Course Coordinator:Will Harrison (wharrison@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Psychology
UniSC Sunshine CoastUniSC Moreton Bay |
Blended learning | Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online. |
Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
Psychology is a broad discipline, spanning from patient-focussed therapy to how the brain gives rise to the mind. Psychological knowledge is acquired through the rigorous application of the scientific method. In order to be a psychologist, we must understand how this knowledge base has been developed and refined using the tools of science. This course therefore introduces the principles of scientific research, delves into experimental design, and introduces statistical techniques to describe and evaluate the results of psychological investigations.
| Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
| Blended learning | |||
| Learning materials – Online learning materials and activities | 1hr | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 1 – In person classes with lecturer presenting weekly module with a chance for students to ask questions. | 2hrs | Week 1 | 12 times |
| Tutorial/Workshop 2 – Activity-based workshops | 1hr | Week 2 | 10 times |
This course is an introductory level course to principles of science, research design, methodology and analyses in the context of the psychological sciences. Topics covered include: the scientific method, measurement, descriptive statistics, correlations, inferential statistics, types of research, null hypothesis significance testing, statistical significance, and communication.
100 Level (Introductory)
12 units
| Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Mapping Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | Professional Standard Mapping * Australian Psychology Accreditation Council | |
| 1 | Explain psychology topics and issues using discipline terminology. | Knowledgeable |
1.1, 1.3, 1.6 |
| 2 | Distinguish between a variety of research methods used in psychological research. |
Knowledgeable Creative and critical thinker |
1.1.12
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| 3 | Understand the key features and concepts of descriptive and inferential statistics. | Empowered |
1.1.12
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| 4 | Report and interpret the results of statistical analyses. |
Ethical Engaged |
1.1.12, 1.3, 1.6 |
| CODE | COMPETENCY |
| Australian Psychology Accreditation Council | |
| 1.1.12 | Graduates will be able to comprehend and apply a broad and coherent body of knowledge of psychology, with depth of understanding of underlying principles, theories and concepts in the discipline, using a scientific approach, including research methods and statistics |
| 1.1 | Graduates will be able to comprehend and apply a broad and coherent body of knowledge of psychology, with depth of understanding of underlying principles, theories and concepts in the discipline, using a scientific approach, including the following topics: |
| 1.3 | Graduates will be able to analyse and critique theory and research in the discipline of psychology and communicate these in written and oral formats. |
| 1.6 | Graduates will be able to demonstrate self-directed pursuit of scholarly inquiry in psychology. |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
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Standard Grading (GRD)
| High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
From Week 1, students receive feedback on weekly quizzes that encourage and test learning progress. Early feedback on progress is also provided to students through a formative quiz within the first 6 weeks.
| Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
| All | 1 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 10% | Each weekly quiz opens on the day of the Workshop 2 (i.e. the lecture) and can be completed within a 48 hour window. |
Refer to Format | Online Test (Quiz) |
| All | 2 | Quiz/zes | Individual | 25% | The quiz duration is 1 hour, and will include 50 multiple choice questions worth 0.5 marks each. |
Refer to Format | Online Test (Quiz) |
| All | 3 | Report | Individual | 30% | The main report will be 500 words, but note that other sections, such as the Appendix and mathematical working, are not included in this word count. |
Refer to Format | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
| All | 4 | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 35% | 2 hours |
Exam Period | Online Submission |
| All - Assessment Task 1:Weekly Quiz | |||||||
| Goal: | Weekly quizzes are multiple choice questions related to each week's learning module. These quizzes are designed to test and consolidate the critical concepts of each week. There will be 12 quizzes, but only the best 10 weeks' scores will count toward each student's grade for this assessment. There will therefore be no extensions or supplementary options for this assessment (i.e. students can "miss" 3 out of 12 quizzes with no loss of marks). |
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| Product: | Quiz/zes | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | This assessment task requires you to complete a series of multiple-choice questions via Canvas. There'll be a quiz each week that will be due within three days of the week's lecture. When lectures are disrupted by e.g. public holidays, the week's quiz will be due within three days of a time to be specified at the start of trimester. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Problem solving |
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| All - Assessment Task 2:Mid-trimester quiz | |||||||
| Goal: | The aim of the mid-trimester quiz is for students to consolidate and apply the knowledge of course content up to the week of the quiz. |
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| Product: | Quiz/zes | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | This assessment task requires you to complete a series of multiple-choice questions via Canvas. The quiz will be open for one week, and will be due between Weeks 4 - 8 (refer to format for quiz timing). |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Problem solving |
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| All - Assessment Task 3:Reporting results in a research report | |||||||||||||
| Goal: | The goal of this task is to develop hypotheses, analyse datasets to test those hypotheses, and to communicate the findings through a formal report that follows the format of a Results section of a psychology research report. |
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| Product: | Report | ||||||||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||||||||
| Format: | This assessment task will be due between Weeks 8 - 12. The report will be an APA 7th formatted results section that summarises multiple stages of research performed throughout the trimester. Calculations and supplementary information will be included in an Appendix, which must also follow APA 7th formatting. A more detailed outline of the requirements of this assessment will be provided on Canvas. |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving |
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| All - Assessment Task 4:Examination | |||||||
| Goal: | To assess your knowledge of the course content. The end-of-trimester examination will consist of multiple choice and short answer questions based on the materials covered in the learning materials, in the textbook, and in the tutorials/workshops. |
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| Product: | Examination - Centrally Scheduled | ||||||
| Authorship Statement: | |||||||
| Format: | Multiple-choice and short-answer questions |
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| Criteria: |
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| Generic Skills: | Communication, Problem solving |
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A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
You need regular access to the resource(s) below. Many texts are available as ebooks through the Library at no additional cost.
| Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
| Required | Cote, L.R., Gordon, R., Randell, C.E., Schmitt, J., Marvin, H. | 2021 | Introduction to Statistics in the Psychological Sciences | n/a | University of Missouri - St Louis |
N/A
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment
Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale
Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.
The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty
For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:
For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching
UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.
For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.
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