Course Syllabus
Learning area
Research methods in experimental psychological sciences
Learning objectives
Knowledge and understanding
- Defining intervention in psychology
- Designing interventions and identifying their implications (e.g., ethics, risks, golden standards, sampling)
- Assess the quality of interventions (quantitative and qualitative methods)
- Analyzing costs and benefits of interventions
Applying knowledge and understanding
- Development of an intervention project
- Critical evaluation of interventions (theoretical and methodological implications)
Contents
The course aims to provide the theoretical, methodological and practical bases to design and evaluate a psychological intervention in different fields of psychological application. Students will be provided with a general framework of the elements that constitute typical interventions in different psychological areas. Invited experts will share their experience to deepen a series of specific technical topics.
Students will have the opportunity to practice their knowledge and to
design intervention on a domain of their interest.
Detailed program
- Defining intervention in psychology
- Gold standards of interventions
- Assessing interventions’ efficacy: Quantitative and qualitative methods
- Nudge and Decisional Psychology
- Sampling: sampling strategies, sample size and effect size determination
- Power analysis
- Risk Analysis
- From pilot to large scale: defining costs and benefits of the interventions
- Elements and pitfalls of
costs/benefits analysis
Prerequisites
Good
knowledge of the research methods employed in psychological research enables a
more aware learning.
Teaching methods
*** Lessons will be held in the presence or through online video lessons, according to the University’s regulations regarding the COVID-19 situation. ***
Assessment methods
Learning will be assessed through project work. Students will complete the project work in small groups (3-5 people per group), each one developing a psychological intervention project on a specific topic of their choice.
The projects will be discussed in the final lesson of the laboratory.
Textbooks and Reading Materials
There is not a reference book for this laboratory.
All the materials used in the class (i.e., slides, papers) will be made available on the e-learning website by the instructor.