1). Psychological Purpose

The psychological purpose behind the Methods II Preview Assignment is to give you a brief preview to the paper you will write in Methods II next semester. Not only do I want you to see what will go into your eventual Methods II research paper, but I also want to make sure that you can write a clear, succinct paragraph for a research study that covers all of the relevant information needed to convey the important parts of a study in a single paragraph (i.e., an Abstract).

The Abstract is one of the first items readers see. You need to convey a lot of information in this very short paragraph, as the potential reader will decide whether to read your full paper based on the information in the Abstract. There are several elements needed in the Abstract about research studies, including information about: a). the research question(s), b). the participants, c). the experimental methodology, d). the findings, and e). the conclusions / implications. Being able to write a precise yet succinct Abstract takes some effort, so make sure you go through several drafts before settling on your final version. Make sure to include keywords / key phrases as well (keywords are an essential part of articles, as these are the words or phrases that library databases like PsycINFO provide to searchers interested in specific topics).

2). APA Formatting Purpose

This Article Critique assignment should once again assess your ability to follow APA formatting guidelines. Use your APA Publication book to ensure you don't lose points in this area

3). Writing Purpose

I want to make sure you can write clearly and specifically, summarizing what might be a 20 page paper in a single paragraph. This assignment serves that purpose.

Methods II Preview Assignment (Worth 40 Points)

You will read a paper written by an actual Research Methods and Design II student from a prior semester. This paper includes two studies the student conducted, with Study One introducing the main variables and Study Two offering an extension with replication of Study One. Your job is to read the whole paper and then complete the following:

Title Page (2 points)

1. For your title page, follow the same guidelines as your article critique paper. You can include the same title and header as the study you are looking at, but make sure to put YOUR OWN NAME as the author.
2. Your assignment should be in APA format in all respects (appropriate headers with running head and page numbers; correct references where needed; correct alignment of the headings, subheadings, fonts, spacing, etc.)

In Part One, I want you to answer the following prompts about the example paper. For APA purposes, indicate ‘Part One’ as your Level 1 heading [3.03], followed by these questions with your answers:

1. What is the hypothesis for study one? Please give me both the null and alternative hypotheses when you answer this question
2. What is the independent variable(s) for study one? Make sure you tell me how many IVs there are and how many levels there are for each IV
3. What is the dependent variable(s) for study one? Note: there are several of these, so focus on the ones the author analyzed.
4. What did they find in study one? Give the general outcome
5. What is the hypothesis for study two? Please give me both the null and alternative hypotheses when you answer this question
6. What is the independent variable(s) for study two? Make sure you tell me how many IVs there are and how many levels there are for each IV
7. What is the dependent variable(s) for study two? Note: there are several of these, so focus on the ones the author analyzed.
8. What did they find in study two? Give the general outcome
9. I want you to review the references and spot the reference(s) that is (are) not in APA format and rewrite it for me according to APA rules. Note: there may be as few as zero and as many as ten incorrect references, so make sure to look at them all!

In Part Two, write an abstract for the paper! This should be fairly easy, as you can paraphrase the information from Part One. However, this time you need to write it in one short paragraph (150 to 200 word maximum!). Note: there are two studies, and you have to mention both. Yes, this is tough, but authors often summarize (in the same short abstract) papers that they wrote that may include six or seven different studies! My suggestion is to find the overlap between both studies and discuss both simultaneously. For example, “Both studies looked at X, but study two also examined Y.” Make sure your abstract starts at the top of its own page (it should be all on its own). Your abstract should include the following (2 points each, or 14 points total):

1. Include the word “Abstract” as a Level 1 heading (but not bolded)
2. Identify the general problem or research question (the hypotheses) for both studies.
3. Note the participants for both studies
4. Note the IVs and DVs for the studies
5. Note the findings for both studies
6. Note the overall conclusions / implications of the two studies
7. Include keywords for the study

Writing Quality (6 points)

1. Avoid run-on sentences, sentence fragments, spelling errors, and grammar errors.
2. The writing should be PERFECT here. You will lose points for each writing error, so proofread, proofread, and proofread some more!