PSYC 4902 - Psychological Science Capstone II
Class Meeting: Online
Office: 306 Callaway Academic Building
Available by appointment. See the scheduler to the right to make an appointment. Check the locator on my door if you stop by my office and would like to know if I'm available.
Email: ssthomas@lagrange.edu
(use subject: PSYC 4902)
Phone: 706-880-8298
Twitter: @SocialPsySteph (Class hashtag: #PSYC4902)
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Please see the course calendar at the bottom of the page for assignment due dates.
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Course Description
The purpose of this course is to allow you to pull together all your thoughts and knowledge about the discipline of psychological science by giving you practical experience in developing a research project. In the first part of this capstone sequence, you completed a research project. This semester you will focus on writing up your results and presenting in a professional setting. This course will also incorporate professional development of CV writing and graduate school or job applications. Finally, you will be completing the major assessment.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychological Sciences
306 CAB
LaGrange College
Course Requirements
Please see the course calendar at the bottom of the page for assignment due dates. More specific information on each assignment can be found on Connect.
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Research
The first big aspect of this course is finishing/revising your research from fall semester.
1. Plan for your research continuation (25 points). You will discuss what your plan is to revise/continue your research from PSYC 4901 last semester. Many of you should use the advice given to you during your presentation at the end of the semester. Please include if you plan to continue the same study and just collect more data or if you plan to conduct a brand new study (either as a follow-up study or as a replacement study). After I have reviewed your submission we will schedule an in-person meeting to discuss your plan and begin preparations to carry out the plan. This will be submitted on Connect!
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2. Continuing research project or completing a second study (25 points). Carrying out your plan is the second step! In general, this should occur during the month of February. This will be assessed by email check-ins with Dr. Thomas.
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3. Data analysis (25 points). After you have finished conducting all research you will work with your faculty mentor to analyze the data that you have collected. In general, this should occur during the month of March. This will be assessed by meetings and email check-ins with Dr. Thomas.
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4. CE Presentation of Research (25 points). To help educate your fellow LaGrange College students on the research you are all conducting, a CE event will be planned every spring. All students in PSYC 4902 are required to attend and make a short presentation about their research. The class will make a single PowerPoint presentation in which each student will make slides describing their own research. For Spring 2020, this CE event will take place on February 27th at 11:15 am in CAB 318.
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Poster
The second big aspect of this course is presenting your research project in poster format.
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1. Poster Methods Section (10 points). The Methods section of your poster should contain specific information about how you conducted your study. Examples are available on Connect. Your goal for this section is 200 - 300 words.
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2. Poster Introduction Section (10 points). The Introduction section of your poster should contain information from the literature on your research topic. Most of this should come from your annotated bibliography that you have already created. Introductions for posters should be in bullet format, not paragraphs. Examples are available on Connect. Your goal for this section is 200 - 300 words.
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3. Poster Abstract Section (5 points). The Abstract section of your poster should contain a very short summary of each of the other sections of your poster. Examples are available on Connect. Your word limit for this section is 200 words.
4. Poster Results Section (10 points). The Results section of your poster should contain specific information related to the results that you found. Most of this should be graphs/charts. Examples are available on Connect. Your goal for this section is 100 - 200 words words.
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5. Poster Discussion Section (10 points). The Discussion section of your poster should contain a quick summary of results, implications of your results, limitations of your study, and directions for future research given the results you found. Examples are available on Connect. As with the Introduction, you should use bullet points instead of paragraph format. Your goal for this section is 100 - 200 words.
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6. Rough Draft of Poster (10 points). There are example posters and a poster template available on Connect. You will make your poster in PowerPoint using the template available on Connect. If you have never made a poster before it is highly recommended that you visit your faculty mentor to get help with this. This will be submitted on Connect!
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7. Final Poster (20 points). All final posters must be approved by Spring Break! See the course calendar at the bottom of the page for the specific date. This will be submitted on Connect!
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8. Public Presentation of Poster (25 points). All students must disseminate their work in some fashion when finished. This semester, all students will present their research LaGrange College's Honors Day Poster Session. The Honors Day Poster Session for 2020 is on Tuesday, April 21st at 11:15 am in Dickson Assembly Room. This will be a CE event.
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Preparing for the Future
The third big aspect of this course is preparing for what comes after graduation for you whether that be graduate school or entering the workforce.
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1. Career Plan Meeting (25 points). Before you can begin preparing for after graduation and your career, you have to know what that will entail. Thus, you will be required to meet with your advisor to discuss your plans for after graduation. This meeting should be scheduled ASAP after the start of the semester (see course calendar for specific due date). After this meeting, send an email to me and your advisor recapping what you discussed in your meeting.
2. CV/Resume Draft. If you are planning to go to graduate school, you will compile a CV. If you are planning to enter the workforce, you will compile a resume. There are examples and resources available for both on Connect. This will be submitted and reviewed by your advisor! You must get feedback on your CV/resume from your advisor before submitting your final draft on Connect.
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3. ACAT (25 points). Before you can graduate with your degree in psychological science, you must complete the ACAT exam. This is a comprehensive exam from APA to assess all that you have learned within the field of psychology. You must achieve an overall score that falls at at least the 30th percentile to pass! As a word of warning, students that don't take this test seriously have FAILED in the past (we have students earn as low as the 1st percentile! On the other hand, a high grade on the ACAT should be a point of pride and should be included on your CV/Resume. The date for the ACAT for Spring 2020 is TBD.
4. CV/Resume Final (25 points). This will be submitted on Connect!
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5. Meeting with Upcoming Seniors (25 points). To help prepare next year's seniors for the undertaking you are starting to finish, a meeting will be held with all of this year's capstone students and the students planning to take capstone next year. Students do not need to prepare any type of formal presentation but will discuss what they learned in capstone, what they wished they knew before starting, and the impact they believe their independent research project has had them, as well as answer the future student's questions. The meeting for Spring 2020 will take place on April 23rd at 11:15 am. Pizza will be provided.
Overall Grading
Overall grades in this course will be calculated from three areas, research, poster, and preparing for the future.
Each of the three areas will be worth a total of 100 points.
Each individual assignment's point value can be found above.
Thus, it is possible to earn a total of 300 points in this course.
Other Administrative Details
Given that this is an online class, attendance here means regularly checking Connect, staying up-to-date on all emails, and attending any meetings as scheduled by the professor and/or listed above. Students who are not responsive to emails, miss scheduled meetings, or do not turn assignments in at due dates will receive a deduction of points.
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All papers submitted in this class should follow the paper formatting guidelines found here.
The course outline is a guide. The coverage of certain topics or participation in class activities may take more time or less time than was originally expected. The instructor reserves the right to alter the course outline at any time. Students will be notified in class and/or by email of any changes in the course outline. If given as an option, the student majority vote will decide changes in exam dates that may occur.
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In the case of an emergency such as severe weather or an influenza or zombie outbreak, I may be obliged to make changes to course content, assignments, or other substantive elements of the class.
The syllabus may be corrected or amended if errors or omissions are discovered after the syllabus is posted. Corrections will be posted to the course Connect site and/or the instructor's Twitter page.
ADA Statement: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, LaGrange College consistently undertakes to provide, by every reasonable effort, assistance and appropriate accommodations to qualified students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are responsible for identifying themselves, and for providing documentation from qualified and licensed medical or testing personnel to Ms. Pamela Tremblay, Director, Counseling, and Career Development Center, located on the first floor of Smith Hall, room 127 (x8313 or 706-880-8313), as soon as possible. If you do not wish to employ the accommodations that are available to you, you will need to sign a statement declining the accommodations. Students with documented accommodations that they wish to utilize must speak with the instructor & present documentation by the end of the 2nd week of the semester.
Acts of academic misconduct (e.g. cheating, plagiarism) may result in course failure and will result in referral to the Honor Council. No electronic devices may be on a student's person, out, or in use during exams or other graded activities. If that rule is violated, it will be assumed that the device is used for cheating. The matter will be referred to the Honor Council. Unless told otherwise by the instructor, assume that all graded work uses only the student's brainpower and is closed book/notes/internet and is an individual assignment. During exams and graded activities, students may only have a pencil and an eraser on the table top (aside from any materials provided by the instructor). During exams, all belongings should be closed and stowed under the table. All notes/books must be in a zipped bag and placed under the table. You must turn in your exam if you leave the room.
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All tests, papers, etc... will be destroyed during week 5 of the following semester. Any questions regarding grades or assignments must be addressed before that time.
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Important information from the instructor will be sent to student's via their LaGrange email account or via announcements within the Connect course site. Students are responsible for all messages and materials sent via these routes. Reminders and hints may also be sent via the instructor's Twitter account. Any changes to course policy, dates, or assignments will also be sent via email or Connect.
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If you ever encounter an issue with an online assignment, please email me and you MUST include a screenshot that documents your issue. Failure to follow this guideline may result in a denial of your request for late submission of the assignment. As a note, technical errors are bound to occur, therefore, it is HIGHLY recommended that you do not wait until the last minute to complete assignments.
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*Instructor reserves right to alter schedule due to any unforeseen circumstances*