So glad this class is over!! Firstenberg is very charismatic and entertaining during her lectures but the group project/final paper sucks big time. The APA Manual is a must-buy, but her other book didn't really help (aka I never read it but idk if that was just a summer class thing). I know psych/psychobio have to take this class and I guess if it is mandatory she would be a good person to take it with. P.S. OH are pretty helpful js

I actually took the class with Amber Ankowski but she isn't listed.
Grade breakdown:
Method Section: 88
Project Proposal: 85
First Submission: 82
Final Submission: 93
Final exam: 80

Grading breakdown: 40% Final (40 questions) x 60% Lab

As you can see the curve actually helps you and you don't need over 90s on every assignment to achieve an A. Overall, this class wasn't as bad as everyone made it seem like. Granted, it was a lot of work, and it was stressful but it was doable. Taking it over the summer is a good idea because you can just focus on this class which does require a lot of attention like rereading over your final paper a dozen of times and making sure you know what your TA wants. Your TA will be your lifeline in this course so make sure to get to know him or her very well (It'll be good if you get a nice one who doesn't get annoyed by questions). Ankowski was an okay professor. She doesn't use slides and sometimes she doesn't go into depth enough. Lecture was only once a week so I didn't really get to know her that well. The final is really tricky in my opinion and honestly I thought it was harder than the final paper. This is because as long as you check religiously for APA errors and include all the conceptual details your specific TA wants, your guaranteed a good grade for the final paper. But, for the final it seems like the purpose of the questions is to try to trick you, so even if you know the material and study it really well, you might fall into some traps that distort your thinking.

Overall, I would say its not an easy class, but a fair one that you'll get a good grade in if you get a good TA and you put in effort.

Selling books required for this class (Methods in Behavioral Research 12th edition, and Publication Manual 6th edition) as well as my notes, practice exams, quizzes, and workbook.
message me at ********** if interested

Liiiiiiiterally the bane of my existence last quarter. Firstenberg isn't the worst professor, I actually liked her a lot as a human other than her desire to never use slides and only write on the board in a super roundabout fashion. BUT, you never know where you stand grade-wise and, like me, can be surprised with an awful grade at the end of the quarter because they're very nitpicky about things. This class, although teaching useful things, really sucks and is 6 units so it largely affects your GPA.

Firstenberg is an amazing lecturer, and the content isn't difficult to understand. Overall as a whole, this class is definitely one of the more difficult classes I have taken, but overall pretty manageable. If you come into the class knowing you'll have to put hours in (for both lecture and discussion), you'll turn out okay. Be ready to revise your paper 2-3x (check in with your TA regarding APA) before actually submitting it and you should be fine. Best way to study for the exams is to literally make your own questions based on the practice midterm and final that they give you, and switch up certain parameters and see how well you know the concepts. Come prepared to put hours in and the class will be fine.

Selling electronic textbook+APA manual + lecture notes+ notes for the paper+practice exams+ chapter notes+physical copy of APA manual
*************
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The class is not easy, and the thing that makes this class particularly hard is that you may not know where to start with the paper. APA manual si helpful when you know what mistakes to be aware of. Try to ask your TA about everything that you are not 100% sure of in your paper; they will help you and navigate you in the APA manual.
Exam material is very straight-forward; however, questions are rather tricky. Start preparing for those as early as you can! Re-read your lecture notes, take time processing everything professor Firstenberg says.

Please be aware that this class is basically like two independent courses (lab & lecture). I felt like I was taking 4 classes when I signed up for only 3. Lecture wise, the professor is very good. She's very clear and explains very well. You walk out thinking you fully understood the material without having to go to office hours. The only problem ? NONE of what she teaches is on the exams because the TAs write the exams and they try to trick as much as they can. They grade really really hard and then curve it at the end which made no sense to me at all. NOTHING of what she taught so clear was on the exam, the TAs would take the general concept of the professors teaching and twist it into another expecting us to understand without teaching it to us. Thats basically how they grade all your papers in lab too. I would literally ask my TA and email her every second to confirm what she wanted and yet she would mark it off on the paper. I really did not understand, and don't even try to get them to change your grade because its literally impossible unless they completely made a mistake. Or else, they'll just be like that's not how you should've written it or you should've included this (when they never told us too or taught us !!) This was one of the most unnecessarily difficult classes I have ever taken. It is a requirement to declare the major, so there is no way out of it. But I hope you are forewarned now and expect a very hard quarter ahead just because of this course.

Maybe I'm the odd one out, but I found this class very enjoyable. Granted, I may have gotten lucky with a very good TA and an awesome group to work with for the group experiment.
Lab grade (40%):
Your lab grade is completely up to your TA. I still don't understand how the curve works, but I've heard from numerous TAs that 20% of students get an A- or higher for their lab grade. Here's one thing to abide by to get an A: on your writing assignments, put more information than necessary. Your TA doesn't tell you to connect your research articles to your actual study? Do it anyways. Also, be explicit in your writing. No ambiguity. For example, if you're writing about your distractor task for your experiment... Let's say it's counting backwards... Be explicit and say that it is the distractor task! Always have everything clearly defined. Write as if your audience knows absolutely nothing about your experiment.
Exams (60%):
Honestly, I just studied my lecture notes two days before the exam and then did the practice exam one day before and got above standard deviation on both exams. I thought the practice exam was fairly representative of the actual exam. These exams are not hard!! You just have to read carefully and take your time. There are just a few terms you need to know. Once you get all the terms down, you just need to be able to apply them to an actual experimental passage. Read the textbook too because there are about 2-4 questions from the textbook on each exam that you won't get unless you read!

Ok, let me start of by saying I loved Firstenberg as a professor and as a person. But holy crap, this class will make your life a living hell. I hated it. I literally hated every minute of it. The lectures are only once a week, so they are the least of your worries. Even though the tests are extremely difficult, they are also the least of your worries. Your biggest worry will be the grading system. The whole class is graded on a curve, and each TA is told to grade as hard as they possibly can on each paper you turn in. I got a 56% on my final paper, which I knew was absolutely ridiculous since I covered absolutely everything the paper called for and then some. Also, you never know how you're doing in the class until you get your grade on ccle. It's honestly extremely sadistic and borderline abusive. Granted I got a C, but I never worked so hard for a class in my life. All I can say is take care of yourself, and prey you get a good group for your experiment, otherwise you will hate yourself. I can't tell you how many mental breakdowns I witnessed this quarter (mine included). Someone even fainted.

Selling one the textbooks for this course! Publication Manual 6th Edition. Please message me at ********** if interested.