MRes Research Methods in Psychology

This module covers the primary statistical analyses used in psychology including:

• multivariate data
• screening and cleaning
• power and sample size determination
• factor analysis
• multiple regression
• analysing contrasts
• univariate and multivariate repeated measures
• ANCOVA and MANCOVA.

To provide understanding and critical skills related to research design and analysis for quantitative and qualitative studies.

Lecture topics will include: psychology as science and the hypothetico-deductive account, basic concepts (e.g., validity, reliability, sampling, and measurement), experimental designs, quasi-experimental and specialised designs, survey design and analysis, single-case designs, introduction to key concepts of qualitative research, thematic approaches and methods of qualitative research (including , thematic analysis, grounded theory and IPA), and discursive approaches to qualitative research (incl. narrative analysis and discourse analysis).

A student-led seminar series, consisting of 10, two-hour seminars on design and statistics as principled argument will run alongside the lectures.

This module builds on the introductory level of statistics and probability theory and aims to provide students with theory and practice in the application of advanced quantitative methods across multiple areas of psychology and neuroscience.

Topics include: using R and Matlab in psychological research, logistic regression, resampling and Monte Carlo methods, psychological model fitting, Bayesian inference, structural equation modelling, time series analyses, open science tools.

This module covers the primary statistical analyses used in psychology including:

• multivariate data screening and cleaning
• power and sample size determination
• factor analysis
• multiple regression
• analysing contrasts
• univariate and multivariate repeated measures
• ANCOVA
• MANOVA
• and psychometrics.

The aim of this module is to provide experiential learning opportunities that are research-relevant (in the broadest sense) with the aim of enhancing and consolidating theoretical learning as well as providing the opportunity to promote personal development. To this end, students will be offered a Research Placement in a research lab in the Psychology Department supervised by an academic member of staff.

To ensure that the Research Placement provides the opportunity to experience theoretical perspectives and methodological skills other than those relevant to the Research Dissertation, the academic member of staff supervising the Research Placement will NOT be the same member of staff supervising the Research Dissertation, and the research field of the placement supervisor will be different from the research field of the dissertation supervisor.

There are three elements to this module: the placement itself and two assessments, the latter consisting of an oral presentation of research findings and a short research proposal following up the work conducted during the placement. All three elements should be completed within the term in which the module is begun.

The core component of this module is a 10-day (or 70-hour) placement in a research lab in the Psychology Department. The key requirement of the placement is that it should be of research relevance and should involve the student in the type of activity typically undertaken by Research Assistants.

The aim of this advanced module is to provide practical hands-on training in methods and techniques used for cognitive neuroscience research. Lectures cover the following topics: Brain stimulation – lectures and practical sessions will train you in the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS); Brain recording – lectures and practical sessions will train you in the use of Electroencephalography (EEG), the analysis of EEG data and the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data.

This module covers brain anatomy and functions and modern experimental techniques to study the neural basis of behaviour.

Tutors: Professor Joydeep Bhattacharya and Dr Gianna Cocchini

This module encourages students to engage with cutting edge research and to consider this research within the context of wider psychological knowledge. The module seeks to foster skill in evaluating both the content and methods of a particular piece of research and to develop critical thinking concerning research findings.

Students are required to select a research article on any topic of their choice, and to write a critical review of this article. Students are also required to attend as much of the Department’s Invited Speakers’ Series as possible and to identify, in consultation with their supervisor if needs be, the talk of one speaker that will form the focus of an essay. A major part of this process of critical analysis requires that a particular piece of research is considered within a wider psychological context, so it is anticipated that related research would be identified through a search of the relevant literature and by consideration of the background work cited by the speaker during the course of the talk.

This module will provide a systematic introduction to behavioural genetics. Conceptual, historical, theoretical and ethical issues will be discussed alongside developments in specific fields (e.g. behavioural genetics and psychopathology).

The module will promote an understanding of the current state of affairs with regards to behavioural genetics. Basic principles as well as recent developments will be explored in relation to a broad range of phenotypes. Historical and ethical issues will be discussed.

Tutorials:

Tutorial topics for this module are:

1. Major Concepts in Behavioural Genetics. This tutorial will take place in Week 4 and is designed to help you to prepare for the Oral Examination (Week 9) Exact dates/ times TBC
2. Select a psychopathology of your choice and discuss key behavioural genetic findings for this disorder. This tutorial is designed to help students to design and structure a tutorial essay on this topic and generally on writing examined essays. This tutorial will take place in Week 9. You are encouraged to submit one essay on the topic of this tutorial (optional).  The essay can have one of the following formats: (1) a fully referenced essay of between 2,000 and 2,500 words; (2) an essay written under exam conditions (hand-written, 45 minutes, with no notes). Exact dates TBC.

This module will provide detailed study of the scientific investigation of attention, a highly topical aspect of human cognition that plays a fundamental role in our awareness of the world and our engagement with it. Theories of attention will be introduced and cross-cultural and individual differences in attention and awareness considered in the light of these theories. Finally, the relevance of attention research to educational practice will be discussed.

Lecture sessions will often contain periods of guided discussion (focused on key readings reviewed in the lecture). They will be supplemented by an overview or revision lecture (focused on the exam) and two, one-hour tutorials (focused on the coursework). 

Topics covered will include background and models of attention, attention and culture, attention and emotion, attention and social psychology, attention and individual differences, and attention and modern media.

You will also be welcome to attend an additional more advanced lecture on the neurophysiological underpinnings of attention in clinical populations.

This module aims to provide students with an introduction to the psychology of art appreciation, beauty and human preference, both from a basic science and an applied psychology perspective.

The lectures will focus on a wide range of topics, including aesthetic perception across the senses, including visual and auditory aesthetics, as well as the attractiveness of human faces and bodies. We will approach these topics from a wide range of theoretical and methodological angles, including neuroscience, cross-cultural and evolutionary perspectives. We will also focus on applications of aesthetic science in the real world, as in advertising and marketing.

The module will be structured to cover:

• Psychological theories of aesthetic appreciation
• Aesthetics across the senses: vision, audition, taste/smell and touch
• Attractiveness of faces and bodies
• The role of expertise, personality and cross-cultural differences in aesthetic perception

This module aims to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to MATLAB, a widely-used software package for data analysis. The module will start in the Autumn term of 2018 and will be suitable for third year undergraduate students in psychology as well as for students in other programmes.

Each 1 hour lecture will introduce the topic, associated functions, and theory and will be followed by a 2 hour lab session with hands-on training and exercises using MATLAB. Weekly homework will help to further consolidate the material.

Tutors: Devin B Terhune and Maria Herrojo Ruiz

Progress: Autumn Term

Module expectations: Lecture and workshop attendance, preparation and participation in workshops.