University Mission Statement: Azusa Pacific University is an evangelical Christian community of disciples and scholars who seek to advance the work of God in the world through academic excellence in liberal arts and professional programs of higher education that encourage students to develop a Christian perspective of truth and life.Department of Psychology Mission Statement: The Psychology Department at Azusa Pacific University is a community of Christian scholars who, with their diverse backgrounds and expertise in understanding human behavior in society, are committed to enhancing the development of our students through intellectual challenge, experiential learning, personal growth and spiritual discovery so that each student develops their potential and is prepared for where God is leading them to serve.

Psychology 362: RESEARCH METHODS

Chong Ho Yu, Ph.D.Email: cyu@apu.edu Office Hours: TBA or by appointmentRoom: Wynn 100B

BioChong Ho (Alex) Yu has a Ph.D. in educational psychology (Arizona State University, ASU) with a concentration on measurement, statistics, and methodological studies, as well as a Ph.D. in philosophy (ASU) with a specialization in history and philosophy of science. His research interests include, but are not limited to, alternate and emerging research methods (e.g. exploratory data analysis, data visualization, resampling, and data mining), instructional psychology and technology (e.g. multimedia learning), philosophical aspects of research methodologies (e.g. causal inferences), cross-cultural comparison (e.g. PISA, TIMSS), and the relationships between faith and science (e.g. responses to New Atheism). If you are interested in his research, some of his articles are accessible at http://www.creative–wisdom.com/pub/pub.html

NOTE: Course schedule, topics, evaluation and assignments may be changed at the instructor’s discretion. Please refer to online copy for the most up-to-date version on Canvas. Please try to use the syllabus on your screen; don’t print it unless it is absolutely necessary.

Course Materials: American Psychological Association (2001) APA publication manual (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.

(ISBN: 1-55798791-2) (Optional) All class handouts posted on http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/

Course Description:

Students engage in a comprehensive overview of both quantitative and qualitative research methods used in psychological research, along with an understanding of the ethical considerations and other challenges involved in good research design. Students also engage in an original research project and learn to write professionally utilizing the style adopted by the American Psychological Association. This class includes

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Azusa Pacific UniversitySchool of Behavioral and Applied Sciences

Department of PsychologySummer 2018 (4 Units)

an additional lab component. Meets the General Education Requirement: Writing 3: Writing in the Disciplines. PSYC 110 and MATH 130

Course OverviewThe core of the course is helping you to plan, conduct, present, and write your own research paper. In order to do this, this class has two components. First, a series of lectures, class discussions, group activities and demonstrations are designed to illustrate what makes sound psychological research. Second, you need to apply what you learn to write a research proposal that can meet the standards set by academic conferences and peer-review journals. Nonetheless, even if you do not plan to conduct research in the future, some information in this course is still valuable to you.

Characteristics of this course: It focuses on the conceptual aspect, not the computational aspect, of research methods. Memorization is less important. All exams are take-home and open-book. Information is secondary. The most important thing to develop in this class is your work ethics.

Please take ownership of your learning. It emphasizes authentic teamwork. If everyone in the team thinks in the same way, then no one

is thinking.

Student Learning OutcomesIn order to communicate the goals of this course, this course utilizes common language developed by the APU Department of Psychology, APU’s Individual Development and Educational Assessment (IDEA) Center and American Psychological Association (APA). The hope is that the students, faculty, administration, and other interested parties know the purpose of the course and how it serves the mission of APU and the Department of Psychology and how the course aligns with appropriate outcomes identified by APA and IDEA. In turn, a telos for the course helps us chart our course.

Department Goals* APA SLO Goals

IDEA Objectives

Assignments used to assess

learning outcomes SAMPLE

APU GE Objectives

SLO 1: DISCIPLINARY KNOWLEDGE

Goal 1: Knowledge Base In Psychology

IDEA 1,2,3

Attendance; Short Assignments; Exams

Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World

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SLO 2: CRITICAL THINKING, SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking Goal 4: Communication

IDEA 8,9,11,12

Exams; APA Research Paper

Intellectual and Practical Skills

SLO 2 Goal 2 & Goal 4

IDEA 8,9,11,12

Short Assignments; Exams; APA Research Paper

Intellectual and Practical Skills

SLO 2 Goal 2 & Goal 4

IDEA 8,8,11, 12

APA Paper; Presentation

Intellectual and Practical Skills

SLO 3: VALUES AND ETHICSSLO 5:FAITH INTEGRATION

Goal 3: Ethical and Social Responsibility in a Diverse World

IDEA 2, 3, 4,7, 10

Ethics discussion

Intellectual and Practical SkillsPersonal and Social Responsibility

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Policies: Students with disabilities : Students in this course who have a disability that might prevent them from

fully demonstrating their abilities should contact an advisor in the Learning Enrichment Center (ext. 3849) as soon as possible to initiate disability verification and discuss accommodations that may be necessary to ensure full participation in the successful completion of course requirements. Written documentation of the disability, along with a request for accommodation, should be presented to the course instructor at the beginning of the course or as soon as the disability is diagnosed.

Special needs learners : This includes students having special needs due to learning disabilities, language, or other factors that may affect achievement; these students should make their special needs known to the instructor during the first week of the course.

Use of laptops and appropriate behaviors : You are encouraged to bring your laptop or smart device (e.g. iPad, Samsung) to class to take notes, and for in-class assignments. When you come to the classroom, please put your cell phone face down on the desk. If any student uses the cell phone, I will pause the lesson until everyone stops using the cell phone. Laptops and smart devices are to be used only for purposes directly related to the class content and information. If you are discovered to be using your laptop for purposes other than listed here, you will be asked to close your laptop or your cell phone. Other disrespectful or disruptive behaviors, such as yelling to the instructor, and talking to the classmates, will result in dismissal from the classroom.

Late work and make-up exams/assignments : Please put the deadline into your calendar and set up reminders. Late assignments will not be accepted. NO EXCEPTIONS. Please do not ask me for a favor. I will ignore this type of inquiry. No make-up exams or assignments will be allowed unless a VERIFIABLE written medical excuse from a physician is received that SPECIFICALLY STATES THE FOLLOWING:

1. Date (which must correspond to the date of the missed assignment and/or the exam)2. Illness3. Physician’s Contact information

Work and attending an event that is not academic-related are not considered valid reasons for missing an assignment or an exam (Presenting in a conference is an academic-related event). The reason for the stringent policy is so that all assignments/exams can be read and evaluated at the same time, with the same criteria, and returned promptly. Students who participate in APU extra-curricular activities that prevent timely completion of assignments/exams must make alternative arrangements with the instructor PRIOR the due dates. NO EXCEPTIONS. Nevertheless, you are allowed to drop five short assignments and one presentation. And there will be extra-credit opportunities to make up your loss.

The Library and Information Literacy

During this course, students may fulfill assignments by:• Finding research help face-to-face, by phone, or email from librarians at one of the University’s Libraries apu.edu/library/help• Chatting online with librarians 24/7 atapu.edu/library/help/asknow/chat• Making appointments with subject matter specialist librarians atapu.edu/library/help/specialists• Accessing the online library at apu.edu/library• Viewing self-paced tutorials at apu.edu/library/help/tutorials and help guides at apu.libguides.com During this course, students may develop information literacy by:• Thinking critically to find, access, and engage appropriate resources

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• Identifying how information in this course’s discipline is produced and valued• Conducting quality research activities, even to create new knowledge• Participating ethically in this course’s community of learning For more information, see information literacy tutorials at apu.edu/library/help/tutorials*Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, Association of College and Research Libraries (2015). Available at:ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

Diversity Statement

Affirming that diversity is an expression of God’s image, love, and boundless creativity, it is the University’s aim to collectively nurture an environment that respects each individual’s uniqueness while celebrating our collective commonalities. It is in this spirit that we collectively strive to create an inclusive environment in which all students, staff, faculty, and administrators thrive.

Azusa Pacific University encourages community members to resolve conflict directly, when possible. If an APU community member perceives that hostile words or behaviors were directed toward an individual or a group based on that individual’s or the group’s identity, they can submit a Bias Incident Report. Information on the reporting process is available on the website at https://www.apu.edu/diversity/bias/

APA Check listYour final paper must adhere to the APA Style (version 6). Please consult the APA checklist: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B9cDmTtCtDa2RlVTZ0ctYXpVTGc/edit Please do not assume that the automatic formatting function on the library website is 100% correct. For more information, please read: http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/APA.doc

Academic Integrity:The mission of Azusa Pacific University includes cultivating in each student not only the academic skills that are required for a university degree, but also the characteristics of academic integrity that are integral to a sound Christian education. It is therefore part of the mission of the university to nurture in each student a sense of moral responsibility consistent with the biblical teachings of honesty and accountability. Furthermore, a breach of academic integrity is viewed not merely as a private matter between the student and an instructor but rather as an act which is fundamentally inconsistent with the purpose and mission of the entire university. A complete copy of the Academic Integrity Policy is available in the Office of Student Life, the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs, and online.

Expectations for Psyc362 regarding academic integrity in this class:

Expectations are consistent with those outlined in the academic policy especially as they pertain to definitions for cheating, fabrication, and facilitating academic dishonesty.

Collaboration is expected for group research papers, data collection and presentations. Any material (including but not restricted to textbook, other texts, journals, magazines, websites)

incorporated into writing assignments (reaction papers, term paper, other non-examination writing assignments) must be properly cited. Even though you cite the source, you cannot copy and paste the original text in a verbatim fashion. Please paraphrase. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

Plagiarism is defined as intentionally or knowingly representing the words, ideas, or work of another as one’s own in any academic exercise. The instructor may use an online service to assess for plagiarism in the student’s written work.

Consequences for violations of academic integrity in this class:

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Consequences are consistent with those outlined in the academic integrity policy. Any type of plagiarism, cheating during an examination, turning in assignments not written by the

student, and making up or altering data will result in an “F” grade for the course. Consistent with the Academic Integrity Policy, all violations of the policy are to be reported to the

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs.

Requirements: Reading Ahead and Review: This course will be taught through lectures, discussions, and in-class

activities. Students are expected to read the material before and after class (except the first class) so that they can participate in discussions. Student participation in the classroom is expected and will affect your final grade. To succeed, you MUST do your assigned readings for this class. The links to the reading materials can be found in the schedule.

ATTENDANCE: Class attendance is required. Learning is an interactive process, and it is impossible for you to participate if you are not here. Attendance will be taken at every class period after the add-drop period is over. PLEASE BE ON TIME! Three late arrivals (15 minutes or more) or three early departures (15 minutes or more) are counted as one absence. Work and attending an event are not considered valid reasons for absence (Presenting in a conference is an academic-related event and your absence can be excused). Excessive absences (more than 10% of all classes) without a good reason (e.g. sickness, family crisis; documentation is required) is not acceptable. If a student is absent from class more than 10%, the final grade will be reduced by one letter grade. If a student is absent from class more than 20%, the student will not pass the class (F). There is no second chance or any prior warning. For medical and family emergencies and other unforeseeable contingencies that hinder you from attending class, you can apply for an incomplete. In this case, the terms and conditions will be negotiated between the instructor and the student. In the event of absence, the student is responsible for any information missed.

CLASS ACTIVITIES/HOMEWORK (20%): Throughout the term there will be 15 discussion sessions, in-class exercises, and outside-classroom activities that will total 20% of the final grade in the class. The best ten scores will be kept and the five lowest scores will be dropped ((15-5)*2=20). As these discussion sessions can occur on any class day without notice, preparation for these assignments requires students to stay up to date on reading course materials and participating in all areas of the course. The instructions are given at the end of this syllabus. In some of these assignments you will work in a team. After the discussion, the team representative needs to make a brief verbal presentation.

PRESENTATIONS (10%): There will be two presentations. You can choose to present a quantitative research proposal, a qualitative one, or both. If you present both, the lowest score will be dropped. The first presentation guide can be downloaded at: http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/Presentation1_guide.pptx The second one can be downloaded at: http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/Presentation2_guide.pptx . This presentation can be viewed as a draft or a rehearsal of your term paper. In the presentation you will propose a research plan only. After receiving the instructor’s approval, you will implement the research plan, collect data, conduct data analysis, and write the full paper. You can choose to work on the presentation individually or in a team. If you would like to form a team, you can choose to be graded individually or as a team. If you want an individual grade, the presentation slides must specify the components contributed by each member.

PAPER (30%): Choose one of your presentations (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method) to write a full paper using the APA style (10 pages, excluding the cover page, the abstract, and the

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references). You are encouraged to utilize the resources posted on APU’s Writing Center to refine sentence structures and writing style: http://www.apu.edu/writingcenter/resources/. The paper will be due on the last day of the course. While it is more efficient to collect data as a group, at the end you have to write your own paper. Submitting the same copy for the entire team is not acceptable. Please start the project earlier so that you have enough time to write multiple drafts. I will meet with you in class or by conferencing and give you feedback to each draft. The final version is expected to be presentable. I want you to be proud of the work you will do in this class. After submitting the assignment, please make sure that you receive a confirmation from Canvas. If you encounter technical problems, please contact IMT. Encountering technical problems is not an acceptable reason for late assignment or non-submission.

EXAMS (40%) : There will be two non-cumulative exams in the course covering the readings and discussions. All questions are multiple-choice items. Each exam is worth 20 points. Review questions can be downloaded from: http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/review/ An exam guide will be given at least one week before the exam. It is important to point out that the purpose of the exam guide is to highlight which concepts are important. Don’t expect that the exam questions will look exactly like the exam guide or the review questions. Moreover, the answers will not be included in the guide or the review. If you ask me for further clarification, I can give you hints and guidelines, but I cannot tell you the answers. If you cannot earn a good grade in the mid-term exam and would like to know how to improve your grade, please make an appointment to meet with me. All exam items had been carefully proofread and pilot-tested. Please do not try to argue with me on every item in an attempt to get a few more points.

WASC Table

ASSIGNMENT/ACTIVITIES POINTS CLOCK HOURS

Attendance 55Class activities and homework 20 15Presentation 10 10Exam 40 20Paper 30 30Total points available 100 130

Examples of grading criteria for assignments and final grade:“A” work - Outstanding

“Above and beyond the requirements of the assignment; outstanding effort, significant achievement, and personal improvement are clearly evident. Some measure of remarkable skill, creativity, or energy is also evident.”

“B” work – Above Average“Fulfills all aspects of the assignment and goes a bit beyond minimum competence to demonstrate extra effort, extra achievement, or extra improvement.”

“C” work - Average“Fulfills all aspects of the assignment with obvious competence and grace. Assignments are completed exactly as assigned.”

“D” work – Below Average“Below average either because some aspect of the assignment has not been fulfilled or because a preponderance of errors (more than one or two per page) interferes with clear communication. A

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“D” may also indicate failure to follow directions, failure to follow specific recommendations, or failure to demonstrate personal effort and improvement.”

“F” work – Not Acceptable“Not acceptable, either because the student did not complete the assignment as directed, or because the level of performance is below an acceptable level for college work.

Grading CriteriaA 95% – 100%A- 90% – 94%B+ 87% – 89%B 83% – 86

B- 80% – 82%C+ 77% – 79%C 73% – 76%C- 70% – 72%

D+ 67% – 69%D 63% – 66%D- 60% – 62%F <60%

You can check your accumulated points on Canvas. But you will not see the course grade until all grading is complete. When grading is in progress, incomplete assignments are not taken into account and thus the course grade would be misleading e.g. if a student skipped nine out of ten assignments and she/he received 100% in one single assignment, the course grade would be shown as an A on Canvas. After the deadline I will turn on the feature “give no credit to missing/ungraded”. At that point the course grade is final.

After the final exam grade change is not allowed unless there is a grading error. If you want to submit any late assignment or extra credit assignment, please do it before the final exam.

FeedbackI welcome feedback. Please feel free to post your feedback to the class at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FZDJX3M Your suggestion will be kept anonymous.

Grade appealOccasionally some students are not happy with their grade. If you are one of them, I fully understand your frustration. As a fallible human, I may misread your paper and thus you have the right to question my judgment. But the appeal process must be clearly documented in writing. Please specify your concerns. Statements like “I am speechless that you don’t like my ideas” and “my GPA is 4.0 and I never receive such a low grade” could not help me to resolve the issue at all.

WorkloadFollowing the APU Credit Hour policy, to meet the identified student learning outcomes of this course, the expectations are that this 4-unit course, delivered over a 15 week term will approximate:4 hours/week classroom or direct faculty instruction4 hours/week computer-related work4 hours/week reading and writingAdditional reading materials are either posted the instructor’s website. The optional reading assignments will not affect your final grade.

Emergency PolicyIt is highly recommended that you leave the class title, room and building location, and the APU campus phone number (626) 969-3434 with family and/or other contacts if you wish to be notified in case of an emergency.

Copyright Responsibilities: ”Materials used in connection with this course may be subject to copyright protection. Students and faculty are both authors and users of copyrighted materials. As a student you must know the rights of

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both authors and users with respect to copyrighted works to ensure compliance. It is equally important to be knowledgeable about legally permitted uses of copyrighted materials. Information about copyright compliance, fair use and websites for downloading information legally can be found at http://apu.libguides.com/content.php?pid=241554&search_terms=copyright

Faith IntegrationAs Azusa Pacific University is an evangelical Christian community of disciples and scholars who seek to advance the work of God, Faith Integration is an important element of this course. Creating a deeper awareness of how faith relates to psychology requires exercises in critical thinking and effective communication with others. Class discussions, papers, and group exercises will give students of diverse traditions and backgrounds the opportunity to explore how psychology is relevant in our daily lives.Thinking critically about psychological issues from a Christian perspective will require an examination of individual morals and beliefs. Students will articulate this in papers and group assignments, and build strong interpersonal skills as we discuss faith and psychology in class. An awareness of human processes and religious beliefs will provide the student clarity in topics such as the relationship of faith and science, the connection between mind and body, and human nature and the Bible.

Schedule (This schedule is tentative. It is subject to change based upon our pace):

Week Topics and readings1 Overview

Research ethics and consequence of violation:http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/Research%20Misconduct.pptxDesign, measurement, and analysis: http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/WBI/dma.shtml

2 Quantitative design: Theories and principlesOverview of experimental and non-experimental designs: http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/WBI/doe.shtmlVariance control: http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/WBI/variance_control.shtml

3 Quantitative design: Theories and principlesThreats against validity of quantitative research design: http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/WBI/threat.shtml

4 Quantitative design: Technical detailsBetween-subject designWithin-subject designFactorial design

http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/quant_research_design1.pptx

5 Quantitative design: Technical detailsEx-post Facto designObservational approachSurvey researchhttp://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/quant_research_design2.pptx

6 Review/Team contest

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7 Work on presentationMid-term Exam: In the week of July 2 (depends on our pace)

9 Qualitative designGrounded theoryEthnographyhttp://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/qual_research_design.pptx

Research proposal presentation 1: Quantitative

10 Qualitative designNarrative researchPhenomenological approachhttp://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/qual_research_design.pptx

11 Guidelines for presentation 2Mixed-method

Overview: http://www.creative-wisdom.com/pub/mm_bookreview_yu_2009.pdf (password: yu2)Triangulation-concurrentEmbedded-concurrent

12 Mixed-methodExplanatory-sequentialExploratory-sequentialhttp://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/mixed_method_design.pptx

13 Research proposal presentation 2: QualitativeReview/Team contest

14 Final exam (July 18 or 19, depends on our pace)

Please follow the PowerPoint slides “Quantitative research design guideline” or “Qualitative research design guideline” to organize your paper. The following table is a grading rubric.

Research grading rubric12-point Times New Roman, double-space, 10 pages, excluding the cover page, abstract, and references

Criteria PointsInclude research components (This is the header in the rubric. In the paper please follow the APA manual):

Mention and explain all the essential components in the presentation guideline, such as research purpose, problem, question, design…etc.The research method should be a good fit to the research question. For example, if your focus is about growth of the subjects over time, the best approach is a within-subject design. If you are interested in how two or three variables interact together to influence an outcome, you should adopt a factorial design.

3

Theoretical foundation and literature review: 3

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The proposal should be based on some psychological theory rather than evaluating whether the treatment can work or not. The latter is more a program evaluation than an academic research study. For example, if your study is concerned with the relationship between collaborative learning and social cohesiveness, the possible theoretical foundation may be Bandura’s social learning theory.

In the context of psychological research, you need to use variables (observed behaviors) to indicate specific latent constructs (e.g. religiosity, happiness, depression, anxiety…etc.).

You don’t have to start with a well-developed theory. But at least you need to discuss some background information about the problem under study. It is impossible to start any research with a blank mind. In qualitative research you should use concepts or constructs instead of variables. A variable is operationally defined (e.g. X = A + B + C) whereas a construct or a concept is open-ended.

If your research study is qualitative, you can put aside your preconception by skipping any guiding theory. In this case, the weight of grading of this section will be solely based upon your lit review.

Rigor:

Address potential threatsQuantitative research: internal validity, external validity, reliability, objectivityQualitative research: credibility, transferability, dependability, conformability

3

Data collection

The target population, accessible population, sampling scheme must be specified. The sample is a good representation of the population (for quantitative design only).The quantitative data should be accurate and reliable. Do not make up your own survey or test to study psychological constructs (e.g. depression, intelligence…etc.). Rather, adopt a validated scale.The purpose of qualitative research is NOT to make a broad generalization, and therefore the sample might be extreme cases.

3

Data analysis

Apply appropriate procedures to analyze the data. For example, if the measurement scales of the dependent variable (DV) and the independent variable (IV) is categorical, then the proper test is Pearson’s Chi-square analysis. If the measurement scale of both DV and IV is continuous, then the proper test is either Pearson’s correlation coefficient or simple regression modeling.For qualitative research please take triangulation into consideration (e.g. multiple researchers code and analyze the same data).

3

APA

If you do not have the APA manual at hand, you can use Google to find an online guide.I would like to highlight three common mistakes:

3

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First, many students put down the names of the databases in the references. Actually, "with the exception of hard-to-find books and other documents of limited circulation delivered by electronic databases, the database name is no longer a necessary element of the reference. This change is made in the interest of simplifying reference format. If you do include the database name in a reference, do not include the database URL” (APA 2007 update).

Second, the issue number of the journal can be omitted when the page numbers are consecutive across issues. Please read the following carefully:

Journal Numbered by Volume

These journals start numbering at page 1 in the first issue of the year, and page numbers continue throughout the year instead of starting with page 1 in each issue. After the italicized title of the journal, italicize the volume number, follow by the page numbers.

Egerton, G. (2004). Entering the age of human rights: Religion, politics, and Canadian liberalism, 1945-50. Canadian Historical Review, 85, 451-479.

Journal Numbered by Issue

This refers to journals in which each issue begins with page number 1. After the volume number, put a period and then the issue number. Italicize the volume number, but not the issue number.

Messud, C. (2004). Then. Kenyon Review, 26(4), 34-45.

Third, many students use a direct quotation when it is really unnecessary. Indeed, it is more efficient to simply rephrase the ideas of an article. Nonetheless, sometimes a direct quotation is needed. For example,

1. The original statement is very profound (e.g, “Ask not what this country can do for you. Ask what you can do for this country.” Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” )

2. The original statement is so complicated that its meaning may be distorted after paraphrasing (e.g. “Uncritical semantics is the myth of a museum in which the exhibits are meanings and the words are labels. To switch languages is to change the labels.”)

3. You want to analyze the original statement word by word.

Use of Literature

The paper should include at least 5 references.

The course requires students to complete course assignments using resources from the University Libraries. Research assistance and subject guides for this course are available at http://apu.libguides.com/

Assignments should be grounded in proper and timely academic sources. Usually references that are more than 5 years old are not considered good sources unless they are seminal works (e.g. by Albert Einstein, Adam Smith…etc.).

Cited sources should be traceable and credible (e.g. peer-review journal articles). Dictionaries, encyclopedias, textbooks, newspapers, and magazines are not appropriate references for scholarly work. Citing a non-scholarly website, such as an online dictionary or encyclopedia, is not

3

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acceptable in academic settings. The exception is that you want to analyze the content of the website. For example, in one of my articles I wanted to point out how the Skeptics website misinterpreted the meaning of meta-analysis, and therefore I quoted the website.

Today virtually anyone could set up a website and thus information pulled from the Internet may not be trustworthy, unless the website is held by a respectable organization (e.g. National Institute of Health, Harvard University …etc.)

Usually textbooks and magazines are not considered appropriate sources. You may wonder why textbooks are not acceptable. Consider this scenario: If Stephen Hawking publishes a book on the relationship between quantum mechanics and the origin of the universe, and his references are: Astronomy 101 and Introduction to Physics, will you buy his book?

If 30% of your references are textbooks, newspapers, magazines, and websites, it is excessive.

Please read this document to learn more: http://www.creative-wisdom.com/teaching/362/use_of_literature.doc

Critical thinking

Synthesizes the literature to form a cohesive entity, demonstrating one’s own analysis and critical thinking. Put it bluntly, don’t assume that everything written in an academic paper must be right. Please take counter-arguments and rival perspectives into account, if necessary.

3

Organization

In a well-structured paper, the reader should be able to follow the logical transition from one section to another and the last paragraph should be a conclusive closure.

3

Grammar, sentence structures, and writing style

This is self-explanatory. Please proof read your paper carefully.

3

Total: 30

In-class Discussion and Short Assignments (2 points each X 10 = 20%)

Quantitative research assignments Part 1

A01: Archival dataOpen your Web browser and go to http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSOnline.jspClick on 2010-2014Check “US” and a country of your choice, then press “Next”Select “Important in life: religion”Compare the two countries in terms of their perceived importance of religion.Pick another variable to compare two countries of your choice.Write a few sentences to report what you found, and post it on Canvas.Please feel free to share anything interesting with the class.

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A02: Weak instrumentationFind 5 to 10 people (e.g. your friends outside APU or non-psychology majors at APU).Present two small cups of Coke to the participant, but lie to him or her.Script: “Hi, my name is XXX. I am a psychology major. Could you help me to fulfill a class requirement? It takes just one to two minutes. Could you taste a cup of Coke and a cup of Pepsi, and then tell me which one you prefer?”Do not pour the soft drink into the cup in front of him or her. Do it around the corner.After the test, do not tell him or her the truth or share the results with anyone at APU, otherwise the secret is exposed and I can no longer carry out this “experiment” on campus. Just tell him or her a random answer (e.g. “What you chose is Pepsi!”)How many people (percentage) can tell you that the two cups of soft drinks are exactly the same? If your research topic is about social psychology, you are welcome to use these data for your term paper.

A03: Natural experimentForm a small group of 3-4 people to discuss the following:After World War Two Europe and America went to the opposite directions in terms of secularization. Before the mid-20th century, Christianity was an integral part of the European culture, but today Christianity is no longer a vital force in secular Europe. In many West European countries the rate of regular church attendance has dropped to around 2 to 5 percent of the population. Nonetheless, in the US about 43% of the population attend the church on a regular basis. After examining numerous wellbeing statistics, including HIV/AIDs infection rates, male suicide rates and infant mortality rates compiled by World Health Organization, Quality of Life Index by the Economist, Environment Performance Index by Yale University, Economic competitiveness by World Economic Forum, Gender Empowerment Measure by the United Nations, and many others, some scholars (e.g. Sam Harris, Phi Zuckerman) concluded that irreligious Europe outperforms America in all of these measures of well-being. Based on the fact that Europe and America share the common Western cultural heritage, can this “natural experiment” support the claim that secularization can yield better social wellbeing than religiosity? Why or why not?

A04: Meaningful comparisonSome experiments are meaningless when the control is too inferior to the treatment. i.e. usually something is better than nothing. Form a group of 3-4 people. Discuss how to make a meaningful comparison group to answer the following research questions:

If couples that experience crisis in their marriage pray together to the Christian God, can it reduce the possibility of getting divorce within 2 years?

Can using PowerPoint as a lecture aid help students better-retain information? Can using SPSS as a tool for homework assignment in a stat class help students better-understand

statistical concepts and procedures?It is important to point out that you are NOT asked to answer the preceding research questions. Rather, what you need to do is to identify a meaningful comparison group (Hints: A “do-nothing” control group may not be suitable).

A05: Efficacy, effectiveness, and ecological validityForm a group of 3-4 people to discuss the following:There is always a discrepancy between efficacy and effectiveness, or between internal validity and external validity. Researchers have been arguing which one is more important for many decades.IOM urges FDA to change its drug approval process. Rather than checking the experimental results only, FDA should consider releasing an approved, experimental drug to a limited population. If the drug can pass the effectiveness test in a real-world setting, then FDA can go further to grant the final approval, the drug can be released to the entire population. What are the pros and cons of this proposed method in terms of efficacy and effectiveness?

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In 2016 UK transplanted Asian (Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore) pedagogical methods of mathematics into their school system. Chinese math textbooks were translated for UK students. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/south-asian-method-of-teaching-maths-to-be-rolled-out-in-schools https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/05/world/asia/china-textbooks-britain.html Some critics argue that it will never work because of cultural differences. How can you design a study to examine these competing claims while taking ecological validity into account (work in a different culture that entails many inter-entangling factors)?

A06: Internal validityForm a group of 3-4 people to discuss the following:Bill Nye, the Science Guy, claims that certain Christian doctrines (creationism, the great flood and Noah’s Ark) hinder young people from developing a scientific mind. He asserted that when many citizens don’t believe in evolution, it signifies a problem in our science education. The US needs more scientists and engineers to keep our leading status in science and technology, and therefore the Christian religion is doing a disservice to our young people and our nation.A researcher would like to examine this claim by conducting a longitudinal study. In this study he tracks two groups of young people from the age of 12 to 22. Children in Group 1 are raised in Christian families, attend church regularly, and believe in the basic doctrines of Christianity. Children in Group 2 are raised in secular families, never attend church regularly, and subscribe to a materialistic worldview. The researcher records their math and science test scores in all grades, and also checks how many people in each group choose science or engineering as their career path.What are the potential factors that may affect internal validity (e.g. design flaws) of this study? How can you improve his study?

A07: External validityForm a group of 3-4 people to discuss the following:Consider this real study (Source: Wikipedia)“Harvard professor Herbert Benson performed a "Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP)" in 2006. The STEP, commonly called the "Templeton Foundation prayer study" or "Great Prayer Experiment", used 1,802 coronary artery bypass surgery patients at six hospitals. Using double-blind protocols, patients were randomized into three groups, individual prayer receptiveness was not measured. The members of the experimental and control Groups 1 and 2 were informed they might or might not receive prayers, and only Group 1 received prayers. Group 3, which served as a test for possible psychosomatic effects, was informed they would receive prayers and subsequently did. Unlike some other studies, STEP attempted to standardize the prayer method. Only first names and last initial for patients were provided and no photographs were supplied. The congregations of three Christian churches who prayed for the patients "were allowed to pray in their own manner, but they were instructed to include the following phrase in their prayers: 'for a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications'…Some prayed-for patients fared worse than those who did not receive prayers. In The God Delusion, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins wrote, "It seems more probable that those patients who knew they were being prayed for suffered additional stress in consequence: 'performance anxiety', as the experimenters put it.”What are the potential factors that may affect external validity (generalization) of this study? What other weaknesses can you find in this study?

A08: Internal and external validityForm a group of 3-4 people to discuss the following:The Perry Preschool project is said to support that pre-schooling could make a substantial difference to individuals in terms of high school drop-out rate, out-of-wedlock pregnancy rate, criminal records, economic outcomes, and many others.http://evidencebasedprograms.org/1366-2/65-2

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How well can the Perry Preschool Study control the threats of internal (design flaws) and external validity (generalization)? This assignment is similar to Assignment 7 and Assignment 8. In A7 and A8 you are asked to evaluate the threats against internal validity and external validity, respectively. In this one you will evaluate both.

A09: Within-subjectAPU Beauty Pageant: Who will be Miss APU?Please rate the contestants shown in the photos (will be shown in class) using a 10-point scale, where 1 is the lowest rating and 10 is the highest.The class will be divided into two groups. When Group 1 is doing the rating, Group 2 stays outside the classroom, and vice versa.Afterwards, I will put all the scores into two Excel tables.Use one of the order effects to explain the pattern of the scoresFor example, the scores may go up and down. Why?Are the two groups differ from each other in the scoring patterns? Why?If you are absent during the class activity, you will not be able to do this assignment later because this assignment requires looking at a set of scores to detect the patterns.

Qualitative and mixed-method research assignments

A10: Reality in grounded theoryForm a group of 3-4 people to discuss the following:According to Charmaz, reality is nothing more than a social construction. Social constructionism is anti-realist i.e. there is no objective reality. Some critics charge that this position leads to relativism (all claims are valid in its own terms). In this case, the finding yielded from grounded theory would not be communicable and generalizable. What is your view of reality? Is it possible to use grounded theory to produce a report that is meaningful to other people? You are encouraged to search for additional information related to this debate.

A11: EthnographyForm a group of 3-4 people to discuss the following:Ethnographic studies that support sexual diversity does not end after Freeman’s criticism against Mead.Similar studies are still prevalent (e.g. Mangaia). Form a group of 3-4 people to discuss the following:How can you evaluate the credibility and implications of these studies?How can researchers avoid/reduce preconception and bias?(Hints: What mistakes did Edgar Snow and Margaret Mead make?)

A12: Field studyGo to a crowded place (e.g. café, restaurants…etc.). If the setting is situated in a foreign culture (e.g. Korean town, China town), it will be great. If not, it is fine, too.In each place, spend at least 20 minutes to observe how digital devices, including laptops, Notebooks, Kindles, iPads, smart phones, MP3 players…etc., affect people’s interactions.After finishing the field observation, post a brief report on Canvas and give a brief verbal report in class.If your research topic is about social psychology, you are welcome to use these data for your term paper.

A13: Story-tellingForm a group of 3-4 people to discuss the following:Some scholars argue that even though the story of 38 witnesses is not factual, this narrative inspires research in the bystander effect, resulting in saving many people in distress.How would you evaluate the value of the book “38 witnesses” (good or bad)?

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When a researcher writes a story, should he/she put the weight on facts (descriptive) or on inspiration (critical)?

A14: EpocheYou are a researcher who employs the phenomenological approach. You want to study the conversion (or de-conversion) experience from Christian faith to atheism, agnosticism, or skepticism. I pretend that I were Ken Daniels, John Loftus, or Dan Barker. When you interview me, try your best to be calm and suspend your judgment, no matter how much you dislike what I say.Next, pair with a partner and interview each other. The interviewee pretends to be someone that holds a view opposite to the interviewer’s position (e.g. does not believe in climate change, pro-life, pro-choice…etc.) or someone has an unusual personality type (e.g. gangster, KKK member, psycho-killer, ISIS terrorist…etc.).

A15: Mixed-methodForm a group of 3-4 people to discuss the following:According to the 2004 NRC report, it is advisable that research should inform policy and decision-making; research should be scientific; and research should be data-driven (empirical). Some researchers reject these criteria.The President appointed you to be the head of National Research Council. To resolve the dispute in the 2004 NRC report, you will revise the research guidelines. What would you change to make it better? (Hints: Consider mixed-method).

Bibliography

Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. (2003). Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care levels of evidence used to rate research design and quality of individual studies. Retrieved August 13, 2008, from http://www.ctfphc.org/

Berk, R. (2005). Randomized experiments as the bronze standard. UC Los Angeles: Department of Statistics, UCLA. Retrieved from http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2d57d1kq.

Essock, S., Drake, R., Frank, R., & McGuire. T. (2003). Randomized controlled trials in evidence-based mental health care: Getting the right answer to the right question. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 29(1), 115-123.

Medical News Today. (2008). Attack traditional ways of assessing the evidence of therapeutic interventions. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/126043.php

Montgomery, D. C. (2012). Design and analysis of experiments (8th ed.). New York, NY: Wiley.Morse, J. (2007). Sampling in grounded theory. In A. Bryant, & K. Charmaz (Ed.), Sage handbook of

grounded theory (pp. 229-244). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.Moule, P., & Hek, G. (2012). Making sense of research: An introduction for health and social care

practitioners. Thousand Oak, CA: Sage.Murnane, R. J. & Willet, J. B. (2010) Methods matter: Improving causal inference in educational and

social science research. NY: Oxford University Press.Plichta, S., & Garzon, L. (2009). Statistics for nursing and allied health. New York, NY: Lippincott

Williams & Wilkins.Rosenbaum, P. (2005). Heterogeneity and causality: Unit Heterogeneity and design sensitivity in

observational studies. American Statistician, 59, 147-152.Schneider, B., Carnoy, M., Kilpatrick, J., Schmidt, W. H., & R. J. Shavelson. (2008). Estimating causal

effects using experimental and observational designs: A think tank white paper. Washington D. C.: American Educational Research Association.

Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Slavin, R. (2008). Perspectives on evidence-based research in education. Educational Researcher, 37(1),

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5-14.Valli, L., & Buese, D. (2007). The changing roles of teachers in an era of high-stakes accountability.

American Education Research Journal, 44, 519-558.Yu, C. H. (2009). Causal inferences and abductive reasoning: Between automated data mining and latent

constructs. Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM-Verlag.

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APA STYLE CHECKLISTThis checklist must be attached to the back of any APA-written papers/reports for this class. Make sure that ALL the items listed on the checklist that apply are checked off. You are responsible for making copies of this Checklist as needed.

I have reviewed the checklist to make sure my paper meets the APU department of psychology Guidelines for writing an APA paper. The paper I have presented is my own work with citations made to give credit to the sources I have used. I understand that all APA rules are not used on this page and that plagiarism will result in a failing grade.

Student Signature: Date:

FORMATTING THE PAPER (General Rules) Use 1” margin around the paper. (APA, p. 229) Be sure to check--Word defaults to 1.25” Header is set at .5” and uses the same font as the body of the paper. Header includes the page number in the upper right corner on all pages, including the Title Page (APA, p. 41, Figure 2.1,

p.229). Header includes the Running head in the upper left hand corner on all pages including the Title Page. Paper is left aligned and double-spaced throughout – including references. (APA, p. 229). Font: Use 12 pt. Times New Roman, throughout. (APA, p. 228) All paragraphs should be indented .5” (APA, p. 229) Bullets are not used within the narrative. Paper is written using clear, concise, direct Standard English. Avoid informal language/slang. Avoid language use

designed to introduce bias or affect (e.g. avoid using the words very, always, unfortunately). (APA, p. 70-77). Sentences have one topic. Paragraphs have one theme. Each paragraph should be longer than a single sentence, but no

longer than one page. (APA, p. 87-88) Acronyms, on first appearance, must be written completely and followed by parentheses. Use acronym after that, e.g.

Azusa Pacific University (APU) (APA, p. 107, 4.23). Do not use periods (e.g. use APU, not A.P.U). (APA, p. 88, 4.02) Numbers less than 10 are written as words. Numbers 10+ are written as numbers unless starting a sentence (APA, p. 111,

4.31)Ex: There were three schools that participated in the study. (Numbers under ten). There were 11 schools that participated in the study. (Numbers over ten). An exception to this rule is numbers that represent time, dates, ages and numbers in specific parts of manuscript (e.g. tables, pages).

Use Spell (S) and Grammar Check (GC). Proof read, as S and GC do not catch all errors. (APA, p. 230) The writing is clearly my own but other’s ideas are cited. Plagiarism (APA, p. 15-16, 1.10; p. 270, 6.01) Paper is stapled (no clips, folders, not loose). APA checklist is attached.

TITLE PAGE (See Example) (APA, p. 41, Figure 2.3) In upper left-hand corner of the page header insert the Running head in the header. The words Running head: are in upper

and lower case letters followed by the abbreviated title (no more than 50 characters counting spaces) in ALL CAPTIAL LETTERS. Ex. Running head: ART EDUCATION. (APA, p. 229; p. 41, Figure 2.3)Note: The words Running head: are not included on the following pages, but the actual running head in all capital letters should be included on all following pages. Ex. ART EDUCATION

Page number should be inserted on the far right of the header. Title page has the entire title of paper centered (upper and lower case letters) halfway down the page. The recommended

length of the title is no more than 12 words. Below paper title insert: 1) name, 2) college. Double-spaced only. (APA, p. 23, 2.01,)

ABSTRACT (Optional) Begin Abstract on new page. (APA, p. 27) Abstract is a double spaced overview of the content of the paper consisting of no more than 250 words. No paragraph

indent. All numbers in the abstract (unless beginning a sentence) are typed as digits rather than words.

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BEGINNING BODY OF PAPER) Title is centered at top of 1st page of the narrative of text in upper and lowercase. It is not bolded. (APA, p .23 and p. 41,

Figure 2.1) Press the return key once and begin paper. This is no extra space between the title and the beginning of the paper. The

introduction is not labeled. There are no extra return spaces between paragraphs or sections of the paper. All works referenced or paraphrased are cited in manuscript. All material that is not my own and is not common

knowledge is cited. Quoted content does not cite or quote other sources. I have only cited work that I have read. My citations are scholarly sources.

Citations for paraphrased content list author(s) last name and date (separated by comma and single space) (Eck & Lambert, 2012).

Citations for quoted content list author(s) last name, date, and page number(s), e.g. (Tsai & Cole, 2012, p. 333). Page number is abbreviated “p.” Electronic sources include a paragraph number and are abbreviated “para.”, e.g. (Yu, 2012, para. 3).

All citations in the text are referenced in the References. All items in the References are included in the text. (APA, p.174, 6.11)

The first time an article with two to five authors is cited all the authors’ last names are included. First names and initials are not used. After that, use et al. The term et al. is not italicized and with a period after al. If there are six or more authors, list only the first author’s last name followed by et al. (APA, p. 175, 6.12) Ex. for first usage (two-five authors): (Abiden, Jones, Smith & Elliott, 1993) Ex. for second or more usage (two-five authors): (Abiden et al., 1993) Ex. for six or more authors: Wasserstein et al. 2005 (APA, p. 177, 6.1; See table 6.1 for examples)

When referencing a work with two or more authors, the word "and" is used in the text, while the symbol “&” is used in parentheses. (APA, p. 176, 6.14)Ex. Abiden, Jones, Smith and Elliott (1993) completed a literature review on the topic.Ex. A literature review on the topic (Abiden, Jones, Smith & Elliott, 1993) revealed no change.

When a work’s author is designated as “Anonymous” cite it in the text as (Anonymous, 1998). (APA, p. 177, 6.15) When no author listed, cite the first few words of the title (surrounded by quotation marks) followed by the date in. (APA,

p. 176, 6.15) Ex. (“Study Finds,” 2007) Personal communications are not cited in References (they are non-retrievable); cite these only in body of paper. (APA,

p.179, 6.20) Ex. A long discussion followed (T. Cho, personal communication, April 18, 2008). Italicize titles of works artwork, movies, TV shows and reports. Capitalize words four letters long or greater. (APA, pp.

104-106) Ex: A Nation at Risk has changed the face of education.

REFERENCE PAGE (APA, p. 49) References are on a new page, with the word References centered at the top of the page in upper and lower case letters.

(APA, p. 37, 2.11) References in text match references at end of paper and all references are included in the reference list. (APA, p. 37, 2.11;

p. 174) References follow APA format (Double-spaced, alphabetical order with hanging indent on second line). (APA, p. 174-

179) Book reference. Author last name, first initial. (Publication date). Title italicized. City, State published: Publisher.

Ex: Castaneda, R. (2013). Health psychology. Azusa, CA: Azusa Press. Journal reference. Author last names, first initial. (publication date). Article title. Name of journal italicized and first

letters capitalized, volume italicized (issue number not italicized), pages as 123-234. Ex: Diaz, P. (2013). Culture in transition. Journal of Social Psychology, 13(1), 45-67.

Electronic source. Author last name, first initial (publication date). Title italicized. Retried from URL (APA, p. 205, 29 and 30) Do not add date of retrieval. (New APA). Ex: Chou, L, (2009). Technology and education. Retrieved from http://www.cc.fg.edu

Corporate author. List organization, date, Title of page italicized in upper and lower case and Retrieved from. Ex. National Art Education Association (2007). FAQ. Retrieved from http://www.naea-reston.org/about-us/faq

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NO publication date for a source, use (n.d.). No spaces between n and d. (APA, p. 185, 6.28)

FINAL POINTSWhen you need to see examples or have another APA question you cannot find: 1) use your APA manual, 2) visit the APU Writing Resource Center/website, or 3) use these resources:

APA Style.org: http://www.apastyle.org/pubmanual.html Owl at Purdue: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ APA Citation Style: http://www.liu.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citapa.htm *NOTE: ERIC document Star trek should

be star trek. Son of Citation Machine: http://citationmachine.net/ You will love this one! Plug in info and it makes the citation for you

(but still review/check it).

Modified from Ecklund; Wilson (2010); chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/materials/APA_Style_Checklist.doc; carey.jhu.edu/students/academic.../APAManuscriptStyleChecklist.pdf

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