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

In this module students will:
- work in conjunction with a named supervisor on a suitable psychology research placement opportunity, engaging in research design, preparation for ethical approval, literature searching and/or data collection, data analysis and dissemination as befits the research opportunity. The project may focus on one of these elements, or several simultaneously, depending on the nature of the work involved.

- undertake the equivalent of a one-week full-time individual work placement (40 hours), as detailed in the Learning Strategies section below.

Reflective Report (with appendices; LOs 1-3)

Students will be required to complete one piece of summative assessment; a 2000-word reflective 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 critically reflect upon the contribution of the work placement to the career development of the individual.

As a requirement to pass this assessment, students must append a complete and signed log of supervisory meetings and a complete and signed log of weekly activities completed for the project. The output from the research project (agreed between the supervisor and student) should also be appended where this is possible/appropriate (but evident not formally required to achieve a pass). Failure to append all supporting documents will result in a reduction of the overall grade by 5%.

Students will be provided with formative feedback via discussion with their academic supervisor. Additionally, there will be opportunities in the taught sessions to gain formative feedback on assessment ideas and one opportunity to gain written formative feedback on a one-page plan from the module leader.

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities

There are 26 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activity (e.g., lecture/workshops, one-to-one project support sessions), as detailed below:

Lecture sessions with the module leader, which will introduce the module and prepare students for the assessment.

One-to-one project support sessions: Students will have regular review sessions with their supervisor.

The Research Placement: An unpaid individual work placement, equivalent to half a day per week over ten weeks [40 hours over the semester - actual timing to be negotiated with the supervisor]

Guided Independent Study: 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.

Apply your psychological knowledge and understanding to completion of a research project placement.

Apply your methodological skills to a research project placement.

Identify, communicate, and critically reflect on the key transferable skills developed, the direct experiential learning acquired, and the contribution of the work undertaken to your career development.

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

Blackboard VLE.

Library access to relevant textbooks, journals, ebooks.

Internet access to relevant websites and online databases.

Quantitative Methods Texts
Clark-Carter D. (2018). Quantitative psychological research: The complete student's companion (4th ed.). Psychology Press.

Field, A. (2017). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS Statistics (5th ed.). Sage.

Qualitative Methods Texts
Braun, V., & Clarke, B. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. Sage.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021).¿Thematic analysis: A practical guide. Sage.

Smith, J.A. (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.

General Methods Texts
Bell, J., & Waters, S. (2018). Doing Your Research Project (7th ed.). Open University Press.

Boland, A., Cherry, G., & Dickson, R. (Eds.). (2017). Doing a systematic review: A student's guide. Sage.

Clifford, N., & Valentine, G. (2003). Key Methods in Psychology. Sage.

Davies, M. B., & Hughes, N. (2014).¿Doing a successful research project: Using qualitative or quantitative methods. Macmillan International Higher Education.

Harris, P. (2008). Designing and reporting experiments (3rd ed.). Open University Press.

Montello, D., & Sutton, P. (2006). An Introduction to Scientific Research Methods in Psychology. Sage.

Robson, C. (2002). Real World Research: A Resource for Social Scientists and Practitioner-Researchers (2nd ed.). Blackwell.

In addition to the above general research methods texts, references to specific texts relevant to the topic area and methodology of the project will be suggested by the research supervisor, and students will be expected to use their literature searching skills in order to identify appropriate texts for further reading.

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

Are you interested in psychological research and want to gain first-hand insight into what is involved working as a researcher? This module provides the opportunity for you to gain real-world experience, working in a placement on a psychological research study, supervised by a research active member of staff. You will assist with various aspects of the research study you are assigned to, developing numerous transferable skills in the process; this is an excellent opportunity to build your CV and find out about the world of psychology research.