Research Methods for Human Inquiry (PSYC30013)
Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)
About this subject
Contact information
Semester 1
Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences
Overview
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In this subject, students will acquire research skills and methods to critically investigate, measure and assess psychological research. In addition, students will acquire an understanding of fundamental principles in the psychological assessment of individual traits and dispositions. Emphasis will be placed on how (a) the skills and techniques being taught are tools for gathering evidence relating to real-world problems that are typically encountered in the psychological sciences and (b) meaningful inferences can be generalised beyond the particular sample data at hand. Topics to be covered may include research design, implementation, and evaluation; techniques for measuring human behaviour, emotions, and interactions; the application of relatively simple quantitative models to data in order to identify group differences, associations, and predictions.
Intended learning outcomes
The subject aims to:
- develop skills in the design and assessment of methods to investigate complex problems
- learn how to apply quantitative models to data concerning real-world problems
- develop student understanding of, and capacity to, translate research questions into meaningful and appropriate methods of investigation
- understand fundamental principles for the evaluation of individual and group based psychological assessments
Generic skills
Students will be given appropriate opportunity and educational support to develop skills to:
- think critically and coherently about how to identify and investigate complex problems
- translate aims and objectives for investigating complex problems into measureable questions, hypotheses, findings and answers
- evaluate various forms of evidence to support answers to, and inferences about, complex problems
- synthesise and present evidence in meaningful and interpretable ways for others to comprehend
- critically recognize and articulate specific kinds of limitations when investigating complex problems
- evaluate the reliability and validity of common psychological tests and other approaches to psychological assessment
Last updated: 9 April 2025