| Schedule Winter 2026 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| This schedule may change during the Winter | |||
| Date | Topic | Due | Readings |
| 01/02/2026 | Syllabus and introduction. Watch introductory video. | ||
| 01/05/2026 | Refresher on causal inference and experiments | Discussion by 01/09/2026 | Chapter 1, 2 and 3 1 |
| 01/12/2026 | Experimental and Quasi-experimental designs | Discussion by 01/16/2026 | Chapter 4,5 and 81 |
| 01/12/2026 | Replication crisis in psychology | Discussion by 01/19/2026 | TBD |
| 01/19/2026 | Final project: Experiment proposal | By 01/22/2026 | |
| 1 Shadish et al 2002 | |||
Experimental Psychology Research Seminar, PSYC3800
Winter 2026
Important
Course time: No lectures online at specific times, this is an asynchronous course.
Room: No room, the course is asynchronous online.
Professor: Esteban Montenegro-Montenegro, PhD.
Email: emontenegro1@csustan.edu
Schedule an appointment: CLICK HERE
Course description
Course description (from course catalog): Examines experimental design and other research methods commonly used to gain a better understanding of human perception, cognition, and behavior. Students design and conduct an original study. Prerequisite: PSYC 2020.
Course Introduction: In this class, we are going to take what you learned in your intro to psychological research methods class, and kick it up a notch. You will be asked to read about some topics related to epistemology in psychology along with some topics refreshing your knowledge on causal inference. Aditionally, you will have the chance to discuss some controversial topics in psychological science in terms of reserach design. Given that this is a Winter course, we will not have the opportunity to conduct a full research study. Instead, you will prepare a robust experimental study as the final product in this course.
Course Structure: This course will be asynchronous online. You will answer several several discussion forums online, each forum will prompt to discuss different issues in psychologycal experimental research. In each discussion, you may need to read a mandatory reading plus any extra research article you may need to read to generate a scientific supported opinion. There will be a final project where you will create an experimental research proposal.
Course Learning Objectives
In this course you will gain practical experience conducting research in psychology by designing and conducting an original research study. You will work individually and in a group developing hypotheses, reviewing literature, collecting data, analyzing data, interpreting results, and professionally presenting your findings at the research symposium for undergraduates. By the end of this course, you will be able to:
Locate, review, and summarize peer-reviewed literature focused on scientific research in psychology.
Demonstrate the ethical use of the scholarly work of others to support current research.
Demonstrate ethical and professional conduct while working with a group on a research project.
Write a paper in APA format.
Explain how basic scientific methodologies are used in psychological research.
Demonstrate proficiency in social and behavioral science by describing the method of inquiry used by the social and behavioral sciences.
| Program Learning Outcome | Covered? |
|---|---|
| 1) Demonstrate psychological literacy | X |
| 2) Be able to identify strengths and weaknesses in psychology studies | X |
| 3) Apply psychology concepts to address real-world problems | X |
| 4) Communicate effectively in formal and informal written and oral modes | X |
| 5) Be able to identify the commonalities and differences between different theoretical approaches | |
| 6) Describe and act in accordance with the scientist-practitioner model | X |
| 7) Act according to the ethical principles adopted by the profession | X |
Course Materials:
I will provide all the readings necessary to cover the proposed topics. Readings about causal inference and discussions about correlation and causal inference will be added to Canvas. Because this is a winter course, we will not analyze data using any specific software. Most of the activities will be discussions based on assigned readings. Students will not have to buy any book.
We will review some chapter by Shadish et al. (2002), and other readings to be determined during the Winter term.
Evaluation
Discussions online (60% of course grade): There will be three discussions online. In this dicussions, each student should start a comment or thread. After that, students must reply to at least one classmate to get full points. The discussions might cover a book chapter, a concept, or a controversial article or topic to discuss. The discussions should contain:
- A 200 words first post. This is the minimum requiered, student might write longer posts.
- A 170 words reply to a classmate.
- Comments should be backed by cientific articles or books when necessary.
- Student must follow APA style to cite possible sources of information supporting their claims.
The deadline on these discussions will be flexible but all the discussions should be completed by January 22nd, 2026.
Final project(40%): Students will submit a proposal to conduct an experiment. Due to the time constraining this coourse, students will not have to collect data as it is tipically done in a regular semester. Instead, the students will prepare a proposal that comprises:
- Introduction: this section will have a short literature review, justification for the topic, aims and hypothesis explained.
- Methods: this section will detail how would you collect the information, the design of the study, number of participants, description of the target population, description of the instruments and more details that will be detailed on Canvas.
- References: all proposal must be supported by previuos scientific studies, this means you should cite and reference the work of multiple researchers.
- Appendix: add any extra information such as tables, figures, instruments and more.
The length of the proposal will be 12 pages maximum and 6 pages minimum.
Disputing a Score: Students are welcome to dispute a score if they believe they were incorrectly deducted for their work. For this, students must provide a written explanation, specifying why they were incorrectly graded. For non-final assignments or exams, this must be done within seven (7) days from the date the score was posted on Canvas. For final assignments or exams, this must be done before final course grades are submitted; your instructor will post an announcement on Canvas with this date.
| Grading Criteria | |
|---|---|
A = 93 - 100 \(A^-\)= 90-93 \(B^+\) = 87-90 B = 83-87 \(B^-\) = 80-83 |
C = 73-77 \(C^-\) = 70-73 D = 63-67 \(D^-\) = 60 - 63 |
Expectations and Policies
Communication skills: You are expected to exercise strong academic verbal and writing skills for expressing yourself to complete class assignments. Failing to clearly communicate your ideas on class assignments may result in you losing points on that assignment. You also need strong analytical and critical thinking skills for completing weekly tasks. I will do my best to respond to emails within 1 - 2 business days (Monday through Friday). If you do not hear back from me within this time interval, send me a follow-up email that includes your original email message. Please keep in mind that if your email question is sent at the last minute it may not be possible to send you a response right before the submission of an assignment or exam. Before emailing me, please see if the answer to your question can be found on the course syllabus, schedule, or Canvas webpage.
Attendance: If you want a good grade in this class, you need to keep up with the course material. There is not attendance in an asynchronous online course, but keep wacthing the video lectures and answer the assignments.
Diversity: I will always embrace diversity as the most important human value. It is expected that students understand the importance of creating diverse and safe places free of discrimination by gender, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. I am an ally to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) community, and I am available to listen and support you in an affirming manner. I can assist in connecting you with resources on campus to address problems you may face pertaining to sexual orientation and/or gender identity that could interfere with your success at Stan State.
Academic misconduct: Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Instances of academic misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) will result in a grade of zero on the exam/assignment in question. Additionally, you may also receive a lower letter grade or “F” in the class, be reported to Judicial Affairs for academic misconduct activity tracking or disciplinary action, suspended or expelled from the university. It is your responsibility to know the rules. Always paraphrase and cite the source properly according to APA style, avoid copying sentences unless they are necessary, and you cite the author in APA style. Always cite your source! In detail, pay attention to the California Code of Regulations:
Warning
“Title 5, California Code of Regulations, Section 41301 notes that students may be”expelled, suspended, placed on probation, or given a lesser sanction for one or more of the following causes which must be campus related: 1. Cheating or plagiarism in connection with an academic program at a campus. . . .” (see “Student Rights & Responsibilities” section of the current Stanislaus State catalog).”
APA Style: Unfortunately, I have to enforce the use of APA style, this is important to generate clean and tidy documentation while you follow scientific formatting. You have to follow the APA style 7th edition, I would recommend to buy the manual or just use this website, it has plenty of information about it, it also provides tools to generate references and citations: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html
Artificial Intelligence policy: I know students use AI tools to answer assignments faster. I’m skeptical of AI, but there are tools online that probably will help you to find scientific articles faster. I don’t mind if you use these tools to locate articles. But, the bad part starts when you write and summarize using an AI. If you do, you will not learn properly, you will be pasting content without any reflection. This is not the idea of learning and enjoy the learning process. When I detect that all the assignment was submitted to an AI, I will ask the student to resubmit the assignment. It is simple to detect when the student allow the AI to do all the work. This doesn’t mean that I will use an AI detector, I will not go after you if you use AI (unless the whole document was written by AI), but I will make comments about the use of AI and how bad your are using AI in the context of this course. AI could be an acceptable tool but it can also spoil your learning process.
Students with disabilities: If you are a student with a documented disability at Stan State, please see me immediately to discuss appropriate accommodations. You must email me your letter of accommodation from Stan State’s DRS department as soon as possible. For exam accommodations, you must email me your accommodation letter at least seven days (7) before a scheduled exam to receive your accommodation (see schedule for exam dates). Contact me via email if you wish to discuss your accommodation or if you are in the process of registering for DRS services. Note, that accommodations are not provided retroactively.
Student Resources
Here are some of the resources available to you here at Stan State. All these services are available to you, as a Stan State student, free of charge (except certain medical appointments and procedures). Please visit their web pages to learn more about the services they provide.
Basic Need Support: 209-667-3108. Resources are available to help with securing food and emergency finances.
Student Health Center: 209-667-3396. Medical care, health education, disease prevention, laboratory testing, physicals, women’s and reproductive health, flu shots, immunizations.
Disability Resource Services: 209-667-3159. Supports students and arranges accommodations for students with disabilities, including disabilities related to learning, vision, mobility, hearing, autism, or chronic or temporary health factors.
Psychological Counseling Services: 209-667-3381. Confidential individual personal counseling and group/wellness workshops to help students deal with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, relationships.
Diversity Resources: Workshops, student space, reading nook, complimentary coffee and tea, social justice library, conference room space.
Undocumented Student Services: 209-667-3519. Walk-in advising, workshops, legal services, DACA renewal, scholarships, peer support, family and community engagement.
Academic Success Center: 209-667-3700. Drop-in advising for general education, university requirements, undeclared majors, academic probation, and California Promise.
Learning Commons: 209-667-3642, Tutoring (walk-in and regular appointments), supplemental instruction, WPST, writing center.
Career and Professional Development: 209-667-3661. Career coaching, workshops, resume building, business attire.
Warrior Food Pantry: 209-667-3561. Non-perishable food items and toiletries, at no cost. Collect up to 10 items per week.
Student Affairs: 209-667-3177. General hub for all student academic and support services on campus.
Note
In case you are impacted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) you may contact Dr. Heather Dunn Carlton, AVP for Student Affairs and the Dean of Students at dos@csustan.edu.
Class Schedule
The following class schedule is always under construction, which might change every week. You will receive a notification if there are changes. If not, you will not be penalized because of any unannounced change.
Warning
You should always check Canvas, I might add additional readings such as scientific articles, press articles or videos.
References
Shadish, W. R., Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (2002). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference (2nd ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company.