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Research Article Review Paper Assignment Instructions

Meets the course objectives: 

• Trace the history of this science and the methodologies used to study psychology. 
• Explore the roles of professional psychologists
• Identify the major theories within the discipline of psychology

The Research Article Review Paper is designed to help students learn to look critically at psychological research. A good place to start, if you are uncertain about what topic you might want to focus on, is scanning the chapter list in the beginning of the course textbook. This often sparks interests. You should make sure your topic is not too broad. For example, if you are interested in learning, choose one of the learning theories, such as classical condition, operant conditioning, or social learning theory. Learning as a general topic which encompasses all theories of how people learn is too broad.

After deciding upon your topic, you will visit the APUS online library and search for articles on that topic. 

There is a tutorial on using the online library located at http://www.apus.edu/Online-Library/1-home%20page%20modules/support-pages/starting.htm 

From the library you will select an article on which to base your Research Review Summary based on your identified topic of interest. The article must be from an academic professional journal that is peer reviewed. Peer-reviewed means that fellow psychologists and other researchers on the journal's peer-review panel have evaluated their colleague's research and article submission and determined that it is grounded in sound scientific methodology and suitable for the journal's scholarly focus and readers. Popular media such as Psychology Today, news or commercial websites, blogs or Wikipedia are not permitted. If you are in doubt about the appropriateness of a journal you should check with your instructor. 

At the end of Week 3, you will upload to your course student folder the topic you have decided upon, as well as a 1 - 2 paragraph summary of the article you will review in the full Research Article Review Paper and email your instructor to alert him/her that the proposed topic summary is in your folder for review. Submitting your topic and article summary for approval is not optional. This will be a graded component of the full review paper due by the end of Week 6 of the course and the longer paper will not be graded if the Week 3 topic proposal and summary are not submitted by the end of Week 3. 

After receiving approval for your topic/research article, you will then begin working on your paper, which is due at the end of Week 6 of the course. This full review paper will summarize and evaluate the research in approximately 5 - 6 pages. It must be properly source credited with APA formatted source citations in the paper body and a "Reference" page attached to the end, not counted toward the minimum length requirement, and will include an introduction identifying relevant concepts learned during the course related to the paper topic focus. 

The full Research Article Review Paper will:

• Discuss the focus of the research
• Describe the hypothesis of the study
• Describe how the study was conducted 
including 

The population that was studied
The methodology used (i.e. naturalistic
observation, experiment, case study,
survey, etc).
How the data was collected and analyzed

• Describe the results of the study
• End with a 2-page conclusion which

Reviews the way the research was 
conducted and potential impact on 
results (e.g. problems with the study
methodology that might have affected its
validity and/or generalizability).

Describes three ideas inspired by the
article

Describes the use, impact, or potential 
the research might have in the 'real 
world' lives of everyday people. 

Discusses concepts, theories, and 
principles included in the course 
textbook to show synthesis of what has 
been learned in the course related to 
the topic of the article reviewed. 

The Research Article Review Paper will be graded per the following rubric criteria (NOTE: The information below includes requirements and point allocations for 100% instructions compliance. A grading rubric with a break down into 5 points-possible percentages per each assignment requirement category is located in your Course Materials folder):

Article Topic Focus Proposal: The topic submitted to and approved by instructor by the end of Week 3 of the course (full review paper grading is contingent on this proposal being submitted on time). 100% = 50 points

Article Review: Primary ideas and facts from the article are presented in a clear and easy to understand manner, summary is written in an objective manner. 100% = 50 points

Strength of Conclusion: Student demonstrates a strong working knowledge of course material through integrating relevant material from the course textbook in several places. Conclusion discusses theories, concepts, and principles from the course text that are relevant to the topic. 100% = 50 points

Format and Mechanics: Paper is well organized and easy to follow. Paper is the required length, is double-spaced with 1-inch top, bottom, left and right margins, and in Arial or Times New Roman styles, size 11 - 12 font. Citations and references are in the correct APA format. 100% = 30 points

Spelling and Grammar: There are no spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors. 100% = 20 points

Total: 100% = 200 Points