Psychological Science 680
Graduate Research Methods
Dr. Whitley

The Term Paper

The term paper in this course has five objectives:

• to help the students integrate the contents of the course;
• to develop the students' library research skills;
• to allow the students to demonstrate their skills in research design;
• to allow the students to exercise their analytical abilities; and
• to give students practice in professional writing.

To accomplish these goals, the paper is in the form of a modified research proposal. A research proposal is a detailed description of the justification for a research project and of the methods to be used in carrying it out. This paper differs from the usual research proposal in two ways:

• Students propose two ways of testing a hypothesis, each using a different research strategy.
• Students compare and contrast the two strategies that they choose.

Structure of the Paper

The structure of the paper is similar to that of an APA-style research report, except that there is no abstract or results section, there are two method sections containing additional information, and the discussion focuses on the methods rather than on the results. In writing the paper, students may assume that they have a reasonable budget, access to any special populations they may need, and resources for up to 12 months of longitudinal research if needed.

The introduction section specifies the theoretical, empirical, and logical bases for the hypothesis to be tested. In doing this, the student must describe the role of each independent and dependent variable used, justifying its inclusion in the research. The introduction concludes with an explicit statement of the hypotheses to be tested. The introduction section may also go on to present an overview of how the hypothesis will be tested. The hypothesis must be the students' own and cannot be one that the student is working on as part of an assistantship. If a student is unsure if what he or she want to do meets this criterion, she or he should see me and we can discuss it.

The paper has two method sections. Each method section describes how the hypothesis could be tested using a different one of the following research strategies (i.e., the student must use two of these, one in each method section):

• case study,
• correlational study (which includes designs using groups selected on the basis of existing characteristics of the participants),
• laboratory experiment,
• field experiment, or
• quasi-experiment.

Students must use the APA outline for method sections, and as part of each method section, do the following:

• State the strategy that you used.
• Justify that the participant population is the most appropriate for testing the hypothesis using the strategy chosen.
• Provide the rationale for the operational definition of each hypothetical construct. That is, explain why that operational definition was used in preference to other possible operational definitions, comparing the one chosen to at least one other: What are its particular advantages for the research? What are its competition's disadvantages?
• Briefly describe the data analysis and describe the pattern of statistical results that would indicate confirmation of the hypothesis.

Factors that are the same for both strategies (e.g., participant populations, operational definitions) need be discussed in detail only in the first method section, unless they are modified for the second method section. In that case, only the modifications need be discussed.

In the discussion section, compare and contrast the two research strategies used (i.e., discuss how they are similar and how they are different), describing their relative advantages and disadvantages in terms of testing the hypothesis, implementation of the research, validity, etc. Include, but do not limit the discussion to, the following issues:

• the internal validity of the strategies;
• the construct validity of the manipulations and measures used;
• the generalizability (including ecological validity) of the results;
• ethical considerations;
• how practical it would be to carry out the research (i.e., what factors would make it easy or hard to actually do the research described?)

Finally, include a reference list in APA format containing the sources that cited.

Schedule

This project has a number of intermediate deadlines that must be met before the final product is turned in.

First, students must turn in a hypothesis for approval. A hypothesis is a specific statement about the relationship(s) between or among two or more variables; it is not a general topic. For example, "job satisfaction" is a topic, whereas "Job enrichment leads to higher job satisfaction" is a hypothesis. Proposed hypotheses that appear to be trivial will not be approved; pay close attention to the in-class discussion of what makes research important.

Next, to ensure that students on the right track, they turn in a partial bibliography of five current research articles bearing on the hypothesis for me to review.

Students initially submit their papers in sections; I give feedback on each section and students rewrite them for the final paper. These intermediate submissions are not rough drafts; they are final products written to the best of the student's ability.

Evaluation

The paper and the intermediate submissions are evaluated on these general criteria:

• Was the assignment done as given? For example, is one hypothesis tested using two different strategies, as opposed to one hypothesis being tested by two versions of the same strategy or two hypotheses being tested by two strategies?
• Was the assignment complete, containing all of the information called for in the "Structure" section above?
• Was the paper well-written, with clear expression and without logical gaps, misspellings, grammatical errors, and misused words? See the textbook, chapter 17, for a discussion of writing style.
• Did the paper adhere to APA style, with the exceptions noted previously?
• On the negative side, was a trivial hypothesis used? If so, points will be deducted.

In addition, the following section-specific criteria apply:

• The introduction section will be evaluated on the completeness and logic of its presentation -- the more questions I have, the lower the grade.
• The method sections will be evaluated on their methodological rigor; for example (but not limited to):
  • Is an appropriate subject population used?
  • Are procedures and operational definitions adequately justified on the basis of reliability and validity?
  • Do there appear to be any ethical shortcomings?
  • Are there confounds or other possible alternative explanations for a confirmed hypothesis?
• The discussion section will be evaluated on the breadth and depth of the comparisons made. Few or superficial comments will lead to a low grade.
• The reference list will be evaluated on completeness, accuracy, and adherence to APA style.

A Final Note

In order to do well on this paper, students must work on it continuously; a frantic last-minute dash will lead only to disaster. Also, students must think about their hypotheses and research strategies jointly, giving serious consideration to a hypothesis only if they can think of how it can be tested using at least two of the strategies listed above. Students must think about this problem before they turn in their hypotheses; although students may change their hypotheses, doing so increases their workload. Students should read ahead about the strategies in the textbook and come see me if they want to discuss their hypotheses and/or strategies before they begin work on the project.

Return to course summary

Return to Whitley's faculty page

Last Modified: 7 September 1996