PYB350 Advanced Statistical Analysis

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

PYB350 extends on the analytical methods you learnt in PYB210 to more complex research designs. Research design, data analysis and associated digital capabilities are core skills in the discipline of psychology and integral to the scientist-practitioner model of professional psychological practice and research. The skills are highly valued by employers of psychology graduates. A sound understanding of research design and data analysis enables you to become critical consumers of research and to apply a strong evidence based approach to problem solving. This unit will provide you with a thorough grounding in analysis of variance techniques, multiple regression, and qualitative analysis methods, data analytic tools used in a broad range of research across the social sciences. The unit is both theoretical and practical, providing you with the ability to employ analytic software to analyse quantitative and qualitative data and to appropriately interpret and report these analyses.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:

1. Employ theortical understanding of the principles underpinning the design, analysis, and interpretation of key analytic approaches, including qualitative designs, factorial ANOVA, multiple regressions to answer complex questions.
2. Choose and interpret the appropriate methods to analyse data and interpret results to answer real world research questions from a variety of options and sources
3. Critically evaluate the design, analysis, and conclusions drawn from psychological research
4. Employ digital capabilities to enter and analyse data and professionally communicate results

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit is delivered in a fully flexible format, where you can choose to engage in the content through face to face lectures where your or through a comprehensive set of online resources such as videos and detailed lecture notes. Hands-on practical tutorials will give you the opportunity to work through the analyses presented in the lectures. The lecture materials provide the theoretical foundations of the unit content. Tutorials offered both on campus and online, will guide you through the detailed workings of each statistical technique and will provide you with the opportunity to develop your skills in data analysis and interpretation as well as critically evaluating research designs. Assessments will provide you with the opportunity to apply these skills to real world research problems. 

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

You will receive both formative and summative feedback in this unit. General formative feedback will be provided in tutorials. Summative feedback will be provided through the assessment tasks detailed below. The online quizzes, due progressively through the semester will also provide you with formative feedback through the practice quizzes and feedback about your general mastery of the unit material.

Assessment

Overview

The summative assessment for this unit (assessment used to determine your final grade) involves online quizzes, a problem solving task and a final examination.

In this unit there are also many opportunities for formative feedback for you to check your understanding of the content and the effectiveness of your learning strategies and skills.

• There will be time in lectures to give you the opportunity in class to ask questions and clarify any concepts that are unclear
• The online quizzes, due progressively throughout the semester, provide you with the incentive to work progressively towards mastering the concepts and analyses covered in the unit, and provide feedback on your mastery of the material. The practice quizzes will help you to check your understanding before taking the accessible quiz.
• Practice exam questions will be provided to help you prepare for the final exam.

Written assignments in this unit will be submitted electronically. You will be required to submit your assignment via Turnitin content-matching software. Written assignments will be marked online and your feedback will be supplied via CANVAS. Actively reading the feedback provided will enhance your learning success. 

This is an internally offered unit; students are required to attend examinations in person, on QUT Brisbane campuses.

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Online Quizzes

The quizzes will require you to answer multiple choice questions on theoretical concepts, and interpretation of statistical analyses. There will be 5 quizzes in total -- in approximately weeks 3, 6, 9, 11 and 13. Your total mark for all quizzes will contribute 20% to your final grade for the unit.

You will have approximately 1 week to complete each quiz.  This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Problem Solving Task

You will be provided with a real world research scenario and associated quantitative and qualitative data. You need to enter the data into appropriate analytic software and carry out appropriate qualitative and statistical analyses of this data. From your analyses you will report the results and write a preliminary discussion for a journal article. 

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Final Examination

The final exam will consist of multiple-choice and short answer questions, and will test all content covered in the unit.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Resource Materials

Recommended text(s)

Field, A. P. (2018). Discovering statistics using SPSS. (5th ed.). London: Sage.

Note: Any edition is fine!  Great text for using SPSS

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

Course Learning Outcomes

PY45 Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Psychology)

1. Describe and evaluate the core scientific perspectives of psychology with reference to theories, methods and research, from diverse perspectives, including first-nations perspectives.
   Relates to: Online Quizzes, Problem Solving Task, Final Examination
2. Critically examine the scientific discipline of psychological research and theories using oral, written and digital communication to address psychological issues in a respectful, ethical and professional manner.
   Relates to: Online Quizzes, Problem Solving Task, Final Examination
3. Implement a range of digital capabilities to access, examine and utilise evidence-based information in the context of effectively responding to, and communicating, real world problems.
   Relates to: Online Quizzes, Problem Solving Task