The project is carried out under the supervision of a member of academic staff, and is a self-contained experimental study designed to give the student practical experience in conducting psychological research and in analysing the data obtained from such studies. These are issues that are central to psychology as an empirical science, and those in which many potential research students are weakest in background and approach. In addition, one part of the course reviews, through reading and discussion, the principal achievements of twentieth century philosophy of science. First year PhD students also attend the Special Research Methods course. The course is organised into lecture and practical classes.
Assessment is by a short examination and computing project taking place during the second term.
The course assumes no prior computing experience. It is intended that students acquire the formal structure of a high level programming language with emphasis placed upon the manipulation of data in the context of Psychological experimentation. Each session includes a lecture followed by a problems class in which students are assisted by the lecturer and a postgraduate demonstrator. In groups of 2 or 3, students design, run, write up and present verbally 3 experiments. The subject of the remaining experiment is freely chosen.