Unit Outline

In today’s information-rich world it is essential to be able to interpret and critically evaluate empirical and popular reports of psychological research, as well as research findings more broadly. We need to be able to recognise the characteristics of valid research, to understand what distinguishes trustworthy reporting from biased and misleading reporting, and to communicate the findings from psychological and other research in a clear, accessible and unbiased way. In this unit you will explore foundational concepts of research methods, research design and research ethics that will help you interpret and critically evaluate psychological research. You will learn how to use library and web resources to locate relevant, reliable and valid evidence about psychological findings and theories. You will also learn skills to help you summarise conceptual and numerical information in a clear, concise and accessible manner for a range of audiences. The skills gained in this unit are powerful and readily transferable to many of today’s workplaces and they provide a solid foundation for further study in psychology.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	Describe the major principles that govern ethical research involving diverse populations.
2.	Apply information literacy skills to locate and retrieve high-quality information sources relevant to a research topic
3.	Identify fundamental research methods and primary variables in psychological research studies from written and verbal descriptions.
4.	Summarise and communicate conceptual and quantitative information using a style and language appropriate for defined audiences.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Quiz availability has been increased from one week to two weeks to provide increased flexibility for quiz completion.

Teaching arrangements


ATTENDANCE MODE	TEACHING TYPE	LEARNING ACTIVITY	CONTACT HOURS	FREQUENCY
On Campus	Lecture (Online)	Online Lecture Modules - Unit content and concepts are delivered weekly as online (asynchronous) lecture modules.	2	Weekly
	Practical	2 hour on campus practical class weekly	2	Weekly
	Independent Learning	Self-directed study - Set aside time to each week to complete assigned readings, revise topics and content, and work on assessment tasks.	6	Weekly
Online	Lecture (Online)	Online Lecture Modules - Unit content and concepts are delivered weekly as online (asynchronous) lecture modules.	2	Weekly
	Independent Learning	Self-directed study - Set aside time each week to complete assigned readings, revise topics and content, and work on assessment tasks.	6	Weekly
	Individual Study	2 hour online (asynchronous) practical modules weekly	2	Weekly

Attendance / engagement expectations

If your unit is offered On campus, it is expected that you will attend all on-campus and onsite learning activities. This is to support your own learning and the development of a learning community within the unit. If you are unable to attend regularly, please discuss the situation with your course coordinator and/or our UConnect support team.

If your unit is offered Online, it is expected you will engage in all those activities as indicated in the Unit Outline, including any self-directed learning.

If you miss a learning activity for a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, carer responsibilities) teaching staff will attempt to provide alternative activities (e.g., make up readings) where it is possible.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Practical exercises	Week 3	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	Written Assignment	Week 10	30 %	LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Research participation and reflection	Week 13	10 %	LO1, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 4:	Final Exam	Exam Period	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Practical exercises

Task Description:

Five quizzes (4% each) across the semester. Quizzes will be comprised of a variety of question types including but not limited to MCQ, matching, short-answer, ordering, and multi-select.

30 minutes per quiz
Each quiz will be open for a two week period. You can attempt a quiz at any time while it is open. Once you start a quiz you will have 30 minutes to complete it. Quizzes cannot be paused once they are started and there will only be one attempt for each quiz.
Availability Dates:
Quiz 1 - Opens Monday 4th March – closes Sunday 17 March (11:58 pm)
Quiz 2 -Opens Monday 18th March– closes Sunday 7th April (11:58 pm)
Quiz 3 -Opens Monday 8th April – closes Sunday 21st April (11:58 pm)
Quiz 4 - Opens Monday 22nd April – closes Sunday 5th May (11:58pm)
Quiz 5 - Opens Monday 20th May – closes Sunday 2nd June (11:58 pm)

Task Length:

30 minutes per quiz

Due Date:

Week 3

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply ethical concepts to interpret psychological literature.	LO1
2	Apply knowledge of research methods to interpret psychological research.	LO2, LO3
3	Apply knowledge of descriptive statistics to summarise, interpret and evaluate data.	LO2, LO3

Assessment Task 2: Written Assignment

Task Description:

At the beginning of the semester, you will choose from one of three contemporary issues that have been selected by your unit coordinator.

You will adopt the role of a psychological scientist and explain for a general reader the contemporary issue you have selected. You will explain how psychological science researchers are currently addressing this issue using a current peer-reviewed research article.

Task Length:

Maximum 1,200 words

Due Date:

Week 10

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Use empirical research to illustrate the methods and results of current (within last five years) psychological science research that addresses a contemporary problem.	LO2, LO3, LO4
2	Communicate discipline-specific concepts and terminology using plain language to convey meaning to a general reader.	LO4
3	Explain how a contemporary problem is relevant to psychological science and how it fits within the broad discipline of psychology.	LO2, LO4
4	Use the required academic style (title page, formatting, citations, reference list) and writing conventions to create a coherent and cohesive essay.	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Research participation and reflection

Task Description:

Research participation and reflection.

Task Length:

4 hours research participation/research modules, plus 300 word (maximum) reflection.

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Reflect on the ethics process related to your personal experience as a research participant, and/or the experiences of research participants gathered from research modules.	LO1, LO4
2	Complete required hours of active participation in an ethics approved research project, and/or complete research modules on research participants’ perspective.	LO1, LO3

Assessment Task 4: Final Exam

Task Description:

Final Exam online (2 hours)
Multiple choice questions, short-answer questions and long-answer questions requiring application of concepts and skills developed throughout the unit.

Task Length:

2hrs

Due Date:

Exam Period

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Use psychological science terminology and concepts appropriately within defined contexts.	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
2	Apply knowledge of research methods and research ethics.	LO1, LO3
3	Apply knowledge of statistics and data presentation.	LO3
4	Apply information literacy skills.	LO2

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

You will need the following texts. Both texts are freely available online and can be downloaded as PDF files:

Spielman, R.M., Jenkins, W.J. & Lovett, M.D. (2023). [eTextbook] Psychology 2e. https://openstax.org/details/books/psychology-2e

Navarro, D.J. & Foxcroft, D.R. (2022). learning statistics with jamovi: a tutorial for psychology students and other beginners. (Version 0.75). DOI: 10.24384/hgc3-7p15 https://www.learnstatswithjamovi.com/