Quantitative Methods
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| PSTY4061 | Psychiatry and Applied Psychology | 4 | 20 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- PSTY4061
- School
- Psychiatry and Applied Psychology
- Level
- 4
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
Through a series of lectures, practical workshops and assignments, the module will take students through the design, operationalization, data-collection, data analysis, and report-writing processes of a quantitative research study in mental health and applied psychology, covering the following topics:
- Formulating the study question; correlational vs experimental methods; within-subjects vs between-subjects designs; testing longitudinal effects; confounds; control conditions.
- Operationalisation: Measurement instruments; standardised tests and normed values (Standard Scores, Scaled scores, T scores); summary statistics, distributions (normal and non-normal), expressing the null hypothesis; the concept of falsification.
- Refining the study design; statistical power, sampling, randomisation, blinding, pre-and post-tests, test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, correction for multiple hypotheses.
- Data Analysis: General Linear Model including multiple regression analysis, and factorial ANOVA; concept of residuals; concept of model fitting and the meaning of a p-value; Parametric and Non-Parametric statistics: t, F, r and chi square; Control of Type I and Type II error; reporting effect sizes and interpreting null findings.
- Advanced techniques and software including Multi-Level Modelling;Meta analysis;Factor Analysis; Path Analysis
Target Students
MSc students in the School of Medicine (Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, Division of Rehabilitation and Aging). Also available to PhD students (PGT and PGR).
Classes
- One 1-hour workshop each week for 20 weeks
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
Assessment
- 50% Report 1: Lab Report 1,500 words
- 10% Coursework 1: SII exercises 20 x 10 exercises per unit to be completed between November and April
- 20% Exam 1: In-person Exam
- 20% Exam 2: In-person Exam
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
To equip students with a wide range of conceptual, methodological and statistical skills that will allow them to turn a research question in mental health or applied psychology into a rigorous quantitative study and to evaluate research literature that makes use of such techniques.Learning Outcomes
Acquired a working knowledge of models & approaches in mental health and applied psychology research.
Acquired a working knowledge of research methods in mental health and applied psychology research.
Developed the ability to critically appraise various research methodologies in the field of mental health and applied psychology.
Developed an ability to present research findings in the field of mental health and applied psychology in written format.
Developed scientific thinking skills to enable the appraisal of research in the field of mental health and applied psychology.