The following guidelines are intended for all undergraduate courses in the Department of Psychology that are listed as lab courses. This includes PSYC 570/3.0 and 575/3.0, the Special Directed Lab courses.
An undergraduate lab course will typically educate students on the following four components: (1) experimental design, (2) data collection techniques, (3) data analysis techniques, and (4) communication of research findings. Of course, each lab course will emphasize these components differently, and each component might not be evident in all lab courses.
Lab courses should also be experiental whenever feasible to facilitate understanding of the practical aspects of research.
-
Experimental Design
Whenever possible, the students should be involved in the development of experimental designs, and should be introduced to the issues that play a role in determining appropriate design.
-
Data Collection Techniques
Whenever possible, the students should be involved in the data collection process, should be introduced to the practical issues of data collection, and should be introduced to different techniques that could be used for data analysis.
-
Data Analysis Techniques
Whenever possible, the students should be involved in the data analysis process, and should be introduced to different techniques for data analysis. The pedagogical principle to be achieved in this step is an understanding of how to organize and present data in a meaningful way.
-
Communication of Findings
Students should provide at least one report to help teach them how to communicate research findings. These reports could be completed in a variety of formats (e.g., written report, oral presentation, poster presentation).