The course is designed to improve students’ skills both as consumers and producers of science. Thus, a major goal of the course is to enhance students’ ability to read, interpret, and evaluate scientific evidence presented in academic journals, as well as evidence communicated through popular press and other media outlets. Another major goal is to develop students’ ability to produce original research. The course includes a laboratory component where students will learn to search for and locate relevant literature, formulate testable hypothesis, identify and implement the appropriate research design, and effectively communicate research findings.
Sample topics include: the role of scientific inquiry in psychology, ethics in research with human participants, reliability and validity, essential elements of research designs, writing a research report

Minimum passing grade for students enrolled for the BA in Psychological science: C-

Topics include: the role of scientific inquiry in psychology; ethics in research with human participants; reliability and validity; evaluating frequency, association, and causal claims; essential elements of research designs; reading and evaluating empirical papers, and basics of APA style.

At the end of the course students should be able to:

1. Understand advantages and disadvantage of research methods used by psychologists. Define and explain key research concepts.
2. Identify individual and socio-cultural factors that can influence the generalizability of research findings. 

3. Interpret, design, and conduct basic psychological research.

4. Demonstrate effective writing and presentation skills including communication of quantitative data. Write using APA style.

5. Be familiar with key regulation for protection of human research participants and apply ethical standards to evaluate psychological science.

Attendance is not mandatory, but it is STRONGLY recommended. Some material - such as in-depth explanations, examples, practice exercises, etc. – will only be presented in class. Please try not to arrive late and/or leave early. Should you arrive late, or need to leave early, please sit in the back of the class, to avoid disrupting class.

There are more quizzes, labs, and exams that you need even to receive the highest grade, thus, failing an assignment or even skipping one (sometimes more) will not have any significant consequence. You will also be given (limited) opportunities for revisions, or late submissions. No permission needed or excuses necessary. In light of this policy, no additional make-up will be allowed.

If you are absent on the day where a lab, or an exam is administered, that will simply be your dropped score.