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Introductory Module: Statistics & Methods Timetable

Module Code: PSYC640

Module Level: MSc

No of Credits: 30

Course Convenor: Dr Laurence Alison

Teaching Staff: Dr Alison, Prof Canter, Dr Lovie, Dr Downes, Dr.Stott

This module is designed to refresh students‟ memories of basic principles of research design and to introduce some basic concepts and ideas to students unfamiliar with such material It will also prepare students for some of the more complex material to be covered in semester 2 (advanced statistics) as well as introduce them to the range and breadth of qualitative approaches available for research The central aims of this module are to demonstrate different approaches and perspectives on research design, statistics and qualitative methods and illustrate the benefits of an awareness of these different perspectives

Students should be aware that the majority of their learning should occur outside of

the lectures, where approximately 1 hour of lecturing equates to 6 hours independent study time During these periods students will be required to work on projects, collect materials for research and prepare reading for subsequent lectures Students should consult with their respective supervisors with regard to project proposals and the onus is on the student to develop a project in consultation with their chosen supervisor Supervisors available include

Dr Alison, Dr Lovie and Dr Stott, although students are encouarged to „team‟ up with potential PhD supervisors and other members of staff Dr Alison should be the first point of contact in this regard

Lectures start at 11.00 and finish at 12.00 on Wednesday mornings and begin on 2nd October, 2002 The last lecture in this module will be on 11th December Most lectures are followed up by a practical Practical sessions occur on a Thursday afternoon at 14.00 and last approximately 2 hours For many of these sessions you will be given data that you can work with outside of the practical session so that you may practice analysing the material and familiarising yourself with SPSS The prupose of these sessions is to give you hands on

unit on the network The Dancer and Reidy and Bryman books will be particularly useful as guides for quantitative and qualitative research texts

The aims of the module are as follows:

 Introduce students to basic principles of experimental design

 Introduce the notion of hypothesis testing & behavioural sampling

 Familiarise students with descriptive statistics, correlations and associations,

nonparametric tests and parametric tests

 Introduce the analysis of naturally occurring language and biographical methods

 Introduce unobtrusive measurement, content analysis and ethnographic research

 Introduce open, semi structured and structured interviewing as well as focus groups

Students will gain an understanding of the principles underlying both quantitative and qualitative research They will appreciate how these approaches are not in conflict and how they are associated with issues of gathering material for analysis They will understand how the approaches may be used in combination or isolation and will have garnered a basic

understanding of behavioural observation, ethnography, interviewing skills and content analysis They will also understand and appreciate the importance of research ethics and issues of confidentiality and debriefing

The module relies on lectures and practical work Students will be supported by close supervision on a research assignment in which they will be expected to collect their own data (for example, through interviewing, observational methods or analysis of archival records), analyse it and write it up as a written report Detailed verbal and written feedback will be given on this report Sessions will also involve the students in the dialogue, by requiring them

to prepare material in advance of each lecture and present their perspectives in class

Assessment will be based on an examination in early January (25% of the mark for this module) and an assignment (75% of the mark for this module), due in by the 16th of January If either or both components are failed students may resubmit or retake the exam within 2 weeks of original notification of failure

The key text books for the module are:

Bryman, A (2001) Social Research Methods Oxford University Press

Dancey, C & Reidy, J (1999) Statistics Without Maths for Psychology Using SPSS for Windows Prentice Hall: Essex

Howell, D.C (2002) Statistical Methods for Psychology (5th ed) Duxbury

Robson, C (1993) Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and Practitioner – Researchers Blackwell: Oxford

WEEK 1

(2nd Oct)

STRATEGIES AND TACTICS FOR RESEARCH

Professor Canter

Research in a professional context has special demands

 Relevance

 Timeliness

 Within Resources, especially time available

 Robust

 Explicability

So researchers need to be aware of the full range of strategies and tactics on which they can draw in order to cope with those demands Each strategy has its own rules and its own way of being good or bad They also carry with them implications for the form of analysis that is most appropriate Strategies for research are the overall plan of how the research is organised

or designed

 Case Studies

 Relational Studies

 „Natural‟ Experiments

 Controlled Experiments

None of these is to be confused with „Consultancy‟ or „Action Research‟ which can draw on all of them Tactics for research are the particular modes of intervention with the subjects of the research It is here that issues of reliability and validity are most crucial

 Qualitative Approaches

 Qualitative Scales

 Structured Questionnaires

 Performance Measures

References

Canter,D (1994) Psychology in Action: Selected Writings of David Canter Dartmouth

Especially Chapter 2 “The Holistic Organic Researcher”

Canter,D (2000) Seven assumptions for an investigative environmental psychology in S Wapner, J.Demick, T Yamamoto, & H.Minami (eds) Theoretical Perspectives in Environment-Behavior Research: Underlying assumptions, research problems, and

WEEK 2

(9 th Oct)

DIFFERENCES IN DATA I (WILCOXON AND T-TESTS)

Dr Lovie

A basic introduction to the experimental approach, with particular emphasis on exploring differences in data Two sample tests for ordinal (rank) and interval data and for unrelated and related samples (Wilcoxon and t-tests)

References

Dancey, C & Reidy, J (1999) Statistics Without Maths for Psychology Using SPSS for Windows Prentice Hall: Essex

Howell, D.C (2002) Statistical Methods for Psychology (5th ed) Duxbury

PRACTICAL

(10th October)

Descriptive stats (See handbook)

WEEK 3

(16 th Oct)

DIFFERENCES IN DATA II (KRUSKAL WALLIS, FRIEDMAN AND ANOVAS)

Dr Lovie

Analysis for single factor designs for ordinal (rank) and interval data and for unrelated and related samples (Kruskal-Wallis, Friedman and ANOVAs for independent and repeated

measure designs) This session concerns the analysis of differences in data

References

Dancey, C & Reidy, J (1999) Statistics Without Maths for Psychology Using SPSS for Windows Prentice Hall: Essex

Howell, D.C (2002) Statistical Methods for Psychology (5th ed) Duxbury

PRACTICAL

(17th October)

T- tests, Wilcoxon and Mann Whitney (See handbook)

WEEK 4

(23 rd Oct)

DIFFERENCES IN DATA III

Dr Lovie

ANOVAs for independent and repeated measure designs Analyses for multi factor designs for interval data and for unrelated and related samples (ANOVAs for independent and

repeated measure designs) This session considers the analysis of differences in data

References

Howell, D.C (2002) Statistical Methods for Psychology (5th ed) Duxbury

PRACTICAL

(24th October)

ANOVAS (See handbook)

WEEK 5

(30 th Oct)

STUDY WEEK

This time should be devoted to considering assignments and speaking to research supervisors Students should also use the opportunity to catch up on reading and preparing materials for subsequent week‟s lectures

WEEK 6

6 th Nov

CASE STUDY DESIGN

Dr D.Montaldi

This session will consider the principles involved in case study design The session will discuss problems associated with ethical, practical and theoretical concerns associated with the analysis of the materials

Reference

Bryman, A (2001) Social Research Methods Oxford University Press

No Practical this week

WEEK 7

(13th Nov)

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH: AN OVERVIEW

Dr Alison

An introduction to qualitative research This session will outline a brief historical account of qualitative research, the main „players‟ in the field and the extent to which it either contributes to or stands in opposition to quantitative measurement This lecture will also identify the methodological framework and highlight the limits and benefits of unobtrusive or non-reactive measurement Students will explore how different types of information are used

by research psychologists in a way similar to that advocated by methods popular with

 Over the course of day work on material in preparation for an in house seminar There will be additional time allocated in Thursday‟s practical session

Objectives

 To introduce students to the concept of unobtrusive measurement

 To highlight the benefits and limitations of such material

 To demonstrate how physical trace, archival and observational studies can help inform studies of human behaviour

References

Campbell, D T (1957) Factors relevant to the validity of experiments in social settings Psychological Bulletin, 54, 297-312

E J Webb, D T Campbell, R D Schwartz, and L Sechrest, (1966) Unobtrusive

Measures: Non Reactive Research in The Social Sciences Chicago: Rand McNally and Company

Bryman, A (2001) Social Research Methods Oxford University Press

PRACTICAL

(14th November)

Short seminar preparation Students will be asked to run an in house seminar and present their work and observations of their chosen non-reactive approaches to research This practical session should be used as a basis for preparing the seminar (see handbook)

WEEK 8

(20 th Nov)

Professor David Canter

MULTIVARIATE ANALYSES, MDS & SORTING TASKS

An introduction to multivariate analyses, with a particular emphasis on sorting tasks

Canter,D (1994) Psychology in Action: Selected Writings of David Canter Dartmouth

Especially the chapter by Canter and Groat

PRACTICAL

(21st November)

Student Seminar Students will conduct their seminar on „Qualitative Research: An

Overview‟ (see handbook)

WEEK 9

(27th November)

INTERVIEWING AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS

An overview of interviewing methods (structured, semi structured, open, focus groups etc)

Dr Alison will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each approach through examples, highlight the practical and ethical considerations in conducting interviews and illustrate the potential richness of interview material for discourse analysis

PRACTICAL

(28 th November)

Dr Alison

Students will be expected to conduct an interview (of approximately 30 minutes) with a participant of their choice on a topic of their choice (to be agreed in advance with Dr Alison) Students will use this material as the basis for the session on content analysis (week 11) so it

is important that the interview is transcribed for analysis in that session Dr Alison will be available for consultation

WEEK 10

ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

Dr Stott

(4 th December)

This lecture will focus on the range of methods available to researchers when adopting an ethnographic approach to their research It will highlight the complex, unpredictable and sometime dangerous nature of this methodology and discuss the various strategies that are available for researchers to overcome the difficulties of accessing populations and data The lecture will use existing and ongoing research to relate conceptual issues to practices in the field and demonstrate how 'taking sides' and adopting positions of 'neutrality' in respect to criminal activity are sometimes a necessary component of the research process

Reference:

Drury, J & Stott, C (2001) Bias as a research strategy in participant observation: the case of intergroup conflict Field Methods 13, 47-67

PRACTICAL

(5 th December)

Dr Alison

Students will use this time to work with their interview material in preparation for week 11

WEEK 11

CONTENT ANALYSIS

Dr Alison

(11 th December)

Dr Alison will introduce students to the concept of developing coding frameworks for

converting complex, naturally occurring information into data for analysis Students will

PRACTICAL

Dr Alison

(12th December)

Students will present their findings from the interview material in class

EXAMS & ASSIGNMENTS

Assignments to be handed in 16th January Exams will take place 15th January