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⇱ Positive Psychology: Character, Grit and Research Methods | Coursera

Positive Psychology: Character, Grit and Research Methods

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Positive Psychology: Character, Grit and Research Methods

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.4

1,239 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
1 week at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.4

1,239 reviews

Beginner level
No prior experience required
Flexible schedule
1 week at 10 hours a week
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Assess whether a hypothesis is good based on its characteristics

  • Make use of best practices for research data collection

  • Utilize inferential statistics for data analysis

  • Describe the basics of research methodologies and design

Details to know

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Assessments

8 assignments¹

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Taught in English
96%
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Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Foundations of Positive Psychology Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
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There are 4 modules in this course

Learners discover how apply to research methods to their study of Positive Psychology. In this course, we study with Dr. Angela Duckworth and Dr. Claire Robertson-Kraft. Through an exploration their work "True Grit" and interviews with researchers and practitioners, you develop a research hypothesis and learn how to understand the difference between internal and external validity. You also begin to understand and apply the strengths and weaknesses associated with different types of measurements and evaluation designs. You then interpret the results in an empirical study. Suggested prerequisites: Positive Psychology: Martin E. P. Seligman’s Visionary Science and Positive Psychology: Applications and Interventions.

What's included

17 videos9 readings2 assignments1 discussion prompt

17 videos•Total 61 minutes
  • 1.2 Planning for Research•4 minutes
  • 1.4 Angela Duckworth: Overview of Character•3 minutes
  • 1.6a Hypothesis and Theories Part 1•3 minutes
  • 1.6b Hypothesis and Theories Part 2•5 minutes
  • 1.6c Hypothesis and Theories Part 3•2 minutes
  • 1.7a Practitioner Interview: Paddy Steinfort on Developing a Hypothesis•5 minutes
  • 1.7b Practitioner Interview: Andrew Soren on Developing a Hypothesis•2 minutes
  • 1.7c Practitioner Interview: David Meketon on Developing a Hypothesis•6 minutes
  • 1.8a Angela Duckworth: Theory of Character•2 minutes
  • 1.8b Angela Duckworth: Theory of Motivation•5 minutes
  • 1.8c Angela Duckworth: Theory of Action•3 minutes
  • 1.12a Stages of the Research Process: Overview•1 minute
  • 1.12b Stages of the Research Process: Example•6 minutes
  • 1.13 Practitioner Interview: Andrew Soren on Research in Organizations•3 minutes
  • 1.14a Angela Duckworth: Grit Background•5 minutes
  • 1.14b Angela Duckworth: Theory of Grit•3 minutes
  • 1.15 Validity•3 minutes
9 readings•Total 132 minutes
  • 1.1 How to Get the Most Out of This Course•10 minutes
  • 1.3 True Grit: Trait-Level Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals Predicts Effectiveness and Retention Among Novice Teachers•30 minutes
  • 1.5 Biographies of Dr. Angela Duckworth and Dr. Claire Robertson-Craft•10 minutes
  • 1.7 Observations About the World: Videos Introduction•2 minutes
  • 1.10 Journal Prompt: Developing Your Hypothesis•15 minutes
  • 1.16 Optional Reading: Internal and External Validity: General Issues•15 minutes
  • 1.17 Journal Prompt: True Grit Article•15 minutes
  • 1.18 Module 1 Recap•5 minutes
  • 1.19 Journal Prompts and Readings for Module 1•30 minutes
2 assignments•Total 17 minutes
  • 1.20 Module 1 Quiz•15 minutes
  • 1.11 Module 1 Practice Quiz•2 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 20 minutes
  • 1.9 Developing a Hypothesis •20 minutes

What's included

20 videos6 readings2 assignments

20 videos•Total 72 minutes
  • 2.1a Collecting Data Part 1•4 minutes
  • 2.1b Collecting Data Part 2•4 minutes
  • 2.2 Practitioner Interview: David Meketon on Collecting Data•4 minutes
  • 2.3a Angela Duckworth: Self-Discipline Study•5 minutes
  • 2.3b Angela Duckworth: Self-Discipline Study Q&A•2 minutes
  • 2.4 Angela Duckworth: All Measures are Imperfect•1 minute
  • 2.8a Quantitative Methods: Surveys•6 minutes
  • 2.8b Quantitative Methods: Designing Surveys•2 minutes
  • 2.8c Quantitative Methods: Administrative Data•4 minutes
  • 2.9 Practitioner Interview: Paddy Steinfort on Collecting Data•4 minutes
  • 2.10a Angela Duckworth: Self-Control - Frame of Reference•4 minutes
  • 2.10b Angela Duckworth: Frame of Reference Q&A Part 1•3 minutes
  • 2.10c Angela Duckworth: Frame of Reference Q&A Part 2•4 minutes
  • 2.10d Angela Duckworth: How Psychologists Study Daily Life Part 1•5 minutes
  • 2.10e Angela Duckworth: How Psychologists Study Daily Life Part 2•3 minutes
  • 2.11 Angela Duckworth: Grit Measures•2 minutes
  • 2.14a Qualitative Methods: Interviews and Focus Groups•4 minutes
  • 2.14b Qualitative Methods: Observations•2 minutes
  • 2.15 Practitioner Interview: Andrew Soren on Qualitative Methods•4 minutes
  • 2.15 Angela Duckworth: Qualitative Coding•5 minutes
6 readings•Total 98 minutes
  • 2.5 The Marshmallow Experiment Revisited •3 minutes
  • 2.6 Validity & Reliability Recap•10 minutes
  • 2.12 Optional Reading: Grit Scale•10 minutes
  • 2.13 Journal Prompt: Your Operationalization Proposal•15 minutes
  • 2.16 Journal Prompt: True Grit Article•30 minutes
  • 2.17 Readings for Module 2 •30 minutes
2 assignments•Total 12 minutes
  • 2.18 Module 2 Quiz•10 minutes
  • 2.7 Module 2 Practice Quiz•2 minutes

What's included

13 videos5 readings2 assignments

13 videos•Total 55 minutes
  • 3.1 Data Analysis•4 minutes
  • 3.2a Angela Duckworth: WOOP Introduction•4 minutes
  • 3.2b Angela Duckworth: Woop Experiment•3 minutes
  • 3.3 Practitioner Interview: David Meketon on Data Analysis•5 minutes
  • 3.6a Descriptive Analysis Part 1•5 minutes
  • 3.6b Descriptive Analysis Part 2•3 minutes
  • 3.7 Practitioner Interview: Andrew Soren on Data Analysis•3 minutes
  • 3.8 Angela Duckworth: Purpose & Grit•5 minutes
  • 3.11a Inferential Statistics Part 1•6 minutes
  • 3.11b Inferential Statistics Part 2•5 minutes
  • 3.11c Inferential Statistics Part 3•2 minutes
  • 3.12 Angela Duckworth: Correlation, Effect Size, and Growth Mindset•4 minutes
  • 3.13 Practitioner Interview: Paddy Steinfort on Using Statistics•5 minutes
5 readings•Total 70 minutes
  • 3.4 Lesson 1 Recap•5 minutes
  • 3.9 Reading: Research Methods Knowledge Base: Descriptive Statistics•5 minutes
  • 3.10 Journal Prompt: Your Analysis Plan•15 minutes
  • 3.14 Journal Prompt: True Grit Article•15 minutes
  • 3.15 Journal Prompts and Readings for Module 3•30 minutes
2 assignments•Total 17 minutes
  • 3.16 Module 3 Quiz•15 minutes
  • 3.5 Module 3 Practice Quiz•2 minutes

What's included

16 videos5 readings2 assignments1 discussion prompt

16 videos•Total 58 minutes
  • 4.1a Using Research: Experimental Design Part 1•5 minutes
  • 4.1b Using Research: Quasi-Experimental Design•3 minutes
  • 4.1c Using Research: Non-Experimental Design•3 minutes
  • 4.2a Angela Duckworth: Deliberate Practice Part 1•3 minutes
  • 4.2b Angela Duckworth: Deliberate Practice Part 2•3 minutes
  • 4.5a Practitioner Interview: Andrew Soren on Using Research to Shape Organizations•4 minutes
  • 4.5b Practitioner Interview: Paddy Steinfort's Advice to Practitioners•4 minutes
  • 4.7a The Anatomy of a Research Article•4 minutes
  • 4.7b How to Read a Research Article•2 minutes
  • 4.7c Example of a Research Article•5 minutes
  • 4.9 Angela Duckworth: Grit and Other People•5 minutes
  • 4.10a A Review of Validity Part 1•5 minutes
  • 4.10b A Review of Validity Part 2•3 minutes
  • 4.11 Angela Duckworth: Grit & Parenting•3 minutes
  • 4.12 Angela Duckworth: Consequential Validity•4 minutes
  • 4.13 Practitioner Interview: Andrew Soren on Current Research•2 minutes
5 readings•Total 80 minutes
  • 4.4 Journal Prompt: Your Research Design•10 minutes
  • 4.8 Reading: How to Read a Research Article Recap•10 minutes
  • 4.14 Readings: Eavesdropping on Happiness•20 minutes
  • 4.15 Journal Prompt: True Grit Article•10 minutes
  • 4.16 Journal Prompts and Readings for Module 4•30 minutes
2 assignments•Total 17 minutes
  • 4.18 Module 4 Quiz•15 minutes
  • 4.6 Module 4 Practice Quiz •2 minutes
1 discussion prompt•Total 25 minutes
  • 4.3 Research Design•25 minutes

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Instructors

Instructor ratings
4.7 (155 ratings)
University of Pennsylvania
1 Course•42,346 learners

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Showing 3 of 1239

CP
·

Reviewed on Aug 16, 2025

I took this last summer but had to retake in order to get the Coursera verification. Still super neurotypical and doesn't really reach me, but maybe i'm just broken.

ED
·

Reviewed on Jul 23, 2019

Angela Duckworth is simply incredible. All her video put a smile on my face. And Claire Robertson-Kraft is makes research very comprehensive! Thank you both for this amazing course!

IC
·

Reviewed on Apr 28, 2020

I am honoured to be taught by Prof Duckworth and Dr Robertson-Kraft. I have been extremely interested in the concept of GRIT and SELF - CONTROL; this course has been extremely helpful.

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