The course aims to provide students with basic knowledge about the scientific research process. In particular, the critical points of the reading and planning of psychological research will be taken into consideration with particular attention to the research cycle, research questions, and research communication. Special attention will be dedicated to the problems related to the topic of measurement in psychology and the use of psychological variables, with hints of descriptive statistics.

First week: psychology as a scientific discipline, methods of knowledge, research ethics.

Second week: phases of the research process.

Third week: scientific method, measurement (classification of variables and measurement scales), research theory, objectives, and hypotheses.

Fourth week: constructs and operationalization, reliability and validity.

Fifth week: observation, investigation, sampling.

Sixth week: introduction to experimental research designs, between-subject designs and within-subejct designs.

Seventh week: factorial designs and mixed factorial designs.

Eighth week: real, pre, almost experiments and designs on single subjects.

Ninth and Tenth week: elements of descriptive statistics (phases of data analysis, frequencies, contingency tables, graphs, central trend indices, dispersion indices, position indices, shape indices, z-scores).

Learning outcomes:

a) Knowledge and understanding: Demonstrate understanding of the basic concepts of the research methodology.

b) Applying knowledge and understanding: Demonstrate having learned the ability to use knowledge and concepts to reason according to the logic of the psychological discipline.

c) Making judgements: Demonstrate the ability to autonomously integrate one’s knowledge and develop a critical spirit.

d) Communication skills: Know how to expose theoretical concepts. Acquire the technical language of the discipline.

e) Learning skills: Know how to analyze data through descriptive statistics and interpret tables and graphs.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Classroom exercises.

Approximately halfway through the course there is a training test for all students, attending and non-attending, aimed at helping the student to monitor their level of learning and to support ways of studying and expressing knowledge and skills. The timetable and methods will be communicated to students at the beginning of the course, both in class and via the Blended Learning platform.

Teaching

Frontal teaching.

Innovative teaching methods

Course books

- Shaughnessy, J. J., Zechmeister, E. B., & Zechmeister, J. S. (2020). Metodologia della ricerca in psicologia. II edizione (Italian edition: G. Amoretti and C. Chiorri). Milano: McGraw Hill.

- Lanz, M., Tagliabue, S., Barni, D., & Marabelli C. (2010). Elementi di metodologia della ricerca. Esperienze pratiche della psicologia. Milano: FrancoAngeli.

- The course slides will be made available on the Moodle platform and are an integral part of the exam material.

Assessment

The exam, lasting 75 minutes, consists of two tests:

1) Multiple choice written test to evaluate the knowledge of the topics covered in the different parts of the course. The test consists of 30 multiple choice questions. Each question is worth 1 point. There is no penalty in case of incorrect answer.

2) Three short exercises to evaluate the skills developed in the context of descriptive statistics and the critical and reflective skills developed during the course. In this case the student is provided with some methodological and statistical problems with the request to recognize some key elements dealt with during the course.

To pass the exam, it is necessary to achieve at least a score of 18 in both tests; the final mark will be given by the average of the marks obtained in the two tests. It is not possible to divide the exam.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Individual study.

Course books

- Shaughnessy, J. J., Zechmeister, E. B., & Zechmeister, J. S. (2020). Metodologia della ricerca in psicologia. II edizione (Italian edition: G. Amoretti and C. Chiorri). Milano: McGraw Hill.

- Lanz, M., Tagliabue, S., Barni, D., & Marabelli C. (2010). Elementi di metodologia della ricerca. Esperienze pratiche della psicologia. Milano: FrancoAngeli.

- The course slides will be made available on the Moodle platform and are an integral part of the exam material.

Assessment

The exam, lasting 75 minutes, consists of two tests:

1) Multiple choice written test to evaluate the knowledge of the topics covered in the different parts of the course. The test consists of 30 multiple choice questions. Each question is worth 1 point. There is no penalty in case of incorrect answer.

2) Three short exercises to evaluate the skills developed in the context of descriptive statistics and the critical and reflective skills developed during the course. In this case the student is provided with some methodological and statistical problems with the request to recognize some key elements dealt with during the course.

To pass the exam, it is necessary to achieve at least a score of 18 in both tests; the final mark will be given by the average of the marks obtained in the two tests. It is not possible to divide the exam.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Please note that according to the didactic regulations of the course, the Research Methodology with Elements of Statistics exam is a prerequisite for Psychometry exam (second year).