Unit Outline

Psychology, the study of human behaviour, is wondrous in its complexity. Individual behaviour is affected and influenced by many factors, including biological, neurological, psychological and cultural. Psychologists can and do measure all of these factors and understand that the relationships and effects among them are many and varied. Some factors influence behaviour directly and others indirectly; some effects and influences are large, while others are small; and the mix among these is often variable, sensitive to situational and behavioural contexts, age, motivations and gender. As knowledge and technology continue to advance, psychology researchers are asking increasingly complex and nuanced questions about human behaviour. To successfully integrate and interpret data from these studies requires knowledge of advanced research methods and advanced statistical tools. In this unit you will extend your knowledge and skills to help you to make principled choices among a variety of advanced statistical tools, choices that are often not clear cut for complex questions. You will learn and apply principles to assist with consolidating and interpreting complex data. And you will learn how to communicate the results obtained from complex analyses in a clear and principled way.

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.	Appraise research methodology and develop strategies to overcome limitations for a variety of research contexts.
2.	Select, conduct and interpret statistical analyses to test hypotheses for complex research designs.
3.	Integrate research results, design limitations and research codes of conduct to communicate findings to a variety of audiences.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	PSY211 - Research Skills in Psychology
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	KHA350

Alterations as a result of student feedback

No alterations have been made as a result of student feedback.

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:	Weekly web-based assessments (quizzes)	See the MyLO site for the due date	10 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 2:	Weekly practical exercises	See the MyLO site for the due date	10 %	LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Mid-semester Quiz	Week 7	10 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 4:	Practical Test	Week 12	30 %	LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 5:	Final Exam	Exam Period	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Weekly web-based assessments (quizzes)

Task Description:

Weekly web-based assessments (quizzes)
These comprise a series of multiple choice or similar questions that are aligned with the content of the weekly ‘lecture’ to help you apply your learning of the new material. Instant feedback is provided to assist your learning

Task Length:

Quizzes are available for 7 days, and there is no time limit for completion within this time period.

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Effectively applies knowledge of independent and dependent variables when analysing data	LO2
2	Applies concepts of effect size, power, and research design to conduct and interpret statistical analyses.	LO2
3	Selects and applies appropriate statistical methods to answer research questions.	LO1

Assessment Task 2: Weekly practical exercises

Task Description:

Complete a weekly exercise putting the statistical technique introduced in that week’s ‘lecture’ into practice. The requirements for each week’s exercise will be provided in the unit workbook and will involve things such as identifying dependent and independent variables in a research design, conducting analyses in jamovi, interpreting the results of analyses and demonstrating your ability to communicate these.

Task Length:

Cumulative total 1000 words

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Selects and applies appropriate statistical methods to answer research questions	LO2
2	Applies concepts of effect size, power, and research design to conduct and interpret statistical analyses	LO2
3	Uses clear and concise writing when summarising, critiquing and interpreting statistical analyses and research designs.	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Mid-semester Quiz

Task Description:

Quiz
These will be a mix of multiple question types, designed to assess your understanding and ability to apply all of the lecture and practical material presented to the time of this assessment. This quiz will only be available during scheduled practical time.

Task Length:

This quiz will only be available in your 100 minute scheduled practical time. There is no time limit for completion within this time period.

Due Date:

Week 7

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Effectively applies knowledge of independent and dependent variables when analysing data.	LO2
2	Applies concepts of effect size, power, and research design to conduct and interpret statistical analyses.	LO2
3	Selects and applies appropriate statistical methods to answer research questions.	LO1

Assessment Task 4: Practical Test

Task Description:

This will require determination of experimental design from a description of a research study; identification of the appropriate statistical analysis to be conducted; conducting these analyses on a provided dataset using jamovi and interpreting and reporting these results.

Task Length:

100 minutes

Due Date:

Week 12

Weight:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Selects and applies appropriate statistical methods to answer research questions	LO2
2	Applies concepts of effect size, power, and research design to conduct and interpret statistical analyses.	LO2
3	Uses clear and concise writing when summarising, critiquing and interpreting statistical analyses and research designs.	LO3

Assessment Task 5: Final Exam

Task Description:

Two sets of short answer questions Two sets of data interpretation short answer questions

Task Length:

Take-home, 12 hour completion window

Due Date:

Exam Period

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Appraise research methodology and develop strategies to overcome limitations for a variety of research contexts.	LO1
2	Select, conduct and interpret statistical analyses to test hypotheses for complex research designs.	LO2
3	Integrate research results, design limitations and research codes of conduct to communicate findings to a variety of audiences.	LO3

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

There are no required textbooks for PSY311. A workbook is provided to you electronically in PDF format.