Psych 540 complete course (research methodology)

1. PSYCH 540 COMPLETE COURSE (Research
Methodology)
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research-methodology/
PSYCH 540 Week 1 Individual Assignment Fundamentals of Research Methodology
Paper
Prepare a 1,050 to 1,400-word paper (words over 1,400 will not count or be read) in
which you examine fundamental concepts of research methodology in the field of
psychology. Be sure to address the following items in your explanation:
Discuss the science of psychology
Explain the scientific method
Distinguish between qualitative and quantitative data
Describe the process of scientific theory construction and testing
PSYCH 540 Week 2 Individual Assignment Ethics in Psychological Research Paper
Select a classical issue in ethics and psychological research (e.g., deception in
research, human care, use of animals, etc.). Obtain faculty approval, via your
Individual Forum, of your selected issue prior to beginning this assignment.
Prepare a 1,050 to 1,400-word paper (words over 1,400 will not count or be read) in
which you examine fundamental concepts of research methodology in the field of
psychology. Be sure to address the following items in your explanation:
Define ethics
Discuss the concept of risk/benefit ratio
Describe your selected issue
Evaluate the impact of your selected issue on psychological research

2. PSYCH 540 Week 2 Learning Team Assignment Research Project Literature Review
Select an issue in the field of psychology. This issue will be the basis for your
Research Project due during Weeks 2, 3, and 4. Obtain faculty approval of your
selected issue prior to beginning this project.
Locate at least five scientific journal articles concerning research studies that were
conducted in relation to your selected issue.
Prepare a 1,750 to 2,100-word paper (words over 2,100 will not count or be read) of
your selected articles. Be sure to address the following items in your explanation:
Summarize each component of the research study (e.g., hypothesis, how was the
hypothesis tested, methods, findings, suggestions for future research)
Evaluate the comprehensiveness of the research
Describe the design and the methods used in the study
Discuss the major findings of the study
Identify the limitations of the study
PSYCH 540 Week 3 Learning Team Assignment Research Project Descriptive
Method Design
Design a 700 to 1,050-word (words over 1,050 will not count or be read) research
study utilizing descriptive research methods for the issue that you selected for your
Research Project: Literature Review. Be sure to address the following items in your
explanation:
Describe your sample population
Describe the descriptive method(s) that you selected to utilize in your research
study and explain why those methods are appropriate for this study (why you
selected them)
Speculate on the expected outcome(s) of your study
PSYCH 540 Week 4 Learning Team Assignment Research Project Experimental
Method Design
Design a 700 to 1,050-word (words over 1,050 will not count or be read) research
study utilizing experimental research methods for the issue that you selected for
your Research Project: Literature Review. Be sure to address the following items in
your explanation:

3. Describe your sample population
Describe the experimental method(s) that you selected to utilize in your research
study and explain why those methods are appropriate for this study (why you
selected them)
Speculate on the expected outcome(s) of your study
PSYCH 540 Week 5 Individual Assignment Applied Research Questions
Prepare written responses to the following questions. The response to the questions
(taken together) listed at each bullet point should be at least 250 words in length.
Remember to include at least four citations and references; and, no more than 10%
of UOPX papers can be directly-quoted material.
What are the similarities between descriptive and inferential statistics? What are the
differences? When should you use descriptive and inferential statistics?
What are the similarities between single-case and small-N research designs? What
are the differences? When should you use single-case and small-N research designs?
What are true experiments? How are threats to internal validity controlled by true
experiments? How are they different from experimental designs?
What are quasi-experimental designs? Why are they important? How are they
different from experimental designs?
PSYCH 540 Week 6 Individual Assignment Trend Article Analysis
Locate an article concerning a social and/or behavioral trend that impacts research
in the field of psychology.
Prepare a 700 to 1,050-word analysis (words over 1,050 will not count or be read) in
which you address the following items:
Summarize your selected article
Explain the impact of the trend discussed in your selected article on research in the
field of psychology
PSYCH 540 Week 6 Learning Team Assignment Data Analysis and Interpretation
Presentation
Select a method that can be used to analyze research (e.g., correlation, statistical
significance, etc.). Obtain faculty approval of your selected method prior to
beginning this project.

4. Prepare a 10 to 12-slide PowerPoint® presentation in which you explain the use of
your selected method in analyzing research. Be sure to address the following items
in your explanation:
Describe the way in which your selected method can be used to analyze data
Demonstrate the use of your selected method using an actual data set. You may use
a data set from a study you have found on-line at UOPX’s library or from one of the
following sources.
Census Bureau –www.census.gov Bureau of Justice Statistics – bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov
Bureau of Labor Statistics –www.bls.gov National Center for Health Statistics –
www.cdc.gov/nchs Centers for Disease Control and Prevention –www.cdc.gov
National Center for Educational Statistics – nces.ed.gov
Discuss the advantages and the drawbacks associated with your selected method
Discussions:
What is research? What role does research play in your own life? What role does
research play in the field of psychology (include an example here)? Remember to
include citation/s and reference/s.
Ethical decision making often pits opposing philosophical positions against one
another. This is clearly seen in the debate over the use of animals in research. At the
center of this debate is the question of the “moral status” of humans and nonhuman
animals. As the Australian philosopher Peter Singer (1990) points out, two generally
accepted moral principles are that:
1. All humans are equal in moral status.
2. All humans are of superior moral status to nonhuman animals.
Others argue that “there is no rational ethical justification for always putting human
suffering ahead of that of nonhuman animals” (Singer, 1990, p. 9).
What do you think about the moral status of humans and animals and its
relationship to psychological research?
Researchers began by looking at how a sample of 5-year-olds were treated by their
parents. Thirty-six years later, when the participants were 41-years-old, the study
examined the degree to which these individuals were socially accomplished (Franz,
McClelland, & Weinberger, 1991).
The researchers concluded that having a warm and affectionate father or mother
was significantly associated with “adult social accomplishment.”

5. 1. What, if any, advantages does this prospective study have over a study that asks
41-year-olds to reflect back on their childhood?
2. How would you measure adult social accomplishment?
3. How would you measure parental warmth? Why?
4. Assume that the study clearly established a relationship between parenting
practices and adult social accomplishment. Could we then conclude that parenting
practices cause adult social accomplishment? Why or why not?
Observational research methods include laboratory observation, naturalistic
observation, and participant observation. In both naturalistic and participant
observation, we study real behavior in the real world. Innaturalistic observation we
try to observe the participants in a natural setting unobtrusively (without letting
them know we are watching them. In participant observation we actively interact
with our participants, becoming “one of them.”
Think of and discuss an experiment, situation, or career in which you might need to
use either naturalistic or participant observation.
Practice effects occur when a participant’s score is changed (usually toward the
positive) simply due to gaining practice with a task during the experiment. Come up
with and discuss an experimental design in which practice effects might threaten
scientific results during the study. How could you change your study’s design to
avoid practice effects?
In an independent groups design, a separate group serves as a control for the group
given the experimental treatment. In a repeated measures design, subjects serve as
their own controls because they participate in both the experimental and control
conditions.
Journals such as Psychological Methods and Journal of Experimental Psychology:
Learning, Memory, and Cognition(both available at UOPX’s on-line library) frequently
publish results of experiments using repeated measures designs. Find one repeated
measures study and share with us the hypothesis of the experiment, which
measures were repeated in the study, and what the researchers found at the end of
the study. Be sure to include citations and your reference!
What is a case study? Our textbook states that a case study can “not only provide
insights into the relationship between mind and brain, but also reveals how
individuals adapt, cope, and succeed when faced with profound neurological
deficits” (Shaughnessy, Zechmeister E., & Zechmeister, J., 2009, p. 308).

6. Please locate one case study in a peer-reviewed psychology journal at UOPX’s on-
line library (the study doesnot have to be related to the brain). Please describe the
individual’s symptoms, the methods used to understand or treat the symptoms, and
any evidence for the treatment’s effectiveness reported in the study that you chose.
Remember to include citations and the reference!
Please describe the Hawthorne effect and what results were uncovered by the study.
Remember to include citations and a reference.
A similar phenomenon is experienced when individuals realize that they are being
taped by public video surveillance systems. Often, immediately after a system is
installed, crime rates drop. One theory is that this is simply because people observe
the cameras and temporarily shift behavior. Some argue that this effect wears off
over time. Do you think that public surveillance systems carry a long term affect and
help to stop crimes? Or, do you think that individuals will acclimate to the cameras
and eventually return to their criminal activities?
Correlation is an important concept particularly in the field of clinical psychology
where many clinical issues appear to be related. One example is that anxiety and
depression are generally found to be correlated with each other.
What is correlation? Please come up with two psychological variables (other than
anxiety and depression) which are or may be correlated with each other. What three
possible directions of causality might explain the correlation between your two
variables? Be sure to include citations and reference/s.
Why do researchers use nonparametric tests? Describe a psychological research
scenario in which a nonparametric test would be used. Why would the
nonparametric test be appropriate for this scenario?
Because of the current availability of on-line scientific journal articles and textbooks,
plagiarizing by copying and pasting other peoples’ writing has become very easy to
accomplish. In an attempt to avoid plagiarism, the American Psychological
Association, the University of Phoenix, and most universities worldwide have
implemented very severe penalties for plagiarism, which include expulsion and
having one’s Ph.D. degree revoked.
Do you feel that these “penalties” are overly severe? Why, or why not?
UOPX defines the quality and quantity of paper and presentation assignments for
each of their classes. As instructors, the only portion of the curriculum that we are
allowed to arrive at on our own are the weekly DQs.
I am interested in your thoughts and comments regarding the number and type of
assignments required for this course. In your experience, does this class require the

7. same amount of work as other UOPX classes, or more? What did you like best about
this course? What did you like least? Do you have any suggestions for improvement?