psychology
Saurav Chaudary
PSYC2301PSYC2319SEMESTERASSIGNMENT1.docxPSYC 2301 & PSYC 2319 Semester Assignment 3
PSYC 2301 & PSYC 2319 SEMESTER ASSIGNMENT
ARTICLE CRITIQUE
Purpose:
This assignment is to help the student improve his/her ability to use a library database to locate primary references, to improve their ability to paraphrase information, to create a more objective mindset in evaluating data, and to develop a document using a scientific approach to writing (American Psychological Association (APA) style). Please be aware that it IS NOT POSSIBLE to pass this course without doing this assignment.
Components:
Step 1 : Database Assignment: Locate the Psychology Research Guide through the El Centro Library website, and using one of the two databases listed to locate a professional, research based, journal article from a psychology related journal. To qualify: the journal must be a professional (not student) psychology academic journal, must be published in the past five years, and must be research-oriented. The article must have full text availability and must have references. You may seek the help of a librarian, but you must be able to locate the article yourself if asked to do so. You MUST upload your article to the appropriate eCampus link for my approval BEFORE you proceed with the rest of the assignment.
Step 2 : Creating a Cover Page and a References Page: In this assignment you are asked to create a cover page and a reference page based on the article you selected from the library database. Once you begin this assignment, you must use the article you selected for the rest of the semester. The cover page and the references page must adhere to APA standards, and they will be graded accordingly. The Cover page must have an APA running head and title which are appropriately related to the content of the article. The running head must also be placed correctly formatted on all pages of the assignment as shown on the template. The Title Page must accurately contain the required information as detailed on the template. The Reference Page must present author name(s) and initials, year of publication, title of article, title of journal, volume number, issue number, page numbers, and the digital object identifier (DOI) if available. You are required to place this in the appropriate APA style, double spaced and with a hanging indentation of .5 inches. Title and Reference pages that are not correctly done according to APA style will not be accepted and must be redone before moving on to the next step of the overall assignment.
Step 3 : Writing an Introduction: In this assignment, you must indicate why the authors considered this to be important research and why they approached the topic as they did. This assignment is expected to involve a full page and must include appropriate citations, including both parenthetical and non-parenthetical citations.
Step 4 : Writing the Summary: Provide an in-depth summary of the article. This must include the who, what, when, where, and how of the article. The introduction submitted in Step 3 (above) was the why. You will detail the method of selection of the subjects of the research, and when and where the research was done. You must then detail the hypothesis(es) (and there may be more than one), the Research Methods and Research Design used, the results of the research, and the authors’ conclusions. Use clear and concise terms, explain jargon, and do not use abbreviations unless they are well-known such as U.S.A. For all information included in the introduction and summary, citations must be used including both parenthetical and non-parenthetical citations. You will only cite the author(s) of the article you read, and this must match your reference page. A minimum of two to three full pages is expected.
Step 5 : Develop a Critical Analysis of the article. What questions did the author(s) leave you with? How might future research be structured to answer those questions? Do you believe the author(s) validated their initial hypothesis(es) or was(were) the hypothesis(es) not supported? Explain your answer. The Critical Analysis is based on your perception of the article, but opinions must be supported with appropriate evidence. Explain your comments; be exact and straight forward . Remember that your criticisms MUST be couched in terms of whether or not the investigators complied with the Scientific Method. If you do not recall all the steps, review your class notes and appropriate chapters in your online textbook. Here is a youtube link for a VERY good video on the Scientific Method. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi0hwFDQTSQ At NO TIME are you allowed to use the personal pronouns “I, me, my, or mine.” You are writing a scientific analysis and NO ONE CARES what your personal opinions, feelings, and thoughts regarding the article are. You must look at the article through the perspective of a psychological scientist, and you must use those criteria to validate your positions. Please refer to the attached document – The Scientific Method – for specifics on how to address these issues. The ONLY thing important in a science class – and psychology IS a science – are DATA (what the evidence told the article’s authors), the RESULTS (the specifics of the data), and the CONCLUSIONS (what did the authors of your article determine as a result of their findings?). Writing in psychology is done in third person. This section must be at least one full page.
Step 6 : Writing the Abstract. This is a summary of your paper, the one you have written, the summary should have the important points from your introduction, literature review, and critical analysis all in 150-250 words. Remember to cite information from the author(s). Be sure and check the REQUIREMENTS for what must be included in an Abstract. Go to the APA STYLE folder and scroll down until your find the WRITING THE ABSTRACT item.
