Instructor: Dr. Joy Drinnon                                                                                                                         Office Hours

Office: 201 Hardin                                                                                                                                                WF 9:00-10:00

Telephone: 461-8661                                                                                                                                        M 11:15-12:15

Email: jrdrinnon@milligan.edu                                                                                                                        TR 2:00-3:00

                                                                                                                                                                               and by appointment

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5^th

edition). Washington, DC.

Patten, M. L. (2000). Understanding research methods (2^nd edition). California: Pyrczak.

Rosnow, R. L. & Rosnow, M. (2001). Writing papers in psychology (6^th edition). California: Wadsworth.

The purpose of this two-semester long course is to give you the opportunity to complete an independent research project. While completing this project you will learn about a variety of research methods. Over the course of the fall and spring semester, you will be asked to formulate a testable research question in an area of interest to you. Your investigation of that question will proceed as follows: a) a thorough review of the relevant literature, b) a proposal of study design, c) data collection, d) statistical analysis, e) a report of findings in APA format, and f) presentation of the findings at the Blue Ridge Undergraduate Research Conference. Class time will be spent discussing individual projects and relevant research issues. Attendance is critical because each student will be expected to learn about and support the projects of all other class members.

• This course will prepare you for the kinds of research projects that you may be asked to do while in graduate school or other professional endeavors. Specifically, you will learn how to conduct an independent research project from the inception of the research question to the final report of findings.
• A second objective is that you will be capable of presenting your research findings at regional or national meetings. You will learn how to present your research findings verbally and visually (e.g., posters & powerpoint).

Your grade will be based primarily on successful completion of each part of the research project, which are worth a specific number of quality points. The numbers of quality points for each assignment are listed on the next page. However, 10% of your grade will be based on participation during class. Your grade will be determined by the percentage of points earned over the course of the semester (out of 250). You may resubmit assignments for additional credit if you did not receive the maximum number of points for that assignment.

You will lose 1 point per assignment for every day that it is past due (including weekends). These points can not be earned back through resubmission even if the quality of work warrants full credit.