General Research Methods Texts:
Clark-Carter D. (2010). Quantitative psychological research: The complete student's companion. Hove: Psychology Press
Gibson. W. J., & Brown, A. (2009). Working with Qualitative Data. London: Sage.
Harris, P. (2008). Designing and reporting experiments (3rd Ed) Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Robson, C. (2002). Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and Practitioner-Researchers (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell.

References to specific texts relevant to the topic area and methodology of the project will be provided by the academic supervisor.

Access to Psychology specialist facilities within the Science Centre, and access to the dedicated academic research supervisor.

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities: (35)
An unpaid individual work placement, equivalent to half a day per week over ten weeks [35 hours over the semester - actual timing to be negotiated with the supervisor]

Guided Independent Study: (115)
As an independent learning opportunity, this module is supported by individual research supervisors within psychology who offer students the experience of conducting research, as a research assistant. The module consists of an orienting session at the start which sets out the rules of engagement, with further supervision and support being provided through the research process by the academic supervisor. The module leader will monitor progress and learning with the supervisors directly through a regular reporting mechanism.

Due to the limited number of places available, students will be required to complete an application form and undertake an interview, with successful candidates being accepted onto the module.

This module provides the opportunity for you to gain experience working in research in psychology.

In this module you will:
- work in conjunction with a named supervisor on a suitable psychology research placement opportunity, engaging in research design, literature searching and/or data collection, as befits the research opportunity.

- undertake the equivalent of a one-week full-time individual work placement, as detailed in the Learning Strategies section below.

Students will be required to complete 1 piece of summative assessment.

2000-word work placement report that identifies and critically reflects upon the key transferable and other skills developed, the direct experiential learning acquired, how psychological knowledge and understanding relates to the placement. The report needs to reflect upon the contribution of the work placement to the career development of the individual, and needs to include a completed CV as an appendix.

Students will be provided with formative assessment and feedback via discussion with their academic supervisor.