RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINES
As part of the requirements to
successfully complete this course, you will be required to write a 5-7 page
scholarly paper on a selected topic in psychology. This research paper should be founded upon empirical research and
theory found in contemporary psychology literature (within the last 10-15
years). When choosing your topic, it is
vital that you choose a topic that is narrow enough to be adequately covered in
5-7 pages, and broad enough that there will be a sufficient amount of empirical
literature on the topic. For example,
“Attention” is far too broad a topic to be covered satisfactorily in the
allotted space. On the other hand, you
are unlikely to find enough research on a very specific topic such as “Suicide
in Female Military Health Care Workers” to write an effective paper. Instead, a topic such as “The Treatment of
Depressive Symptomology in Juvenile Delinquents” would be more appropriate.
You are free to choose any topic,
and topics that relate psychology to your daily life or to other academic
disciplines of interest to you are strongly encouraged. However, I must approve all topics in
advance. You must turn in a brief (1-2
paragraph) written description of your proposed topic with 3 accompanying
references. Please photocopy the first
page of each of the three articles and turn them in with your proposal no later
than Thursday, February 12 at the
beginning of class. This will allow me
to give you feedback and help you focus or broaden your chosen topic if we feel
that is necessary. It is to your advantage to have your idea for the paper
fleshed out as well as possible so that I can give you more helpful
feedback. In addition, I would like a
complete list of the references you intend to use for the paper by Tuesday, March 23. You must cite at least 5 original research papers and 8 references in total,
including any other articles, books, or chapters that review previous research
related to your topic. The topic
proposal is worth 6% of your final grade, and the term paper is worth an
additional 20% of your final grade. The
term paper is due Thursday, April 15.
The paper is composed of essentially
two parts: 1) A thorough review of the literature on your chosen topic and 2) A
creative, critical reflection of the literature reviewed. These areas will be covered in an organized
fashion, with each paper having headlines for an Introduction, Literature Review, Discussion, and Conclusion.
Please note that you are required to
include both a title page (see the handout that demonstrates how a paper in APA
style should look) and a separate section for references; however, neither of
these sections counts toward the 5-7 page length requirement for the
paper. You must have 5-7 pages of
introduction, literature review, discussion, and conclusion.
Introduce the reader to the topic and offer a thesis
statement or statement of the hypothesis.
There should also be a concise, supported statement as to why the topic
is an important area of study and a brief preview of what is to follow in the
paper.
The literature review, along with
the discussion, makes up the bulk of the paper. This section should be roughly 3-5 pages long and include a
thorough exploration of the current state of the literature. Most of the references you use should be
presented in this section. Internet
sites, dictionaries, newspapers, and popular magazines (i.e., Psychology
Today, Rolling Stone, Time) are not considered scholarly and
are often not empirical, so avoid these forms of publication. Examples of major search engines that can be
used to facilitate a scholarly review of literature are PSYCHLIT, PSYCHFIRST, and PsychInfo. These search engines are usually available on the computers in
the Mullen Library. Handouts and
librarian assistance on conducting a literature search are available upon
request in the library.
In the course of reading your
articles and searching the literature, you may discover that there are
conflicting opinions and findings for a given topic. These discrepancies should be pointed out, and you may want to
offer your opinion for the discrepancies or suggest how these findings might be
reconciled in your Discussion section.
When reviewing the literature, you do not need to go in depth in
describing each individual study, however, a brief description of the
particular studies that you believe most support or contradict your hypothesis
is essential. Remember that the object
of the literature review is to help the reader get an understanding of the
state of the research on a given topic and offer support for your thesis or
focus of interest. The points you make
about different studies and articles should flow in a logical fashion. Typically, when reviewing a particular
study, you will include two or three sentences about the concept being studied
and the researchers’ hypothesis about it.
You should also briefly describe the method of study and finally
summarize the researchers’ main conclusions.
It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you read over a few literature reviews
provided in psychology journals on your topic in order to understand this
process fully. Literature reviews in
the field of psychology are generally quite uniform in style. You will do well to see how published
authors review literature and try to emulate that style.
The discussion section of your
papers should be between 1 and 2 pages long and should synthesize your thoughts
on the literature. The object in this
section is to discuss your personal feelings about the conclusions made on the
topic based on the literature. You
should also note what questions are still unanswered about the topic and where,
as a field, psychologists and researchers might begin to look for these
answers. You will be rewarded for
creative and innovative thought in this section, but be sure to cite ideas if
they are not your own.
This section should be a summary of
the main points made in the Lit Review and Discussion. You should sum up for the reader the
important and most significant findings and offer your concluding remarks. This section can be as short as a paragraph
or two and, in this case, probably should not be more than a page long.
Please see the handout entitled ‘APA
Referencing Style’ for help with formatting your references. The reference section should start on a new
page following the conclusion section.
While your grade for the paper will depend primarily
on the organization and content of your thoughts and the literature, I will
take into account basic grammar etc.
Your paper must be typed, double-spaced with one-inch margins, and
written according to APA guidelines, including the reference page. ***See the ‘APA Referencing Style’ and the
mock term paper handouts for formatting guidelines, and address any other
questions to the APA Publication Manual.
Pages 258-264 include a sample paper using the APA format.
I realize that for many of you, this
is the first time you have ever had to write a paper of this nature. I will make myself available during office
hours or by appointment to provide any needed assistance. In addition, the writing center in O’Boyle
Hall 111 (202) 319-5018 is an invaluable resource that can provide you with
feedback, advice, and proofreading services.
Please take advantage of this free service!
NO EXTENSIONS WILL BE GRANTED FOR ANY REASON! You can hand your paper in early, but you cannot hand it in late. Late papers will receive a 20% penalty for the first day late and an additional 10% off for each additional day. You have nearly all semester to do this paper – plan ahead, and you will meet the deadlines.