Research methods

Week 2 - Discussion 

Week 2 - Discussion Due: 24 Aug 2017, 10:59 PM

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

After reading Chapter 5, Methods and Strategies in Research in the course text, choose an original peer-reviewed research article from the Week Two Articles List provided  (or get approval from the instructor for another article). The list of articles will allow you to become familiar with a variety of methodologies used in the study of neurobehavioral symptoms as well as an extensive range of disorders that are appropriate for study in this field. As a professional in the field of psychology, you will often be asked to summarize and evaluate relevant research in the field for various audiences in an oral presentation.

Each student must evaluate a unique article that is not being reviewed by another classmate. You must “claim” your article by Day 1 by posting your choice in the Ashford Cafe. You will create a video of your oral presentation based on the criteria listed below and post a link to your video in the discussion forum by Day 3. Use YouTube.com or Screencast-o-matic to create and upload your video to the discussion forum. Refer to the YouTube WebCam Quick-Start Guide or Screencast-o-matic Quick-Start Guide for step by step instructions. It is highly recommended that you review the YouTube Privacy Policy or Screencast-o-matic Privacy Policy information prior to submitting your video.

Your 5 minute video presentation must include the following elements: 

• Brief overview
• An analysis of the research methodology used
• Independent and dependent variables
• Study design
• Explanation of the results
• Strengths and weaknesses of the study
• Suggestions for how to improve the research design or methodology

Guided Response: Review several of your colleagues’ posts and respond to at least two of your peers by 11:59 p.m. on Day 7 of the week. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful interactive discourse in this discussion. In each of your responses, focus on your classmates’ review of the article and describe any other strengths or weaknesses in the study methodology that they have not addressed. Include a discussion of your thoughts regarding at least one potential alternative research study and/or methodology you feel could be used to answer the research question. Continue to monitor the discussion forum until 5:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (MST) on Day 7 of the week and respond to anyone who replies to your initial post.