Psychology
PSY 495 Research in Psychology
Research Paper Criteria
The Title, Abstract and Reference Pages are not included in the 5-10 full body pages of the APA research paper. At minimum, you must properly cite in APA format 5 scholarly journal articles. It is critical to properly cite your references when writing in APA format to avoid plagiarism. Please refer to your syllabus on the plagiarism policy, and the 6th edition of the APA manual for guidance with writing and properly citing your references in APA format. In the body of your paper, each student should incorporate terms from scholarly journals, and be as detailed as possible, in an effort to demonstrate a smooth transition in your writing and maintain a research-based professional undertone. Students are encouraged to save an additional electronic copy of your assignments to avoid losing or damaging the final results.
Your APA Research Paper must fully address each of the following questions:
1) An introduction of the topic (history, background)
2) What is the theoretical purpose of writing the topic chosen?
3) What are some interesting findings on your topic as a result of published scholarly
studies?
4) What area and population has been impacted most by your research topic?
5) What other societal elements (laws, economy, etc.) contribute to such outcomes on your
topic?
6) What theorist and their theoretical perspective in Psychology explains your topic? – “link
those elements to your topic”
7) Concluding Paragraph
Your APA research paper must also be setup in this manner:
I. Title page (sample will be provided)
II. Abstract (layout of the paper in less than 100 words)
III. Introduction (include literature review)
IV. Methods (type of design, data collection procedure)
V. Results (what does the data show that you researched)
VI. Discussion (what are the implications of the study)
VII. Conclusion
VIIII. Reference Page
Additional Writing Resources
As an additional resource for writing in APA style, log on to www.apastyle.org and www.plagiarism.org for more information.
NOTE:
Avoid communications such as ghost writers, on-line student papers, e-mail communications, publications, hearsay and double hearsay, Facebook, Twitter, Suite101, Encyclopedia’s and Wikipedia. These sources are not acceptable or viewed as reputable communications simply because: 1) these communications can be altered by anyone, 2) some communications do not provide recoverable data that can be retraced and 3) such statements provide no evidence to prove the truth of what is asserted.
