SONA Alternative Assignment Instructions

This assignment is an alternative to the SONA Participation Assignments (1 and 2). You must complete this assignment if you are unable or choose not to participate in research. See canvas for a list of articles to choose from), and you must choose from the articles that we have listed in Canvas.

Article Summary Paper (10 possible)

Please follow the instructions and guidelines below. If you are unclear about any of this information, please ask.

What is a summary paper?

This paper will require you to read and summarize the major elements of an empirical research paper. I suggest also looking at the example papers, which will give you a nice visual image of APA style that you can mimic in your own paper.

This summary paper will include the following things:

1. Title page: 1 page (.5 points)

· Use APA style to present the appropriate information:

· Remember that we follow the “professional” guidelines for formatting from the 7th edition of the APA manual! See the title page of this document for a template!

· A Running head must be included and formatted APA style

· There must be a page number on the title page that is right justified. It is included in the header

· Your paper title appears on the title page. This is usually 12 words or less, and the first letter of each word is capitalized. It should be descriptive of the paper (For this paper, you should use the title of the article you are critiquing. The paper title can be the same title as in the Running head or it can differ – your choice)

· Your name will appear on the title page

· Your institution will appear on the title page as well

· For all papers, make sure to double-space EVERYTHING and use Times New Roman font. This includes everything from the title page through the references.

· This is standard APA format. ALL of your future papers will include a similar title page

2. Summary of the Article: 1 ½ page minimum, 3 pages maximum – 8)

An article summary should briefly summarize, in your own words, the article research question and how it was addressed in the article. Below are some things to include in your summary.

· The summary itself will include the following: (Note – if the article involved more than one experiment, you can either choose to focus on one of the studies specifically or summarize the general design for all of the studies)

1. Description of the overall purpose of the study (this can be as little as one sentence, and no more than 2 sentences)

2. Type of study (Was it experimental or correlational? How do you know?)

3. Variables:

1. What were the independent and dependent variables? Be specific with these. Define the terms independent and dependent variable and make sure to identify how they are operationally defined in the article)

4. Participants:

1. How many were there? How were they recruited?

5. Method:

1. Was there random assignment to groups?

2. What did the participants do in the study?).

3. How was data collected (online, in person, archival data, etc.)

6. Note the findings (What were their results/findings?). Don’t include the statistical analyses that they did, instead, focus on the overall interpretation for these findings.

3. References – 1 page (.5 points)

· Provide the reference for this article in proper APA format (see the book Chapter 14 for appropriate referencing guidelines or the Chapter 14 powerpoint).

· If you cited other sources during either your summary, reference them as well (though you do not need to cite other sources in this assignment – this is merely optional IF you happen to bring in other sources). Formatting counts here, so make sure to italicize where appropriate and watch which words you are capitalizing!

4. Grammar and Writing Quality (1 point)

· Few psychology courses are as writing intensive as Research Methods (especially Research Methods Two next semester!). As such, I want to make sure that you develop writing skills early. This is something that needs special attention, so make sure to proofread your papers carefully.

· Avoid run-on sentences, sentence fragments, spelling errors, and grammar errors. Writing quality will become more important in future papers, but this is where you should start to hone your writing skills.

· We will give you feedback on your papers, but I recommend seeking some help from the FIU writing center to make sure your paper is clear, precise, and covers all needed material. I also recommend asking a few of your group members to read over your paper and make suggestions. You can do the same for them!

Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers

Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.

Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS

Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?

Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.

We write plagiarism Free Content

Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.

Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.