Psycology and Health

MARIALUISA MARTELLI

This course provides an introduction to the logical and epistemological foundations of the scientific research in psychology, of the most common methodological issues researchers deal with, and their possible solutions, of the main data collection procedures and experimental paradigms as they are used in psychology, and their limitations, and finally of the main ethical issues in psychological research.

Knowledge and understanding
Students will have a specific and multidisciplinary knowledge of the main issues concerning the scientific method. Specifically students will have to:
1) understand the logical and epistemological foundation of the scientific research;
2) understand the main methodological issues concerning the scientifici research in different fields of Psychology;
3) know the different data collection procedures and experimental paradigms in the different fields of Psychology, and their limits
4) know the main data analysis techniques used in the different fields of Psychology, and their limits;
5) understand the main ethical issues that characterize the scientific research in Psychology.

Applying knowledge and understanding
The students will:
1) identify and apply the appropriate statistical and methodological techniques in the different fields of Psychology
2) identify the scientific aims of a study and design the appropriate research design
3) identify and deal with the ethical issues of a research project
4) interpret correctly the results of a scientific study, indentifying its limits and possible bias
5) know how to use the main statistical analyses
6) know how to use the most common statistical analysis packages
7) communicate the results of a scientific study following the standard norms adopted in the scientific community

Making judgements
The students will
1) have the technical and theoretical knowledge to autonomously evaluate and make judgments about the results of a scientific study in Psychology
2) be able to collect and analyze scientific data, and asses their relevance to accomplish the aims of the study
3) be able to recognize and solve methodological problems
4) be able to recognize and solve the ethical issues concerning a research project

Communication skills
The students will be able to:
1) communicate the aims and the results of a scientific study in Psychology, orally and in written form, according to the standards used in Psychology
2) communicate and cooperate with non experts in order to make the multidisciplinary collaboration effective

Learning skills
The students will be able to:
1) increase and update their knowledge autonomously through the comunication channels used in the scientific community
2) apply their knowledge to different contexts
3) pursue further studies with a high level of autonomy and effectiveness