RESEARCH METHODS FOR APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY - 2023/4

Module Overview

The Research Methods module aims to help students to develop an understanding of the research process and to undertake research leading to successful completion of their dissertation. It enables students to conduct research independently and also provides them with the knowledge, skills and understanding required to develop their proposal for their dissertation. The module covers ideas, techniques, and methods relevant to different stages of the research process, stressing the interdependence of each stage in conducting effective, coherent and rigorous research. By covering the fundamentals of research methods and research methodologies, this module will enable students to conduct research independently and provide them with the knowledge and understanding needed to do a dissertation.

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

FAN Lanyue (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Research question development and literature review;

Questionnaire design and measurement;

Factor analysis and reliability tests;

Univariate descriptive statistics;

Bivariate analysis;

Simple linear regression analysis;

Multiple linear regression analysis;

Significance tests;

Testing hypothesis and reporting results;

An introduction to qualitative research methods.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to give the students the opportunity to demonstrate their breadth and depth of understanding of both the theory of research methods and its application to research problems (through the exam and their project).

 Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

An individual assignment which is focused on the transfer of knowledge to practice and ensures that students actively apply their theoretical knowledge to analysing research questions. 

Formative feedback will be provided during the lab sessions during which students will be requested to solve real world problems with the key research methods covered in the module.

Written feedback will be provided for the individual assignment and verbal feedback will be provided by tutors throughout the semester during lectures and lab sessions.

Module aims

• Introduce the fundamentals of the research process
• Enable students to effectively define a research problem
• Provide students with hands-on experience with data analysis

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The teaching and learning strategy for this module is designed to encourage students to think critically about the different stages of the research process and to engage in evaluating the different research methods and techniques.

 A. The principal teaching and learning method is a lecture followed by a PC lab session including several elements to achieve the module learning outcomes.  Lectures delivered by the module tutors are designed to develop an understanding of theory or the principles about a specific research method. Lab session are designed to put theory into application and transform the acquired knowledge into practice. To maximise student engagement and consolidate the knowledge, the focus of the lab sessions will be on specific datasets/projects.

B. Students are expected to support the work undertaken during each lecture by undertaking a number of guided learning and independent learning activities: 

Preparatory reading with questions to guide their note taking. 

Follow up exercises to consolidate their learning, where appropriate applying this to new situations in particular through a project.

Guided further reading to enable them to extend their knowledge and understanding.

C. The University’s virtual learning environment (SurreyLearn) will be used to support student learning by providing additional resources and links to useful websites. PowerPoint presentations by the lecturers will be placed on SurreyLearn before the lecture so that students may print off copies in time for the lecture.

The ethos of this module is that students will learn best when they become active participants in the learning process and this is reflected in all elements of the module design. For example: 

Students will be expected to participate in lectures through discussions and undertaking a range of other tasks.

Students will be expected to actively engage in all statistics practical classes held in the computer labs.

Not all elements of the curricula will be covered in detail in the lecture programme, students will be expected to find things out for themselves.

Students will be expected to prepare for all lectures by undertaking the pre-reading.

In order to gain high marks in the assessment, students will have to participate fully and apply their knowledge in their project. In particular students should undertake the pre work each week. They should also read beyond lecture notes and the recommended textbook.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MANM383

Other information

Digital Capabilites

This module will enhance students’ digital skills through the training of quantitative research methods. Students will learn how to use SPSS to analyze numerical and categorical data and apply appropriate research methods to answering different types of research questions.

Employability

This module will improve students’ employability by equipping them with transferrable skills that can be used in wide range of industries and occupations (e.g., business management, human resource management, occupational and organizational psychology, market research, etc.).

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.