Research Methods 1

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 5
• Convenor: Dr Silvia Seghezzi
• Assessment: a 3500-word lab report (40%) and two-hour examination (60%)

In this module we introduce you to different statistical techniques, their use in research design and the theoretical rationale behind them. You will have the opportunity to apply statistical techniques by hand and use SPSS to analyse data. Once you have generated a data analysis you will learn how to interpret relevant parts of the SPSS output, and critically think and comment about different findings that are produced by the analysis.

You will then be able to demonstrate your research skills through the writing of a lab report.

Indicative syllabus

• Overview of course; experimental design
• t-tests and one-way ANOVAs
• Correlation
• Linear regression
• Experiment
• How to write a lab report
• Two-way ANOVA
• Course overview and examination preparation

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

• identify when and understand how to use the following statistical techniques and interpret findings:
• correlational analysis and simple linear regression
• factorial analysis of variance: between and within subject designs
• simple interaction effects
• post hoc tests
• understand and discuss the fundamentals of experimental design issues relating to a selection of participants, and ethics in experimental design.