Expectations & Deliverables

Class Layout

Three-hour classes are great because they mean we meet just once a week and can cover more information with greater focus… but they can also be a little tough to stomach if lectures get slow. As such, each class meeting will be broken down into three segments, with transition time built in for bathroom breaks, grabbing coffee or dinner at the campus center, or just stretching your legs. This structure will help keep class moving while giving everyone time for hands-on teaching and learning through class facilitation. It will also allow you to get a jump on assignment and project work while I am available for questions.

· 50 min. Topic Lecture & Discussion

· 5-10 min. Break/Transition Time

· 50 min. Class Facilitation Presentation

· 5-10 min. Break/Transition Time

· 50 min. Project/Assignment Work

Time Requirements

The Academic Standards section of the graduate catalog states an expectation of “at least 56 hours of total effort (including classroom time) for each graduate credit. This means that you are expected to expend at least 12 hours of effort per week in a 3 credit, 14-week course.” I anticipate that this course will be relatively difficult and may sometimes require additional effort on your part. If you feel you are getting bogged down, please contact me to arrange office hours. Although the nature of the material can be difficult, I want you to feel capable because it is also potentially very beneficial for you in the long run.

Feedback

I will strive to provide timely feedback on assignments and discussions through Canvas or via email in response to any question or concern that keeps you from being productive with an assignment, course facilitation presentation, or course project. Model comprehension assignments and project elements will be graded and returned within one week.

Attendance/Participation (28%)

Attending weekly class meetings and participating during each class will be vital to your success this term. Missing one class will reduce your overall grade by 2 points. This may sound extreme, but it emphasizes the importance of our class meetings. Lecture will serve as a useful time to resolve any misconceptions that arose from reading and will help solidify skills required to tackle your method understanding assignments. You are expected to come to class having completed the assigned readings in order to ask questions and earn participation credit. Your peers also deserve your attendance for their facilitation presentations. Plus, one third of each class is reserved for project and assignment work, giving you time to access SPSS on lab computers (if necessary) and ask questions.

That said, we are all adults and have a lot on our plates. Please notify me in advance if you have a medical issue or other valid conflict. A Google hangout link will be available for use if you have pre-planned travel, if you are ill but wish to attend, or if you are physically unable to get to campus - you will not lose points if you make the effort to attend and participate online.

Class Facilitation Presentation (14%)

During our first class, you will be responsible for selecting one of the analytic methods that we will cover during the term. When we arrive at your topic, you will be required to facilitate a two-part class discussion.

During our 50-minute facilitation block, you will first be required to present one piece of published work from your field (or a field of interest) that utilizes the method. Your presentation should review the work and critique the author’s use of the method. Was the method the best option for their research questions and available data? Did they report their findings appropriately? Did they indicate meeting the necessary assumptions for the model? Can you spot any flaws in their work? Please submit this article to me at least one week prior to your presentation so that I can verify it is appropriate and make it available to your classmates to promote useful class discourse.

The second half of your course facilitation presentation will require that you use an appropriate dataset of your choice (resources are available if you do not have access to data) to walk the class through executing the method in SPSS and interpreting the results. You should develop a research question that makes sense within the context of your data and method in order to strengthen your interpretation. You will then be expected to facilitate discussion and (try to) field questions from the class. From my experience, this hands-on method promotes retention above and beyond standard lectures.

Specific grading rationale is summarized in the table above. Please communicate with me during the week prior to your facilitation presentation to address any issues. I will be available for feedback as you prepare your presentation and peer evaluation will be sought following each presentation with an emphasis on constructive criticism to strengthen communication skills.

Assignment dates for CF presentations are shown in the spreadsheet below for each student in class.

Model Understanding Assessments (24%)

A series of model understanding assignments will be used to promote competence through familiarity, challenge, and support. Each assignment will be comprised of a cleaned dataset and a set of 5-12 questions requiring you to apply, interpret, and report the results of particular methods using APA format. These assignments will always be due at least one week after we have covered the topic in class. Each assignment will be worth four points of your final grade. As such, if you find that you are overwhelmed with reading and project work, missing one or even two assignments will not change your letter grade unless you have lost points elsewhere in class. Each assignment will have a more detailed grading rationale explained upon assignment. Late submission is discouraged to keep you from falling too far behind. Your first late assignment will be accepted up to one week late (before the next class meeting or meeting time for break weeks) without penalty. However, subsequent late assignments will be penalized as follows: 2^nd late assignment -25%, 3^rd late assignment -50%, 4^th late assignment -75%, 5^th and 6^th late assignment -100%. This means that if you were to hand in all six assignments after their submission deadlines, you would only be capable of earning 10/24 available points with correct work.

Final Project (34%)

Throughout the course of the semester, you will craft a publication-worthy journal or conference paper on a topic of your choice, using a dataset of your choice (see me if you do not have access to data), and featuring a selection of the analytic methods covered in class. This project, your primary deliverable for the course, will be broken down into segments. You will receive feedback from me and your peers at each step, making the final product a low-stress showcase of your progress. For all project elements, please use Times New Roman font, size 11, double spaced, with 1” margins. Requirements for each section will be discussed in further detail prior to due dates, but loosely you should expect the following:

• Proposal (4 points): Your proposal should be 1-2 pages detailing 1) your intended research questions, 2) your data, 3) your planned analysis, and 4) a few examples of related work. In your proposal you should formulate a working title and begin to develop your abstract.
• Background (5 points): Your background section should be 4-5 pages and include an introduction, purpose/aims/rationale/research questions, literature review, and theoretical framework. This section grounds your work and identifies the gap you are filling through your research.
• Methods (5 points): Your methods section should be 4-5 pages and include details about your dataset and research procedures. This includes descriptive statistics and summarized demographics of your participants, specific information about procedures and measures, and a replicable description of your analyses/methods.
• Results (5 points): Your results sections should be 4-5 pages and include the results of the analyses/methods you applied. Results should include APA formatted tables and figures as necessary and should be reported cleanly and concisely using standard reporting procedures.
• Discussion (5 points): Your discussion section should be 4-5 pages that detail the deeper interpretations and implications of your results, how your work contributes to your field, any limitations of the work, and suggestions for future work.
• Presentation (4 points): The last few weeks of class are reserved for you to focus fully on your projects. This will include time for project presentations. You will be required to give a 20-minute talk on your project (15 + 5 for questions). Think of this as a practice conference talk. The primary goal will be to share your project with your classmates and get feedback to resolve any final issues before your final draft is due.
• Final Draft (6 points): Your final draft will be a polished culmination of previous project elements, bringing together your finished background, methods, results, and discussion sections to form a solid journal or conference submission. This final draft should be 20-30 pages in length and should adhere to APA formatting.

Final course grades will be based on performance as follows:

A: 90 – 100 points (Excellent)

B: 80 – 89 points (Good)

C: 70 – 79 points (Pass)

D: 60 – 69 points (Unacceptable for graduate credit)

F: 59 points or below (Fail)

There will be no extra credit. Transitional grades of “Incomplete” will be considered under special circumstances and if the majority of course content is completed. If granted an Incomplete, you will be responsible for submitting all work within WPI’s required timeframe (12 months) or will receive a failing grade (F).