Psych 331- Assignments

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Winter 2001

Brief Description of Assignments

Lab description: due 1/19

            This assignment will be a short description (3 – 5 typed pages) of the general issues to which your research project relates and the general research strategy of the lab. You should imagine yourself explaining it to someone who knows nothing about your laboratory. The purpose of the assignment is to quickly get you into the literature of your faculty supervisor and ask ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ is the research done in the lab.

Draft of research proposal: due 2/9

            You will write a description of your research project as though you were going to ask an agency to fund your project. The proposal should be 7 – 12 pages and include the following sections:

1)      Abstract (1 page)

2)      Background/introduction (2 – 3 pages)

3)      Hypothesis and specific aims (0.5 – 1 page)

4)      Design and methods (2 –3 pages)

5)      Possible results and discussion (2 – 3 pages)

Appendix A in Cozby covers the basics for a research journal article in APA style. In class, we will discuss the modifications that will be applied to the research proposal.

Final research proposal: due 3/16

            This is the polished and revised version of the proposal.

Oral presentation: due dates to be determined

            The oral presentation can take the form of a poster presentation or an oral talk using an overhead or slide projector. Due dates will depend upon several factors. One is the type of presentation. We will try to present posters and talks on separate days. Another factor is the lab in which you work. If 2 or more students are working in the same lab with the same experimental model or paradigm, those students should present their model together only once and then present their individual project details. We will discuss the details of this assignment in class.

Final research report: due 4/19

            The final report will be a full description of your research project in journal format (10 – 15 pages). In science, peers often proofread your papers for content and readability prior to sending them to journals for review and publication. You should ask each other, the GSI, or your faculty or student advisor to read at least one draft prior to submitting the final report. It would be a good idea to set up due dates for them to read a draft before handing in the final version. The majority of this paper can be taken from your research proposal. The final research report will follow more closely the style described by Cozby in Appendix A. We will discuss how to modify and add on to the research proposal so that it will take the form of an article that can be submitted to a journal for publication. Turn in one copy to your faculty advisor and one copy to me. Your faculty advisor will grade the paper; 70% of your grade will be based his/her evaluation of this paper and your labwork.