Students

STAX1103 – Introduction to Psychological Design and Statistics

2023 – Session 2, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Petra Graham
STAT1103@mq.edu.au
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
See iLearn for consultation hours.
Convenor
Alissa Beath
STAT1103@mq.edu.au
School of Psychological Sciences
See iLearn for consultation hours
Convenor
Connor Smith
STAT1103@mq.edu.au
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
See iLearn for consultation hours
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit provides students with an introduction to research design and statistical analysis. In this unit, students will learn about common research methods used in psychology and related disciplines, critically analyse these methods, and be able to conduct their own analyses. Both experimental and non-experimental research methods are covered, as well as a variety of statistical tests, including t-tests, correlation, and chi square analyses.

Students will learn data management techniques and appropriate methods to summarise data, including both numeric and graphical summaries. Students will also gain hands-on experience using the statistical software Stata.

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: Describe common research designs in psychological science and draw appropriate conclusions consistent with the research design.
  • ULO2: Describe statistical techniques in psychological science, including both signicance testing and effect sizes, and apply these tests appropriately to research designs.
  • ULO3: Conduct statistical tests appropriately, including using statistical software, and draw appropriate conclusions.
  • ULO4: Summarise data, both numerically and graphically, including using statistical software.
  • ULO5: Critically evaluate research, research designs, and statistical testing in psychological science.
  • ULO6: Effectively communicate research findings, both formally and informally.

General Assessment Information

You will be using the software package Stata throughout the unit including for all of the assessments and practical classes. See how to download Stata for in the Delivery and Resources section, below, and in the Required Resources area of the Unit Information block in iLearn. 

Requirements to Pass this Unit:

To pass this unit you must:

  • Achieve a total mark equal to or greater than 50%

Attendance and Participation: There are weekly set tutorial and practical activities. You should complete these activities in the week that they are set. Your tutor will be available via the discussion forum and email to help with tutorial activities. You should attend one of the weekly zoom practical classes as detailed in iLearn. 

Assignment Submission: Assignment submission will be online through the iLearn page.

Submit assignments online via the appropriate assignment link on the iLearn page. A personalised cover sheet is not required with online submissions. Read the submission statement carefully before accepting it as there are substantial penalties for making a false declaration.

  • Assignment submission is via iLearn. You should upload this as a Word document or PDF file created from a Word document.
  • It is your responsibility to make sure your assignment submission is legible.
  • If there are technical obstructions to your submitting online, please email us to let us know.

You may submit as often as required prior to the due date/time. Please note that each submission will completely replace any previous submissions. It is in your interests to make frequent submissions of your partially completed work as insurance against technical or other problems near the submission deadline. You can apply for Special Consideration via ask.mq.edu.au if there are reasonable grounds for non-submission.

Late Assessment Submission Penalty: 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends and public holidays). After the 7th day, a grade of '0' will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:55 pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern. 

For any late submission of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled assessment quizzes/ tests /exams and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.  

In this unit, late submissions will be accepted as follows:

  • Report part 1- YES, Standard Late Penalty applies
  • Report part 2- YES, Standard Late Penalty applies
  • Online quizzes - NO, timed assessments must be completed by the due date unless Special Consideration is granted.

Word Count Penalty: 5% of the possible mark will be deducted per 100 words over the word limit for the assessment task. An additional 99 words beyond the limit can be written without penalty.

Final Exam Policy: 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, that is, the final day of the official examination period. The only excuse for not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unavoidable disruption. In these special circumstances, you may apply for special consideration via ask.mq.edu.au.

If you receive special consideration for the final exam, a supplementary exam will be scheduled in the interval between the regular exam period and the start of the next session. By making a special consideration application for the final exam you are declaring yourself available for a resit during this supplementary examination period and will not be eligible for a second special consideration approval based on pre-existing commitments. Please ensure you are familiar with the policy prior to submitting an application. Approved applicants will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of their supplementary examination.

Special Consideration

The Special Consideration Policy aims to support students who have been impacted by short term circumstances or events that are serious, unavoidable and significantly disruptive, and which may affect their performance in assessment. If you experience circumstances or events that affect your ability to complete the written assessments in this unit on time, please inform the convenor and submit a Special Consideration request through ask.mq.edu.au.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online quizzes 20% No Week 3,8
Research Report part 1 15% No Week 6
Research Report part 2 25% No Week 10
Final Examination 40% No University examination period

Online quizzes

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Week 3,8
Weighting: 20%

 

Multiple online quizzes spread across the session containing short answer and/or multiple choice questions testing both conceptual understanding and practical application of skills.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe common research designs in psychological science and draw appropriate conclusions consistent with the research design.
  • Describe statistical techniques in psychological science, including both signicance testing and effect sizes, and apply these tests appropriately to research designs.
  • Conduct statistical tests appropriately, including using statistical software, and draw appropriate conclusions.
  • Summarise data, both numerically and graphically, including using statistical software.
  • Critically evaluate research, research designs, and statistical testing in psychological science.
  • Effectively communicate research findings, both formally and informally.

Research Report part 1

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 6
Weighting: 15%

 

Students will submit the first part of a psychology research report in APA format.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe common research designs in psychological science and draw appropriate conclusions consistent with the research design.
  • Critically evaluate research, research designs, and statistical testing in psychological science.
  • Effectively communicate research findings, both formally and informally.

Research Report part 2

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 10
Weighting: 25%

 

Students will submit the remainder of the psychology research report in APA format that they began in Part 1.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe common research designs in psychological science and draw appropriate conclusions consistent with the research design.
  • Describe statistical techniques in psychological science, including both signicance testing and effect sizes, and apply these tests appropriately to research designs.
  • Conduct statistical tests appropriately, including using statistical software, and draw appropriate conclusions.
  • Summarise data, both numerically and graphically, including using statistical software.
  • Critically evaluate research, research designs, and statistical testing in psychological science.
  • Effectively communicate research findings, both formally and informally.

Final Examination

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 5 hours
Due: University examination period
Weighting: 40%

 

Formal examination testing the learning outcomes of the unit.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Describe common research designs in psychological science and draw appropriate conclusions consistent with the research design.
  • Describe statistical techniques in psychological science, including both signicance testing and effect sizes, and apply these tests appropriately to research designs.
  • Conduct statistical tests appropriately, including using statistical software, and draw appropriate conclusions.
  • Summarise data, both numerically and graphically, including using statistical software.
  • Critically evaluate research, research designs, and statistical testing in psychological science.
  • Effectively communicate research findings, both formally and informally.

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

Classes:

Lectures (beginning in Week 1): There is one 2-hour lecture, delivered as an online recording, each week and one 1-hour Q&A lecture where students can ask questions about lecture content. Lectures must be watched prior to attempting tutorial and practical activities that same week..

Tutorial activities (beginning in Week 1): Tutorial activities can be found in the relevant weekly area of iLearn. More information is available under Tutorial Information for STAX1103 on iLearn.

Practical classes (beginning in Week 1): Practical activities can be found in the relevant weekly area of iLearn. Students can attend any one-hour practical class per week (see the classes and more information under Practical Information for STAX1103 on iLearn) to obtain assistance with the practical material.  

Resources:

Please see the Required Resources section of iLearn for details of recommended and required texts and other resources. Textbooks can change from one year to another so do not purchase without checking iLearn. 

Technology Used and Required: All unit material is delivered through iLearn. The link may be found at http://ilearn.mq.edu.au. This unit requires use of a laptop or desktop computer so that the statistical package Stata can be installed and used; Stata can be downloaded for free from the university through the following link: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/software/stata. Students can also install the Microsoft Office Suite (containing Excel and Word etc) for free, this may be useful for report writing and data set handling (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/software/microsoft).

Unit Schedule

See iLearn for details of assessment delivery and timings. Note that this schedule is subject to change if necessary.

Week Topic Assessments
1 Introduction  
2

Research design and analysis; Stata demonstration

  
3 Hypothesis testing Quiz 1
4 Ethics + Measurement  
5 One-sample tests  
6 Non-experimental designs Report part 1
7 Experimental designs  
  Mid-session break  
8 Categorical data analysis Quiz 2
9 Longitudinal designs  
10 Mixed methods Report part 2
11

Best practice in Psychological Science

  
12 Putting it all together  
13 Conclusions  
  Final 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. 

OUA support and policies

For information and administrative processes specific to OUA studies, please see this website: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/faculties/open-universities-australia  

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.

Changes from Previous Offering

Every semester feedback results in adjustment to content and/or delivery in this unit. As such we encourage students to provide constructive feedback via student surveys, to teaching staff directly or via the FSE Student Experience and Feedback link in the iLearn page.  

OUA Student Information

For information for current OUA students at Macquarie University, see this website: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/faculties/open-universities-australia 

Unit information based on version 2023.02 of the Handbook