PSY
112, FYE, Section F29 (TR 2:00-3:15)
Fall
2007
Prof.
Conway
FYE Research Project
Assignment
You
will work with a group to conduct a research project on a topic that integrates
psychology with the first-year college experience. The
project requires you to state a
hypothesis about a topic chosen from the list below, do a computerized search
of the psychological literature to see if your hypothesis is supported by
previous studies, identify resources for students (on or off-campus), write
a research paper of about 5 pages (double-spaced), and do a poster presentation
during our last class meeting.
You will work in groups on parts of this
project, though the outline and your paper must be done individually.
The assignment is worth 250 points (over a third of
your course grade) and will be carried out in segments throughout the
semester. Here is a brief timeline for
the assignment:
|
Activity |
Due Date |
Points |
|
Inform me of your decision regarding project |
Thurs. Sept. 13 |
-- |
|
Meet in Library for PsycINFO presentation |
Tues.
Sept. 25 |
none |
|
Turn in preliminary reference list and statement
of hypothesis (Done as a group) |
Thurs. Oct. 11 |
25 |
|
Turn in outline of paper (Done individually) |
Thurs. Oct. 25 |
25 |
|
Turn in paper (Done individually) |
Tues. Nov. 13 |
150 |
|
Turn in revision of paper (Done individually); The revision is OPTIONAL |
Thurs. Dec. 13 |
150 (will be averaged with the
original paper grade) |
|
Poster presentation (Done as a group) |
Thurs. Dec. 13 |
50 |
Activity
#1. Meeting in Library/Topics: Tuesday Sept.
25
We
will meet in the library for a workshop on using PsycINFO. In order to make good use of our time, you
first need to choose a hypothesis. This
will be done as a group; that is, all your group members will have the same
hypothesis and you will collaborate on searching for journal articles. We will spend time in class developing
hypotheses but it is your responsibility to make sure that your group has its
hypothesis by the time we meet in the library.
Here is a list of approved topics:
1.
Social life/social adjustment
2.
Academic adjustment
3.
Career choices
4.
Study habits
5.
Stress and coping
6.
Drug and alcohol use
7.
Time management
8.
Depression/anxiety
While
in the library you will search the psychological literature using PsycINFO. You must find and use at least three (3) journal articles located through PsycINFO
in your paper. At least two of your
studies must describe empirical research (i.e., studies in which the authors
collected data to test their hypothesis).
World Wide Web pages and magazines are Ok to use as “backup” sources,
but you should draw almost all your information from the three journal
articles. You cannot use sources
from Dissertation Abstracts International.
**
For Activity #2 you will be required to turn in a print-out of the PsycINFO
references for each of your journal articles -- so be sure to print it while
you are searching. **
Activity
#2. Turn in preliminary reference list
and statement of hypothesis with campus resources (Done as a group): Due Thurs. Oct. 11
Please
submit a list of the references for your 3+ journal articles. The references must by typed, and
formatted according to
You
also need to submit a list of at least three resources for students. Resources include people/offices (e.g., The
Learning Center; the Counseling and
Checklist
for Activity #2:
1. Reference List:
a. There are at least
three references to journal articles
b. References are typed
c.
References are formatted in
2. Photocopy or printout of the
first page of each article is included
3. PsycINFO printout for each
journal article included along with the copy of the 1st page
4. At least two articles report
original studies (are not review articles)
5. Statement of Hypothesis is
included.
6. List of at least three resources
for students:
a. At least one resource
is on campus at CCSU
b. Includes literature
obtained from an office at CCSU
Activity
#3. Turn in outline of paper (Done individually):
Due Thurs. Oct. 25
Part
of good writing is organizing your thoughts, and writing an outline is
extremely helpful with this. Of course,
before you can write your outline you need to have read your articles and taken
notes. Once you’ve done this you’re
ready to get organized and write your outline.
**Note: even though your group
collaborated on finding the sources, you must work on the outline by
yourself. Collaborating on the outline
is forbidden and would be academic misconduct.
Outlines
can be done in different forms. One is
the formal type with headings and subheadings (you can find more information on
this form at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_outlin.html). Another form is the narrative outline, in
which you use complete sentences to give an overview of your topic. You can use either form. More information will be provided as the due
date for the outline approaches.
There
is a sample outline near the end of this assignment handout.
Activity
#4: Turn in research paper (with
reference list) (Done individually):
Due
Tuesday Nov. 13
As with the outline, this part of the project must be done individually (each group
member writes his or her own paper). Your
paper should include three major sections: (1) an introduction, (2) the body of
the paper, and (3) a conclusion section.
Finally, you should include a sheet with the full references typed in
APA style.
Writing the Introduction. In this section you will
identify the topic you have chosen as the subject of the paper. You should
explain (briefly) why you believe this is an important issue to address given
its impact on an individual's life and that of society in general. Your introduction should end with a clear
statement of your hypothesis.
** This section should be
one or two paragraphs long. **
Writing the Body of the Paper. Here you will discuss the
relevant research (your reference material) on your topic. You should first define your concepts. Then describe the journal articles. For each article you should say:
1. if it is an
empirical article or a review (at least 2 of your articles must report original
studies)
2. if empirical, who were the participants.
3. if empirical, what operational definitions were
used
4. if
empirical, brief description of procedures (including whether the design was
experimental or correlational)
5. if empirical, what were the results/conclusions
6. if a review article, what kinds of studies did
they review
7. if a review, what were the conclusions
** This section should be about
3.5 pages long. **
Writing the Conclusion. Finally, you will (1) draw your conclusions,
(2) discuss limitations of the existing literature (saying what issues have not
been addressed that you think should be) and (3) discuss the meaning of your conclusions
for college students (see my sample outline below). You also need to (4) mention resources for
students including at least one on campus.
** This section should be
about 1 to 1.5 pages long. **
Checklist
for Activity #4:
1. Introduction is included, and it
states the hypothesis
2. Body of paper:
a. is about 3 or 3.5 pages
long
b. includes references
in the text to at least 3 journal articles
3. Conclusion is included, and is
about ¾ of a page long
4. Reference list is attached at the
end of the paper
Activity
#5: Group poster presentation: Thursday,
Dec. 13
During our last class meeting of the
semester (before the final exam) we will have a poster session. Your group will have put together a poster
describing your findings and conclusions and displaying your resources for
students. Eeach poster will be on
display. We can circulate around and see
what other students’ findings were. A
sample poster layout will be provided.
Activity
#6 (Optional): Turn in revision of the
paper (Done individually): Due
Thurs., Dec. 13
I will have given you comments and suggestions on
your paper (which you turned in earlier), and you can now turn in a revised
version if you choose to (and I recommend that you do). If you do this, I will grade your revision
and average the grades for the revision and the earlier paper.
Each
of the articles you used as supporting evidence should be listed on a reference
page in the appropriate format, APA Style.
References should appear on a separate page at the end of your paper and
should say ‘References’ at the top of the page (centered). An example of APA style:
References
Abernathy, T. J., Webster, G., & Vermeulen, M. (2002).
Relationship between poverty and health among adolescents. Adolescence,
37, 55-68.
Diener, E., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2002). Will money increase subjective
well-being? Social Indicators Research, 57, 119-169.
Kasser, T., & Ahuvia, A. (2002). Materialistic values and well-being in
business students. European Journal of Social Psychology, 32, 137-146.
(Journal title and volume #
are italicized; the last two numbers are page numbers.)
[Sample Term Paper Outline] Can Money
Buy You Happiness?
I. Introduction
A. Psychological research questions some beliefs about
happiness
B.
Statement of hypothesis: Greater wealth
is associated with increased happiness and well being
II. Psychological Research
Findings: Does Wealth Actually Relate to Happiness?
A. Assumption: more money makes us happier
B. Deiner (2002) article
i. review
article (not an empirical study)
ii.
types of studies reviewed: correlational studies on correlates of happiness
iii. conclusion:
weak relationship between wealth and well being
C. Abernathy, Webster, & Vermeulen (2002) study
i.
empirical study (original research)
ii.
participants: 1,759 12-to-19-year-olds
iii.
brief description of procedures: correlational study in which members of
households throughout
iv.
operational definitions: interviews conducted as part of the National
Population Health Survey; poverty measured by self-reported income; health
measured by self-reports (from poor to excellent); self esteem measured by self
reports (name of scale not given)
v. findings: greater poverty associated with poorer health
and self esteem
D. Kasser (2002) article
i.
empirical study
ii.
participants: 92 business students
iii.
brief description of procedures: Correlational study in which participants were
asked to complete several written surveys
iv.
operational definitions: materialism measured by 3 written survey instruments
(e.g., the Aspiration Index); well being measured by written survey instruments
(e.g., a 6-item measure of anxiety and a single-item measure of overall
happiness)
v.
findings: more materialistic students were less happy and more anxious
A. Wealth seems to matter, but only below poverty
level
B. Being too concerned with material things is
associated with less happiness
C. Limitations: Don’t know if money increases
happiness for some people but not others
D. Implications for College Students
i. choice of major: choose a major that
is interesting, or one that will lead to a high salary?
ii. Use of discretionary time (working
vs. participation in clubs/campus organizations, friends/relationships, etc.)
iii. Resources for students
*
Career services (Willard 100)
*
Student Organizations (http://clubs.ccsu.edu)
Grading Criteria for Papers
Structure (25 pts.)
Full
Credit: all of the following are clearly recognizable and substantial
20
pts.: all of the following are clearly recognizable but one or more is short
15
pts.: one element is missing
10
pts.: structure is unclear
Introduction
(half a page)
Hypothesis
clearly stated, and it is referred to in the body and conclusion sections
Description
of each of the articles (3 to 3.5 pages)
Conclusion section
Includes conclusion(s) (half a page to ¾ page)
Includes limitations (one paragraph)
Includes implications for college students (half a page)
Content (100 pts.)
Appropriate
length (5 pages or slightly more) (points deducted if less than 5 pages, or
if a section is substantially less than the guidelines above, under “Structure”)
Descriptions
of articles are clear and thorough (25 pts.)
Articles
“fit” together and address the hypothesis (25 pts.)
Conclusions
logically follow from results of articles, and specify whether the hypothesis
was supported (25 pts.)
Good
statement of limitations – logically follows from conclusions (5 pts.)
Good
statement of implications for college students – logically follows from
conclusions and mentions resources for students (20 pts.)
Mechanics (25 pts.)
Full Credit: all of points
below are very good
20 pts.: occasional errors
15 pts.: a few consistent
errors
5 pts.: serious and
persistent errors
Avoid
excessive quotations (one or two in the whole paper is plenty)
Clear
& appropriate transitions (e.g., uses “transitional sentences” when
beginning a new topic)
Appropriate
paragraphing
Correct
sentence structure Appropriate
word choice
Correct
spelling Correct
punctuation
Correct
capitalization Reference
list included at the end of paper
* Minus 20 for failing to
include reference list *
*
Minus 20 if there are not two sources reporting original studies *