GMU >> Psychology Dept. >> HFAC >> People >> Matthew S. Peterson >> Courses >> Psych 892 Spring 2009

 

Psych 892 - Basic Research Methods

This course is designed to give you the intellectual tools necessary to perform human experimentation, with a bias towards cognition and cognitive neuroscience.

For HFAC students, to place this course in context, this course may be offered in the future as an alternative or addition to 645 (Task Analysis).

Q: "Why should I take this course? What will I learn in this course that I won't or haven't learned in other courses?"

A: In this course, you will learn the techniques, as well as the pitfalls and gotchas, of human experimentation that you do not learn in statistics courses or other methods classes. This is not limited to just the basic and academic domains, but is also appropriate for applied domains that require human experimentation.

For example:

• How can I design simulations to determine the best way to warn users about potential hazards?
  
• How can I test a product to determine if older and younger adults can use it adequately?
  
• How can I test individuals to determine if my training technique was effective?