Module: PSY6000-20 Dissertation: Design and Pre-registration

Credit Value: 20

Module Tutor: Dr Peter Etchells

Module Tutor Contact Details: p.etchells@bathspa.ac.uk

1. Brief description and aims of module:

This module will introduce you to your final year dissertation, and require you to propose and design a substantial research project. You must identify a research question and conduct an academic literature review of relevant research. From this you will develop an ethically sound research protocol and use it to produce a clear and coherent methodological framework and proposed analysis pipeline. The end result will be a ‘pre-registration document’ – a literature review, methods section and proposed analysis section that will feed into a second psychology dissertation module, during which you will collect data and analyse data, and report the results.

The aims of this module are to enable you to:

1. refine skills in accessing and using appropriate databases of psychological research (e.g. ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar) including the use of appropriate Boolean search strategies

2. develop skills of research selection, synthesis and appraisal consistent with the production of a systematic literature review

3. assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of particular models, theories and research in terms of their descriptive, predictive and explanatory value

4. formulate research aims on the basis of the literature review

5. select and plan suitable methods of data collection

6. demonstrate sound application of research methods and techniques to effective report writing of a psychology project

7. demonstrate an understanding of the principles of Open Science, including the importance of preregistering research

8. explain and discuss the proposed research study to a group of peers and academics

2. Outline syllabus:

Lectures will focus on providing you with an overview of the different types of skills you will need to employ in order to develop a successful final year project

These will cover the following topics:

• Ethical issues in research – identifying and resolving ethical problems in research

• Skills in focus groups

• Advanced features of SPSS

• Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

• How to do mixed-methods research without doing double the work

• Psychometric tests and assessments

• How to write a successful research project

• Introduction to pre-registration

• Evaluating qualitative research

3. Teaching and learning activities:

While the primary aim of this module is self-directed study under the guidance of a specialist supervisor, it is supplemented with a series of specialist lectures/workshops designed to support various elements of dissertation preparation. These sessions address practical and theoretical aspects of carrying out research to a high standard. To further support you in preparation of the dissertation, you are required to attend a series of documented one-to-one tutorials in which their on-going work is monitored and guided.

Assessment Item 1:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: 15-minute individual presentation of proposed research topic (1000 words equivalent)

• % Weighting: 20

Assessment Item 2:

• Assessment Type: CW

• Description: Pre-registration document (4000 words)

• % Weighting: 80