Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Research Projects
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English
Teaching staff
Appointments should be requested by email.
Introduction
The Research Projects course provides the future psychologist with the fundamental knowledge and skills to conduct research studies in the field of psychology. The course will enable students to propose research objectives and hypotheses, develop work plans adapted to the objectives and the reality of the study environment, apply strategies to control variables and ensure the validity of the research, make sound decisions in the analysis and interpretation of empirical data, and effectively communicate the results to the scientific community. The course will focus on the development of exercises and case studies with the objective that students acquire theoretical knowledge that they can apply in a practical and relevant way in their future professional work. The main axis of the course is the development of a project that will allow students to apply the theoretical and practical knowledge worked on in class.
Pre-course requirements
To enrol, students must have completed the following research-related subjects:
- Introduction to Psychology research
- Assessment and diagnostic techniques
- Methodology applied to Psychology
Objectives
The objectives of the course are:
- To encourage the student to integrate the knowledge and skills acquired during the training of the degree on the realization of research projects.
- To familiarize the student with the elaboration of projects in the field of Psychology.
- To generate that the student develops reflective and critical thinking in the elaboration and evaluation of projects.
- To allow the student to acquire and practice the necessary skills for oral presentations and written work.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CB02 - Students must know how to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner and have competences that are usually demonstrated through the creation and defence of arguments and the solving of problems within their field of study.
- CB03 - Students must have the ability to bring together and interpret relevant data (normally within their area of study) in order to issue judgements that include a reflection on relevant issues of a social, scientific and ethical nature.
- CE03 - The ability to make adequate decisions about what Psychology-specific methods and measuring instruments to use in each situation or evaluation context.
- CE06 - Plan the evaluation of psychological programs and / or interventions, selecting the appropriate indicators and techniques.
- CE16 - The ability to communicate evaluations in a critical, well-founded manner, respecting the ethical commitment involved in disseminating psychological knowledge.
- CG01 - Capacity for critical and creative thinking, and capacity to investigate and adopt a scientific and ethical approach in distinct professional settings.
- CG02 - The ability to make critical and well-founded judgements and assessments as part of the decision-making process.
- CG03 - The ability to read scientific literature in a critical, well-founded manner, take into account its provenance, situate it within an epistemological framework and identify and contrast its contributions in relation to the disciplinary knowledge available.
- CT05 - The ability to reason and assess situations and results from a critical, constructive point of view.
- CT09 - The ability to communicate adequately, both orally and in writing
Learning outcomes of the subject
At the end of the course, the student will have acquired skills related to accessing databases and conducting bibliographic searches as a basis for developing a research project. In addition, the student has the skills to plan and design a research project, and to perform the appropriate statistical analysis. Finally, the student is able to interpret and discuss the empirical results.
Syllabus
The lectures will train students in the basic activities that are developed in research projects in Psychology through practical exercises, workshops on statistical data analysis and bibliographic search, and directed reading of scientific articles.
The contents covered in the master classes are:
- Bibliographic search
- Statement of objectives and hypotheses
- Selection of the appropriate methodology according to the research objective.
- Statistical analysis of data
- Data interpretation
- Writing a scientific article
- Oral presentation of a research project
Teaching and learning activities
In person
In the lectures the teacher presents the course contents to the students. The lectures are combined with practical exercises, directed reading of scientific articles and practical workshops on statistical data analysis and bibliographic search.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
1st and 2nd call
- Final exam: 100%
To pass the course it is necessary to pass the final exam with a minimum grade of 5.
The exam combines multiple-choice questions, open questions and practical exercises. The multiple-choice questions have 4 alternative answers. Each correct answer is equivalent to one point, incorrect answers subtract 0.33 points (chance level control) and omissions do not subtract.
The evaluation will always respect the general rules established in the Psychology Degree.
Bibliography and resources
Writing your psychology research paper - Baldwin, Scott A.
Evaluation period
- E1 27/05/2024 I2 12:00h
- E1 27/05/2024 I3 12:00h
- E1 27/05/2024 I1 12:00h
- E2 26/06/2024 I3 12:00h