Research Skills in Psychology
UndergraduateTAS-PSY2112025
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- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 14 weeks
- Start dates
- 24 Feb 2025
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Research Skills in Psychology
About this subject
Upon successful completion of this subject , the student should be able to:
- Explain the strengths and limitations of fundamental research methods within specified research contexts.
- Select and conduct fundamental statistical analyses to test hypotheses about relationships and differences in specified research scenarios.
- Interpret and communicate the methods and results of example research studies with attention to the informational needs of an academic audience.
- Compare the quality of ethical practices adopted in research examples with national standards for ethical research involving diverse populations.
- The research process
- Measuring and summarising data
- Research design
- Reliability and validity
- Survey research
- Ethics
- Introduction to statistical analysis
- Interpreting results and hypothesis testing
- Analysing frequencies and proportions
- Linear relationships
- Comparing two means
- Displaying data and results
- Qualitative reserach
- Comparing multiple means
- Emerging issues in methods and statistics
The field of psychology has an aim that, on the surface, appears straightforward: to understand human behaviour. However, human behaviour is varied and complex, and achieving this goal presents a considerable challenge. Researchers must be familiar with and adhere to regulatory requirements to ensure that research is consistent with ethical principles. The breadth of questions that psychology attempts to answer demands researchers are able to employ a wide array of research methods and design principles. The variety of data collected in psychological research, and the purposes for which data is collected, requires that researchers make informed choices from a range of data analysis tools. Researchers must also make decisions about the format and style of presentation for summarising and reporting conceptual and numerical information for a variety of audiences.
In this subject you will examine research methods that will help you design studies to investigate questions about relationships and differences among psychologically relevant variables. You will learn when and how to use data analysis methods to summarise data, test statistical hypotheses and interpret the results for relationships and differences among variables. You will learn about the principles that underlie ethical research, in relation to both research participants and the conduct of researchers themselves.
The skills and knowledge developed in this subject will provide you with the necessary tools to critically evaluate research from the major sub-disciplines of psychology, as well as a wide-range of other science-based disciplines.
- Practical Exercises Portfolio Part 1 (30%)
- Written Assignment (40%)
- Practical Exercises Portfolio Part 2 (30%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
Prior study
You must either have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject, or currently be enrolled in the following subject(s) in a prior study period; or enrol in the following subject(s) to study prior to this subject:
Please note that your enrolment in this subject is conditional on successful completion of these prerequisite subject(s). If you study the prerequisite subject(s) in the study period immediately prior to studying this subject, your result for the prerequisite subject(s) will not be finalised prior to the close of enrolment. In this situation, should you not complete your prerequisite subject(s) successfully you should not continue with your enrolment in this subject. If you are currently enrolled in the prerequisite subject(s) and believe you may not complete these all successfully, it is your responsibility to reschedule your study of this subject to give you time to re-attempt the prerequisite subject(s).
Additional requirements
- Other requirements - Teaching Arrangement: 2 hour online lecture modules weekly (12 weeks). There are 10 practical classes (practical classes begin in Week 2). 4 hours weekly of Independent study activities to complement online lecture modules and practical exercises (e.g., readings, practice exercises, discussion board posts) (12 weeks)
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Psychological Science
UndergraduateTAS-BPS-DEG
Bachelor of Psychological Science and Bachelor of Science
UndergraduateTAS-PSC-DEG
Bachelor of Psychological Science
UndergraduateTAS-PSY-DEG
Bachelor of Psychological Science and Bachelor of Economics
UndergraduateTAS-PEC-DEG
Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Science
UndergraduateTAS-BBS-DEG
Bachelor of Science (Sustainability)
UndergraduateTAS-SUS-DEG
Bachelor of Science (Geography and Environment)
UndergraduateTAS-SCG-DEG
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