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Unit of Study BHS11003 - Methods and Concepts in Psychology (2015)

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Unit Snapshot

  • Enrolment information

    N/A

Unit description

Introduces the general concepts, ethics, and methodology of scientific research as it applies to the discipline of psychology. Topics include methods of observation, measurement, and assessment used in psychology and the effective use of information resources. Students will engage in oral and written presentation of the material covered.

Unit content

  1. The scientific method
  2. Ethics in psychology (research and professional issues)
  3. Descriptive methods
  4. Archival research
  5. Experimental methods
  6. Complex designs
  7. Applied research
  8. Single case and small 'n' research
  9. Quasi-experimental designs
  10. Analysis and reporting of research

Availabilities

Location Domestic International
Coffs Harbour Session 2 Session 2
Online Session 2 N/A

Learning outcomes and graduate attributes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

GA1: Intellectual rigour, GA2: Creativity, GA3: Ethical practice, GA4: Knowledge of a discipline, GA5: Lifelong learning, GA6: Communication and social skills, GA7: Cultural competence
Learning outcome count Learning outcome description GA1 GA2 GA3 GA4 GA5 GA6 GA7
1 analyse the nature of the term 'science' from several different perspectives and explain the scientific features of psychology
2 explain the nature of hypotheses and theories
3 describe the nature and techniques of a range of research methodologies and assess the appropriateness of each to individual research questions
4 identify and describe basic descriptive statistics and statistical concepts (such as measures of central tendency, standard deviation, statistical significance)
5 interpret the nature and relative importance of scholarly articles, journals, and other forms of publication
6 use the Library and Internet to gather information and demonstrate the ability to synthesise such information.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

  1. analyse the nature of the term 'science' from several different perspectives and explain the scientific features of psychology
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  2. explain the nature of hypotheses and theories
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  3. describe the nature and techniques of a range of research methodologies and assess the appropriateness of each to individual research questions
    • GA4:
  4. identify and describe basic descriptive statistics and statistical concepts (such as measures of central tendency, standard deviation, statistical significance)
    • GA1:
    • GA4:
  5. interpret the nature and relative importance of scholarly articles, journals, and other forms of publication
    • GA4:
    • GA6:
  6. use the Library and Internet to gather information and demonstrate the ability to synthesise such information.
    • GA6:

Prescribed learning resources

Prescribed Texts
  • No prescribed texts.

Prescribed Learning Resources may change in future Teaching Periods.