Quantitative Research Methods Certificate

Executive Committee:

  • James A. Dixon
  • James A. Green
  • Vicki J. Magley
  • Stephanie Milan, Program Director

Program Faculty:

  • James A. Dixon  (PAC, Psychology)
  • Noel Card (Human Development and Family Studies)
  • James A. Green   (Developmental, Psychology)
  • Blair T. Johnson   (Social, Psychology)
  • Vicki J. Magley   (I/O, Psychology)
  • Betsy McCoach (Educational Psychology)
  • Tania Huedo Medina (Allied Health)
  • Stephanie Milan  (Clinical, Psychology)
  • Felicia Pratto   (Social, Psychology)
  • Adam Sheya (Developmental, Psychology)
  • David Weakliem  (Sociology)

 

Program Description

The program in Quantitative Research Methods is a graduate certificate program administered by faculty in the Departments of Psychological Sciences, Sociology, and Educational Psychology but drawing students from many other departments and schools. The general structure and policies of this program follow the guidelines for graduate certificate programs specified in the University of Connecticut Graduate Catalogue. The program’s mission is to provide students with a thorough background in quantitative research methods in the psychological sciences that extends the basic research methods training required by their respective graduate programs. Participants who are officially admitted to the program, successfully complete the program requirements, and submit a completed and approved Plan of Study to the Graduate School will receive a certificate in Quantitative Research Methods from the Graduate School of the University of Connecticut.

 

Program Requirements

The program requirements are as follows:

  1. Prerequisite courses. Prerequisites for participation in the program are completion of PSYC 5104 and 5105 Foundations of Research in the Psychological Sciences I and II, or equivalent courses. Students who wish to substitute equivalent coursework for these two courses with other graduate level introductory statistics courses need to submit a petition to the Director of the QRM program. The petition should include a syllabus of the equivalent course and other documentation if available (e.g., exam examples), to support the petition and facilitate the decision making by the Committee.
  2. Enrollment. Students MUST be officially admitted to the QRM program by completing an application through the Graduate School online application system (available here). In order to apply you must currently be enrolled in any UConn graduate program. The application process is managed by the Graduate School, not the Psychology Department, and is similar to the master’s/PhD program application process; however, the fee can be waived (by submitting an email to gradadmissions@uconn.edu to request a fee waiver number) and there is no need for new reference letters or scores to be submitted. The application may not let you submit until you have attached a personal statement, there is no need for a new one, however in place of it please attach a document that states, “see personal essay from application to UConn (name of department) in (year applied). Unofficial copies of transcripts should be uploaded to the online system. Applicants will be notified of the decision via the online application system. (An email will be sent through the online system requesting that the applicant log in to the system to view the decision). If admitted, students MUST reply to the admission offer through the online system in order to be officially matriculated in the program.
  3. Credits. Participants in the program complete 12 credits of graduate coursework in quantitative methods. Twelve credits are selected from a list of program courses (Table 1). Students who wish to petition for a course that is not listed may do so by submitting a petition with sufficient documentation of the content of the course to the QRM Director (syllabus, exam examples). Such courses cannot be from other institutions.
  4. QRM Presentation. Participants in the QRM program must successfully complete a formal presentation to a QRM committee. The presentation will typically be done in the final year of study (either semester), after or near the completion of elective courses. The purpose of this presentation is for the student to demonstrate competence about some advanced analytical techniques or issue they have learned through coursework or research activities. Different ways of approaching the requirement are allowable. In general, the presentation is expected to be 30 minutes with another 30 minutes for discussion. The presentation will be attended by QRM and other relevant faculty members and students, with at least 3 faculty members present.
  5. QRM Presentation. Participants in the QRM program must pass a formal presentation to a QRM committee. The presentation will typically be done in the final year of study (either semester), after or near the completion of elective courses. The purpose of this presentation is for the student to demonstrate competence in and communication about advanced analytical techniques or issues. Different ways of approaching the assignment are allowable. The presentation may involve describing a certain type of statistical technique Or, the presentation may be more substantive about quantitative issues without actual data incorporated. In general, the presentation is expected to last about 30 minute with an additional 30 minutes for questions. The presentation will be attended by QRM and other relevant faculty members and students, and at least 3 faculty members will be present. QRM students should reach out to the QRM director for additional information about the scope, structure, evaluation and scheduling of the presentation.
  6. Plan of Study. Students interested in the program should design an individualized plan of study, in consultation with their major advisor, which serves their research needs, interests, and career goals. Students may also wish to consult with one or more members of the Executive Committee of the program (listed on the Department of Psychological Science web site) about the courses they plan to take and their expected date of completion of the QRM Presentation. The Graduate Certificate Plan of Study.docx form can be downloaded here.
  7. Completion of program. A final Plan of Study form that lists completed courses and is signed by the Program Director, along with a signed QRM Presentation form, MUST be submitted to the administrative coordinator (psychgrad@uconn.edu) or program director prior to graduation. The signed Plan of Study must then be submitted to the Graduate School. Once the paperwork is processed, the graduate school will issue the certificate. Please bear in mind that students cannot apply for certificate completion after graduating from their master’s or PhD program unless they want to continue paying student fees. Thus, it is important to complete the paperwork in the semester you are graduating. In addition, the Graduate School issues deadlines each semester for submitting Plans of Study.
  8. Questions? Students interested in the QRM Certificate Program should contact the Graduate Program Coordinator (psychgrad@uconn.edu), to ensure that appropriate forms and records are initiated early in the graduate career.

 

Table 1 Qualifying Courses (Repeating seminar course numbers are used in some divisions, so some courses may have the same number but have a different title. If in doubt about a class you can contact the QRM program director to be sure.)

Course number Course title Instructor
AH 6005 Multilevel Mediation-Moderation Modeling for Health Sciences Huedo Medina
PSYC 5332 Research Design and Test Construction Milan
PSYC 5470 Longitudinal Data Analysis Dixon
PSYC 5701 Experimental Social Psychology Pratto
PSYC 5702 Field Research Methods Pratto/Blanton
PSYC 5554 Advanced Nonlinear Dynamics TBA
PSYC 5670 Current Topics in I/O Psych (Multivariate Approaches to Survey Data) Magley
PSYC 6130 Measurement and Scaling Green
PSYC 5131 Meta-analysis: Theory and Practice Johnson
EPSY 6611 Hierarchical Linear Modeling McCoach
EPSY 6615 Structural Equation Modeling McCoach
EPSY 6651 Introduction to Methods for Causal Inference Using Educational Data McCoach
EPSY 6637 Item Response Theory TBA
HDFS 5002 Special Topics (Longitudinal Methods, Meta Analysis, some others by Program Director-Stephanie Milan Approval) Card
MGMT 6206 Applied Research in Management (Seminar in Multilevel Theories, Methods, & Analyses in Mgmt) Mathieu
PUBH 5434 Topics in Intermediate Biostatistics Varies
PUBH 5435 Statistical Methods in Epidemiology Varies
SOCI 5203 Quantitative Research I Weakliem
STAT 3375Q Introduction to Mathematical Statistics TBA
STAT 5825 Applied Time Series TBA

Note. Please also check graduate catalog, department websites, and instructors for course availability. Not all courses are available in each academic year. Additional courses are acceptable with prior approval. The QRM Director will send out periodic emails about new classes to all matriculated QRM students.