Coding for Psychology

PSY 0110 · PSY 0210 · Fall 2026 — Python builds the experiment, R analyzes what it collects.

Practical, transferable coding skills for collecting and analyzing data in psychology studies. No prior programming experience required — one prior course in statistics assumed. Cross-listed for undergraduates (PSY 0110) and graduate students (PSY 0210), meeting once a week in a computer lab.

Meets Tuesdays, 4:30–7:00 PM
Psychology 109

Dates Sept 8 – Dec 8, 2026
(no class Nov 10)

Instructor Heather L. Urry, Ph.D.
heather.urry@tufts.edu

Everything is free Every text, tool, and platform this semester is open and free to use — see Resources.

The arc of the semester

Three parts, one throughline: build the instrument, then use it.

PART I · CLASSES 1–5 The Lab. Install your tools, then build a two-condition PsychoPy experiment together as a class — routines, custom scoring logic, and a real pilot run.

PART II · CLASSES 6–8 The Desk. Bring your own pilot data into R. Wrangle it with dplyr, visualize it with ggplot2 — the same tidyverse skills, applied to data you actually collected.

PART III · CLASSES 9–13 The Page. Simulate, test, and report — then design and publish an original two-condition experiment of your own, as a public artifact on GitHub, archived to Zenodo for a DOI.

See the full week-by-week breakdown on Schedule, or browse each class in more depth on Content.

Where to start

  • Read the Syllabus — course description, materials, policies, and grading.
  • Check the Schedule — every class, reading, and due date at a glance.
  • Review Assignments — all seven homeworks, both quizzes, and the final project.
  • Set up your tools via Resources — textbooks, software, and the course GitHub template.
Back to top