Students

COGS2020 – Experimental Design and Data Analysis for the Cognitive and Brain Sciences

2022 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Matthew Crossley
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
STAT1170 or STAT170
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
In this unit, students will learn essential principles of experimental design and data analysis skills for research in the cognitive and brain sciences. Students will gain first-hand experience applying these skills by analysing real-life behavioural and neural data sets such as those from fMRI, MEG, and EEG. Students will learn the R programming language, which is widely used throughout the statistics and data science communities in academia and private industry. Topics covered include programming statistical analyses and visualising data in R, effective experimental design for hypothesis testing, and critically examining the results of statistical analyses in the cognitive and brain sciences.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

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

  • ULO1: Program statistical analyses using the R programming language.
  • ULO2: Generate data visualisations and publication-quality summary figures using the R programming language.
  • ULO3: Design experiments and apply appropriate statistical methods to test hypotheses in the cognitive and brain sciences.
  • ULO4: Interpret and critically evaluate the results of statistical analyses.

General Assessment Information

Late Penalty

Late submissions will receive a 5% per day penalty including weekends and public holidays, unless an extension has been granted through special consideration. No late submissions will be accepted more than 5 days after the submission deadline, unless special consideration has been granted. No further submissions will be accepted after the marked assignments are returned and feedback is released to students. Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to notify the University of a disruption to their studies and that requests for extensions for assignments must be made via the University’s Ask MQ System (as outlined in the Special Consideration Policy).

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Weekly online quizzes 10% No Approximately weekly
Weekly problem sets 30% No Approximately weekly
Mid-term exam 30% No Mid semester
Final exam 30% No Final exam period

Weekly online quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Approximately weekly
Weighting: 10%

 

10 short online multiple quizzes designed to provide routine assessment and feedback. Graded on credit/no-credit basis. The 2 lowest quizzes (missed or marked non-credit) may be dropped without penalty.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Program statistical analyses using the R programming language.
  • Generate data visualisations and publication-quality summary figures using the R programming language.
  • Design experiments and apply appropriate statistical methods to test hypotheses in the cognitive and brain sciences.
  • Interpret and critically evaluate the results of statistical analyses.

Weekly problem sets

Assessment Type 1: Problem set
Indicative Time on Task 2: 27 hours
Due: Approximately weekly
Weighting: 30%

 

10 problem sets

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Program statistical analyses using the R programming language.
  • Generate data visualisations and publication-quality summary figures using the R programming language.
  • Design experiments and apply appropriate statistical methods to test hypotheses in the cognitive and brain sciences.
  • Interpret and critically evaluate the results of statistical analyses.

Mid-term exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Mid semester
Weighting: 30%

 

1-hour mid-term exam

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Program statistical analyses using the R programming language.
  • Generate data visualisations and publication-quality summary figures using the R programming language.
  • Design experiments and apply appropriate statistical methods to test hypotheses in the cognitive and brain sciences.
  • Interpret and critically evaluate the results of statistical analyses.

Final exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Final exam period
Weighting: 30%

 

2-hour exam

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Program statistical analyses using the R programming language.
  • Generate data visualisations and publication-quality summary figures using the R programming language.
  • Design experiments and apply appropriate statistical methods to test hypotheses in the cognitive and brain sciences.
  • Interpret and critically evaluate the results of statistical analyses.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Delivery

Lectures are 2-hour sessions held once per week, starting in Week 1. Lectures run from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM Wednesdays and will be delivered live over Zoom.

Readings

The primary reading source for this course are the weekly lecture notes, which will be made available via the course iLearn page. Any supplimental reading will be linked in the lecture notes.

iLearn

Through iLearn you will be able to access the lecture recordings (Echo360), readings, and feedback and marks for the assessment tasks. You are also required to submit all assignments via iLearn, using the Turnitin submission tool. You will need access to the internet to access iLearn.

Mid-term exam

There will be a mid-term exam which will assess all material covered in lectures, weekly problem sets, and tutorial sessions up to the point at which the exam is given. The exam will be given live over Zoom during the first half of that weeks lecture so that you may ask questions and benefit from the questions asked by others in real time. However, you are under no obligation to be logged into the Zoom session. You will have 1 hour from the time the exam is made available to turn it in through the course iLearn page. If you are unable to take the mid-semester exam at the specified time, you must advise the Student Centre via ask.mq.edu.au and must also apply for Special Consideration through ask.mq.edu.au and submit appropriate supporting documents. It should be noted that Macquarie University Policy states: "Pre-booked holidays will not routinely be considered unavoidable absences or commitments by the University". Students deemed eligible for a late mid-semester exam will be notified via email about the time and location of the exam.

Final exam

There will be a final exam which will assess all material covered in lectures, weekly problem sets, and tutorial sessions up to the point at which the exam is given, including material that appeared on the mid-term exam. The time and location for this exam will be timetabled centrally and announced later in the semester. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the examinations and in Final form approximately four weeks before the commencement of the examinations (http://students.mq.edu.au/ student_admin/exams/). The only exception to taking the final exam at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these circumstances you may wish to consider applying for special consideration due to disruption to studies. Information about unavoidable disruption and the special consideration process is available at: http://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration. If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Special Consideration process, the examination will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period. The format of a supplementary examination is at the unit convenor’s discretion and is subject to change from the original final examination. If a Supplementary Exam has been granted, it is the student’s responsibility to ensure they sit the Supplementary Exam on the specified date. You are advised that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations for individuals or groups of students. All students are expected to ensure that they are available until the end of the teaching semester, which is the final day of the official examination period.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.


Unit information based on version 2022.03 of the Handbook