Final Report

 

 

 

Psychology Internet Research Lab

 

 

Part One: Internet Research Resources for Psychology:

http://www.denison.edu/psych/mellon/mellon2.shtml

 

Part Two: Web Lab:

http://www.denison.edu/psych/mellon/reslab

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frank Hassebrock

 

Denison University

 

 

 

June 2002

 

 

 

The general goal of this project was to develop a web-based psychology laboratory that can take advantage of the increasing number of research studies, experiments, and tutorials and demonstrations that are available on the Internet. Web-based psychological research is quickly changing the familiar research laboratory that is heavily dependent upon equipment, materials, physical space, and time consuming supervision (Birnbaum, 2000; Bourke, 1999). Psychology faculty from Denison University (Frank Hassebrock, Dave Przybyla, Sarah Hutson-Comeaux, and Kaye Rasnake) and Kenyon College (Mikhail Lyubansky and Linda Smolak) produced a local WebPage that compiled, organized, and annotated several external Web sites representing a variety of psychology experiments and research methodologies. This local Internet research lab allowed  psychology faculty from both colleges to incorporate additional types of research methods that would not otherwise be available due to equipment, technology, or time constraints. These web-based experiments have been used in laboratory assignments and for tutorials and demonstrations in lectures or seminars.

 

The web-based curriculum compiled  research demonstrations, tutorials, experiments, and projects for several disciplinary areas of psychology: (1) cognitive and experimental psychology, (2) social and personality psychology, (3) industrial and organizational psychology, (4) race and ethnicity, (5) abnormal and clinical psychology, (6) human sexuality, (7) developmental psychology, and (8) aging and gerontology. The home page presents an index of Internet research resources organized by these topical areas. Each sub-page presents an organized selection of external Web sites where online research demonstrations, tutorials, and experiments are briefly described. Each Web site selected was evaluated with respect to several criteria including (a) relevance to psychology courses in our curriculum, (b) usability, and (c) pedagogical value (Plous, 2000).  Our Web site that presents this curriculum is called, “INTERNET RESEARCH RESOURCES FOR PSYCHOLOGY “ (http://www.denison.edu/psych/mellon/mellon2).

 

We also developed an online "PSYCHOLOGY WEB LAB" (http://www.denison.edu/psych/mellon/reslab) that faculty can use to assign specific research projects. This Web site compiles a smaller set of online research studies and experiments that are annotated and described. The Web Lab allows students to (a) participate (as a "subject") in many of the discipline's important research studies and to (b) design/modify experiments for independent or group research projects. Thus, our project has attempted to enhance students’ active learning of psychology, and their research skills, through the use of computing technology based upon the internet (Newcomb, Berkebile, Newman, & Parker, 1998;  Smith, 1999).

 

We have collected comments from students and colleagues in order to informally evaluate our Web Lab.  Faculty commented positively upon the availability of a large number of Web sites that are organized and described within specific discipline areas. The Web Lab allowed them to quickly demonstrate a particular research methodology or experiment that is being covered in class. Students commented positively upon the value of having an online demonstration of a concept or psychological principle. For example, in the recent academic year, the WebPages were used in two different ways in a "Theories of Personality" class taught at Denison.   First, students (in groups of three) prepared presentations on websites relevant to a specific areas of personality psychology. These presentations took place with one group presenting each Friday. Then, students were required to go beyond that location and to add other WebPages to their presentation. Second, students completed a number of notebook entries that entailed some personal reflections on a variety of issues in the field of personality.  Three of the notebook entries required that they complete an on-line personality inventory, examine a WebPages, or participate in an on-line study and reflect on their experience regarding that website.

 

The web resources we developed in this project have also been disseminated through a paper that was presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society (Hassebrock, Hutson-Comeaux, & Przybyla, 2001). The web resources were also demonstrated online at a "Information Literacy Workshop for Scientists" sponsored by the Ohio Five Colleges and held January 9, 2001 at Ohio Wesleyan University. Debbie Andreadis (Science Librarian at Denison) made this presentation.

 

Psychology faculty at Denison and Kenyon will maintain the "Psychology Internet Research Lab" over the next few years for use in teaching and learning activities in numerous research areas of psychology. In addition, because these resources are posted on the Internet, Psychology Internet Research Lab will be available to faculty and students in various educational contexts.

 

 

 

References

           

Bourke, K. (1999). ‘Net gains for research. APS Observer, 12, 1, 20-22.

 

Birnbaum, M. H. (Ed.). (2000). Psychological experiments on the internet. San Diego: Academic Press.

 

            Hassebrock, F., Hutson-Comeaux, S., & Przybyla, D. (2001). Psychology Internet research lab. Paper presented as a poster session at the Eighth Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Society, Toronto.

 

Newcomb, A. F., Berkebile, N. M., Newman, J. E., & Parker, S. W. (1998). Student projects embracing new computer technologies: Opportunities for student scholarship on the web. Teaching of Psychology, 25, 52-60.

 

Plous, S. (2000). Tips on creating and maintaining an educational world wide web. Teaching of Psychology, 27, 63-70.

 

Smith, B. D. (1999). Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: Teaching the future of psychology. APS Observer, 12, 14-15, 25.