Research Methodologies

The course will begin with an overview of how research, and its appropriate methodology, came about in science and, more specifically, psychology.

We will then go over the ABCs of conducting research, learning how to define “variables” and why they are important.

While this course will also touch upon statistics and their importance, it will not require a comprehensive knowledge of the subject.

The course will conclude with a section on experiment results and the ways in which experimental design and statistics can be used to ensure certain results.

By the end of this course, you should understand why research methodology is important in scientific research, be comfortable reading method and results sections of journal articles, and understand a range of different research methods (as well as when to employ each).

Passing Score

In order to “pass” this course, you will need to earn a 67% or higher on the final exam. If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again.

Faculty & Licensing

This course has been developed by Saylor Academy and provided under Creative Commons License Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

The course curriculum includes these modules:

• Unit 1: An Introduction to Research
• Unit 2: The Research Report
• Unit 3: Ethical Research
• Unit 4: Measurement Concepts
• Unit 5: Observation, Survey, and Experimental Research Designs
• Unit 6: Understanding Research Results
• Final Course Exam: Research Methodologies

In order to complete this course, you will need to work through each unit and all of its assigned materials. Units 1 to 4 lay the foundation for the design and analysis units (5–6) that are the heart of research methods. You will also need to complete the modules 1-6.

Some sub-units also have quizzes built into the materials. Completing these quizzes will improve your understanding and long-term retention of the material in the course. Note that you will only receive an official grade on your final exam. However, in order to adequately prepare for this exam, you will need to work through the assessments and applications listed above.

In order to “pass” this course, you will need to earn 67% or higher on the final exam. If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again.

Being a self-paced course you can study on your own time. We suggest to go through the course in sequence from the first to the last module followed by the final quiz. Post questions and comments in the discussion group or contact the course teacher.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Define science and list the key features of science.
• Apply the key features of science to the discipline of psychology.
• Describe the parts of a psychology research report.
• Explain how psychology research ethics guidelines developed.
• List the key ethical guidelines governing psychology research.
• Define reliability and validity for research measures.
• List and define the three primary research designs used for psychology research.
• Identify the appropriate statistical analysis for each of the three primary research designs.