Overall objectives:

1 - Acquire essential knowledge about the process of building scientific knowledge in Educational Psychology.
2 - Consolidate notions regarding quantitative research approach, its research problems and complementarity with other research approaches.
3 - Get strongly familiarized with the research process and improve competencies implied in the formulation of research problems, review of the literature, hypotheses formulation, and selecting appropriate research methods to get empirical evidence.
4 - Improve quantitative data analysis and hypothesis testing competencies, using SPSS.
5 - Acquire knowledge regarding the accuracy of measurement instruments used in Psych ology, by becoming more aware about the sources of evidence of their validity and about the estimation of their reliability.
6 - Improve competencies related with the elaboration of a research report, following the APA standards.

Syllabus:

1 - Introduction to Research in Educational Psychology.
1.1 - Theory, Scientific method and the research process.
1.2 - Research Approaches (Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed).
1.3 - Objectives and streams of research in Educational Psychology.
2 - Quantitative Research and the Research Process.
2.1 - Research problem.
2.2 - Literature review and research hypotheses formulation.
2.3 - Quantitative research designs (experimental, quasi-experimental, nonexperimental).
2.4 - Variables and data collection methods.
2.5 - Sampling.
2.6 - Quantitative data analysis and hypothesis testing.
2.6.1 - Descriptive statistics.
2.6.2 - Inferential statistics (C hi-square test for contingency tables, t Tests, Analysis of Variance, Correlation and Multiple Regression analyses).
3 - Psychometric properties of measurement instruments.
3.1 - Sorts of Evidence of Validity (Factorial Analysis).
3.2 - Reliability estimation.
4 - Writing a research report following APA standards.

Literature/Sources:

Almeida, L. & Freire, T. , 2008 , Metodologia da Investigação em Psicologia e Educação , Braga: Psiquilibrios
American Psychology Association , 2006 , APA Publications Manual , Washington, D.C.: Author
Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. , 2001 , Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference , Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Coutinho, C. P. , 2011 , Metodologia de investigação em ciências sociais e humanas: Teoria e prática , Coimbra: Almedina
Gall, M. D. , & Gall., W. R., & Borg, W. R. , 2003 , Educational research: An introduction , Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Johnson, B. R., & Christensen, L. , 2014 , Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed approaches , London: Sage
Marôco, J. , 2018 , Análise Estatística com o SPSS Statistics , Lisboa: Report Number
Stevens, J. P. , 2009 , Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences , London: Routledge
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. , 2013 , Using multivariate statistics , New Jersey: Pearson

Assesssment methods and criteria:

Classification Type: Quantitativa (0-20)

Evaluation Methodology:
Students carry out a group work simulating simulating tasks of a quantitative investigation in Educational Psychology, resulting in the elaboration of an investigation report (50% weighting). After the professor suggests some research topics, the groups will have to choose a topic and conduct a recent literature review to identify a research problem and formulate specific research hypotheses. In a second phase, the groups should elect a quantitative research plan and instruments for data collection that would be necessary to test the hypotheses. They will also perform tasks related to quantitative data analysis with SPSS, under the guidance of the teacher, and should identify the theoretical and practical implications of the analysis. The report is included in the practical assessment component and students will also carry out a theoretical component (e.g., frequency, weighting 50%).