Spring, 2008:  Research Requirement/Extra Credit for Psychology 112 Students (and Other Selected Classes) (v. Experimetrix)

 

There is a research requirement for this course that may be fulfilled in either (or both) of two ways:  1. participation in faculty/student research projects, 2. writing library research papers on a topic of psychology.  This requirement is intended to broaden your knowledge of the methods of psychology and to give you "hands on" experience related to psychological research. All students must register at www.experimetrix.com/ccsu to receive credit for their research projects or research papers.  See details below.

 

  **Requirement:  4 "UNITS" of research activity.  The deadline for research participation is Monday April 28 at 3:00 pm. The deadline for papers is Monday April 21 at 3:00 p.m.

 

     Any credit earned beyond the required 4 units (at the discretion of your instructor) may be used as extra-credit.  Details follow.

 

Option 1.  Research Project Participation.  Faculty and advanced students in psychology conduct research in their areas of interest.  In order for the research to be conducted, we request that volunteers participate.  Often Psychology students serve this role.  You get to see exactly how our research is conducted, and you are a valuable resource for us as well.  All research conducted with people at CCSU is reviewed by an Ethical Review Board as to its acceptability, no questionable research is allowed.  You are guaranteed confidentiality and anonymity.  You are entitled to full and complete information about each study in which you participate.  You must be at least 18 years old to participate (if under 18 you need written parental permission).  [NOTE:  RESEARCH PARTICIPATION IS NOT REQUIRED.  If for any reason you do not wish to participate in research projects you do not have to.  You may earn your required units (and extra credit) by option #2.]

 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH PROJECTS

 

 You will use the on-line MomentumTM Experiment Scheduling System at   http://www.experimetrix.com/ccsu, a web-based experiment scheduling and tracking system.  Projects should be available beginning around ear;u Februrary and will likely end by mid-April. 

Do not wait until the last minute.

 

Quick Directions for using the Experimetrix on-line research sign-up system

 

Go to the following URL: www.experimetrix.com/ccsu/

 

 

On your first visit you must register as a new user and obtain a password.  To do this:

 

  1. Click on New.User.
  2. Enter your name, student number, and e-mail address as directed.
  3. Be sure to enter an existing email address below.  Your password and login information will be sent to that address in a few minutes.  (The e-mail address you use must be a unique address, that is, no one else using the Experimetix system can also be using the same e-mail address.)  This logon information will be sent by someone called Webmaster”. Do not mistakenly delete this message as “spam”. Hotmail accounts have difficulty with Experimetrix.  We strongly advise you NOT to use Hotmail.

 

After you receive your login and password by e-mail return to www.experimetrix.com/ccsu

 

  1. Click on Log.In and enter your login and password.  (You can change your password when you login.  You must login within three days to activate your account or it will be removed.  Also, you will not be able to sign up for experiments until you activate your account.)
  2. The first time you visit this page, click on Edit Your Course Selection.  Select the class and section of Psychology in which you are enrolled.  Your research credit will be assigned to whichever section you select.
  3. From here you can sign up for experiments, change your password, view your appointments and credit, etc. You can cancel your appointment up to 2 hours before the scheduled time.
  4. If you make an appointment, but do not show up (and did not cancel within 2 hours of your scheduled appointment), you will be penalized one unit for each appointment missed. No excuses.  Do not sign up unless you intend to show up. Be sure to keep your scheduled appointments.
  5. You may not participate in the same study more than once. 

 

 

 

 

Option 2 The research paper alternative for earning experimental points is designed primarily for students who, for one reason or another, are not able or do not wish to participate in regular experiments. 

 

If you choose, you may earn units through both methods (up to the maximum that your instructor sets). 

 

If you decide to earn units through the research paper option, please follow these instructions:

 

A. Registering on-line:

Follow the instructions described on page 2 of this handout. Go to the following URL: www.experimetrix.com/ccsu/ to register. If you write papers totaling 4 units of credit you do not have to sign up for experiments, but you will receive credit for your papers and you will be able to view your credits only if you have registered.

 

B.  Choosing an article to read:

1.  The idea is to do some in-depth first-hand reading about psychological research, beyond that covered in your textbook. Choose a recent article (within the last 5 years or so) from the American Psychologist or some other psychology journal.  The American Psychologist uses the least amount of technical language of any of the journals available in full-text from the CCSU library. If you prefer a more advanced article, you may look in any psychology journal.  Hard copies of many journals can be found by visiting the library, however, for convenience, we suggest using full-text articles found by using PsycArticles or PsycInfo which is available on-line using the digital library resources found at: http://library.ccsu.edu/lib/. Another good source for in-depth Psychological research articles in lay language is Current Directions in Psychological Science.  Our library subscribes to this journal, however, it is not available “full text” by computer. You will actually have to find it on the fourth floor of the library. 

2.  The article you read must be at least 2 full pages long in the magazine or journal.

 

B.  What to write

 

1.  The purpose of the report is to demonstrate that you have read and understood the research article.  It should be an account in your own words of what you personally got out of the article.  The report should be well-written, but does not have to be a completely polished term paper.

 

2. Any report that is entirely or partly copied word-for-word from an article is plagiarized.  We check for this.  This is not acceptable.  You will not receive credit.  Plagiarism is a serious offense that could lead to your expulsion from the University (see CCSU plagiarism policy at: http://www.ccsu.edu/AcademicIntegrity/UndergradAcadMisconductPolicy.htm

 

3.  The report MUST BE word processed, spell-checked and double-spaced.  We prefer that you save your document in Microsoft Word.

 

4.  If acceptable, you will receive 1 unit for each page you write, but not more than 2 units for each article you read.  As a general rule, 1 page = 200 words.  Margins should be 1 inch.

 

C.  Other details for submitting papers:                                                                         

1.  To receive credit you must include all of the following  information at the top of your paper.        

a.  Your name,your e-mail address, and the date

b.  Your Psychology instructor and class time

c.  Your CCSU student ID number

d.  The author, title, and page numbers of the article you read

e.  The name and date of the magazine or journal

f.  YOU MUST INCLUDE A COPY OF THE ARTICLE (saved in .pdf or html format).  (Printouts from full-text on-line resources or photocopies are acceptable if you are submitting non-electronically.  Originals are not acceptable.)

 

2.  Keep a copy of your paper for your own records just in case a discrepancy in record keeping arises.

 

3.  Submit: 1) your paper, preferably saved as a Microsoft Word document; and 2) the .pdf or html copy of the full article; by e-mail attachment to: PsychPapers@ccsu.edu). If you are unable to submit your paper by e-mail, you may deposit your paper in the "paper drop", the slot located in the Psychology Research Area in the basement of Barnard Hall (just past the psychology lab). Do not submit your paper directly to your instructor.

 

D.  Amount of time to spend:

Since the research paper option is intended to be an alternative to experiment participation, you don't need to spend more than approximately 1 hour writing your paper.

 

Deadlines: Monday April 28 at 3:00 P.M. is the last date that one can participate in research projects and Monday April 21 at 3:00 P.M. is the last date that one can turn in research papers.

 

If you have questions or concerns, you can contact:

The Psychology Graduate Assistant at (860)832-2221

Dr. Steven Horowitz at Horowitzs@ccsu.edu (860) 832-3119

Dr. Rebecca Wood at Woodre@ccsu.edu (860) 832-3106