1. 3rd Year Psychology Project PSY600
30 Credit module
Module Convener: David Clayton
Fulfils a core BPS requirement

2. PSY600 Psychology Research Project
Information for you (current second years)
Information for current third years:

3. 3rd Year Project PSY600 What a research project is…
Overview of process and timeline
A few details
Overview of our general interests

4. Aspects of independent research (BPS):
defining a research problem
formulating testable hypotheses / research questions
choosing appropriate methodologies
planning and carrying out a study efficiently
demonstrating awareness of ethical issues and current codes of ethics and conduct
obtaining the appropriate ethical approval for their research
demonstrating the ability to reason about the data and present the findings effectively
discussing findings in terms of previous research
evaluating methodologies and analyses employed and implications for ethics
where appropriate, collaborating effectively with colleagues, participants and outside agencies.

5. “where appropriate, collaborating effectively…”
In some cases, students may collaborate with each other during the data collection process, to allow greater research scope and the choice of more realistic problems.
However, all analyses and report writing must be carried out individually. Students working collaboratively on a project can collect data together but must not analyse it together.
Similarly, supervisors will not analyse data for students, though they may offer help in directing the analysis.
In collaborative projects, students should understand that:
(i) Each student will be encouraged to focus on different issues or questions within the research project as a whole;
(ii) there will be no collaboration beyond the data collection stage;
(iii) data analysis and writing up will be done on an individual basis; and the report of the supervisor to other examiners will indicate the role of each student.

6. Ultimately, the final year project is a process for you to learn to design an experiment, conduct that experiment ethically and using the scientific method, analyse and write up the results.
What’s important is how you do the project - not so much the topic you study or your experimental results.

7. 3rd Year Project PSY600 What a research project is…
Overview of process and timeline
A few details
Overview of our general interests

8. Project Supervisor Selection
Overview of the Process:
Project Supervisor Selection
Each staff member will be assigned a formal advisory role to a subset of students (~3-6), and typically will supervise projects in the general scope of their own research expertise and facilities.
Student preferences are considered in making the assignments – however, not all students will be able to have their first choice of supervisor. (More details below).
Nevertheless, students are free to develop projects outside the scope of their advisor’s primary area, with two provisions: 1) the assigned supervisor still must approve the project, and 2) the student must accept that the assigned supervisor may not be able to provide detailed guidance in this case. A student assigned to one advisor may reasonably seek out specific research advice for their project from another staff member.

9. Overview of the Process:
Supervisor assignments announced mid-March.
Before summer:
meet with your assigned supervisor
Begin to develop a concept for your project
develop a timeline: what you’ll need to do when

10. Overview of the Process:
Academic year 3
Summer (optional) and Fall:
Obtain ethics approval
Recruit participants
Collect the data
Analyse the data
January and February (2019): draft your dissertation
Final revisions and submission by end of Semester B

11. 3rd Year Project PSY600 What a research project is…
Overview of process and timeline
A few details
Overview of our general interests

12. Details: PSY600 Psychology Research Project
Information during your third year:

13. Details: Ethics
An ethics form must be submitted and the project ethically approved before experimental work can begin
Deadline 1 month before experimental work begins.

14. Details: Data collection phase
Start data collection as soon as (but not before!) you have ethical approval.
Make sure that you keep ALL receipts for any participant payments, equipment, or other incurred costs associated with running the experiment, and make sure that you have those available so that you can give them to your supervisor.
Make sure you store the data you collect safely (in multiple storage sites, i.e. on your laptop and on your supervisor’s pc, and in a dropbox folder) and that it is accessible to you and your supervisor. [check with your supervisor about data handling – i.e. anonymizing the data].

15. Details: Dissertation
Length: 8,000 words dissertation in APA format
worth 100% of the mark for the 30 credit module, PSY600
Deadline for first draft of dissertation: end of reading week, Feb 2019
This includes all sections of the dissertation WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE DISCUSSION SECTION.
Supervisor should give you feedback around two weeks after this deadline.
Supervisor CANNOT give you written feedback on your discussion section, this is a section that you should complete on your own, though you can seek guidance about the section in verbal form during your supervision.
Deadline for final submission: end of Spring semester 2019
Uploaded as a PDF on QMPLUS
Note: printed paper copies no longer required

16. Details: Project Supervisor Selection

17. Project Supervisor Selection
Project Supervisor Selection

19. Project Supervisor Selection
Select your first and second preference for project supervisor using the 2 activities as indicated.
You may change your selections as many times as you want, until Friday 2nd March 2018.
You should be assigned to either your first or second choice, UNLESS both choices are oversubscribed (i.e., more students have signed up than there are projects available for that supervisor). In that case, students will be selected at random from the signup list and reassigned to supervisors that are not oversubscribed.
ADVICE: if you want to list a "popular" supervisor as your first choice, for your second choice pick someone who is NOT oversubscribed. Otherwise you may end up being assigned randomly to someone else.

20. 3rd Year Project PSY600 What a research project is…
Overview of process and timeline
A few details
Staff interests and expertise

21. Project Supervisor Selection
Project Supervisor Selection

22. PSY600 Psychology Research Project
Information for you (current second years)
Information for current third years: