Psychology syllabi in English (target language)
PROPAEDEUTIC
INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY:
This introductory course principally answers the question in broad terms, of what precisely psychology is. So the entire domain of psychology is presented to you in such a way that you have a solid basis for commencing your studies to become a psychologist.
In general terms psychology is the study of people’s behaviour, feelings and thoughts in relation to themselves and their physical and social environment. That is also the case with this course, but we have opted for a clear focus on people’s adaptive capacity. So the course begins with a sound but low threshold basis in evolutionary psychology and the principles of learning theory with which that adaptive capacity can be understood.
Based on this focus we then study how the brain is organised, how we observe and become aware of the world, how we think, reason, solve problems and make decisions. This way you gain insight into the motivation and emotions that shape people’s actions. Naturally those actions always find expression in a social context. People react differently when they are in a group from when they are alone. We all influence each other, either consciously or otherwise. Moreover, people’s behaviour changes over the course of their life. This course also looks at that. Finally, we look into various psychiatric disorders and their treatment.
Besides this you will receive ample opportunity on this course to become familiar with the profession of the psychologist. To this end you are offered an exploratory internship in the form of a ‘serious game’, in which you visit a highly diverse group of psychologists in order to explore their professional practice. This way we enable you not only to become familiar with the substance of the profession, but also to explore your own affinity with the field of work and so to obtain a clearer idea of your aims in following the Psychology course at the Open University.
Learning goals:
The principal aim of this course is for you to obtain insight into the basic knowledge of psychology, including the biological and neurological, the genetic and evolutionary basis of behaviour, social psychology, developmental psychology and clinical psychology. Within these domains you learn to describe and explain in your own words the most important theories and results of research. Furthermore you can place this basic knowledge in relation to the history of psychology. In addition it is expected of you after the course that you will have gained insight into the composition of the domain of psychology. This means that you will be able to describe the subdisciplines that make up psychology, the themes that these subdisciplines mainly address, and the methods and approaches they use in order to investigate these themes.
In order to achieve this objective you read the book and you perform the study tasks in the course’s digital learning environment.
INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRIAL AND ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY:
The course Introduction to Employment and Organisational Psychology is the familiarisation course for the discipline of Industrial and Organisational (Arbeids- en Organisatie – henceforth referred to as A&O) Psychology. The main focus is on explaining and predicting people’s behaviour at work. The course is built up around the following four themes:
- the workplace and tasks
- the employee him/herself (at individual level)
- motivation and leadership
- teams, groups and the organisation as a whole.
This course enables the student to become familiar with four roles that psychologists can fulfil in this field of work and the related practical tools (e.g. measuring instruments, intervention techniques, evaluation options) which are available. A&O psychologists who fulfil the role of employment experts are deployed to analyse workplaces/tasks and to supervise employees in the field of health and welfare at work. In this role the A&O psychologist may for example investigate the reasons for physical or mental work overload and stress, and search for solutions. The A&O psychologist who is working as an HRM professional is engaged in the field of selection and career guidance. In this role the A&O psychologist is involved, for example, in attracting new employees, developing assessment procedures and developing the competencies of employees. As a trainer/coach A&O psychologists are often engaged in order to supervise and support learning processes. The trainer mainly offers employees instruction and feedback which is focused on learning objectives. The coach operates more in the background and acts at set times as a sounding board and mentor for the person being coached. A&O psychologists act as organisational adviser/consultant during internal organisational change such as reorganisations, takeovers and problems with management. Besides this there are also internal change specialists or change agents who deal with internal process supervision during the actual implementation of changes.
Learning goals:
After following this course:
- you will have gained an impression of the broad field of work of employment and organisational psychology;
- you will have gained insight into the various roles that psychologists fulfil within the field of work of employment, organisational and personnel psychology;
- you will be familiar with the theories and models which are important for the performance of the various roles;
- you can state what the most important skills are which a psychologist within the field of work of A&O psychology needs to develop;
- you will have become familiar with various diagnosis instruments and intervention methods which psychologists use in their work;
- you will be capable of applying A&O psychological theories and themes in reality;
- you will have gained your first experience of diagnosis and intervention in the profession, step-by-step and with the assistance of clear case histories.
PRACTICAL RESEARCH: INTRODUCTION TO DATA ANALYSIS:
The Practical research introduction to data analysis gives a general introduction to methodology and statistics. No basic knowledge is assumed, so you learn about basic concepts such as variables, measurement levels and causal and co-relational connections. In addition you learn how to perform analysis on the basis of four studies. The datasets of those studies are analysed step-by-step.
The course starts with a general introduction including a look at the role of ethics in research. After this you become familiar with the theoretical background to collection of data. You then learn about univariate analysis: analysis in order to describe sets of data. You practice with the selected concepts based on different datasets. We then look into bivariate analysis: analysis in order to see whether variables are connected. In doing so we talk about various types of designs, the types of research questions which they can be used to answer, and structural models.
For the exam you analyse the data set of a new study at home, based on a series of assignments. This means that you can take the time you need for this, and collaborate with fellow students if necessary. You bring the results of this analysis with you to the exam. If the assignments have been performed correctly the answers to a number of exam questions can be found in this printout. The other exam questions relate to general statistical knowledge and backgrounds.
Unlike many traditional introductory courses into methodology and statistics the emphasis here is not on formulas or 'recipes' for analysis. Instead of this these are used as a means to learn about the conceptual background to analysis. The emphasis is on reliability intervals and sampling distribution; zero hypothesis testing plays a secondary role.
Learning goals:
After following the course you can:
- choose which of the known methods is suitable for a research question, given the operationalisations used and their measurement levels;
- determine what conclusions can be drawn based on an assessment of the power and the design of the study;
- describe and evaluate variables based on univariate analysis using a statistical program such as R or SPSS;
- perform bivariate analyses to examine the connection between two variables with a statistical program such as R or SPSS;
- interpret the results of these analyses.
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY:
On this course you will learn about the most important sociopsychological theories and insights. The course looks at themes such as perception of individuals, self-image and self-esteem, stereotypes and discrimination, social identity, attitudes and changing attitudes, aggression and conflict, and prosocial behaviour such as helping. Besides this you gain insight into sociopsychological research methods. You also learn how sociopsychological theories can be applied in order to change behaviour.
Neighbours, colleagues, friends, family members or your partner: in your day-to-day life you deal with other people almost constantly. Social psychology offers explanations for many recognisable ideas, feelings and behaviour patterns that people have in relation to each other. For example we know from social psychology how people form their first impression of each other and the circumstances under which they are willing to offer help to someone.
The Social psychology course is a basic course for psychology students. You become familiar with sociopsychological insights which are frequently applied in all graduation variants of the Masters degree programme in psychology at the Open University.
Learning goals:
After you have followed this course:
- you will have gained insight into the current state of affairs within the field of social psychology;
- you can describe the most important theoretical frameworks relating to the following sociopsychological themes: perception of individuals, self-image and self-esteem, stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination, social identity, attitudes and changing attitudes, social influence, aggression and conflict, and prosocial behaviour;
- you will have gained knowledge of sociopsychological methods and research techniques;
- you will recognise sociopsychological processes as such. You will also be able to state how sociopsychological theories can be applied in order to change attitudes and behaviour.
DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY:
The developmental history of an individual is fascinating, and can often be described as stormy during their early years. The discipline of developmental psychology focuses on the system of psychological changes during childhood and adolescence and it belongs, together with experimental psychology, personality psychology and social psychology, to the basic substantive disciplines of the study of psychology. Based on biological, individual and environmental influences, developmental psychology seeks to describe and explain the rich, varied and complex changes in thinking, reasoning, behaviour and functioning which accompany the ageing process.
Because the cumulative influence of chance and individual related factors on development limits the regularity and predictability of psychological developments as people progress in age, the focus within the discipline has always been on the normative development in the early years of life. For this reason the following development themes are dealt with on this course: a theoretical presentation of the discipline, conception and prenatal development, birth, babyhood, toddler and preschool years, and the school years. You learn which physical, cognitive, personal and socio-emotional developments take place during each of these periods, and the development tasks which an individual continues to be faced with.
Learning goals:
After following this course:
- you will be able to define the discipline of developmental psychology and you know the scope, the most important subjects and issues within the discipline, together with the future of developmental psychology.
- you will have gained knowledge of the most important theoretical perspectives within developmental psychology and you can connect these to the multi dimensional developments per phase of life.
- you will be familiar with the scientific method and understand how this can be used in order to answer questions about personal development.
- you will have gained knowledge and insight into the role which our fundamental genetic heritage plays within personal development, and how environment and genetic background interact in determining personal characteristics.
- you will have gained knowledge and insight into:
1. the prenatal development stages and the threats within the foetal environment.
2. the process of giving birth and complications which can occur during birth.
3. the capabilities that a newly born child possesses.
- You will have gained knowledge and insight into the most important physical, cognitive, emotional, social and personality developments during:
1. babyhood;
2. toddler period;
3. preschool period;
4. school years.
PRACTICAL RESEARCH EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH:
Experimental research relates to a situation created by the researcher which is more or less artificial in nature. Here the researcher has control over who takes part in the experiment, what exactly happens during the experiment, and the circumstances under which that occurs. The researcher manipulates the independent variable, also referred to as the experimental or causal variant by exposing a certain category of people to an experimental stimulus or experimental intervention, for example an information film about the consequences of smoking, and by not exposing another category of people to this. This manipulation enables the researcher to find out whether, and if so to what extent the independent variable, either offering or withholding the information film, has the intended effect on the dependent variable, i.e. the behaviour or attitudes of the participants, in this case smoking behaviour.
The category of people to whom the experimental stimulus is offered is referred to as the experimental group; they find themselves in the experimental condition. The category of people who do not experience this forms the control group.
The experiment can take many different forms. During the course we look into the ethical aspects surrounding experimental research, the strong and weak points of various frequently used experimental structures, how the groups can be composed in such a way that they can be regarded as equivalent to each other in terms of their initial position, how the behaviour or attitude of the test subjects can be observed, both via the questioning and observation methods, and how the data can be analysed with the statistical package SPSS. You apply the knowledge and skills gained to a variety of psychological experiments. Your knowledge of psychological experimental research will be tested by means of a multiple-choice exam. You will also learn about scientific reporting. You write part of a scientific article. This assignment also forms part of the exam.
Learning goals:
Once you have followed the course, you can:
- evaluate ethical aspects of experimental research
- assess the internal and external validity of experimental designs;
- draw up hypotheses;
- apply various forms of variance analysis (ANOVA: univariate);
- interpret the results of statistical testing;
- correctly apply APA guidelines in a research report.
INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY:
On this course you will first receive a general introduction to the discipline of health psychology. After this we examine in more depth the issues of stress, health, illness and lifestyle, becoming ill and medical assistance, physical symptoms of an illness and finally chronic diseases. These subjects are looked at from the perspective of five themes.
This course does not include any supervisory meetings other than an online session at the end of the course, when students’ questions can be dealt with. The course is set up in such a way that the course’s digital workbook directs your learning activities. Once you have worked your way through the whole of the textbook and the digital workbook you will have covered all the study material. The digital workbook refers to chapters in the textbook. We recommend that you use the assignments in the digital workbook to lead you through the course material. You can also use the digital workbook to test whether you have acquired sufficient knowledge, by means of self testing and model exam papers.
Learning goals:
Once you have followed the course you will have gained:
- knowledge of the aims of health psychology as a discipline, the subjects within health psychology and the relationship between health psychology and other disciplines;
- global knowledge of the physiology of the human body;
- insight into the intervention cycle, and you will know how this can be used in domains that are relevant to health psychology;
- insight into various aspects of the symptoms of stress and coping;
- insight into the extent of the risk factors for the most important chronic disorders;
- insight into various aspects of lifestyle, behaviour which adversely effects health and behaviour which positively effects health, and addictions;
- insight into psychological aspects of (dealing with) illness and the use of medical facilities, and into the problem area of patient communication;
- insight into various aspects of the phenomenon of pain;
- insight into various aspects of chronic and life-threatening illnesses;
- a global overview of the Dutch field of health psychology.
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 1: PERSONALITY THEORIES AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY:
The course Clinical psychology 1 is intended to give an introduction to the discipline of clinical psychology. The most important subject in this branch of science is deviant, maladjusted or 'abnormal' behaviour which is regarded by individuals themselves and/or their environment as undesirable. In this connection people also talk about psychic, psychiatric or psychopathological disorders or simply psychopathology. These disorders result from a combination of biological, psychological and social factors. Clinical psychology deals with questions like: what different disorders can be distinguished? How do psychiatric disorders come about? How do they continue to exist and how can psychopathological disorders be treated or prevented? The accent of this course lies on the diverse ways in which the various psychiatric disorders can manifest themselves, on the various theories over the causes and continuation of psychiatric disorders, and on their incidence.
The course Clinical Psychology 1: Personality theories and Psychopathology forms the introductory course for Clinical Psychology. In the section on psychopathology you are introduced to various forms of psychopathology. The emphasis here is on diverse forms of symptoms in which psychiatric problems can manifest themselves. You become familiar with the continuum normal – abnormal, the various approaches of psychopathology, the clinical classification of psychiatric disorders and their diagnosis. The section on personality theories is a precursor to the section that focuses on psychopathology. In it you learn the various dimensional perspectives on personality.
The textbook "Clinical psychology: theories and psychopathology"by Van der Molen, Simon & Van Lankveld, 2015) which accompanies this course comprises three parts and it forms the study material for the exam. Part I contains a number of theoretical approaches of psychopathology. Part II deals with classification and diagnosis in clinical psychology. And finally part III deals with the wide range of psychopathological disorders. The digital workbook comprises tools to add to the accessibility of the textbook and includes assignments and supplementary course material relating to personality disorders. The course material is based on adult patients.
This course forms part of the Open University’s course package for obtaining the Basic certification Psycho- diagnostics of the Dutch Institute of Psychologists (Nederlands Instituut van Psychologen - NIP).
Learning goals:
After completing the course the student is expected to possess the following knowledge and skills:
1. Can describe the theory of personality traits
2. Can reproduce theories, models and concepts from the various theoretical approaches
3. Has gained insight into the types of explanations that are given within a specific approach for the existence and continuation of psychopathological disorders
4. Can give a critical review of the various theoretical frames of reference and can state the similarities and differences between the approaches
5. Can state the similarities and differences between the various theoretical frames of reference
6. Can distinguish the field of work of clinical psychology from other disciplines within psychology on the basis of characteristics
7. Can reflect on the concepts of 'normal' and 'abnormal' behaviour, and the sometimes arbitrary boundary between them
8. Has gained insight into the classification of psychopathological disorders by means of classification systems, in particular the DSM-5 classification system
9. Can name the various clinical – diagnostic methods and their potential applications
10. Knows the most important symptoms of the various psychopathological disorders
11. Is capable of recognising and naming symptoms of psychopathological disorders based on the clinical picture, and can formulate a provisional DSM-5 diagnosis
12. Can relate observation data to characteristic elements of a disorder
13. Can compare subjective information to the continuum of normal – abnormal behaviour/feelings
14. Has gained insight into the scientific state of affairs concerning comorbidity, epidemiology, etiology in the various psychopathological disorders
15. Has basic knowledge of the aims, the methods and the effectiveness of forms of treatment which are applied in the case of the various psychopathological disorders.
The course also wishes to stimulate further development of academic skills. These include the following skills, among others:
1. Reading and interpreting scientific literature
2. The development of a critical attitude towards theories, models and research results
3. The analysis of psychological case studies
4. Formulating conclusions on the basis of psychodiagnostic data.
BIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES: COGNITION
How do we know what happens in our brains? Why can we remember who we met years ago, but sometimes forget the name of that theory as soon as we have sat an exam? How can we be holding a conversation with someone at a party and still be able to follow an interesting conversation going on next to us? What experiments are being performed in order to gather more information about this? During this course you will come into contact with functions which form the basis of your perception, motivation, focus, memory, executive functions and emotions. Not just on the basis of cognitive psychology, but also Biological psychology; in particular in the form of research into the brain, scientists have learned a great deal in recent years. Based on all these fields of research the course will provide you with knowledge and insights into our cognitive functions.
Learning goals:
The aim of the course is to provide knowledge and insight into Biological psychology and the general cognitive functions. The intention is also that students will gain global knowledge of the latest developments relating to research techniques within the Cognitive neurosciences.
After studying the course you will have gained knowledge and insight into:
- the significance of the Cognitive neurosciences and the theoretical principles of Cognitive psychology
- the anatomy of the brain and the way in which the brain’s functioning can be mapped (EEG, fMRI, MRI)
- the development of theories concerning the basic cognitive domains, including perception, motivation, attention, memory, executive functions and emotions
- the cognitive processing and integration of (social) information
- experimental methods and technical research approaches which can be used in research within the Cognitive neurosciences.
STUDY OF LITERATURE
In order to set up a scientific study it is necessary to be familiar with the state of affairs in scientific literature. Studying literature can give direction to the research question, give a picture of the relevance of the research question, show which theoretical perspectives have so far formed the basis for looking into the problem and the results achieved, and can ultimately lead to new research questions.
In various courses in the bachelor and master degree courses you will be expected to perform a study of literature. In this course you learn how you can set up, perform and report on such a literature study. The emphasis on this course will be placed on formulating a problem and a search plan for studying literature, performing the search within literature, interpreting the information you find and reporting on this.
Learning goals:
After completing the course you will be capable of:
- drawing up a search plan (objectives, research question, sub- questions, search terms, framework and sources);
- carrying out a literature study based on a previously drawn up search plan and making use of scientific search machines;
- evaluating the usefulness of scientific articles and interpreting data from them;
-drafting a clear introduction for a research report based on the study of literature.
CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY:
Syllabus has been taken offline/is no longer available.
BIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES: NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY
In recent decades knowledge of the relationship between brain and behaviour has increased greatly. This has consequences for the way in which psychologists view human behaviour and the causes of psychopathology. Neuropsychologists focus their studies in particular on the relation between on the one hand specific brain structures and processes, neurotransmitters and hormones, and on the other hand cognitive processes, emotions and behaviour. They also seek to gain ever greater insight into the problems which arise in the case of brain damage.
The focus of clinical neuropsychology lies on studying cognitive functions and behaviour, both in ‘intact’ and disturbed form. The insights derived contribute to improved diagnosis, treatment and supervision of people with functional disorders. Neuropsychology has become a multidisciplinary science in which knowledge of psychological phenomena is integrated with knowledge of biology and medical factors.
In the case of many psychopathological conditions, such as depression, schizophrenia and ADHD, biological mechanisms play an important role. This means that insight into the biological basis of psycho pathology is therefore essential for research, intervention and diagnosis, as is insight into the therapeutic effects of psycho- pharmaceuticals. 'Psychopharmaceuticals' refers to a collection of medicines and substances that are used for the treatment of psychopathological conditions, or which influence in one way or another our behaviour, mood, cognition and psychological well-being.
The course starts with a general introduction to the field of neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. This will also include a study of the anatomy of the human brain. After that we look at cognitive function domains, such as memory and attention. Finally, various diseases and psychopathological disorders are dealt with, in relation to which neuropsychologists have an important role to play, such as dementia, epilepsy, brain haemorrhages, Parkinson, ADHD and schizophrenia. In doing so we also look at the application of psychopharmacology to the conditions discussed.
POST-PROPAEDEUTIC
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY:
The History of Psychology course comprises two textbooks and one digital workbook. The first book (Pioneers of Psychology) looks at the work of several psychologists from the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. They were the founders of their profession and their work has formed the basis for today’s scientific psychology. Many old controversies still appear strikingly topical today. The second book (A Social History of Psychology) looks at the professionalisation of psychology and the simultaneous psychologising of life in society. The book sketches the history of this remarkable interplay from the nineteenth century.
Learning goals:
When you have successfully completed this course you will possess the following knowledge and expertise:
- you will be able to place why and when psychological issues were able to grow to become an independent discipline
- you will be familiar with important movements, theories, areas of attention, terms and methods since the birth of academic psychology
- you will be able to sketch a timeline of important theories, themes, people etc.
- you will be able to make the connection between various theories and concepts, both in terms of content and history
- you will understand the social conditions (locality) under which important psychological practices developed (professionalisation)
- you will have gained insight into the processes involved in the psychologising of society; you
can indicate those day-to-day social domains where psychology is at work/its effect can be felt
- you can put psychology in its place, both academic and social, in relation to other social sciences
- you will be aware of the cross-fertilisation between social progress and the growth of psychological knowledge.
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY:
Evolutionary psychology is a relatively young discipline that offers an alternative and sometimes surprising perspective on psychological theories and research results. The main aim of the course is for you to be able to understand this perspective and apply it. The course is therefore wide-ranging in terms of its content, so that you do not just learn to apply the basic principles of evolutionary psychology, but are also given a wide variety of examples of the application of those principles.
For this reason the course is subdivided into a number of themes which when taken together form an introduction to psychology from an evolutionary perspective. In the first theme we look at the evolution theory itself, its historical origins and the logic of its reasoning. Thereafter we look at the most obvious themes for an evolutionary psychologist: sexuality, partner choice and reproduction.
After this you dive in at the deep end, to explore how the evolution theory can be applied in all sorts of domains of psychology. For example the course looks at cognitive and social development, the effect of cognition and emotion on the role of relatedness, on the coming into existence of various forms of society, and evolutionary explanations of altruism. You also investigate the extent to which the evolution theory can play a role in explaining typically human phenomena such as language and culture.
The various themes are investigated with the use of the textbook. In doing so we not only look at the meaning of the original theory of evolution, but also at significant developments which have occurred in the professional field, since Darwin. A multimedia digital workbook leads you through the textbook and offers ample opportunities for applying the newly acquired knowledge.
Learning goals:
At the end of the course you will have acquired knowledge and insight into the basic principles and most common explanations of behaviour within evolutionary psychology. Furthermore, you can apply these to a wide variety of behavioural contexts, such as sexuality, social behaviour, emotion, cognition, social and cognitive development, language, culture and psychopathology.
PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE:
This is not a true philosophy course, in the sense that it is not intended for you to master philosophising as a method. On the contrary, on this course you study the ideas of philosophers. Robert Pirsig once used the distinction between philosophy and philosophology to make this difference quite clear: the philosopher philosophises, the philosophologist studies the ideas of the philosopher, mostly from a historical perspective. It is comparable with the distinction between art and the history of art. The history of art is not art, but it is about art. Similarly this course is not philosophy, but it is about philosophy.
So we do not claim to be philosophers, with something to say about psychology, either. We are psychologists and we try to draw lessons from that perspective. We study the history of philosophy and see what we can learn from it. The critical reflection on the scientific process which philosophy offers is well suited to the social sciences and to psychology in particular. How can people acquire knowledge of the world? What is science? What distinguishes that science from other knowledge? What is the distinction between psychology and other sciences?
This interplay between philosophy and the philosophy of science cuts both ways. After all the psychologist studies people and scientists are people. So if the psychologist says something about people’s capacity to see the world this also says something about the limits of the scientist, which in turn has implications for the way in which the philosopher models the process of science.
Learning goals:
The aim of this course is for you to be able to apply the most important positions in the philosophy of science. In order to achieve this the classic problem of gaining knowledge is analysed from all those positions, so that it becomes clear that every approach has both advantages and disadvantages. From this you learn that the solution to these types of discussions is not to be found in the logical outcome of a puzzle, but in a well argumented proposition which is defended with conviction, but also relativised with self-reflection. At the end of this course you are therefore capable of expressing your own position in relation to the process of science coherently and in a critical, well substantiated way.
PRACTICAL RESEARCH QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:
Besides an introduction to the theory and practice of qualitative research this course deals with a number of non-parametric tests and you gain experience with observational research and interviewing.
Learning goals:
Each theme of this course has a number of learning goals. These are summarised here.
After working through Theme 1 you can:
1. Determine which test to use to determine the connection between two categories of variables;
2. Perform this test and interpret the outcome;
3. Perform the Chi quadrant test and determine the indicators for effect size Cramer's V and Odds Ratio;
4. Appreciate that there are a wide range of other, less common tests, and you have a basis for looking into this in more detail;
5. And finally you can explain why it is important to avoid these tests in favour of the so-called parametric tests.
After working through Theme 2 you have seen:
1. How the assembled data from observation and interview can also be processed quantitatively;
2. What observation techniques exist and which technique is applied in a particular situation;
3. How the observation technique is used in a diagnostic setting, and you will have also practised this;
4. How Cohen's-kappa comes to exist, and you will have played with parameters in order to gain insight into how this measurement changes;
5. How an autistic boy is tested, and you will have scored these pictures yourself in order to give psycho- educative advice on the boy’s development;
6. That unforeseen things happen in this field of work, and you will have learned to deal with these in an evaluative manner.
After Theme 3 you can:
1. Place qualitative research within psychological science;
2. Determine whether a research question can be answered better using qualitative or quantitative research;
3. Determine qualitative research questions and devise a suitable structure for them;
4. Take account of ethical guidelines in structuring your research;
5. Determine what type of sample you need;
6. And develop a topic list.
After Theme 4 you can:
1. Conduct interviews;
2. Transcribe the data from these interviews;
3. Analyse transcripts with QualiCoder;
4. Report on your qualitative study.
In summary, after following this course you can place qualitative research and observational research in relation to quantitative psychological research and you can apply both forms of research.