psy290 - Ambulatory Assessment in Psychology (Vollständige Modulbeschreibung)

Enrolment in Master's programme Neurocognitive Psychology.

Goals of module:
Students will acquire specific knowledge about ambulatory assessment methods in psychological and public health research. They will know about the historical development of ambulatory assessment methods, the advantages and challenges of these methods and statistical methods for analyzing longitudinal data collected in ambulatory assessment research. Students will generate an own research idea and conduct their own study using ambulatory assessment tools such as e.g. mobile surveys or motion sensors. Students will be able to collect, analyze and present their data using ambulatory assessment tools.

Competencies:

++ Neuropsychological / neurophysiological knowledge
++ experimental methods
++ statistics & scientific programming
+ interdisciplinary knowledge & thinking
+ ethics / good scientific practice / professional behavior
+ critical & analytical thinking
+ project & time management

Part 1: Ambulatory Assessment in Psychology and Health Research (lecture): summer

• Definitions and historical overview of ambulatory assessment (AmbA) methods
• Reasons to use AmbA methods
• Introduction to different types of AmbA methods
• Designing a study of daily life
• Examples of usage of AmbA methods in different research fields and different research questions
• Statistical analysis of longitudinal data
   

Part 2: Researching daily life (hands-on seminar): summer

• Formulating hypotheses
• Selecting AmbA procedures and planning administration
• Data collection
• Evaluating the application of AmbA methods
• Analyzing, summarizing and visualizing results

Researching Daily Life: A Guide to Experience Sampling and Daily Diary Methods by Paul J. Silvia, Katherine N. Cotter

PLEASE NOTE: We strongly recommend to take either psy170, psy270, psy280, psy220 or psy290 to gain methodological competencies (EEG, fMRI, TBS, HCI, ambulatory assessment techniques) that are needed for most practical projects and Master's theses!

Assignments will be collected during the term.

The module will be tested by a portfolio (consisting of 3 assignments):

• A theoretical background of the planned study and the presentation of the hypothesis (text, max. 1 page) – due before starting data collection
• A visualization of the study results – due after finishing data collection and analysis
• A scientific abstract of the whole study at the end of the seminar – due at the end of the seminar
   

Required active participation for gaining credits:

• attendance of at least 70% in the seminar within one semester
• recording of AmbA data