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Sample Outline for LITERATURE REVIEW/INTRODUCTION to a Scientific Paper

Organize your introduction per the following outline. This section should take about 4 pages. Please use the

document Preformatted APA Paper for SOC200 to format your paper.

1. Introduction: Explain the issue you are examining and why it is significant.

a. Describe the general area to be studied.

b. Explain why this area is important to the general area under study.

2. Background/Review of the Literature: A description of what is already known about this area and

short discussion of why the background studies are not sufficient.

a. Discuss several critical studies that have already been done in this area (This is the biggest

subsection of the introduction; use your sources).

b. Discuss 1-3 flaws from the previous research (i.e., What is missing? What else could be done in

future studies?)

3. The Current Study: Explain your current research question(s) and hypotheses.

a. Briefly state your research question and hypotheses. Be brief, as you fully explain this in your

Method section.

b. Explain how your study will add to the literature on this topic.

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Sample Outline for METHOD SECTION to a Scientific Paper

Use the document on Canvas, “IRB Proposal – Eyewitness Testimony and College Major” and “Methods

Statistics Document” to answer the following outline questions. Begin writing your Method section (1-3 pages)

using the Example Methods Section PDF as a template.

1. Participants

a. Total number of participants

b. Number of males and females & % of sample that are males and females:

c. Average and standard deviation age of participants:

d. Explain how participants were recruited:

o Circle the sampling method used: (Random, Stratified, Systematic, Convenience, Snowball,

Cluster)

o How did we get people to take the survey?

o Explain how the participants were compensated (e.g., paid, earned course credit, were not

compensated, etc.).

2. Materials

a. Describe demographic questions that were asked:

b. Describe the experimental manipulation

o No eyewitness condition (N = ):

o Unchallenged eyewitness condition (N = )

o Discredited eyewitness condition (N = )

c. Explain how guilt rating was measured:

3. Design & Procedure

a. Explain the entire process of taking the experiment. (e.g., informed consent -> Demographic

questions -> etc.):

b. Write the Research Question.

o Explain the research design (Circle One): Between-Subjects Design vs. Within-Subjects

Design (see Lecture Slides: Experimental Design for help)

o State the Independent variable:

o What are the groups or levels of the IV?

o State the Dependent variable:

c. State your Hypothesis (i.e., We predict that…)

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The RESULTS SECTION to a Scientific Paper

The results section is a summary of the statistics that you conducted for your paper. You’ll learn more about this

section in your next statistics class. The first two paragraphs of the results section for each student in this

class is going to be exactly the same. Use the Canvas document, Method and Results Statistics Document to

fill in the blanks here. Copy and paste this section into your paper immediately following the Method section.

A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to evaluate the research question. It was

hypothesized that participants in the Unchallenged Eyewitness group (N = ___)* would rate the fictional

defendant as more guilty than the No Eyewitness group (N = ___) and the Discredited Eyewitness group (N =

___). There was/was not (choose one) a significant difference in groups F (2,292) = _____, p =

______).

Post hoc tests revealed that there was/was not (choose one) a significant difference in

guilty ratings between the No Eyewitness group (M = _____, SD = _____) and the Unchallenged Eyewitness

group (M = _____, SD = _____). However, there was/was not (choose one) a significant

difference in guilty ratings between the Discredited Eyewitness group (M = _____, SD = _____) and the No

Eyewitness Group as well as the Unchallenged Eyewitness group.

In your own words, answer the following prompts

• Do the results support or refute our hypothesis?

*Note: N refers to the number of participants in the group. You can find this on the statistics document.

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Sample Outline for DISCUSSION SECTION to a Scientific Paper

Organize your discussion per the following outline. Feel free to alter how you see fit.

1. Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings (1-2 paragraphs).

a. Briefly reiterate the research question and the method you used to examine it.

b. Briefly describe the major findings of the study (be direct and succinct):

2. Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important (around 1 page).

a. Refer to your hypothesis and explain your finding relevant to the hypothesis (e.g., explain

whether your hypothesis was supported or refuted). Do this for each hypothesis.

b. Explain what you think is the overall meaning of your findings. State why you think the meaning

is important.

3. Consider Alternative Explanations of your results (1-2 paragraphs).

a. Write potential alternative explanations to your findings (i.e., why do you think our hypotheses

were not supported?). Use your logic and creatively to carefully think of alternative reasons for

our findings.

4. Acknowledge the Study’s Limitations (1-2 paragraphs)..

a. Explain 1-3 flaws in our study (e.g., Could we use better sampling techniques next time? Could

it be that our correlational survey did not capture the causal effect that we expected?)

5. Make Suggestions for Future Researchers (1-2 paragraphs).

a. Think about if you could do this study again. Write down 1-3 things that could be done to

improve our study.