Psychology Research

Psychology Research Order Description Double space all parts of the paper, including the references page(s). This double spacing rule holds for all four papers you turn in. The length of the paper is as long as it needs to be to cover the following: The First Part: 1. Create a running head (left upper margin) that says Paper One and the page number (right upper margin), starting with the number 1, on each page, and continuing consecutively (1,2,3, etc.) throughout the paper. Check APA.org for the format. 2. The title page: The title for this paper is Paper One. Below the title, identify yourself, ENGL 2020 - section number, Utah Valley University, and the date you turned it in. Space things vertically and pleasingly on the top third of the page. 3. At the top of the next page, center the heading Personal Reflection. Under that, in 2 or so pages, write a brief personal reflection on your current writing skills. Name your strengths and weaknesses, and tell me what you plan to do in English 2020 to increase your strengths and limit or even overcome your weaknesses. 4. Next, starting on a new page, label the next section Topic, Thesis, Search, and Sources, Then write an essay that answers the following questions in this order: What is your topic? Go into detail. Why do you want to write on it -- what's your interest level? What is your preliminary thesis -- what position will you argue for? Keep it one sentence only. Identify this sentence by saying "My thesis statement is, . . .". Describe your search -- Which three or more databases did you find? How and where did you find them? Why are those better than others you looked at? What are five (or more) quality sources you found in your search that appear to offer the best information on your thesis? Explain what the source covers related to your topic and offer your opinion of its probable value. Did you use citations to identify the author(s) and date in discussing the sources? See p. 349 in the text for assistance. Citations are parenthetical markers you place in the body of the paper to identify the source of the information, the full information on which is found in the references list at the end of the paper: (Author or Authors, date). Notes and Comments about the essay: The Topic: The topic must have a controversy, with at least two sides that disagree. As you research, look for opposition to your preliminary thesis. The Thesis: Your thesis sentence is the most important sentence in your final paper. It indicates the topic, issue, and your position on the controversy. It states your defense of one side of the controversy. It makes a claim or assertion that is debatable (reputable people disagree with you). It must not be more than a single sentence. Check pp. 37, 55, and 106 in INQ. The Writing Center at Indiana University has a good website with commentary on how to write a good thesis sentence. Visit www.Indiana.edu/~wfs/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml (Links to an external site.) The Databases: See the discussion, above. The Sources: A quality source contains one or more authors in a reputable and printed publication. At this point, do not list any book sources. Books you can do later. Most databases don't list books. Look at peer-reviewed journal articles only. It is okay to list printed journal articles you accessed electronically, but do not list articles that come solely from an online sources like websites. See the questions, above. The APA Citations: Use APA citations when you discuss your sources. For example, you could say "One interesting article I found was by Smith and Jones (2011). They discuss the similarities between Prozac and methamphetamines." Or you could enclose the names with the date, as (Smith & Jones, 2011). The Second Part: 1. At the top of the page this section starts on, center the word References. Don't use solid capital letters. You may bold the word, if you wish. 2. In alphabetical order, present at least five authored sources in APA format. Note that the references are formatted using a "hanging indent." That is, the second and subsequent lines (but not the first) are indented. It can be helpful to use the paragraph formatting features of your word processor to do indentations. And everything is double spaced on the page -- within each entry and between entries. For a journal article, do the following: Author. (date). Title of the article in lowercase letters (no capitals except for the first word, any proper noun that's always capitalized, or the first word that starts a subtitle). Journal Name in italics (capitalize all the major words in the name of the journal, but not a, an, and, of, the unless they start the journal name), followed by the volume number, issue number, and page numbers -- American Physics, 67(3), 12-17. Note how the volume number is in italics, the issue number is in parentheses without a space between the volume number and the issue number, and no p. or pp. or pg. before the page numbers. For online sources, see the sample on p. 351, the Haag entry. Check all the samples on pp. 351-352 for other types of sources. For more information on the specifics of APA style, read my announcement on APA, check the course textbook (pp. 349-353), go to the Writing Center and get an appointment to go over your draft, contact me directly , and/or check APA.org online. Grading Criteria A good paper will display the following: All required parts are included. The discussions cover the information thoroughly. The references page(s) contains at least five sources in good APA format. Pay particular attention to APA references format, and refer to my Announcement for help. All articles originate from printed sources and are authored. No articles are solely website articles or non-authored. Your word choices, spelling, sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation reflect college-level ability. Check the Schedule for the list of sources for help. Paper One is worth up to 150 points, if it's on time. If it's late, there is a 10% points reduction (-15). If it misses the second deadline, it will receive 0 points. See the Schedule for the deadline for turning it in.