Final Research Project (Psychology) Course Descriptor
Last modified on May 22nd, 2024 at 2:31 pm
| Course code | LPSYC6120 | Discipline | Psychology |
| UK credit | 30 | US credit | 8 |
| FHEQ level | 6 | Date approved | November 2022 |
| Core attributes | CPPC Communicating in Public and Professional Contexts
FP Demonstrating Thought and Action in a Final Project |
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| Pre-requisites | LPSYC6251 Research Methods in Psychology
This course is only available to students for whom Psychology is their main degree discipline (or for Joint Honours students, one of their two main degree disciplines). |
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| Co-requisites | None | ||
Course Overview
This course is about psychology in practice. With appropriate supervision students will design, conduct and report an empirical research project, inline with discipline best practice). This can involve the collection of original empirical data from human participants or possibly, computational modelling of empirical data, or even secondary data analysis, such as a meta-analysis. Students will apply the previously acquired skills in psychological research; they will evaluate and discuss the significance of their findings, comparing and contrasting them with respect to the literature review they have previously carried out in the course, Research Review in Psychology. The range of research skills which will be demonstrated at the end of this course will include how to effectively plan for a project, take into account and resolve any ethical issues and analyse and disseminate findings.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
Knowledge and Understanding
| K1c | Conduct a well thought-through ethical research project in an area of psychology. |
| K2c | Interpret and communicate the outcomes of research findings and apply to a real life setting. |
| K3c | Organise and manipulate complex research data and use appropriate analytical techniques to explore and answer research questions. |
Subject Specific Skills
| S1c | Effectively select and utilise the most appropriate research method(s), data collection method(s) and analysis. |
| S2c | Evaluate and critically discuss the significance of research findings. |
| S3c | Effectively carry out an original empirically-based piece of research applying learnt research methods under an ethical framework. |
Transferable and Employability Skills
| T1c | Communicate ideas and insights from the discipline in public and professional contexts. |
| T2c | Independently create a piece of research, involving its own judgement about the appropriateness of analytical techniques in various contexts and relate to wider world implications. |
| T3c
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Display an advanced level of technical proficiency in written English and competence in applying scholarly terminology, so as to be able to apply skills in critical evaluation, analysis and judgement effectively in a diverse range of contexts. |
Teaching and Learning
This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a range of resources to orientate the student and provide support for their studies.
Alongside the VLE, the primary teaching and learning approach for this course is:
Directed study
6-12 scheduled hours, the exact number of scheduled hours varying according to whether taught primarily in 1:1s, 2:1s, or small groups (up to 6 students)
Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups.
Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.
Indicative total learning hours for this course: 300
Assessment
Both formative and summative assessment are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within office hours, interactive teaching sessions, and/or the VLE. Summative grades are typically provided through the VLE.
Summative Assessments
| AE: | Assessment Activity | Weighting (%) | Duration | Length |
| 1 | Presentation | 25% | 12mins | N/A |
| 2 | Written Assignment | 75% | N/A | 7,000 words |
Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus.
Feedback
Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments or through email or the VLE) and oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).
Feedback on summative examinations is typically provided through generic internal examiners’ reports which are made available on the VLE. Feedback on all summative assessments is made available to the student through the VLE or another appropriate method.
Indicative Reading
Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is used as part of the approval/modification process only.
- Forshaw, M. (2013). Your Undergraduate Psychology Project: A Student Guide. John Wiley & Sons.
Indicative Topics
This will be chosen with faculty guidance and in the context of the Research Review in Psychology course (which is pre-requisite).
| Title: LPSYC6120 Final Research Project Psychology
Approved by: Academic Board Location: academic-handbook/programme-specifications-and-handbooks/undergraduate-programmes |
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| Version number | Date approved | Date published | Owner | Proposed next review date | Modification (As per AQF4) & category number |
| 2.0 | May 2024 | May 2024 | Dr Bianca Serwinski | November 2027 | Category 3: Change to the course learning outcomes; Course title change. |
| 1.1 | December 2023 | August 2023 | Dr Brian Ball | November 2027 | Category 1: Corrections/clarifications to documents which do not change approved content or learning outcomes |
| 1.0 | November 2022 | January 2023 | Dr Brian Ball | November 2027 | |