University of Leeds - Research Skills 1 (PSYC1036)

PSYC1036: Research Skills 1 introduces students to essential skills for conducting, analysing, and reporting psychological investigations. Through a mix of lectures, practicals, and computer-based sessions, students will learn how to collect, evaluate, and report data from introductory psychological studies. The module covers basic experimental design, ethical considerations when working with human participants, and various methods for gathering information. Emphasis is placed on handling quantitative data using both descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, with a clear focus on understanding the rationale, calculation, and interpretation of results.

Students will gain hands-on experience using statistical analysis software to input, manipulate, and analyse data. The course includes two simple practical investigations where students will collect their own data and apply statistical methods such as t-tests, non-parametric equivalents, and the Chi-square test. These investigations will also support students in learning how to structure and write psychology research reports. By the end of the module, students will be confident in applying basic statistical tools and integrating their findings into formal written reports.

This module is open to students enrolled in BSc Psychology, MPsyc Advanced Psychology, or BSc Psychology with Education programmes.