Dept. of Psychological Sciences
M.Sc. in Psychological Research Methods
Handbook
2016-17
Contents
Contents ...... 2 Introduction...... 3 Term Dates and College Closure ...... 4 Facilities ...... 5 Core Module Coursework Deadlines for 2016/17 ...... 9 Module Details ...... 10 Option 1 – choose 1 ...... 17 Option 2 – choose 1 ...... 20 Option 3 – choose 1 ...... 25 Essay Submission Guidelines ...... 26 Ethics ...... 27 Dissertation Submission Guidelines ...... 28 You and Your Supervisor ...... 33 Recent Dissertation Titles ...... 34 Welfare and Student Support ...... 36 Funding and Financing Your Studies ...... 37 Support for students with Disabilities, Dyslexia and Mental Health Needs 37 Marking Schemes ...... 41 Assessment ...... 42 Plagiarism...... 43 Useful Addresses and Contact Numbers ...... 44 Finding Birkbeck ...... 45
2 Introduction
The Department of Psychological Sciences at Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London, was founded in 1823 as the London Mechanics Institution and incorporated into the University of London as Birkbeck College by Royal Charter in 1920. The College is ranked among the leading UK university institutions for its levels of national and international excellence in research in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. From this base of research excellence Birkbeck provides a unique range of degree and other courses designed specially to meet the needs of mature students.
The main part of the Department is located on the fifth level of the Birkbeck main building in Malet Street. Other parts are located on the sixth level of the Birkbeck extension building in Malet Street, at 32 Torrington Square, and in the Henry Wellcome Building. In the last Research Assessment Exercise the School was ranked in the top five departments in the country. It currently comprises over 30 academic staff specialising in a variety of fields within Psychology. There are several Centres affiliated to the School, such as the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, the Birkbeck/UCL Centre for Neuroimaging, and the Institute for the Study of Children, Family and Social Issues.
3 Term Dates and College Closure
Term Dates for 2016/17
Autumn Term: Monday 3 October to Friday 16 December 2016
Spring Term: Monday 9 January to Friday 24 March 2017
Summer Term: Monday 24 April to Friday 7 July 2017
College Closure Dates for 2016/17
Christmas Closure: Friday 23 December 2016 to Monday 2 January 2017 College will close at 6pm on Thursday 22 December 2016, and normal services will resume from 9am on Tuesday 3 January 2017.
Easter Closure: Thursday 13 April 2017 to Tuesday 18 April 2017. College will close at 6pm on Wednesday 12 April 2017, and normal services will resume from 9am on Wednesday 19 April 2017.
4 Facilities
Birkbeck Library
Through the Library you have access to a range of resources; books, ebooks, print journals, ejournals, database, audio-visual materials all of which will support your learning throughout your course. You can search for resources and find out about our services through the library website (http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/). Remote access from home/work is available using your IT Services username and password.
Psychological sciences students have a subject guide which brings together the most relevant resources for your subject (http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/subguides/). You also have a Subject Librarian, Emma Illingworth ([email protected]) to answer your questions about finding information, using the resources and making the best use of the library.
Web:http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/ For up-to-date opening hours, see: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/about/hours
Other University Libraries
Birkbeck students may also access a number of other university libraries, both in London and throughout the UK. The access schemes that Birkbeck belongs to include: Senate House Library, University of London (Humanities and Social Sciences) Free borrowing. Just go there and register once you have your Birkbeck ID card. University of London libraries You can access many other University of London libraries for reference only, such as UCL and King's College London. Please check their web sites for access arrangements before you visit. UK Libraries Plus A scheme for part-time learning students and sometimes full time postgraduates (depending on the library) allowing borrowing from other member libraries. Institute of Education Birkbeck postgraduates have borrowing rights, otherwise reference use only.
For further details of these and other schemes, consult the Birkbeck College library website or ask any member of library staff.
5
Departmental Facilities
In addition to College library facilities, all students have access to computing facilities in the Department and around campus. The Department’s PC lab – room 534B – is available from 7am to midnight (except on occasional weekday evenings when booked for undergraduate use). These provide access to the internet, an email account, and various experimental and statistical software packages. Other psychology experimental software is installed in lab room 109. For further details (e.g., on setting up your email) you can call the Department’s IT office on 020 7079 0744 or the College’s Information Technology Services (ITS) on 020 7631 6543. Students may also attend courses in popular areas of computing, run by Birkbeck ITS.
Equipment to support your research, including transcribing machines can be borrowed for short periods of time from the Department. To check availability of such equipment and make a booking, consult Harish Patel (020 7631 6348), the Department’s Technical Services Manager.
The Department also has a number of testing rooms/interviewing rooms that can be booked in advance. To check the availability of these rooms and for advance bookings, please contact Professor Anne Richards via email: [email protected] or tel: 020 7631 6208
Office Space
Office space within the department is extremely limited, but students requiring specialist laboratory space will normally be accommodated with their supervisor’s research group. Otherwise, students are welcome to meet in the main lecture room (room 534) immediately before or after lectures, or at any other time when it is not otherwise in use. Alternatively, students may work in the department’s computer labs (or in any of the College computer labs). If working in these labs, please keep conversation to a minimum and respect other users of the rooms. Students who require secure storage (e.g., for sensitive data) should consult their supervisor or the course director who will provide lockable filing cabinet space.
E-mail Access
Please make sure you access your e-mail account regularly as important information is often communicated via e-mail. The email account typically used for all correspondence will be the one assigned to your ‘My Birkbeck’ profile. Be sure to update any email changes there accordingly.
Printing and Photocopying
Printing in the college is accessed via the purchase of credit from Birkbeck IT Services www.bbk.ac.uk/its/services/rooms/printing.
6 The Psychology Subject Panel
Students undertaking experimental research have access to the Subject Panel, a departmental database, updated regularly and hosting the details of people willing to participate in an experiment. The database can be accessed on campus through the internet. Access details will be provided to students once their proposed experimental work has been approved by the Department’s ethics committee.
TIMETABLE
Term 1 MODULE CONVENOR DAY TIME Part Time Year 1 Generic Research Skills Prof Michael Thomas Tuesday 10.00-12.30
Tuesday 14.30-17.00 Advanced Quantitative Methods Professor Naz Derakhshan Friday (optional) 18.00-19.00 Part Time Year 2 Qualitative Methods Professor Jonathan Smith Thursday 14.30-17.00
Full TimeFull Option 1: Neuroimaging Methods Dr Iroise Dumontheil Monday 13.30-16.00 Option 1: Families Dr Fiona Tasker Wednesday 18.00-20.30 Option 1: Introduction to Matlab Dr Marie Smith Thursday 10:30-12:30 Programming
Term 2 MODULE CONVENOR DAY TIME Part Time Year 1 Contemporary Psychological Professor Denis Mareschal Tuesday 18.00-20.30 Research Option 2: Developmental Cognitive Professor Denis Mareschal Tuesday 18.00-20.30 Neuroscience Option2: Sensorimotor Processes & Professor Matt Longo Tuesday 14.30-17.00 Attention
Option 2: Computational Models of Professor Rick Cooper Thursday 14.00-16.00 Mind Thursday Option 2: Critical Book Review Professor Denis Mareschal 12.30-14.00 (3 sessions)
Full TimeFull Part Time Year 2 Research Design and Critical TBC Thursday 18:00-20:30 Analysis Monday th Option 3: Structure and (Starting 12 TBC January, no 9.30-13.00 Measurement of the Human Brain lectures week 6 and 7) Option 3: Child Development in a Professor Jacqueline Barnes Thursday 10.00-12.30 Social Context Option 3: Advanced Matlab Dr Tim Smith Thursday 16:00-17:30 Programming Week 6 of both terms will be a reading week (i.e. the weeks of 7th November and 13th February). No lectures will be held in these weeks.
7 Attendance
Students are required to attend the lectures and seminars for all core modules of the course and their chosen option modules. Student attendance will be monitored, and students who fail to attend on a regular basis may be excluded from the course. Given that most classes are small, we ask that if students know in advance that they are going to be absent from a session that they inform the relevant module organiser.
Part-Time Students
Part-time students are also expected to spend up to 10 hours study time per week outside of class in order to complete necessary readings. Note that although the dissertation should be completed in year 2, part-time students are strongly encouraged to make substantial progress on their dissertations in year 1.
Supplementary Lectures and Seminars
As well as the lectures and seminars scheduled for the M.Sc., there are a number of specialist seminars held throughout the academic year featuring distinguished guest speakers. These include Department seminars in cognitive science (occasional lunch-times on Wednesdays, as announced), IPA group seminars (as announced), Department seminars in psychosocial studies (occasional lunch-times on Tuesdays, as announced), and seminars organised by nearby London institutions (e.g., UCL). Students should take advantage of these seminars as a means of broadening their education. Copies of the seminar programmes will be available from the course director at the induction meeting.
8 Core Module Coursework Deadlines for 2016/17
PSYC062H7: Generic Research Skills
Presentation of dissertation background: Tuesday 6th December 2016
PSYC074H7: Qualitative Methods
Essay: Friday 13th January 2017
PSYC075H7: Research Design & Critical Analysis
Critical appraisal: Friday 28th April, 2017
PSYC076H7: Contemporary Psychological Research
Essay: Friday 21st April 2017
PSYC077H7: Advanced Quantitative Methods
Four Worksheets: Provisional deadlines; Worksheet 1: Monday 24th October 2016 Worksheet 2: Monday 7th November 2016 Worksheet 3: Monday 28th November 2016 Worksheet 4: Monday 9th January 2017
PSYC078D7: Dissertation
Dissertation Declaration Form: Friday 9th December 2016
Dissertation due: Friday 25th August 2017
9 Module Details
PSYC062H7: Generic Research Skills
Module Co-ordinator
Professor Michael Thomas
Primary Aim:
To provide students with background skills necessary for successful completion of a major research project and more generally for a career in scientific research.
Indicative Lecture Topics:
Introduction to school and college facilities; Conducting a literature review; Using library resources, electronic databases and web search tools; Time management and project planning; Writing an effective research proposal; Dissertation organisation and writing; Presenting a conference poster/talk; Submitting a journal article; Media skills; Exploitation of research; Intellectual property rights; Small group teaching methods; Funding research and career development; Ethics of psychological experimentation and using subject panels; Using experiment control software.
Assessment:
One 10-minute presentation of the dissertation background and research question is presented to the class. The presentation will normally be given to the class during the last session of the module. Students must also submit an electronic version of their presentation (e.g., the PowerPoint slides used).
Readings:
Delamont, S., Atkinson, P. & Parry, O. (1997) Supervising the PhD. A guide to success. Open University Press.
Elphinstone, L. & Schweitzer, R. (1998) How to get a research degree: a survival guide. St. Leonards, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin.
Phillips, E.M. & Pugh, D.S. (2000) How to get a PhD: A handbook for students and their supervisors. Buckingham: Open University Press.
10 PSYC077H7: Advanced Quantitative Methods
Module Co-ordinator:
Professor Naz Derakhshan
Primary Aim:
The course aims to familiarise students with a wide range of univariate and multivariate statistical techniques, with particular emphasis on evolving and advanced techniques that are not normally covered at undergraduate level.
Indicative Lecture Topics:
Descriptive statistics, distributions and transformations; Hypothesis testing and univariate statistical techniques; The General Linear Model; Advanced correlational techniques; Simple and multiple linear regression and logistic regression; Simple and Higher order factorial analysis of variance, as well as analysis of covariance; Multiple analysis of variance and Discriminant function analysis; Principal Components / Factor Analysis; Power, effect size and meta- analysis; Moderation and Mediation analysis; Critical analysis and guidance on reviewing journal papers. SPSS will be used throughout for data analysis. Other computer packages may be used where appropriate (e.g., Excel for producing graphs).
Assessment:
Four worksheets to be completed throughout the module.
Text:
Field, A. (2013). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. Fourth Edition. Sage Publications. Howitt, D. & Cramer, D. (2008) An Introduction to Statistics in Psychology. Fourth edition. Prentice Hall.
Readings:
Howell, D.C. (2010) Statistical Methods for Psychology. Seventh Edition. Wadsworth. Greene, J., & D'Oliviera, M. (1999) Learning to Use Statistical Tests in Psychology. Second edition. Open University Press. Tabachnick, B.G. & Fidell, L.S. (2012). Using Multivariate Statistics. Sixth edition. Pearson.
11 PSYC076H7: Contemporary Psychological Research
Module Co-ordinator:
Professor Denis Mareschal
Primary Aim:
To expose students to a range of contemporary methods in psychological research within the context of specific research questions, and thereby demonstrate how the research methods employed are shaped by research questions.
Indicative Lecture Topics:
Experiments in cognition and emotion with E-Prime; Questionnaire studies of gay and lesbian families; Discourse analysis and the bystander effect; Event Related Potentials (ERP) and visual attention; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (f-MRI) and language; Computational modelling in the study of memory and attention; Psychophysics and vision; Cultural studies in ethnicity; Experimental approaches to the investigation of developmental disorders; Longitudinal approaches to the study of childcare and schools/communities and neighbours/families and relationships; Studies of infant cognition; Mechanisms of learning and development.
Assessment:
One 2500 word (10%) comparative essay submitted during the last week of April. Essay questions will be made available during reading week of Spring term.
12
PSYC074H7: Qualitative Methods
Module Co-ordinator:
Professor Jonathan A Smith
Primary Aims:
To introduce the main qualitative approaches now used within psychology, provide practical guidance on conducting qualitative studies, and provide opportunities to engage in practical work with qualitative methods.
Indicative Lecture Topics:
Interpretative phenomenological analysis; Discourse analysis; Narrative analysis; Grounded theory.
Assessment:
One 2000–2500 word essay submitted in early January.
Text:
Smith, J.A. (ed.) (2015) Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide. London: Sage (3rd ed).
Readings:
Smith JA, Flowers P, & Larkin M (2009) Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, Method, Research. London: Sage.
Potter, J. & and Wetherell, M. (1987) Discourse and Social Psychology. London: Sage.
Andrews, M., Squire, C. & Tamboukou, M. (2008). Doing Narrative Research. London: Sage
Strauss, A & Corbin, J. (1990) Basics of Grounded Theory. Newbury Park: Sage.
13 PSYC075H7: Research Design and Critical Analysis
Primary Aims: To encourage critical reading and analysis of psychological research reports and provide a working knowledge of the application of design principles and statistics within psychological research.
Indicative Lecture Topics: Research designs (observational; experimental; correlational studies; single case studies; full and partial factorial designs; longitudinal studies; meta-analysis); Critical analysis of a series of recently published papers drawn from a range of areas within psychology and using both qualitative and quantitative methods.
Assessment: One 2000–2500 critical appraisal to be submitted during the last week of April. The coursework consists of criticism of an existing paper AND a proposal for an improved design.
Text: Meltzoff, J. (1998) Critical thinking about research: Psychology and related fields. Washington: American Psychological Association.
Readings: Bell, P., Staines, P. & Mitchell, J. (2001) Evaluating, doing and writing research in psychology. Sage. Elmes, D.G., Kantowitz, B.H., and Roediger, H.L. (2012) Research methods in psychology. Ninth Edition. London, UK: Wadsworth. Girden, E. (2001) Evaluating research articles from start to finish. Sage Publications. Solso, R.L., Johnson, H.R. & Beale, M.K. (1997) Experimental psychology: A case approach. Sixth edition. Longmans.
14
PSYC078D7: MSc Psychological Research Dissertation
Module Co-ordinator:
Dr Natasha Kirkham
Primary Aim:
To provide students with practical experience of all aspects of conducting a research project within an area of contemporary psychology, including conducting a literature review, formulating a research question, designing and running a study to address that question, analysing the study’s results, assessing the relevance of study’s results in the context of the existing literature and the research question, and presenting the study in formal report.
All dissertations must be supervised – normally by a member of the School’s academic staff. In rare cases external supervision may be agreed, but in such cases a second supervisor within the department will be required. At the Masters’ Induction meeting, students will be provided with a list of potential supervisors and associated possible research projects. Students are expected to spend the month of October thinking about project ideas and should begin contacting potential supervisors as of 3rd November. Where appropriate (e.g., with interdisciplinary research topics) students will be assigned a secondary supervisory.
Students should meet with their supervisor soon within November to agree their research topic and plan their literature review. Students must present a 10 minute summary of their dissertation background in the last session of the Generic Research Skills module (last Wednesday of first term in year 1 for full- time students and in year 2 for part-time students).
All experimental work involving human participants must be approved by the School’s ethics committee prior to commencement, and a copy of the ethics form must be included as an appendix in your dissertation. When you have completed your ethics form, make sure you keep a copy for this purpose. Note also that in the rare circumstances that experimental work is conducted outside of the School, you may also require ethical approval from external ethical committees (e.g., local area ethics committees of NHS trusts). ANYONE working with minors (under 16 years of age) must apply for a DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) check (formally CRB checks). This is done through the department. Please read about it here: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychology/current-students/ethics
Please note: Clinical projects are not possible The procedures to get NHS ethical clearance to conduct clinical research are now so complex and time consuming that it is not feasible within a master’s degree. In addition, working with vulnerable populations requires a great deal of training and experience. Therefore projects with clinical populations are not possible. If you are interested in clinically related topics, think creatively. It may
15 be possible to conduct research on some general health issues in non clinical groups and some supervisors work with clinically related paradigms. See the supervisor list to see where this is indicated. The only exception to the non- clinical rule is if, in your job, you are already working as part of a team on a research project which itself already has NHS ethics approval, or if Birkbeck supervisor already has NHS approval for a project, and that approval covers the specific work you will be doing. This is a highly unusual circumstance- in most years no-one will be in this situation.
Assessment:
One dissertation of 10,000 words (falling within the accepted variation of 9000- 11000 words) due 25th August 2017 (for full time students and 2nd year part- time students) and 24th August 2018 (for 1st year part-time students). References DO NOT count in the word count.
Please note: There are no scheduled classes associated with this module, but students can book meetings with the module coordinator as and when needed. The module coordinator can help with such topics as: 1) finding a supervisor, 2) dissertation formatting, 3) general dissertation writing skills, and 4) general study skills associated with the organisation and writing of a dissertation. All questions relating to the content of the project, the design, the analyses or the background literature should be directed to the supervisor.
16 Option 1 – choose 1
PSYC007H7 Neuroimaging Methods
Module Co-ordinator:
Dr Iroise Dumontheil
Aims:
This module focuses on modern techniques for imaging the human brain. Students will be taught the key principles of a range of neuroimaging techniques, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and electroencephalography (EEG). The methodological limitations of these techniques will be discussed and there will be an opportunity to observe some of the techniques in action. The module explores how each technique can be used to understand mind-brain relations in patients and healthy individuals, emphasizing their relative advantages and disadvantages. Students will practice the analysis and interpretation of neuroimaging data, as well as the critical analysis of neuroimaging research papers and the neuroimaging literature.
Assessment:
Two 1200-word essays.
Readings:
Buxton, R. B. (2002). Introduction to functional magnetic resonance imaging principles and techniques. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Poldrack, R. A., Mumford, J. A., & Nichols, T. E. (2011). Handbook of functional MRI data analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Luck, S. J. (2005). An introduction to the event-related potential technique. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
17 PSYC028H6: Families
Module Co-ordinator:
Dr Fiona Tasker
Aims: The course aims to: - to provide an introduction to systemic approaches to the development of family relationships - to evaluate the evidence from research on family relationships within different types of families - to develop skills in verbal and written presentations through small group work, class exercises and individual essay writing Scope: The course covers the description of the family life cycle and style of functioning of different family constellations: Adolescents and the family; couple and family formation; nontraditional families; divorce, remarriage and stepfamilies Objectives: On successful completion of this course, students should be able to: - list the general themes that have been covered in the course (see exercise on Main Themes in Family Studies) - list the main theories or ideas covered in each of the lecture topics - critically evaluate each of the theories in relation to rival theories citing research evidence to support or refute each idea - review the family life cycle with reference to cultural diversity - discuss the relative importance of family structure and family processes - evaluate the strength of research evidence in family studies
Assessment:
One 2000-2500 word essay
18 SCPS166H7 - Introduction to Matlab Programming
Module Co-ordinator:
Dr Marie Smith
Primary Aims: The module aims to equip students with a working knowledge of the MatLab programming language as appropriate for a range of purposes within contemporary psychological science, including preparing experimental stimuli (videos and images), programming experiments (using PsycToolbox) and manipulating, preprocessing and analysing data.
Learning objectives: On successful completion of this module students will have an operational knowledge of MatLab.They will be able to: Write scripts to analyse data quickly and efficiently. Generate stimuli (e.g., images, movies) according to precise specifications. Use the PsycToolbox to run experiments. Program experiments that adapt on-line as the participant performs the task.
Assessment: Assessment will be by 2 worksheets.
Recommended reading: Rosenbaum, D.A. (2007). MATLAB for Behavioral Scientists. LEA.
19 Option 2 – choose 1
SCPS149H7: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Module Co-ordinator:
Professor Denis Mareschal
Aims:
The course aims to illustrate how the typical and atypical development of cognitive abilities could be yoked to the processes brain development.
This course will begin with a review of basic brain development during infancy and childhood and neuroimaging methods for use with developmental populations. The course will then survey the development of cognitive abilities in a number of target domains across a range of typically and atypially developing populations (e.g., children with autism, William's syndrome, Down's syndrome, ADHD)). The course adopts an information processing approach. In each lesson, students will be asked to reflect on how the abilities in the current lesson could be accounted for in terms of neural development and the development of information processing abilities studied in previous lessons. Assessment:
One essay of 2000-3000 words Essay: Monday, 11th April 2016
Readings:
Herbert, M. (2003) Typical and atypical development. From conception to adolescence. Oxford, K: Wiley-Blackwell
Goodman, R. & Scott, S. (2005) Child Psychiatry. Oxford, Uk: Wiley-Blackwell
Johnson, M. H. & De Haan, M. (2010) Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. 3rd Edition. Blackwell.
Mareschal, D. Johnson, M. H., Sirois, S., Spratling, M., Thomas, M. & Westermann, G. (2007) Neuroconstuctivism Vol. 1: How the brain constructs cognition. Oxford UK: OUP.
Nelson, C. A. & Luciana, M. (2008) Handbook of developmental cognitive neuroscience (2nd edition), Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
20 PSYC003H7 Sensorimotor Processes and Attention (SPA)
Module Co-ordinator:
Professor Matt Longo
Primary Aims
This module focuses on our understanding of lower-level, fundamental cognitive processes. Examples include perception, attention, action, vision, audition, and object and face processing. Experts in each field will describe past and present findings on the topic, using their own research as a guideline and highlighting current controversies and debates. The module will explore findings from a range of neuroimaging techniques and lesion approaches.
Assessment:
Assessment will be by one essay of approximately 2500 words.
Readings:
Eysenck, M. & Keane, M. T. (2010). Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook. 6th edition Goldstein, E. B. (1999). Sensation and Perception. Brooks/Cole Publishers. 5th edition.
21
PSYC107H7: Computational Approaches to Mind
Module Co-ordinator:
Dr Eddy Davelaar
Primary Aims: The module will present in detail the main computational modelling paradigms in Cognitive Science. The module will consist of 3 sessions on connectionism, 3 on symbolic approaches to cognition, 3 on logic and inference, and 1 on mathematical models (emphasising the distinction between process and normative models).
Learning objectives: On successful completion of this module students will be familiar with a number of computational approaches to cognition. They will be able to describe the strengths and weaknesses of those approaches, and be able to generate arguments for and against the different approaches in different domains.
Assessment: Assessment will be by one essay of 2500 (10%) words.
Recommended reading: Anderson, J.R., Bothwell, D., Byrne, M.D., Douglass, S., Lebiere, C. & Qin, Y. (2004). An integrated theory of mind. Psychological Review, 111, 1036– 1060. Cooper, R.P. (2002): Modelling High-Level Cognitive Processes. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: Mahwah, NJ. (With contributions from P. Yule, J. Fox & D. W. Glasspool.) McLeod, P., Plunkett, K. & Rolls, E.T. (1998). Introduction to Connectionist Modelling of Cognitive Processes. Oxford University Press.
22
SCPS013H7: Critical Book Review
Module Co-ordinator:
Professor Denis Mareschal
Primary Aim: Its primary aim of this module is to introduce students to the critical reading and appraisal on an extended academic work such as a published monograph or book.
Learning Outcomes: On completion of this module, students should be able to
1. Demonstrate an understanding of how to layout and develop an argument over multiple chapters. 2. Demonstrate an ability to critically assess a multi-strand argument (e.g., as presented in a monograph), identifying its strengths and weaknesses, both in terms of content and style. 3. Be able to situate an extended specialist argument within a broader theoretical context.
Course structure: Students will be asked to read a book or monograph from an approved list (provided in the first lesson) reflecting a range of specialist topics related to the MA course they are registered on. They will then have to produce a report situating the book within a broader context and assessing the argumentation presented in the work, both in terms of rhetorical style and evidence drawn upon by the author.
This will be supported by 3 2-hour seminars covering (1) Current theoretical debates in the field, (2) Style and rhetoric of argumentation, and (3) the mechanics of completing a critical review of an extended work.
Assessment: 1 critical book review of 2000-3000 words
Text:
Bell, P., Staines, P. & Michell> J. ( 2001) Evaluating, doing and writing research in psychology: A step-by-step guide for students. SAGE: UK (ISBN-13: 978- 0761971757)
Dietsch, B. (2005) Reasoning and writing well with student acess to catalyst (4th edition) . Mayfield McGaw Hill. USA (ISBN-13: 978-0073205762)
Swtenam, D. & Swetnam, R. (2009) Writing your dissertation (3rd Ed). Oxford, Uk: HowToBooks (ISBN 978 1 85703 662 6)
23
SCPS008H7: Child Development in a Social Context
Module Co-ordinator:
Professor Edward Melhuish and Professor Jacqueline Barnes
Aims:
1. an overview of the principal features of social development from birth to adolescence and 2. to study different approaches to intervention with children and adolescents, and, 3. to deal with how various types of intervention may affect child and adolescent development.
Brief description of lecture Topics:
1. Infant Social Development 2. Childcare and child development 3. Preschool and school influences 4. Moral development 5. Adolescence 6. Neighbourhoods, child development and parenting 7. Early interventions and parenting 8. Early interventions with children 9. Prevention of child mental health problems 10. Community and school interventions
Assessment:
One essay of 2000-3000 words
Recommended Readings:
Damon W. (Ed.) (2006). Handbook of Child Development Vols. 1-4. Chichester: John Wiley.
McAuley, C., Pecora, P.J. & Rose W. (2006). Enhancing the Well-being of Children and Families through Effective Interventions. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Shonkoff, J. P. & Philips, D. A. (2000). From Neurons to Neighbourhoods: The science of early child development. Washington DC: National academy of Sciences.
24 Option 3 – choose 1
PSYC026H7 Structure and Measurement of the Human Brain
Aims: This module outlines basic neuroanatomy and measurement of the human brain. Students will be taught physiological and structural principles underlying the anatomical organization of the brain and the functional segregation of higher cognitive functions, starting from the cellular level (synapses, action potentials) and working up to a more detailed consideration of the major anatomical divisions. Neurotransmitter systems and their role in defining functional architecture will be described. Major functional circuits will be outlined, with an emphasis on their anatomical organization and connectivity. Aspects of how to measure the brain will be discussed.
Assessment: Unseen 3 hour examination-date TBC
SCPS167H7 - Advanced Matlab Programming
Module Co-ordinator: Professor Ulrike Hann
Primary Aims: This module aims to further students’ working knowledge of the Matlab programming language beyond that provided by an introductory course such as Introduction to Matlab Programming. The content will involve advanced Matlab skills appropriate for a range of purposes within contemporary psychological science, including preparing experimental stimuli (video and images), programming experiments (using PsycToolbox), manipulating, preprocessing and analysing data, and working with different input/output devices such as eyetrackers. Learning objectives: On successful completion of this module a student will be expected to be able to: Write scripts to analyse complex experimental data quickly and efficiently. Visualise descriptive data. Generate and manipulate stimuli (e.g. text, images, videos, sounds) to precise specifications. Use the PsycToolbox to run experiments. Program experiments that adapt on-line to participant responses. Assessment: Assessment will be by 2 worksheets. Recommended reading: Rosenbaum, D.A. (2007). MATLAB for Behavioral Scientists. LEA.
25 Essay Submission Guidelines
All essays should be word processed and conform to the following format:
Cover sheet: The first page should provide the following: your candidate number, the essay question you are addressing, the module for which the essay is required, and the MSc/MA programme you are enrolled on. Start the text of your essay on the second page. Please do NOT write your name anywhere on the essay. The course administrator will issue all students with a candidate number – names will not be known by the people marking the essay.
Font: Please use a standard font such as Times Roman, Arial, Palatino, etc. Do not use a quirky font like comic sans!
Font size: Please use 11 point or 12 point font
Line spacing: Please use 1.5 or double spacing for all text
Margins: Ensure that there is at least 2.5cm margin on the left and right of each page.
Page numbering: Number all pages.
Section headings: Feel free to use section headings if it seems appropriate. Make sure all headings stand out (e.g., by making them bold or underlining them). Be consistent in the formatting of headings
References: All essays should include a reference list as a separate section at the end of the essay, and referencing should conform to APA or BPS guidelines. If in doubt, refer to an APA or BPS psychology journal (e.g., Psychological Review, or The British Journal of Psychology) for examples of good practice. http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/subguides/science/psychology/apa
Submission: All essays are to be submitted via Moodle, where the student will confirm that the essay is their own work. Do not send any electronic copies of your essays to the administrator.
Deadline: You should adhere to assessment deadlines outlined at the start of the course. All assessments should be submitted via Moodle by 5pm. Any work submitted after this time will be considered as a late submission.
26 Ethics
This is extremely important. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. ALL MSc students must complete an ethics proposal according to the standard School format in order to run any project. The document should be reviewed by supervisors and, if judged by the supervisor to be non-routine, submitted to the School’s Ethics Committee, according to the guidelines published on the committee’s web site: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychology/current-students/ethics
Classifications of proposed research: Routine or non-routine?
. Routine: If the researcher or supervisor decides the proposed study is so close to a previous study, which has received ethics approval from the departmental ethics committee that no ethical issue arises, then the application is ‘Routine’. The approval number from the previous application must be included on the application. It is filed in the department but is not considered by the committee- therefore no correspondence from the committee is to be expected. . Non-Routine: If the proposed study raises ethical issues for which the researcher / supervisor has not had previous approval, then the application is ‘Non-Routine’ and must be considered by the ethics committee. The study cannot proceed until the researcher has received a numbered ethical approval certificate. All research done with minors (participants under the age of 18) is considered non-routine regardless of previous applications.
The Ethics Committee (or the supervisor for routine projects) must give their approval to the proposed research. Students should also note that data collection cannot begin until ethical approval has been secured. It is therefore advisable to complete the ethics proposal as early as possible.
Note: Some projects, such as those that involve analysis of existing data or computational modelling, may appear not to require ethics approval. Students must still complete an ethics proposal for such projects to demonstrate that they are aware of the ethical issues raised by a) the original data collection, and/or b) the use of data collected for one purpose but analysed for another.
For routine projects, a copy of the completed ethics form (signed by the supervisor) must be bound in to each copy of the final project when it is submitted.
For non-routine projects, the completed form and the certificate of approval given by the ethics committee must be bound into each submitted copy of the final dissertation.
27 Dissertation Submission Guidelines
All dissertations must be word processed and conform to the following format:
Front cover: The first page should provide the following: the title of your dissertation, your name and primary supervisor, the month and year of submission, and the name of the module/course. The page should not be numbered.
Page 1: The first page of content should include the title, your name and supervisor, and an abstract of 150 to 250 words.
Contents Page: A contents page may be included if you wish (but is not necessary). If included, the contents page should go between the abstract and the introduction.
Page 2: Your written report should begin on the second page if you don’t include a contents page and the third page otherwise. The first thing on the page will normally be the “Introduction” section heading.
Paper size and margins: Use standard A4 paper with 2.5cm margins on the top, bottom and right of each page, and 3.0 cm margins on the left of each page.
Font: Please use a standard font such as Times Roman, Arial or Palatino. Use 11 point or 12 point font size. Do not use a fancy font because you happen to think it looks nice.
Line spacing: Please use 1.5 line spacing for all text, except the cover page, page zero and any tables.
Paragraph breaks: Allow at least 12 points (one blank line) between paragraphs, and before section headings. (Blank lines following section headings are not required.)
Page numbering: Number all pages except the cover page and page zero. Centre page numbers at the bottom of each page.
Length: The report, excluding tables, references, and appendices, should be approximately 10,000 words in length, with strictly no more than 10% more or less than. In exceptional cases, reports longer than this will be allowed but prior approval must be obtained from the supervisor and the course director.
Section headings: Use section (and subsection) headings where appropriate. In a purely experimental dissertation, the section headings should normally be: Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References, Appendices. Non-traditional research reports do not need to adhere to these sections. Section headings should be typeset as follows: Level 1 headings (for sections): Left justified, bold 14 point font.
28 Level 2 headings (for subsections): Left justified, bold italic, 12 point font. Level 3 headings (for sub subsections, if needed): Left justified, italic, 12 point font. In all cases, the text should begin on the following line (i.e., do not insert a blank line between section headings and the following text).
Citation and references: All citations within the text should follow APA or BPS conventions, and all reports should include a reference section. If in doubt over formatting, use the reference style from an APA or BPS psychology journal (e.g., Psychological Review) or consult the APA web site.
Ethics forms: A copy of all ethics documentation must be attached in with the dissertation as an appendix. This should include: (a) a copy of the ethics submission and (b) a copy of the ethics approval certificate issued by the school’s ethics committee IF the submission was NON-ROUTINE. Therefore, it is important to retain these documents. The project proposal does not need to be included.
Cover page: All students must have the following information on their cover page: Title of Thesis, Name of student, University Name and Module (Dissertation: PSYC78D7).
Submission: All dissertations are to be submitted via the relevant Birkbeck E- Learning environment, confirming that the dissertation is their own work. Do not send any electronic copies of your essays to the administrator. Students should be prepared to provide their original data (normally in electronic form) if it is requested.
29 Birkbeck Academic Staff - Research Interests
Professor Jacqueline Barnes: Community in relation to children and families; evaluation of childhood interventions; the impact of family illness upon child development.
Dr Belinda Brooks-Gordon: Forensic psychology. Perspectives on individual and group therapy. Therapeutic programmes in a forensic context. Sexuality, sex work, and sexual offending.
Professor Richard Cooper: Executive processes and their interactions; Cognitive modelling, especially of executive processes, processes of action selection, and cognitive dysfunction following neural damage; Cognitive architectures; Methodology of cognitive modelling; Philosophy of Cognitive Science. NB Professor Cooper will be on sabbatical for the academic year 2016-17.
Dr Eddy J. Davelaar: Dynamic Memory and Cognition, cognitive control; cognitive aging; information foraging; computational modeling.
Professor Nazanin Derakhshan: Cognitive biases in anxiety; Emotional information processing in anxiety and repressive-defensiveness; Attentional control in anxiety and defensiveness. Methodologies: Electrophysiological measures (ERPs); Eye-movements.
Dr Fred Dick: Language acquisition and development, language impairments, auditory development, cross-linguistic studies of aphasia, development of expertise. Methodologies: MRI, fMRI, lesion analysis, patient studies, timed behavioural measures.
Dr Roz Dixon: School bullying, child mental health in developing countries, providing access into education for adults
Dr Iroise Dumontheil: Social and executive functions in adulthood and their development during adolescence. NB Dr Dumontheil will not supervise MSc/MA students in the academic year 2016-17 (maternity leave).
Dr Virginia Eatough: Emotional experience, adult crying, applying qualitative methodologies to the experience of living with chronic degenerative disorders, interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Professor Martin Eimer: Cognitive psychophysiology, using event-related brain potentials and behavioural measures to study selective attention, perceptual-motor interactions, and higher order visual processing. NB Professor Eimer will be on sabbatical for the academic year 2016-17.
Dr Simon E. Green: Brain mechanisms of emotional processing in animals and humans; biological explanations of human psychopathology; health psychology, especially coping with chronic stress; gender differences in cognition and affect.
30
Professor Ulrike Hahn: Argumentation, Judgment and Decision Making, Similarity, Concepts and Concept acquisition, Language and Language acquisition.
Professor Mark Johnson: Visual perception and cognition in infants; functional brain development; developmental disorders.
Professor Annette Karmiloff-Smith: Development of language and cognition in typical and clinical populations from infancy to adulthood; genotype/phenotype correlations. Nature/Nurture debate.
Dr Natasha Kirkham: I am interested in how infants and children learn. Specifically, I am interested in what guides attention and supports learning from infancy into early childhood. Increasingly, I am more and more interested in how learning occurs in naturalistic settings, amidst all the noise and distraction of real-life environments.
Dr Matthew Longo: My research investigates the mental representation of our body and how this shapes perception, including space perception, pain and touch.
Professor Denis Mareschal (Deputy Head of Department): Developmental psychology and connectionist modelling, especially perceptual categorisation, object processing; the development of reasoning in childhood.
Dr Emma Meaburn: My research incorporates molecular genetic, transcriptomic and epigenomic approaches to investigate the genetic and environmental basis of behaviour and cognition in childhood and adolescence.
Professor Edward C. Melhuish: Family, pre-school and child care experience and child development. Relationship of cognitive and social development.
Dr Anne Miles: Cancer screening; Public understanding of cancer
Professor Hermann Müller: Mechanisms of visuo-spatial orienting, visual search and attentional selection, and the role of temporal factors in figural grouping (temporal binding).
Professor Mike Oaksford (Head of Department): Bayesian or rational models of human reasoning and argumentation, including data selection, conditional inference, syllogistic reasoning, causal reasoning, "fallacies" of argumentation and the effect of experienced and anticipated emotion on reasoning.
Dr Clare Press: I investigate how we control our own actions and imitate and process others' actions. I address these questions both in typical development and in individuals with autism spectrum conditions. NB Dr Press will not supervise MSc/MA students in the academic year 2016-17 (maternity leave).
31 Professor Anne Richards: Cognition and emotion; effects of emotion on ambiguity resolution; emotional influences on processing emotional facial expressions; automatic and strategic influences in the interpretation of ambiguity; attention and emotion; emotions and hemispheric representations; childhood anxiety.
Dr Alex Shepherd: Visual perception: Colour vision; low light vision; visual and attentional processing in migraine.
Professor Jonathan A. Smith: Application of qualitative methodologies in social, health and clinical psychology; interpretative phenomenological analysis; psycho-social aspects of the new genetics; life transitions, self and identity.
Dr Marie Smith: Visual information processing in networks of brain regions during high-level cognitive tasks. I have a specific interest in face and facial emotion processing and therefore focus on the brain networks underlying these processes.
Dr Tim Smith: Visual Cognition in the context of naturalistic visual scenes
Dr Fiona Tasker: Developmental Psychology: family processes and structure, especially post-divorce and non-traditional families; adolescence; attachment theory; sexual identity.
Dr Adam Taylor Tierney: I am interested in the functional and structural characteristics of the human auditory and motor systems which provide the foundation for human abilities such as language and music. In particular, I am interested in rhythm, or temporal patterns in music and language.
Professor Michael Thomas: Language and cognitive development. Developmental disorders. Cognitive variability. Language in Williams syndrome. Bilingualism. Metaphor comprehension. Brain and language. Connectionist modelling. Use of computational modelling in theory development. Cognitive genetics.
32 You and Your Supervisor
Your supervisor’s role is to provide guidance on the research and writing of your dissertation. Supervisors will normally: assist with formulating your research question; assist with completing school ethics procedures; provide guidance on background reading; provide guidance on selecting and operationalising an appropriate research methodology; provide guidance on data analyses and discussion of results; provide feedback on one complete draft of the written report (provided this is submitted to the supervisor in good time)
Some students will have been assigned a supervisor at the admissions stage. Most will start the course without a supervisor. In the latter case, you will be able to contact potential supervisors as of 2nd November. During October you can read through the MSc or MA Project Handbook. This Handbook will be handed out during Induction and can also be found on Moodle under MSc or MA Psychology Research Dissertation (2015_16) module. It is suggested that you read up on the research being conducted in potential supervisor’s labs during this time. After 2nd November, you should either contact potential supervisors directly (normally with a desire to work on one of the proposed projects or a related research question), or seek advice from the Dissertation module coordinator (Professor Denis Mareschal for MA; Dr. Natasha Kirkham for MSc).
It is expected that all full-time students will have a supervisor by the end of November, and that you will have met with your supervisor at least once by then. Your immediate goal will then be to conduct background reading and prepare a brief (10 minute) oral presentation on your research question, which you will be required to deliver to the class in the last week of first term in Generic Skills.
There are no hard and fast rules on when or how often you should meet with your supervisors. However, it is not your supervisor’s job to chase you up throughout the course. It is your responsibility to contact your supervisor as and when you need to so that your research work and writing progresses adequately. In order to do this, it may help to organise a timetable with your supervisor.
Remember that supervisors will not necessarily be accessible all year. In particular, your dissertation report is due in late August but many members of the school are often away during July and August (either attending conferences or taking vacation). It is your responsibility to coordinate supervision with your supervisor over the Summer months.
33 Recent Dissertation Titles
The following dissertation titles are provided to give students a clear idea of potential dissertation topics.
First Experiences or working with people with mental health issues: an IPA study Relationship between parental postnatal depressive symptoms and children’s emotional behavioural difficulties Role of social priming in the effector dependent imitative learning of a six digit finger sequence The Blindfold Study: Theory of Mind in 18-month old infants and 2D:4D Towards a grounded theory of adolescent Media choices, Management and meanings relating to SEM and Music video. Abstract Artists Experience of viewing abstract art: An IPA The role of Neighbourhood, family and Peers on Adolescent Well being Brain oscillations in infants with high and low risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Development of the ‘light-from-above’ prior Effects of dysphoria on task switching: An investigation using mixed antisaccade task Examining the time course of attentional bias for emotional facial expressions in repressors using eye-movements. Testing the Vigilance- Avoidance theory Management consultants’ experiences of stress: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Development of feature binding in visual working memory: Asymmetric colour-location binding for action affording versus non-action affording objects Coping with distress: Examining the possible relationships between Memory Specificity, Repression and Alcohol Use Job satisfaction from sex work: How male sex workers achieve agency through autonomy, Specialness, Money, and legitimacy The relationship between parent-infant interaction at 10 months and infant developmental outcomes at 18 months and 36 months: a comparison of mothers and primary and non primary care-giving fathers The effects of parental divorce on adult offspring in South Korea Religious and spiritual coping with daily stress: The experiences of Catholic undergraduate students The associations of weight with cognitive and behaviour development in children aged 3 years Exploring the Relationship Between Total Red Blood Cell Concentrations of Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Emotional Processing in Adolescent Boys with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Does Size Matter? An Investigation of Factors Associated the Size of Personal Neighbourhoods Gender Differences in Attitudes About Fat: An Evolutionary Psychology Perspective Individual Differences in Temporal and Probabilistic Discounting of Costs
34 The Effects of Different Social Contexts on Object Perception The Experience of Intergenerational Conflict within Second Generation Pakistani Females: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis The Lived Experience of Hegemonic Masculinity: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis What Bereaved Parents Find Helpful and Unhelpful After the Death of a Child: A Qualitative Study Using Grounded Theory Why do People do Charity Work? A Discourse Analysis
35 Welfare and Student Support
Learning Coordinator
The Departments Learning Support team are available for all students who would like to enhance their study skills, and for general student support. They are available for one-to-one and group tutorials and arranged appointments for support and advice on any aspect of your learning or on any issue that is affecting your studies. They also organise workshops and specific study skills sessions that run throughout the year to enable students to develop their study skills, such as essay writing or exam techniques. Details of these workshops and sessions will be advertised via email alerts, or on the college Academic Development Calendar. To book an appointment by email. Please email [email protected]
You can also access learning support and skills training through My Birkbeck: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/services/facilities/support
Pastoral Support
A designated course tutor will serve as the personal tutor to all students on the Psychological Research Methods course. The course tutor will be responsible for pastoral care and for general queries relating to the course. The course tutor will keep in touch with all students throughout the course, and you should feel free to raise any issues either after class or during a confidential meeting. Students with non-urgent issues are encouraged to contact the course tutor before those issues become urgent. Full contact details of the course tutor appear in the back of this handbook.
The Students’ Union
Birkbeck’s Students’ Union provides a range of student support facilities, including an advice centre, counselling services and study skills courses. For details, including timetables for study skills courses and contacts for the advice and counselling services, The union also provides a number of services, including a shop and bar.
Students are also eligible for membership of the National Union of Students (NUS) and the University of London Union (ULU)
Full-time students and part-time students on income support are eligible for a discount on many London Transport services. Up to date details are available on the students’ union web site.
36 Funding and Financing Your Studies
Full-time students wishing to work part-time during their degree should consult with their supervisor and the postgraduate tutor before undertaking any work commitments. Birkbeck recommend that full-time students do not undertake more than 6 hours per week paid work.
Students in receipt of an award from a Research Council should be aware of the limitations attached to their award as regards paid work.
There are occasional teaching opportunities available at the School. As part of their training, students are encouraged to undertake teaching or demonstrating during their degree. Students should contact their supervisor in the first instance.
MSc Related Expenses
There are limited funds available from the Department to meet students’ research related-expenses, such as paying participants for interviews and experiments and so forth. Students should apply for these funds in advance. Forms are available from the postgraduate administrator. Any requests will need approval by your supervisor(s) first.
Studentships and PhD Funding
Students who wish to apply for a position on our PhD programme after completing the M.Sc. may be interested to know that the department normally awards a mixture of ESRC and College Research Scholarships every year. These studentships are highly competitive. Application forms can be picked up from the postgraduate administrator Ida Akhtar.
Information on other funding opportunities from outside (non- Department or College) sources is regularly displayed on the postgraduate notice board on the 5th floor. Information on funding can also be found on the Birkbeck website: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/psychology/study-here/fees-and-finance
Support for students with Disabilities, Dyslexia and Mental Health Needs
At Birkbeck there are students with a wide range of disabilities, specific learning difficulties, medical conditions and mental health conditions (hereinafter referred to as disabled students). Many of them have benefited from the advice and support provided by the College’s Wellbeing Centre. The Wellbeing Centre is located in G26 on the Ground floor of the Malet Street building. All enquiries should come to the Wellbeing Centre (tel. 0207 631 6316), who will determine the appropriate referral to specialists in the Disability and Dyslexia Service and Mental Health Service. They can provide advice and support on
37 travel and parking, physical access, the Disabled Students’ Allowance, specialist equipment, personal support, examination arrangements, etc. On enrolment you need to complete a Study Support Plan (SSP), which will set out the reasonable adjustments that we will make with physical access, lectures, seminars, assessments and exams. After you complete this and provide disability evidence, we confirm the adjustments you require and then your department, examinations office, etc. will be informed that your SSP is available and adjustments can be made. You should contact the Wellbeing Service if any of your adjustments are not in place. Access at Birkbeck Birkbeck's main buildings have wheelchair access, accessible lifts and toilets, our reception desks and teaching venues have induction loops for people with hearing impairments, and we have large print and tactile signage. Accessible parking, lockers, specialist seating in lectures and seminars and portable induction loops can all be arranged by the Disability & Dyslexia Service.
The Disabled Students’ Allowance UK and EU (with migrant worker status) disabled students on undergraduate and postgraduate courses are eligible to apply for the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA). The DSA provides specialist equipment including computers with assistive technology and training, personal help (e.g., study skills tutors, mentors and BSL interpreters) and additional travel costs for students who have to use taxis. It provides thousands of pounds worth of support and all the evidence shows that students who receive it are more likely to complete their courses successfully. The Wellbeing Centre can provide further information on the DSA and can assist you in applying to Student Finance England for this support. From September 2016, new students will receive their note-taking support from the University rather than the DSA. Support in your Department Your Department is responsible for making reasonable adjustments in learning and teaching and assessment, including permission to record lectures, specialist seating, extensions on coursework, etc. Whilst we anticipate that this support will be provided by the Programme Director, tutors and Programme Administrator in the Department, they will also have a Disability Lead. If you experience any difficulties or require additional support from the Department then they may also be able to assist you. They may be contacted through the Programme Administrator. Support in IT Services and Library Services There is a comprehensive range of specialist equipment for students with disabilities in IT Services. This includes an Assistive Technology Room, which may be booked by disabled students. We have software packages for dyslexic students (e.g. Claroread and Mind view), screen reading and character enhancing software for students with visual impairments available in our
38 computer laboratories, specialist scanning software, large monitors, ergonomic mice and keyboards, specialist orthopaedic chairs, etc. We have an Assistive Technology Officer, who can be contacted via IT Services. The Library has an Assistive Technology Centre, where there is also a range of specialist equipment, including an electronic magnifier for visually impaired students, as well as specialist orthopaedic chairs and writing slopes. The Disability and Dyslexia Service Office refers all students with disabilities to the Library Access Support service, who provide a comprehensive range of services for students with disabilities and dyslexia. Examinations and Assessments Many disabled students can receive support in examinations, including additional time, use of a computer, etc. In exceptional circumstances, students may be offered an alternative form of assessment. Specific Learning Difficulties (e.g. dyslexia, dyspraxia) Mature students who experienced problems at school are often unaware that these problems may result from their being dyslexic. Whilst dyslexia cannot be cured, you can learn strategies to make studying significantly easier. If you think you may be dyslexic you can take an online screening test in the computer laboratories – the instructions for the screening test are available on the Disability Office website. If appropriate, you will be referred to an Educational Psychologist for a dyslexia assessment. Some students can receive assistance in meeting the cost of this assessment, either from their employer or from Birkbeck. Further information For further information, please call the Wellbeing Centre on 020 7631 6316 or email [email protected].
39
Rules & Regulations
Common Award Scheme (CAS) Programme Regulations
All Birkbeck academic courses are now bound by the Common Award Scheme (CAS). The CAS Regulations can be found on the College website at the following link: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/registry/policies/regulations
Here you will be able to download the Common Award Scheme Regulations Handbook 2016/17 where you should take note of the following:
• Late Submission of Assessment (page 23) • Passing a module (page 24) • Compensated Fail and Awards (page 26)
The CAS Handbook can be found at this link: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/registry/policies/documents/cas-16.7.pdf
The course will strictly follow the regulations based in this handbook.
Mitigating Circumstances
Please ensure you read the Mitigating Circumstances policy which can be found online. You can also find the Mitigating Circumstances form via this link which should be submitted to your course Administrator.
Mitigating Circumstances will be considered at a Panel Meeting at the end of the academic year. http://www.bbk.ac.uk/mybirkbeck/services/administration/assessment/coursewo rk/mitigating-circumstances
40 Marking Schemes
Essays and the Dissertation
0-39% (fail): The submitted work does not address the question or research issue; There is no evidence of learning from the module (e.g., the submitted work contains only general, unsupported, statements that might reasonably be known by a lay-person).
40–49% (compensated fail): The submitted work is only tangentially related to the question or research issue; The material presented is very basic or irrelevant; The work relies heavily on superficial or subjective statements without supporting evidence; Analyses presented are inadequate; The conclusions drawn are sketchy and reveal a failure to understand core concepts.
50–59% (pass): The submitted work address the question or research issue but lacks depth and/or evidence of an analytic approach; There is some coherence of structure; The work demonstrates basic familiarity with a range of relevant material or a good level of understanding of some material with important omissions; Analyses are appropriate and competent but limited; The conclusions drawn are appropriate but lack insight.
60–69% (merit): The submitted work addresses the question or research issue in detail and shows evidence of a questioning and analytic approach; The structure is coherent and easy to follow; The work shows an ability to appreciate an extensive body of relevant knowledge and articulate key theories or concepts; The work demonstrates reading beyond the core material presented in lectures; The conclusions drawn are balanced and appropriate and reveal evidence of independent thought.
70–100% (distinction): The submitted work fully explores the question or research issue and goes beyond what would be expected of something in the 60-69% range; The works shows substantial evidence of the students own insight and analysis and/or convincingly integrates material going beyond the core assigned reading; In the case of the research dissertation, the dissertation requires few modifications to be of a publishable standard in a peer reviewed journal.
All essays and dissertations are double marked and moderated by the visiting examiner. Students will be issued with a candidate number for use with essays so that marking is blind.
Worksheets PSYC077H7 and SCPS142S7 are assessed by worksheets issued throughout the course. Marks on individual worksheets tend to be much higher than on essay-based work. Therefore, in order to ensure that grades for these module are compatible with those of essay-based modules, the final mark is calculated from the average mark across the worksheets, scaled by a linear transformation such that distinction level performance equates to a final mark of 70% and pass level performance equates to 50%.
41 Assessment
The details of assessment are laid out in sections 4 and 5 of the programme regulations. In summary, to pass the degree students must: Present a 10 minute talk that satisfactorily describes the motivation for and background to their dissertation Obtain ethical clearance for their project following completion of an acceptable submission to the School’s Ethics Committee Submit a satisfactory project proposal of approximately 1000 words Obtain at least 40% in each of the other taught modules Obtain at least 50% for their dissertation
Note: The pass mark for all modules is 50%, but a mark of 40% in one or more taught modules can be “compensated” by good marks in other modules. A mark of less than 40% is a clear fail.
Students will be given a percentage mark for each taught module except for PSYC062H7 Generic Research Skills. These modules will be marked on a pass/fail basis and all must be passed to pass the MSc. An overall percentage mark for the MSc will be calculated by taking a weighted average of the marks from the other modules
On the basis of this mark and performance in the modules, three grades of degree may be awarded: Pass: Pass all modules and obtain at least 50% but less than 60% overall. Pass with merit: Pass all modules and obtain at least 60% but less than 70% overall. Pass with distinction: Pass all modules and obtain at least 70% overall
42 Plagiarism
Statement from Registrar
You are reminded that all work submitted as part of the requirements for any examination of the University of London or Birkbeck must be expressed in your own words and incorporate your own ideas and judgements. Plagiarism, - that is, the presentation of another person's thoughts or words or artefacts or software as though they were your own - must be avoided, with particular care in course-work and essays and reports written in your own time. Direct quotations from the published or unpublished work of others must always be clearly identified as such by being placed inside quotation marks, and a full reference to their source must be provided in the proper form. Remember that a series of short quotations from several different sources, if not clearly identified as such, constitutes plagiarism just as much as does a single unacknowledged long quotation from a single source. Equally, if you summarise another person's ideas, judgements, figures, diagrams or software, you must refer to that person in your text, and include the work referred to in your bibliography. Failure to observe these rules may result in an allegation of cheating. You should therefore consult your tutor or course director if you are in any doubt about what is permissible.
Recourse to the services of “ghost-writing” agencies (for example in the preparation of essays or reports) or of outside word-processing agencies which offer “correction/improvement of English” is strictly forbidden, and students who make use of the services of such agencies render themselves liable for an academic penalty.
43 Useful Addresses and Contact Numbers
Assistant School 020-7631- Naomi Adams [email protected] Manager 6334 Postgraduate [email protected] 020-7631- Ms Ida Akhtar Administrator 6535 Psychology General [email protected] Admin Enquiries Germaine Learning [email protected] 0207-631- Symons Support Officer 6736
Other Useful Contacts
Birkbeck Switchboard: 020-7631-6000 Student Services 020-7631-6316 Birkbeck ITS: 020-7631-6543 Birkbeck Disability Office: 020-7631-6316
44 Finding Birkbeck
The map below shows the location of the various buildings housing Birkbeck's Faculties, Schools, Administrative Departments and Research Centres. For enquiries concerning the location of specific offices or individuals within Birkbeck, please contact the main telephone switchboard on 020 7631 6000.
Key
1 Main Building, Malet Street 2 Clore Management Centre & Henry Wellcome Building 3 Senate House North Block 4 25-6 Russell Square 5 30 Russell Square 6 10-16 Gower Street 7 28b Torrington Square 8 32 Torrington Square 9 South Wing UCL (access via Gower Street) 10 Gordon House & Ingold Laboratories 11 32 Tavistock Square 12 39-47 Gordon Square 13 59 Gordon Square (nursery in basement) 14 7 Bedford Square 15 14 Bloomsbury Square
45