Course

Unit 1

Research Planning and Literature Review

Refining a research question. Conducting comprehensive literature reviews. Formulating hypotheses or research aims. Reviewing and citing relevant empirical studies. Introduction to research pre-registration. Use Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley to organise references, and Google Scholar alerts to stay up to date on recent publications.

Unit 2

Study Design and Ethical Considerations

Selecting appropriate research designs (experimental, quasi-experimental, correlational, observational). Ethical approval and informed consent. Operationalisation of variables. A priori power analysis and sample size estimation. Planning for replication and transparency. Online ethical certification modules (CITI Program), OSF for preregistration and study documentation.

Unit 3

Data Collection and Management

Fieldwork or laboratory data collection procedures. Use of psychological instruments and tools. Data cleaning and organisation. Documentation and anonymisation of data. Creating and maintaining a reproducible data repository. Google Forms, Microsoft Forms, Qualtrics for surveys; Google Sheets/Excel for organising and cleaning data; OSF for reproducible data storage.

Unit 4

Data Analysis and Interpretation

Selection of statistical methods: descriptive, inferential, exploratory, and confirmatory. Using software tools (e.g., SPSS, SAS, JASP, R) for analysis. Assumptions, limitations, and robustness checks. Visualising and interpreting results in the context of hypotheses. Discussion of findings in light of existing literature. SPSS, JASP, and Jamovi for analysis; Excel and Canva for data visualisation; beginner tutorials for coding in R. 

Unit 5

Scientific Writing and Reporting

Structure of a research paper: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References. APA formatting and scientific writing style. Reporting according to transparency guidelines (e.g., CONSORT, PRISMA when applicable). Peer feedback and revision. Submission and archiving of the final report. Google Docs and Miro for collaborative writing and protocol planning; OSF for archiving preprints and datasets.

Text Books / References

Textbooks

1. American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). APA Publishing.
2. Morling, B. (2021). Research methods in psychology: Evaluating a world of information (4th ed.). W.W. Norton & Company.
3. Field, A. (2018). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics (5th ed.). Sage Publications.
4. JASP Team. (2023). JASP (Version 0.17) [Computer software]. https://jasp-stats.org/
5. Nosek, B. A., Ebersole, C. R., DeHaven, A. C., & Mellor, D. T. (2018). The preregistration revolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(11), 2600–2606. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1708274114

Suggested Readings

1. Open Science Collaboration. (2015). Estimating the reproducibility of psychological science. Science, 349(6251), aac4716. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac4716
2. Shaughnessy, J. J., Zechmeister, E. B., & Zechmeister, J. S. (2015). Research methods in psychology (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
3. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioural sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum.

This course is structured to provide psychology students with a thorough and immersive experience in advanced empirical research, all under the dedicated supervision of a faculty member. Building upon foundational concepts of scientific inquiry, it offers students practical, hands-on engagement in conducting psychological investigations within both laboratory and field settings. The learning environment is designed to guide students step by step through the research process, beginning with the identification of a research problem, proceeding through the collection and analysis of data, and culminating in the interpretation and presentation of findings in a format that meets scientific standards.Special emphasis is placed on developing essential research skills, such as critically reviewing existing literature, pre-registering hypotheses to ensure transparency, and estimating sample sizes to strengthen research validity. Ethical conduct and adherence to reproducible research practices are central to the course, ensuring students internalise principles of responsible research. Methodological rigour and sound statistical reasoning are fostered throughout, equipping students with the competence to apply appropriate empirical and statistical methods in both confirmatory and exploratory research contexts.In addition to technical skills, the course also prioritises scholarly communication. Students are trained to interpret results accurately, discuss their implications thoughtfully, and write research reports in line with scientific conventions. By encouraging the use of beginner-level digital tools for research planning, data collection, analysis, visualisation, and collaboration, the course ensures students are well-prepared for the evolving demands of psychological research. Ultimately, this advanced empirical research course aims to nurture a new generation of psychological researchers who are methodologically sound, ethically responsible, and skilled in communicating their findings to the scientific community.

Objectives

• To guide students through the independent and supervised execution of empirical research projects.
• To facilitate the application of advanced research planning, including a priori sample size calculation and pre-registration.
• To engage students in the critical review of scientific literature for formulating research hypotheses or questions.
• To strengthen students’ ability to apply suitable empirical and statistical methods for confirmatory or exploratory research.
• To train students in interpreting, discussing, and writing up research findings according to the standards of scientific reporting.
• To promote adherence to ethical standards and principles of transparency, reproducibility, and good scientific practice.
• To familiarize students with beginner-level digital tools for research planning, data collection, analysis, visualization, and collaborative workflow.

Course Outcomes

• CO1: Demonstrate the ability to independently plan and conduct a psychological research study under supervision.
• CO2: Critically review and synthesise scientific literature to justify the research rationale and methodology.
• CO3: Accurately calculate sample size and pre-register hypotheses or operational definitions.
• CO4: Apply confirmatory or exploratory statistical analyses appropriate to the research design.
• CO5: Interpret and present research findings in the format of a scientific publication.

CO-PO Mapping