You may not be majoring in Psychology, but whatever discipline you go into you will be dealing with people. Think about how you can relate your major to a psychological topic if you are not sure what to write about: Nursing: the Placebo effect; Marketing: Advertising and Persuasion; Education: Memory and Learning; Performing Arts: Music Therapy + Neurological Disorders.
Guidelines for Research Paper
Select one (1) topic in psychology and write a five (5) page research paper. This means four (4) pages of writing plus a reference page. Create a brief presentation reviewing the current research on your topic. Please keep the presentation to five minutes (max).
Organization of the paper:
1. Introduction- Importance of the topic.
2. Main theme that emerge from the research- Please include details from the original study and not secondary sources. MUST utilize at least three (3) peer reviewed psychology journal articles. If applicable, compare and contrast research information.
3. Final Paragraph- summarize and synthesize the information presented in your paper.
4. References- Must include a reference page, referencing all three psychology journal articles in APA style.
• Paper must be written in APA style (no cover page required, no summary page required, 12 font maximum, double spaced). Please turn in a paper copy.
• Evaluations will be based on overall clarity (25%), research content (25%), APA style (25%) and class presentation (25%).
Note: Class presentation is a brief summary of your research, interesting research and thoughts on the topic. Multi-media presentations and creativity are recommended.
See the Finding Articles page for information about what a peer reviewed journal article is and how to find them.
You can get help with your research project from a librarian either by going to the library in person or emailing the librarian who taught your research session (see under Help tab).
For additional information on your assignment and due dates ask Professor Palmieri.
The resources below can help you get ideas for a paper topic. You can browse around or search to get ideas. These items are dictionaries and encyclopedias and are not professional sources. If you are off-campus you will need to log in with your MyWCC user ID and password.
It is easier to prepare a presentation if you choose a topic that is not too broad or too narrow. You may start with a general idea (e.g. sleep), but will need to narrow down your topic to a manageable size. Think of ways to break down your topic into smaller pieces and choose one of those to write about.
You may want to focus on a specific population (e.g. children; college students; visually impaired; hoarders; etc). Try to pose a question that you will answer in your paper. The important thing is to find a topic that interests YOU.
Broad topic: Memory
+ Subtopic: Conformity
= Paper Topic:
How do memories become conformed to the memories of others? (still a bit broad)
+ Subtopic: Law Enforcement
= Paper Topic:
How can law enforcement counteract memory conformity of witnesses? (better topic)
Broad topic: Sleep
+ Subtopic: Health
= Paper Topic:
How does sleep affect ones health? (still broad)
+ Subtopic: Shift Work
= Paper Topic:
How is the health of shift workers affected by sleep disruptions? (better topic)
Broad Topic : Stress
+ Subtopic: Animal Assisted Therapy
= Paper Topic:
How can animal assisted therapy programs reduce stress? (still broad)
+ Subtopic : College Students
= Paper Topic:
Are animal assisted therapy programs an effective way to help college students reduce stress? (better)
