Prospectus

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Good Research Practices

Course
2017-2018

Entry requirements

  • Introduction to Research Methods and Statistics

  • Inferential Statistics

  • Experimental and Correlational Research (or similar courses)
    For Psychology students: All 60 ec of the first-year in Psychology obtained.

Description

In the last decade several papers on questionable research practices (QRP) have appeared in the scientific literature. Although QRP differ from fraud, they nevertheless hamper scientific progress. In this course we point out the many choices to be made in any psychological investigation and the decisions that lead to best research practices. For science to make progress, it is important that an investigation be reproducible. Reproducible research refers to the idea that the ultimate product of academic research is a paper along with the full computational environment used to produce the results in the paper such as the code, data, etc. that can be used to reproduce the results. Besides reproducing the results this also offers the opportunity to create new work based on previous research. In this course students acquire the skills required to make research reproducible.

Course objectives

Students will:

  • Learn about all possible choices that need to be made during an investigation;

  • Learn about pitfalls in an investigation and how to guard against it; and

  • Acquire the skills required to make research reproducible.

Timetable

For the timetables of your lectures, workgroups, and exams, select your study programme.
Psychology timetables

Lectures Work group sessions Exams

Registration

Course

Students need to register for lectures, workgroups and exams.
Instructions for registration in courses for the 2nd and 3rd year

Elective

Elective students have to enroll for each course separately. For admission requirements contact your study advisor.

Exchange/Study abroad

For admission requirements, please contact your exchange coordinator.

Examination

Students are not automatically enrolled for an examination. They can register via uSis from 100 to 10 calendar days before the date; students who are not registered will not be permitted to take the examination.
Registering for exams

Mode of instruction

  • 4 2-hour lectures

  • 8 2-hour computer labs

Assessment method

2 graded assignments each weighting 35% of the final grade and a multiple choice exam weighting 30% of the final grade.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences has instituted that instructors use a software programme for the systematic detection of plagiarism in students’ written work. In case of fraud disciplinary actions will be taken. Please see the information concerning fraud.

Regulations on grade calculations.

Reading list

  • John, Loewenstein and Prelec (2012): http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/04/16/0956797611430953.full

  • Simmons, Nelson, and Simonsohn (2011): http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/10/17/0956797611417632.full

  • Olken (2015): http://www.jstor.org/stable/43550121

  • Wagenmakers et.al (2012): http://www.ejwagenmakers.com/2012/WagenmakersEtAl2012PoPS.pdf

  • http://wicherts.socsci.uva.nl/Wichertsbakker2012.pdf

  • http://jeromyanglim.blogspot.nl/2009/10/introduction-to-spss-syntax-advice-for.html

  • Data storage protocol – Institute Psychology

  • http://blogs.library.leiden.edu/researchdata/about-this-blog/data-management-plan/

Contact information

Dr. Zsuzsa Bakk
z.bakk@fsw.leidenuniv.nl