STUDY

This module, for all full-time MSc psychology students, is designed to provide students with two essential aspects of psychological study. Firstly, an introduction to psychological research methods; including a consideration of methodology and data analysis for both quantitative and qualitative data. Research is a fundamental skill within psychology and requires a firm foundation in thinking about concepts, ethics and values. This module will introduce a range of studies and methodological issues to students. The conceptual issues and research design issues covered will provide the foundation for the research methods modules. Secondly, this module will also equip students with the essential academic study skills required for their degree. Academic study skills will be developed at the start of this module, alongside the foundations of research methodology. Therefore, this module will allow students to appreciate an awareness of research issues and examples of research, whilst also beginning to develop their own research and study skills.

All researchers require a basic understanding of qualitative research methodology.  This module provides students with the skills to carry out research of sufficient quality and rigour to complete their own independent studies. It also serves as a basis for undertaking qualitative research at level 7 if desired in the advanced psychology project. Should students not go on to undertake a qualitative psychology project, they will still acquire sufficient knowledge of qualitative research methodology, so they are able to critique the analysis in literature reviews and data presented through the public media. To support this, this module outlines the underlying ontological, epistemological, and methodological principles of qualitative research. These core assumptions are reiterated and illustrated in the application of qualitative data analysis.

The content of the module is based upon the standards set out by the QAA for Psychology (2019) and which are adopted by The British Psychological Society. This module provides students with the opportunity to develop and apply skills in managing, collecting, analysing, and reporting qualitative data. Ethical issues will also be considered.

All researchers require a basic understanding of quantitative research methodology. This module provides students with the skills to carry out quantitative research of sufficient quality and rigour to complete their own independent studies. Advanced Quantitative Data Analysis is a mandatory module for all students taking a psychology degree route. Together with the Advanced Qualitative Research Methods module, students will attain a holistic underpinning to the major research skills utilized within psychology. With psychology students potentially going on to roles including a research element it is essential for them to have sufficient knowledge of methods, methodology and data analysis associated with quantitative research methods so as to critique the literature and data presented through research articles and organisational reports around the practice of psychology.

The content of the module is based upon the standards set out by the QAA for Psychology (2019) and which are adopted by The British Psychological Society. The module will cover the ethical, methodological, and analytical issues in questionnaire and experimental designs. The module will provide practical experience in selecting and using tests appropriate for these methodologies; will further develop SPSS skills so that students can conduct a range of statistical analyses; interpreting output; considering issues of reliability and validity; and reporting findings.

Together with Advanced Social and Developmental Psychology I module, students will attain a holistic underpinning to the major approaches in psychology. The module will cover conceptual and historical issues of behavioural, biological and cognitive approaches to psychology. Additionally, it will also provide students with grounding in the methodological and ethical proceedings in psychology.

This module will look in greater detail at the approaches, debates, and recent advancements in biological and cognitive psychology. In this module, key debates will be explored from a biological and cognitive perspective, for example: emotion, perception, and language.

Social Psychology is concerned with the scientific study of human social behaviour, experience and thought. Developmental Psychology is concerned with the scientific study of systematic changes in human psychology across an individual’s lifespan, particularly cognitive, perceptual, social, and emotional development in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. This module introduces key theories and approaches in Social and Developmental Psychology. This will serve to give students an awareness of the multiple perspectives from which social and developmental research emanates and the wider variety of settings in which it is applied.

This module builds on the broad introduction to Social and Developmental psychology provided by the Advanced Social and Developmental Psychology I module. Specifically, the module will provide research-based accounts of social and developmental psychology in key areas, such as people in groups, social influence, stereotyping and prejudice, aggression, emotional and social development, life-span adult development and developmental social psychology. A key focus will be the interplay of the two approaches and the synthesis of developmental and social psychology. With its distinctive themes, developmental social psychology will be explored to examine the contribution of social psychology to the study of individual development, from birth to senescence. Through adopting a topic-based approach, this module will explore the social contexts of development and the developmental aspects of social behaviour to provide an integrated and dynamic investigation into topical and contemporary psychology.

A critical analysis of knowledge will serve to give students an awareness of the multiple perspectives from which social and developmental research emanates, and the wider variety of settings in which it is applied.

This module builds on the central concepts, theories, current issues and research evidence introduced earlier in the course exploring the main approaches in psychology. It will complement other modules and seek to establish a range of theoretical paradigms which will foster critical evaluation.

This module seeks to primarily explore and touch upon individual differences in personality and intelligence. The module also aims to introduce students to other elements of differential psychology for example creativity, cognitive styles, motivation and leadership.

This module will invite students to participate in a process of discovery and critically consider a range of influences on psychological functioning, including an examination of a range of research paradigms, research methods and their application to the study of personality and intelligence. This will be achieved through the adoption of a topic based approach which will consider historical and scientific considerations in attempting to define personality, current paradigms in explaining personality and intelligence, issues in the assessment of personality and intelligence, the origins of intelligence testing, and theories of intelligence, including social, emotional and practical intelligences.

As part of the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) accreditation of the Psychology courses at the University of Suffolk, students wishing to attain a Graduate Basis of Chartership (GBC) with the BPS must carry out and pass an independent extended empirical project. As stated by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Benchmarks for Psychology (2019; p.9), “A graduate of psychology will have successfully completed a series of practical reports throughout their course, culminating in an empirical project reporting on a substantial piece of research.”

It is expected that students will build on previous study, with the expectation that students will have a fundamental theoretical knowledge of the research process and ethics, as well as being skilled at critically evaluating published research.

The module seeks to move students from a theoretical knowledge of research towards a more informed level of skill and application. Students will demonstrate personal planning and project management skills by making decisions about how to formulate informed research questions or hypotheses, design studies for the identified research purposes, conduct the planned research, interpret the data and then evaluate the findings and the completed study, within a time restricted period.

Students will be required to communicate their Psychology Project in the traditional dissertation format, but also create a poster to provide them with an insight into the mechanism of communication used at conferences.

This module, for all full-time MSc psychology students, is designed to provide students with two essential aspects of psychological study. Firstly, an introduction to psychological research methods; including a consideration of methodology and data analysis for both quantitative and qualitative data. Research is a fundamental skill within psychology and requires a firm foundation in thinking about concepts, ethics and values. This module will introduce a range of studies and methodological issues to students. The conceptual issues and research design issues covered will provide the foundation for the research methods modules. Secondly, this module will also equip students with the essential academic study skills required for their degree. Academic study skills will be developed at the start of this module, alongside the foundations of research methodology. Therefore, this module will allow students to appreciate an awareness of research issues and examples of research, whilst also beginning to develop their own research and study skills.

All researchers require a basic understanding of qualitative research methodology.  This module provides students with the skills to carry out research of sufficient quality and rigour to complete their own independent studies. It also serves as a basis for undertaking qualitative research at level 7 if desired in the advanced psychology project. Should students not go on to undertake a qualitative psychology project, they will still acquire sufficient knowledge of qualitative research methodology, so they are able to critique the analysis in literature reviews and data presented through the public media. To support this, this module outlines the underlying ontological, epistemological, and methodological principles of qualitative research. These core assumptions are reiterated and illustrated in the application of qualitative data analysis.

The content of the module is based upon the standards set out by the QAA for Psychology (2019) and which are adopted by The British Psychological Society. This module provides students with the opportunity to develop and apply skills in managing, collecting, analysing, and reporting qualitative data. Ethical issues will also be considered.

All researchers require a basic understanding of quantitative research methodology. This module provides students with the skills to carry out quantitative research of sufficient quality and rigour to complete their own independent studies. Advanced Quantitative Data Analysis is a mandatory module for all students taking a psychology degree route. Together with the Advanced Qualitative Research Methods module, students will attain a holistic underpinning to the major research skills utilized within psychology. With psychology students potentially going on to roles including a research element it is essential for them to have sufficient knowledge of methods, methodology and data analysis associated with quantitative research methods so as to critique the literature and data presented through research articles and organisational reports around the practice of psychology.

The content of the module is based upon the standards set out by the QAA for Psychology (2019) and which are adopted by The British Psychological Society. The module will cover the ethical, methodological, and analytical issues in questionnaire and experimental designs. The module will provide practical experience in selecting and using tests appropriate for these methodologies; will further develop SPSS skills so that students can conduct a range of statistical analyses; interpreting output; considering issues of reliability and validity; and reporting findings.

Together with Advanced Social and Developmental Psychology I module, students will attain a holistic underpinning to the major approaches in psychology. The module will cover conceptual and historical issues of behavioural, biological and cognitive approaches to psychology. Additionally, it will also provide students with grounding in the methodological and ethical proceedings in psychology.

This module will look in greater detail at the approaches, debates, and recent advancements in biological and cognitive psychology. In this module, key debates will be explored from a biological and cognitive perspective, for example: emotion, perception, and language.

Social Psychology is concerned with the scientific study of human social behaviour, experience and thought. Developmental Psychology is concerned with the scientific study of systematic changes in human psychology across an individual’s lifespan, particularly cognitive, perceptual, social, and emotional development in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. This module introduces key theories and approaches in Social and Developmental Psychology. This will serve to give students an awareness of the multiple perspectives from which social and developmental research emanates and the wider variety of settings in which it is applied.

This module builds on the broad introduction to Social and Developmental psychology provided by the Advanced Social and Developmental Psychology I module. Specifically, the module will provide research-based accounts of social and developmental psychology in key areas, such as people in groups, social influence, stereotyping and prejudice, aggression, emotional and social development, life-span adult development and developmental social psychology. A key focus will be the interplay of the two approaches and the synthesis of developmental and social psychology. With its distinctive themes, developmental social psychology will be explored to examine the contribution of social psychology to the study of individual development, from birth to senescence. Through adopting a topic-based approach, this module will explore the social contexts of development and the developmental aspects of social behaviour to provide an integrated and dynamic investigation into topical and contemporary psychology.

A critical analysis of knowledge will serve to give students an awareness of the multiple perspectives from which social and developmental research emanates, and the wider variety of settings in which it is applied.

This module builds on the central concepts, theories, current issues and research evidence introduced earlier in the course exploring the main approaches in psychology. It will complement other modules and seek to establish a range of theoretical paradigms which will foster critical evaluation.

This module seeks to primarily explore and touch upon individual differences in personality and intelligence. The module also aims to introduce students to other elements of differential psychology for example creativity, cognitive styles, motivation and leadership.

This module will invite students to participate in a process of discovery and critically consider a range of influences on psychological functioning, including an examination of a range of research paradigms, research methods and their application to the study of personality and intelligence. This will be achieved through the adoption of a topic based approach which will consider historical and scientific considerations in attempting to define personality, current paradigms in explaining personality and intelligence, issues in the assessment of personality and intelligence, the origins of intelligence testing, and theories of intelligence, including social, emotional and practical intelligences.

As part of the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) accreditation of the Psychology courses at the University of Suffolk, students wishing to attain a Graduate Basis of Chartership (GBC) with the BPS must carry out and pass an independent extended empirical project. As stated by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education Benchmarks for Psychology (2019; p.9), “A graduate of psychology will have successfully completed a series of practical reports throughout their course, culminating in an empirical project reporting on a substantial piece of research.”

It is expected that students will build on previous study, with the expectation that students will have a fundamental theoretical knowledge of the research process and ethics, as well as being skilled at critically evaluating published research.

The module seeks to move students from a theoretical knowledge of research towards a more informed level of skill and application. Students will demonstrate personal planning and project management skills by making decisions about how to formulate informed research questions or hypotheses, design studies for the identified research purposes, conduct the planned research, interpret the data and then evaluate the findings and the completed study, within a time restricted period.

Students will be required to communicate their Psychology Project in the traditional dissertation format, but also create a poster to provide them with an insight into the mechanism of communication used at conferences.