Introduction to Research Methods

Dr Ben Short,

Allerton C810

b.short@salford.ac.uk

0161 295 2800

You should submit your assessment via TurnItIn, which is available in the assessment area of Blackboard.

You will be given access to the dataset and asked to examine whether there is a relationship between any two of the variables measured by the survey. You should then write your findings up as a research report. You can find a detailed assessment brief on Blackboard. You should also watch the introductory video on assessment.

References should be in APA format (see guidelines on Blackboard)

On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Formulate testable research hypotheses, based on clear identification of study design and psychological constructs

2. Conduct and interpret basic statistical results

Practical, Professional or Subject Specific Skills

1.  Design a research report using appropriate methodology to address psychological questions and taking account of ethical principles

2. Appropriately input data into a relevant statistical package (e.g., SPSS)

3. Analyse, interpret and report data using appropriate statistical methods relevant to different types of research questions

Transferable Skills and other Attributes

1. Self-manage own learning in order to carry out practical work.

The purpose of the module is to introduce:

Principles of research design.

Methods of data collection and analysis.

Computerised techniques for collation and interpretation of data – SPSS.

Principles of report writing and data presentation.

British Psychological Society ethical guidelines.

Your assessment should be 1500 words in length.

The word count includes all citations (including dates) within the body of the text.

The word count does not include the Title, Abstract or Reference list.

The word count does not include statistical data presented in tables.

The word count does not include the appendices.

The word count must be stated on the front of the assignment.

Students are expected to adhere to the word count for this assessment.  Work that is significantly under the specified word count is indicative of not covering the marking criteria in sufficient depth: work that significantly exceeds the word count is generally indicative of a writing style that is not sufficiently concise for academic writing.  If a student does not adhere to the word count, assessors may determine that the task has not been completed in accordance with instructions, and reflect this in the mark awarded. Please see the Assessment and Feedback policy http://www.salford.ac.uk/qeo/AssessmentPolicy

You can expect to receive your final mark and feedback on Friday the 27^th of March.

You can obtain support for this assessment by speaking with your seminar leader or using the discussion board to ask questions. You can also speak to members to staff during their office hours. There will also be drop-in sessions through the module which you can attend for additional help.

askUS

The University offers a range of support services for students through askUS.

Good Academic Conduct and Academic Misconduct

Students are expected to learn and demonstrate skills associated with good academic conduct (academic integrity). Good academic conduct includes the use of clear and correct referencing of source materials. Here is a link to where you can find out more about the skills which students require http://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning.

Academic Misconduct is an action which may give you an unfair advantage in your academic work. This includes plagiarism, asking someone else to write your assessment for you or taking notes into an exam. The University takes all forms of academic misconduct seriously.  You can find out how to avoid academic misconduct here https://www.salford.ac.uk/skills-for-learning.

Assessment Information

If you have any questions about assessment rules, you can find out more here.

Personal Mitigating Circumstances

If personal mitigating circumstances may have affected your ability to complete this assessment, you can find more information about personal mitigating circumstances procedure here.

Personal Tutor/Student Progression Administrator

If you have any concerns about your studies, contact your Personal Tutor or your Student Progression Assistant, Lisa Tobin (L.J.Tobin@salford.ac.uk)

Marks for your assessment will be allocated based on….

You should consult your Blackboard Module site for detailed grade or mark descriptors.

Your assessment is eligible for in year retrieval. If you are eligible for this scheme, you will be contacted shortly after the feedback deadline.

If you fail your assessment, and are eligible for reassessment, you will need to resubmit your assignment during the re-submission period in August. The exact date will be announced nearer the time.  For students with accepted personal mitigating circumstances, this will be your replacement assessment attempt.  Students should be aware that there is no late submission period at reassessment (this includes those students who have an accepted PMC request from a previous attempt).

Explain what happens if a student needs to be reassessed, will the reassessment be the same, what is the submission date?

[Note for staff: the reassessment task should normally be the same as the original task unless there is a good academic reason to offer a different task]