Topic outline

  • General


    The lecture will take place on campus!

    This course will provide an overview of research methods in engineering psychology and help students develop skills in conducting and evaluating psychological research. Through lectures and hands-on activities, students will learn about different types of research, study design, measurement, and ethical considerations in psychological research. The course will also include a visit to a research lab to give students a firsthand look at what it's like to conduct research in engineering psychology.

    Lecture Team

    Assistant Prof. Dr. Robin Welsch/ Department of Computer Science/ Aalto University

    TA's: Agnes Kloft , Alli Kolho

    Book

    Howitt, D., & Cramer, D. (2020). Research Methods in Psychology 6th Edition. Pearson Education. (access will be discussed in the first Lecture).

    Format

    The course has mandatory components and components that will support your self-study. 

    Mandatory components are: 

    • Attendance of the lecture with active participation
    • Attendance of the tutorial
    • Conducting a Mini-Study in a group of students that is recorded as a poster

    Self-study components are:

    • Reading selected chapters in the book
    • Completing self-assessments to test your learning

    Grading

    Grading is based on the poster. The scale is from 1-5. 

    Lecture

    Lecture slides can be found here. The lecture will cover the following topics: 

    1. Psychological research & Advancing Theory

    This lecture will cover the difference between folk psychology and psychological science, as well as the distinction between engineering psychology and other psychological fields. We will also discuss the problem of causality and alternative explanations in psychological research. (Chapter 1-2)

    2. Study design, Variables & Measures 

    We will cover common study designs and types of measurement in psychological research. We will also discuss Steeven’s theory of measurement and operationalization, as well as common research measures and psychological scales. (Chapters 3-4 & 9-10)

    3. Evaluating empirical research 

    This lecture will focus on evaluating empirical research, including topics such as sampling, objectivity, reliability, and validity. (Chapter 15-16)

    4. Doing better research 

     We will discuss ethical challenges and ethical standards in psychological research, including Aalto’s guidelines and questionable research practices. We will also introduce the concept of open science and pre-registration. (Chapter 8, 13-14)


    Tutorials

    Alongside the lecture you will have hands-on training in the form of tutorials that will support you in running your own study and presenting a study as a poster.