Seminar: 3 hours/week
Methods of instruction may include:
- seminar
- presentations
- group discussions
- guest lectures
Topics may vary depending on the research topics of the Honours students.
- Graduate school aptitude exams.
- How to generate and evaluate research ideas.
- Evaluating and selecting graduate programs.
- The graduate school application process.
- Planning and writing the academic research paper.
- American Psychological Association guidelines for scholarly papers.
- Standards for evaluating psychology papers.
- Ethics in research and writing.
- Presenting research through conferences and publications.
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Gain experience and develop skills in activities that strengthen preparation for job entry or graduate school admission.
- Select and apply the appropriate research design for a given research question.
- Design or replicate a research study and discuss its relationship to hypothesis testing.
- Evaluate the extent to which research strategies rule out alternative explanations and support cause-effect claims.
- Propose appropriate scales of measurement or research designs that can be used for different research purposes.
- Incorporate appropriate sociocultural considerations in research design and interpretation.
- Construct an ethics proposal for the Douglas College Ethics Board.
- Adapt to change in a flexible and proactive manner that is appropriate to the context.
- Incorporate suggestions from feedback from peers, educators, and mentors to improve task performance.
- Accept and adapt to interactions in complex professional, cultural, and academic contexts.
- Incorporate international sources, including non-western researchers and samples, in research processes, where appropriate.
- Create and maintain a resume or curriculum vitae that showcases a psychology background.
- Use appropriate career resources to evaluate academic and career options.
- Deliver a research presentation that meets established conventions and professional guidelines.
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. The specific evaluation criteria will be provided by the instructor at the beginning of the semester.
Evaluation will include some of the following:
| Draft ethics proposal | 20% |
| Attendance at academic talks or seminars | 10% |
| Critical analyses of research papers | 30% |
| Presentation of research proposal | 30% |
| Class participation | 10% |
| Total | 100% |
Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which can require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and getting the approval of the Douglas College Research Ethics Board prior to conducting the research.
Textbooks or readings will be updated periodically. Typical examples of texts are:
Sternberg, R.J., & Sternberg, K. The Psychologist’s Companion: A Guide to Writing Scientific Papers for Students and Researchers. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, current edition.
Wood, C., Giles, D. & Percy, C. Your Psychology Project Handbook: Becoming a Researcher. England: Pearson Education, current edition.
Admission to the Bachelor of Arts in Applied Psychology Honours Program or Department permission.