Chapter 3 Assessment overview
PSGY1001 focuses on competencies. Competencies include knowledge and skills, and both will be taught and assessed in PSGY1001. The module will be assessed continuously throughout the academic year. In our view, there is one major advantage to this form of assessment: If you don’t do well in one or even a few of the assessments, you can still get a really good mark overall. We feel that this approach is generally preferable to an approach that places all the emphasis on one single exam. Table 3.1 gives an overview of the summative pieces of assessment. Summative means that these pieces of assessment will contribute to your overall module mark (whereas formative pieces of assessment do not contribute to your overall module mark).
| Assessment Type | Weight | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework 1 | 10 | Moodle quizzes (average of 3 quizzes) |
| Coursework 2 | 10 | Create PsychoPy experiment |
| Coursework 3 | 10 | Analyse data using Excel and SPSS |
| Coursework 4 | 30 | Lab report based on lab report template |
| Participation | 10 | Research participation |
| Exam | 30 | Rogo/ExamSys exam in January |
Release dates and deadlines for all pieces of coursework can be found in the semester overview appendix.
3.1 Summative assessments
The following list gives on overview of the summative assessments in chronological order (with the exception of the research participation scheme) and briefly describes what they involve.
- Quiz 1: A quiz about Chapters 1-3 of Beth Morling’s book.
- Quiz 2: A quiz about Chapters 10, 11 and 14 of Beth Morling’s book.
- PsychoPy experiment: You will have to create a psychological experiment using the software PsychoPy.
- Rogo/ExamSys exam
- The exam will take place during the January assessment period (the exact day and time is usually announced at the beginning of December).
- Up to 60 questions in 60 minutes.
- 4-alternative multiple choice questions, with no penalty for incorrect answers.
- About 75% of the questions will be on research methods (questions will be similar to questions from Quiz 1 and 2). Questions will be about Chapters 1-3, 5 and 10-11.
- About 25% of the questions will be on PsychoPy. Most PsychoPy questions will have the following format: screenshot of a flow, routine, component or input file together with a short description, followed by the question whether what is displayed will work or not (and if not, why not).
- A 30-question practice quiz will be released before the Christmas break.
- Quiz 3: For this quiz, you will have to analyse data from a PsychoPy output file from an individual participant.
- Excel and SPSS data analysis quiz: For this quiz, you will have to analyse data from a PsychoPy output file from an individual participant, from a group of participants and answer questions about statistical procedures..
- Lab report: For the lab report, you will need to write a report in the form of a short scientific research article. You will need to analyse the data on which your lab report is based.
- Research participation scheme: See section below.
3.2 Research participation scheme
The research participation scheme (RPS) enables students to familiarise themselves with the research conducted in the School. Participation in the scheme is managed via SONA which all 1st-year students are automatically registered on about 3-4 weeks after the start of term. Your SONA credits will be multiplied by 10 to calculate your RPS mark (thus, obtaining 10 points on SONA will result in a 100% mark). The deadline for taking part in experiments counting towards the RPS is the 28th of April. We would recommend to collect your 10 points as early as possible as it will get harder to find suitable studies once the deadline approaches.
For further information on using the system, please refer to RPS section on the Moodle Psychology Homepage. For questions about SONA, please contact our SONA lead.
If for some reason you cannot take part in the RPS, an alternative form of assessment is available. You may instead opt to complete a coursework element (also counting 10% of the module) instead. If you decide to opt out, then you must contact the module convenor before the 30th of November to obtain the details for the coursework and the submission deadline date.
3.3 Overall mark calculation
To calculate overall marks, weights (see Table 3.1) will be taken into account. Let us assume you had the following individual marks:
- Quizzes 1 to 3: 78, 65, 62 → average: 68.33
- PsychoPy experiment: 68
- Data analysis quiz: 65
- Research participation: 100
- Rogo/ExamSys exam: 72
- Lab report: 68
Your final mark would then be calculated as:
\[\frac{68.33+68+65+100+3\times72+3\times68}{10} \approx 72\]
Thus, your overall mark would be 72.
3.4 Academic misconduct
It is vital that you understand what constitutes academic misconduct. Please make sure to read the webpage describing the university’s academic misconduct policy, the Students’ Union webpage about academic misconduct and the section on “Academic misconduct & integrity” on the School’s Moodle page.
3.5 Extenuating circumstances
3.5.1 Summative assessments
If you are unable to submit a summative piece of assessment for a legitimate reason (e.g., due to an acute illness), you must submit an extenuating circumstances (EC) form before the deadline and provide appropriate evidence for your inability to submit the piece of assessment. (Please note that this is different for exams, where you can make an EC claim up to seven days after the exam.) Without a valid EC claim, there will be a 5% per-day penalty for late submissions.
You can find more information about ECs on the Student Services EC page and on the Students’ Union EC page.
3.5.2 Formative assessments
If you cannot submit a piece of assessment that is formative (i.e., that does not contribute to your overall module mark), you do not have to submit an EC form. As formative assignments do not contribute to your overall module mark, not submitting a formative assignment cannot incur a penalty.
Due to the high number of EC claims, the EC panel has decided that it will not be possible to claim ECs for formative assignments. If you miss the deadline, you will not be able to submit.
The only exception from this rule will be the formative lab report (as addressing feedback obtained on the formative lab report will be a marking criterion for the summative lab report).
3.6 Disability support
If you are disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (this includes mental health difficulties, specific learning differences, or long-term medical conditions), you should contact the university’s Support Team who can develop a Support Plan with recommendations for reasonable adjustments to assessments for you. This can include extended coursework deadlines on request and extra time in exams.