Applied Psychology Laboratory

Applied Psychology Laboratory

PSYC 4900 – 017, 018: Independent Study=

Instructor: Chris S. Dula, Ph.D.

Office: Rogers-Stout Hall, Room #401-A

Office Hours: By appointment. Feel free to stop by anytime during business hours as I’m often in the office.

Phone: (423) 439 – 8307

E-mail: dulac@etsu.edu=

= ;

Graduate Lab Coordinator= : Michael Miesner, Russell Fox=

Undergraduate Lab Coordinators<= /span>: Ashley Dickson, Ben Martin, Desta Taylor, Cristi Adam= s

Office: Rogers-= Stout Hall, Room 208A

Office Hours: Regular lab hours and by appointment.

Phone: (423) 439 – 4467

Lab Email: apl.etsu@gmail.com

Coordinator E-mails<= span style=3D'font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";mso-fareast-font-famil= y: Batang;color:black'>: Michael= : mmiesner@gmail.com, Russell: foxr@go= ldmail.etsu.edu, Ben: bmart88@yahoo.com Ashley: = zadd24@goldmail.etsu.edu, Desta: desta.taylor@gmail.com, Cristi: zcla25@goldmail.etsu.edu

Lab Hours: Hours are posted on the website and lab d= oor. Lab hours are subject to change. A= ny permanent changes will be posted. The lab will be closed for all official school holidays for students.

Course Description: This course is an independ= ent study with a focus on increasing research experience and professionalism through semi-structured interactions in a psychology laboratory setting.

Course Objectives: The objective of this course is fo= r the student to become an active member and collaborator in the undergraduate research community. The stude= nt will learn various aspects of how to design and conduct research projects; = the relationships between research experience and graduate studies; and how to = work on a team in a professional research setting.

Lab Structure: The Applied Psychology Laboratory (APL) strives to provide student and faculty researchers with a relaxed professio= nal atmosphere for the completion of scientific research. Projects are designed= to fit into one of the three major areas of emphasis of the faculty advisor: Aggression and Risky Behaviors, Measure Development and Evaluation, and Teaching, Education, and Research. Traffic safety will be emphasized.<= /o:p>

Required Textbook: Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,= Sixth Edition

Meeting Informatio= n: Rogers-Stout #403, Wednesdays 3:30-5:00 –MEETINGS ARE MANDATORY<= /o:p>

Course Requirements:

Proj= ects. Each student will contribute to the ongoing traffic safety research projects, which must account for a min= imum of 50% of all earned hours. Students are also welcome to contribute to= the progress of one other APL project. Participation and progress on your committed project(s) will be evaluated bi-weekly by the appropriate project group leader(s). You will be updated periodically throughout t= he semester concerning your ratings. You should make use of this feedback= to identify your strengths, and to work on improving areas in which you do not perform as strongly.
Hours. The total number of hours required by each student is based on the number of credits being received.

o&nb= sp; 1 credits =3D 40 hours of wo= rk (PSYC 4900-016)=

o&nb= sp; 2 credits =3D 80 hours of wo= rk (PSYC 4900-017)=

o&nb= sp; 3 credits =3D 120 hours of w= ork (PSYC 4900-018)=

IRB Training. You are required to complete the university’s IRB training. This is required before you can work = with any data using human subjects. This training must be completed –= and verification turned in to the lab – by the end of the lab meetin= g on Wednesday, September 16.
Vita. You will develop and write a vita as p= art of your grade for this independent study. A workshop will be given at a= later date to show you how to do this. Returning APL students should update their vita each semester. Your vita is due by the end of the lab meeti= ng on the last day of classes (Wednesday, October 21).<= /li>
Literature Search. The first article will be assi= gned on the 16^th. The first article review is assigned on the 16= ^th and due on September 23. The next two article reviews are assigned on = the 23^rd and due on the 30^th of September. Students must find the last t= hree articles on their own. This assignment is due on October 14^{th. This
includes finding articles, books, and references online or in the libr=
ary.
All students should enter the library during the semester to locate so=
urces
in the periodicals section.}
Literature Review. Students in the APL are required to review at least six (6) articles. In most case= s, project leaders will require you to summarize the articles you review = to turn in, and/or to talk about the content of the articles at the proje= ct meetings.
Data Coding and Entry. Data coding includes, but is n= ot limited to, coding video or other forms of data, and entering data from completed surveys or coding sheets into an SPSS or Excel file. You wil= l be required to work on data as needed regardless of project group assignm= ent.
SONA System. Experience can be gained by contributing to the set= up and execution of a research project via SONA Systems, the psycholo= gy department’s online participant pool. This usually includes the setup of new studies online or proofreading surveys before activation = -NOT taking surveys for extra credit.
Presentation. All students will be required to present research each semester. Students completing their first, second, or third semester of research in the APL will work independently to prepare a poster presentation. Students in the APL for more than three semesters will work independently to present orally. Advanced students may choose to also present a poster. Presentations m= ay be made at either the semi-annual APL poster session, or at a professi= onal departmental, local, state, or regional conference. An appropriate handout must be prepared as supplemental materi= al.
Meetings. Over the course of the semester, you = must attend at least 12 APL meetings. Attendance at meetings is mandatory; = no scheduling conflicts will be “worked out”.
APA-style Paper. All new stu= dents are required to compose a short, APA-style paper each semester. Studen= ts who have been involved with the lab in previous semesters must add a method and discussion section their paper that they composed during th= eir first semester in addition to a revision of the introduction section. = Students will work with their project leader(s) to select a topic. Due Wednesda= y, December 2 at the lab meeting. (NO EXCEPTIONS!!!)

APL Surveys. During each semester, students will complete surveys designed to help us better the focus and organization= of the lab, and to assess how well the lab is achieving its objectives. <= o:p>
Conferences: Attendance= at regional and national conferences is encouraged but not required. A maximum of 5 hours may be logged and counted toward your total number = of hours. Hours may only be logged for attendance of poster and/or oral presentations, including your own, and conference seminars.

General Student Questionnaire	Dates Available<= /p>
	Beginning of Semester	September 9 – September 16<= /o:p>
	Finals	December 2 – December 9
Student Feedba= ck Survey	Dates Available<= /p>
	Finals	December 2 – December 9

Time Logs. All hours must be verified by a project manager, a coordinat= or, or Dr. Dula. We reserve = the right to refuse to verify hours that are more than two weeks old, or w= hich are not readily confirmed. Hours without verification or older than two weeks will N= OT be accepted.

Grading Scale: Your gr= ade will be based on the number of hours you complete in relation to your hourly goal based on credits enrolled and your completion of the above named requirements.

Course Requirement	Points Possible
Total Hours Earned
	100% of hours	15
	90% - 99% of hours	10
	80% - 89% of hours	5
	70% - 79% of hours	-15
	60% - 69% of hours	-30
	Below 60% of hours	F for the Course
IRB Training	5
Curriculum Vita	5
Literature Search Hours	5
Literature Review Hours	10
Research Presentation- not required for first semester students	10
APA-style Paper	10
Data Coding/Entry Hours/SONA System Hours (2 hours total)<= /o:p>	15
Required APL-related Meetings (12)	25 (-8 for each missed below 12)
	Making 8 or fewer meetings	F for the Course
Total Points Possible	100

A student’s overall grade will be dropped by one-half letter if an average progress rating of 2.5 (of 5) is n= ot earned.

Points Earned	Grade Earned
90 – 100	A
86 – 89	B+
83 – 85	B
80 – 82	B-
76 – 79	C+
73 – 75	C
70 – 72	C-
60 – 69	D
0 – 59	F