Elizabeth Loftus Hypothesis
PeterSal
HowtoWriteaScientificPaperinAPAformat..pptxWriting a Scientific Paper
Abstract
Literature Review/Introduction
Method
Results
Discussion
References
Writing your literature review introduction
The purpose of an introduction is to summarize the scientific literature on your research question or topic.
RQ1: Does the type of eyewitness testimony presented in court influence perceptions of guilt?
Your introduction must have at least 5 scholarly sources and should take 4-5 pages to write.
What are some good search terms for our variables?
“Eyewitness testimony”, “credibility of eyewitnesses”, etc,
Getting to the Library
For this assignment, I’d like you refer back to Lecture Slides: Consuming Research to find scholarly research on eyewitness testimony.
Find at least 5 sources dealing with eyewitness testimony.
Use Outline for an Experiment Paper to guide your writing.
Writing your method section
This section of a primary scholarly article describes how a study is conducted.
Allows readers to judge the reliability/validity of your study.
Allows future researchers to replicate your study.
Three subsections:
1. Participants
Explain the major characteristics of your sample:
# of participants
# of people from each gender
Average and standard deviation age of participants
Explain how participants were recruited
Sampling method
Recruitment method (text? Face-to-face? Social media?)
Compensation?
2. Materials
Describe each survey in-depth.
Name of survey, # of questions
Describe the scale
Give a sample question
3. Design and Procedure
Explain the process of taking the survey.
Participates were encouraged to take the survey at their convenience. After completing an Informed Consent Form…
Explain each research question
Independent variable
Dependent variable
Hypothesis
Formatting
Will immediately follow introduction (do not start a new page).
Method will be bolded and centered.
Keep the same font size
Writing your Results Section
Please refer to the Outline for an Experiment Paper to assist you in writing your results section.
Writing your Discussion Section
The purpose of the discussion is to interpret the importance of your findings in response to the previous literature.
To explain anything new to the general knowledge on the topic.
The most important section
It demonstrates your ability to think critically about the topic.
It presents the big picture importance of your study.
Highlights limitations and future directions.
Components of the Discussion
Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings (1-2 paragraphs).
Reiterate research question and method
Briefly restate your results.
Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important (around 1 page).
Explain your hypothesis and whether your finding supports/refutes it.
Overall meaning of your findings; why it is important.
Components of the Discussion
Consider Alternative Explanations of your results (1-2 paragraphs).
Alternative explanations to your findings (use logic and creativity)
Acknowledge the Study’s Limitations (1-2 paragraphs)..
Explain 1-3 flaws in our study
Make Suggestions for Future Researchers (1-2 paragraphs).
Think about if you could do this study again. Write down 1-3 things that could be done to improve our study.
Small n.
Lack of diversity.
Lack of a- control group.
Failure to control for certain confounds.
Lack of standardized instructions.
Lack of generalizability.
Low reliability/validity.
Use of a correlational design.
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Formatting
Will immediately follow results (do not start a new page).
Discussion will be bolded and centered.
Keep the same font size
Writing your Abstract
It’s the last thing you write but the first section of your paper after the title page.
Write 1-2 sentences summarizing each section of the paper.
Introduction
Problem under investigation, Purpose of Study
Method
Participants, Study Design (IV, DV)
Results
State results
Discussion
Theoretical implications of your results. Conclusions.
Formatting
Will immediately follow the title page (do not start a new page).
Abstract will be bolded and centered.
12pt Times New Roman font.
