Late penalties apply These deadlines are NOT negotiable PLEASE NOTE: The default time-stamp on the DB is in

Mountain Time, not Eastern Time. If your time-stamp for a post is after 9.59 pm MT Tuesday, that post is late.

The SyllabusThe Syllabus Rubrics:

The syllabus contains grading rubrics for every graded element of the course:

Unit 2 Project Unit 9 Final Project Discussion Boards

USE these rubrics to make sure that your work satisfies all of the requirements, I use these rubrics to grade your work.

Rubric for Weekly Discussion ThreadsRubric for Weekly Discussion ThreadsGrading Criteria % - Points

Makes one primary post for each discussion topic (there may be more than one topic) answering each of the questions in a timely fashion, fully with substance, and meeting length requirements (350 words for each primary post). References readings in main post.

0 - 34

Makes two or more thoughtful responses to other students on each thread contributing to the quality of the discussion and meets length requirements (100 words for each peer response). 0 - 8

Primary responses make at least 1 reference to the unit material, text, or other academic source. 0 - 4

Responses are clearly written. 0 - 4

TOTAL 50

An explanation of the points earned, as well as where the assignment could be strengthened will be included

with your grade.


Other things to review Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism, whether intentional or unintentional, is a breach of academic ethics and will not be tolerated at Kaplan. If a student is caught plagiarizing:

1st offense - zero on the assignment 2nd offense - failure in the course where the plagiarism

occurred 3rd offense - expulsion from the university

This applies across ALL classes at Kaplan: the first offense can be in one class, the second in a different class, and the third in yet another class.


Other things to review Plagiarism Policy

The Kaplan Writing Center has information on what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, how to paraphrase and when to use quotes

I strongly recommend that you review these pages and ask me questions if you don’t understand something.

Self-plagiarism I do not like turning students in for plagiarism, but I

will not hesitate to do so.

Questions?Questions? Are there questions?

Make sure you understand what is required of you in the course, your grade depends upon it.

Unit 2 Project

Annotated bibliography An annotated bibliography contains

citations followed by summaries and explanations of each referenced item describing what elements are of import for the paper/research that the bibliography is for

Unit 2 Project

Annotated bibliography It can aid the author of a paper in

remembering why they selected certain sources

Imagine writing a dissertation or thesis with dozens to over a hundred sources…

An annotated bibliography will help you organize them and remember how and why they are to be used

Unit 2 Project

Annotated bibliography Elements included

Full APA style citation Author name(s), publication date, article title,

periodical name, volume, pages or book name, publisher, etc.

You should be used to doing this part Use the APA Quick Reference Guide in the

Course Home menu, the APA Publication Manual, or even the bibliography from your textbook for examples

Unit 2 Project


Full APA style citation A summary of the article (like an abstract)

Describing what the item is about: the theories or problems it investigates, method used, possibly stating the conclusions drawn

It’s like writing your own abstract for the item DON’T use their abstract (if there is one)

Unit 2 Project


Full APA style citation A summary of the article (like an abstract) Critical analysis of article

Note strengths and potential weaknesses that you see in the research

Note what aspects of it apply to the research you are engaging in or how it will be worked into the paper you are writing

Unit 2 Project Example

Waite, L. J., Goldschneider, F. K., & Witsberger, C. (1986). Nonfamily living and the erosion of traditional family orientations among young adults. American Sociological Review, 51 (4), 541-554.

The authors, researchers at the Rand Corporation and Brown University, use data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Young Men to test their hypothesis that nonfamily living by young adults alters their attitudes, values, plans, and expectations, moving them away from their belief in traditional sex roles. They find their hypothesis strongly supported in young females, while the effects were fewer in studies of young males. Increasing the time away from parents before marrying increased individualism, self-sufficiency, and changes in attitudes about families. In contrast, an earlier study by Williams cited below shows no significant gender differences in sex role attitudes as a result of nonfamily living.

From: http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill28.htm#sample

Unit 2 Project

Your project The example is shorter than what you

should provide In your annotated bibliography I want you

to have each citation followed by two “paragraphs”

The first is the summary The second is evaluative and also connects

this article to the others you are using for the project

See the rubric (next slide)

Unit 2 Project

Your project It must be three to four pages! That’s at least

a page per item A formal introduction is not necessary

At the top of the first page give me a brief explanation of what concept or theory you are researching

Then do the three (to five) annotated citations After the last annotation, put in a couple paragraphs

talking about how such a bibliography can help a researcher or writer better develop their research question as well as organize their material

Unit 2 Project

Use the rubric!Grading Criteria Unit 2 Project % - Points 200

Course Content

Provides a minimum of three and no more than five different research reports on a relevant topic of interest in the field of psychology. Ensures that sources are current (within the last 5 years). Publication dates no earlier than 2005

0-10

Immediately after each full text citation, provides the following details:

a. A brief description of the research questions and hypotheses

b. The method and any criticisms

c. A summary of the results

d. The conclusions and any concerns that you may have

0-60

Immediately after each full text citation, provides the following details:

a. A critical analysis of the quality and credibility of the study and author(s)

b. How this study connects to or contrasts with other studies on this subject

c. An explanation of how this study will shed new light on your topic

0-60

Describe how the process of putting together an annotated bibliography helps researchers to develop quality research questions and hypotheses.

0-50

Unit 2 Project

Use the rubric!

Writing

Structure: complete paragraphs, clear and logical organization throughout, moves fluidly between sections. Primarily student’s own words with quotes used very sparingly, includes several references to support conclusions.

This part of the rubric does not really apply.

0-10

Mechanics: Uses correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, Free of typographical errors, double-spaced, APA format, 3-4 pages in length.

0-10

Unit 2 Project

Your project You must have at least three sources (no

more than five) Research studies, not reviews or meta-

analyses Published between 2005 and 2011

I strongly urge you to begin considering what you want to do for the unit 9 project (we’ll discuss this briefly in a bit) and find articles that you will use for that

Unit 2 Project The project will be outlined like this:

Statement of what is being researched that connects these articles together (not graded, but a courtesy for your instructor)

Article 1 reference Summary Evaluation



Discussion of how annotated bibliographies help researchers This last item is worth 50 points… it should be a couple

paragraphs in length

Unit 2 Project Questions about this project? In the past students have lost points for NOT

doing all of the sections asked for in the rubric

Unit 9 Project

A research proposal This should be a formal research proposal

for research that you might like to do Actual research, using the methods we’re

going to go over in this course 10 - 15 pages in length Three to five research reports as background

references (as well as other necessary references)

APA Format using the 6th edition of the APA Publication Manual

Unit 9 Project

This project will form part of your MSP Portfolio The MSP (Master of Psychology)

Portfolio is a collection of your written work, something that you can use to show potential employers or doctoral programs just how good you are!

That means that this project must reflect your very best effort and best work

Unit 9 Project

I urge you to start doing the research now for this project. I recommend using the Unit 2 project to

start off this project. The articles you use for the Unit 2 project can be the research articles used for the Unit 9 project.

While I recommend doing this, it is not required

Think about what you would want to research. Make notes to yourself, really get into it.

Unit 9 Project

In my introductory email I included the assignment pdf files for both projects.

They are also available in the class on the appropriate project’s page.

Take this seriously, your portfolio can be a very useful and important part of your academic and professional life, illustrating your writing ability, knowledge of psychology, and professionalism! ~fin

Advanced Research Methods Unit 1 Seminar The Syllabus.

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