Research Requirement for Psychology Majors

Research Requirement for Foundations of Psychology

One goal of an introductory psychology course is to provide an opportunity to become acquainted with the process of experimentation in psychology. Therefore, as a part of Foundations of Psychology (PSYC 1200), you will be expected to satisfy a research requirement. To fulfill this requirement, you will be asked to spend a total of three hours engaged in research-related activities.

The psychology research requirement is worth 5% of your final grade in Foundations of Psychology. You need to earn three research credits, which can be fulfilled through any combination of the following three options. Please check your syllabus for the date by which your research requirement must be completed.

Option 1: Be a participant in a research study in psychology.

You can be a participant in a psychological research study. These studies have to be approved by an institutional review board (IRB) to be sure that they are appropriate and do not put participants at risk. Procedures for each experiment will be described to you before you participate. Each psychology study ranges from one (1) credit to three (3) credits; the number of credits is listed on Sona Systems.

  1. Sign up for studies online at http://fordham.sona-systems.com
    You will need to set up an account the first time you use the system.
  2. Show up at the scheduled time.
    • If you cannot make it at that time, use the Sona Systems website to cancel. Be sure to check the cancellation policy for each experiment (i.e., some experiments may allow you to cancel right before the time you signed up, others may require you to cancel up to 24 hours in advance).
    • If you miss a scheduled appointment (without cancelling it on Sona according to the study’s cancellation policy), not only will you not receive credit, but you will lose one credit, so you will have to do an additional study.
  3. After participating, you can check your Sona account to keep track of how many credits you have.

If you find a particular experiment disturbing or uncomfortable, you may terminate participation without penalty. This does not mean that you can sign up for an experiment and then simply not show up because you had second thoughts. Once you sign up, you are obligated to appear as scheduled, listen to what the experimenter has to say, and give serious consideration to the experiment. As required by the IRB, please keep in mind that your responses to all studies will be keep strictly confidential.

Option 2: Attend Colloquium

You can also satisfy your requirement by attending psychological research presentations, called colloquia, by invited speakers, Fordham faculty, or graduate students. These presentations often provide you with an opportunity to see and meet leaders in psychology and to learn about the most current research issues receiving the attention of the psychological community. Colloquia are held at Rose Hill, and each colloquium you attend is worth one (1) credit.

Follow the procedure for writing an article summary (see below): Watch a colloquium synchronously or asynchronously, then write a one page summary and submit to your professor. Colloquia will be announced in class and posted in our recording archive (login required).

Option 3: Write an Article Summary

Another option for fulfilling the requirement is to write a summary of a psychology research article from a scholarly journal. Each article summary is worth one (1) credit.

  1. Ask your instructor what process you should use to pick an article to summarize. The instructor may have a list of articles for you to choose from, or you may be asked to choose an article from a psychology journal for the instructor to approve.
  2. Provide a 1-2 page, double-spaced, typed summary of the article including:
    • Citation (MUST be in APA format)
    • What was the purpose of the study?
    • What were the study methods?
    • What did the authors find?
    • What do the results mean?
    • What did you think were the limitations of the study?
  3. Ask your instructor how to submit your summary. He or she may ask you to submit it using SafeAssign.

We hope you find this experience to be interesting and educational!