FINAL PAPER

Running head: FINAL PAPER INSTRUCTIONS 1

Instructions for Paper V: Final Paper

Ryan J. Winter

Florida International University

PAPER V: FINAL PAPER INSTRUCTIONS 2

Purpose of Paper V (Final Paper)

1). Psychological Purpose

The psychological purpose behind Paper V is to finish the research paper you have been working on all semester. Once the semester is over, you will be able to combine all your papers into one and use them on job or graduate school applications. This is why you should work very hard on adopting our feedback and improving it – so that you make a great impression on employers and universities

The Abstract is one of the first items readers see. You need to convey a lot of information in this very short paragraph, as the potential reader will decide whether to read your full paper based on the information in the Abstract. There are several elements needed in the Abstract about both of your studies, including information about: a). your research questions, b). your participants, c). your experimental methodology, d). your findings, and e). your conclusions. Being able to write a precise yet succinct Abstract takes some effort, so make sure you go through several drafts before settling on your final version. Make sure to include keywords / key phrases as well (remember entering keywords into PsycInfo when you searched for articles? The authors actually recommended those keywords, so if you want to increase the number of times your paper comes up for readers, use good keywords!)

Your General Discussion section will also be new in Paper V. Here, you will summarize your results from BOTH studies and draw conclusions, but you will NOT use statistics again. This section will evaluate both of your studies and see if (and how) they connect and lead you to general conclusions. That is, your general discussion is the end of your story, so make sure to tie it back to information that you presented throughout both of your studies. You can also identify flaws in your study designs as well as propose new directions for future research in this section.

2). APA Formatting Purpose

Paper V should follow all APA formatting guidelines. See our feedback on prior papers, use Chapter 14 in your textbook, and look at the instructions on the next page for help with formatting

3). Writing Purpose

Paper V is your final paper in the course, and it should reflect the skills and knowledge you have developed throughout the semester. You should be able to convey information to an educated reader, but one who is unfamiliar with your specific study and the content area. More importantly, many students use Paper V as their writing sample for graduate school applications, thus your paper should be grammatically correct and easy to read yet informative for a reader who may have little to no knowledge of your specific topic. Thus educate your reader, but keep in mind that your reader is probably intelligent.

PAPER V: FINAL PAPER INSTRUCTIONS 3

Note that the plagiarism limit for Paper V is 50%. I expect less overlap in your lit reviews and discussions than in the methods / results. As usual, references, citations, and predictions are not included in the plagiarism limit.

PAPER V: FINAL PAPER INSTRUCTIONS 4

Instructions for Paper V: Final Paper (Worth 30 Points)

1. Title Page: I expect the following format a. This Title Page section will be one (1) page in proper APA format

2. Abstract NEW SECTION a. The Abstract starts on its own page, with the word Abstract centered (not bolded). b. Make sure your header and page number is still on this abstract page. c. The abstract should be between 150 and 200 words, and must include ALL of the

following elements i. Identify your general problem or research question

ii. Note your participants iii. Note your experimental method iv. Note your findings for both studies v. Note your conclusions about the studies as a whole

d. Keywords / phrases are required for your paper (at least 5 keywords or phrases) 3. General Discussion NEW SECTION

a. Write the word General Discussion at the top of this section and center it. This section comes directly after the Abstract, but starts on its own page.

b. At the beginning of this section, give a brief reminder of your predictions from both study one and study two. Then provide a discussion of your results. In English (not statistics), tell me what you found. In this discussion, you should talk about all of the following:

i. An explanation of your findings – across both studies, did your results support or not support your hypothesis?

1. If you found support, tie it in with the prior research you cited in your literature review as well as your predictions. You may want to refer back to your literature review, and re-cite some of the studies you mentioned there (I really recommend that, in fact!).

2. If you didn’t find any support for your hypotheses, contrast your findings with prior research. You can highlight differences in your methodologies. You may also find other studies that either support your results or help explain why you found what you found.

3. If one study found support and the other did not, try to explain the discrepancy.

4. In a nutshell, tell me how both studies help inform the reader about the nature of your variables and how they impact human behavior.

ii. Next, examine study limitations – would other methods have been better? Were there problems with your study that a follow-up study should fix?

iii. Propose future directions for research – If you could do your studies over again, what would you change? Or how might you expand them?

iv. Optional: Talk about the ethics of your study – Did you follow ethical guidelines? Were participants harmed in any manner

c. The general discussion section must have minimum of one (1) full page of text and a maximum of three (3) pages. If it is only one pages, it better be very, very good! I actually expect to see closer to two pages

4. Overall writing quality

PAPER V: FINAL PAPER INSTRUCTIONS 5

a. Make sure you check your paper for proper spelling and grammar. The FIU Writing Center and the Center for Academic Success are available if you want someone to look over your paper (an extra eye is always good!) and give you advice.

Other Guidelines for Paper V: The Final Paper

§ 1). Pay attention to the page length requirements § 2). Page size is 8 1/2 X 11” with all 4 margins set at on inch on all sides. You must use a

12-point Times New Roman font. Double space EVERYTHING § 3). PLEASE use a spell checker to avoid unnecessary errors. Proofread everything you

write. I actually recommend reading some sentences aloud to see if they flow well, or getting family or friends to read your work.

§ Finally, go look at the supporting documents for this paper. Like prior papers, there is a checklist, a grade rubric, and an example paper for Paper V. All will give you more information about what we are specifically looking for as well as a visual example of how to put it all together in your paper. Good luck!