General Psychology

PSY2012 – General Psychology
Term Paper Assignment: Exploration of a Professional Journal Article in Psychology

In the Palm Beach State/Florida Atlantic University Online Library, go to online academic database. Find a recent research article from a scholarly journal in the field of psychology. It must have been published less than 12 years ago. Be sure to select an article for which the full-text is available. Actual journals for which full-text is available include Advances in Cognitive Psychology, British Journal of Social Psychology, Journal of Positive Psychology, Issues in Forensic Psychology, Journal of Psychology, among many others.
Note: Do not use newspaper or magazine articles or Websites such as Wikipedia to complete this assignment. Visit Palm Beach State University’s guidelines against plagiarism.

Your selected article must meet all of the stated criteria or your assignment will not be accepted. Before proceeding, please ensure that your selected article meets the following criteria:
• Full-text is available in online database
• Is a scholarly journal article in the field of sociology • Was published less than 12 years ago.

Get a sense of what the article is about by reading some key sections. Begin by reading the Abstract of the article. Subsequently, read the Introduction and the discussion sections. Flip through the paper and look at any figures or tables. Read as much of the paper as practical; get as much out of it as you can.

Write a paper of at least 2000 words in which you:
1. Identify your selected article, using a proper APA-style reference. See examples at the end of this assignment.
2. Describe what type of article it is and how you can tell. For example, is it a primarily a review of existing research, a report of new research, or an analysis of a professional issue? Describe how you can you tell. If it is a research article, identify the type of research involved.
2. Summarize what you have learned about the content of the article. Be sure to include the main purpose of the article, the major findings, and how the major findings are supported.
3. Explain how this article fits into the overall field of psychology. Then, identify the corresponding chapter(s) from your textbook.
4. Explain why this article is different and similar from articles in non-scholarly periodicals, such as magazines and newspapers.

How to properly cite your article
Author list (Year of publication) Title of article. Name of Journal, Volume number, page numbers.

Examples
Houston, D. M., McKee, K. J., Wilson, J. (2000). Attributional style, efficacy, and the enhancement of well-being among housebound older people. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 22, 309-317.

Iudicello, J. E., Woods, S. P., Scott, J. C., Cherner, M., Heaton, R. K., Atkinson, J. H., Grant, I. (2010) Longer term improvement in neurocognitive functioning and affective distress among methamphetamine users who achieve stable abstinence. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 32, 708-718.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
• At least five pages long (2000 words).
• Be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides. • Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:
• Identify key concepts that provide a foundation for the study of adjustment.
• Summarize the major psychological perspectives.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in psychology.
• Write clearly and concisely about psychology using proper writing mechanics.

Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality, logic/organization of the paper, and language and writing skills, using the following rubric.
Points: 350 Assignment 1: Exploration of a Professional Journal Article in Psychology
Criteria
Unacceptable
Below 60% F Meets
Minimum
Expectations
60-69% D
Fair
70-79% C
Proficient
80-89% B
Exemplary
90-100% A
1. Identify your selected article, using a proper APA-style reference. Weight: 5% Did not submit or incompletely identified your selected article using a proper APA-style reference. Insufficiently identified your selected article using a proper APA-style reference. Partially identified your selected article using a proper APA-style reference. Satisfactorily identified your selected article using a proper APA-style reference. Thoroughly identified your selected article using a proper APA-style reference.
2. Describe what type of article it is and how you can tell. For example, is it a primarily a review of existing research, a report of new research, or an
analysis of a professional issue? If it is a research article, identify the type of research involved
Weight: 15% Did not submit or incompletely described the
type of article it i; did not submit or incompletely described how you can tell. Did not submit or incompletely identified the type of research involved, if applicable. Insufficiently described the
type of article it is; insufficiently described how you can tell. Insufficiently identified the type of research involved, if applicable. Partially
described the
type of article it is; partially
described how you can tell. Partially identified the type of research involved, if applicable. Satisfactorily described the
type of article it is; satisfactorily described how you can tell. Satisfactorily identified the type of
research involved, if applicable. Thoroughly described the
type of article it is; thoroughly described how you can tell. Thoroughly
identified the type of
research involved, if applicable.
3. Summarize, in a paragraph or two, what you have learned about the content of the article. Be sure to include the main purpose of the article, the major findings, and how the major findings are supported. Did not submit or incompletely summarized what you have learned about the content of the article. Did not submit or incompletely included the main purpose of the Insufficiently summarized what you have learned about the content of the article. Insufficiently included the
main purpose of the article, the Partially
summarized what you have learned about the content of the article. Partially included the
main purpose of the article, the Satisfactorily summarized what you have learned about the content of the article. Satisfactorily included the
main purpose
of the article, Thoroughly summarized what you have learned about the content of the article. Thoroughly included the
main purpose
of the article,
Weight: 25% article, the major findings, and how the major findings are supported. major findings, and how the major findings are supported. major findings, and how the major findings are supported. the major findings, and how the major findings are supported. the major findings, and how the major findings are supported.
4. Explain how this article fits into the overall field of psychology. Then,
identify the
correspondingchapter(s) from your textbook. Weight 25% Did not submit or incompletely explained how
this article fits into the overall
field of psychology. Did not submit or incompletely
identified the corresponding chapter(s) from your textbook. Insufficiently addressed this criterion.
explained how
this article fits into the overall
field of psychology. Insufficiently identified the corresponding chapter(s) fromyour textbook.. Partially
explained how
this article fits into the overall
field of psychology. Partially identified the corresponding chapter(s) from your textbook. Satisfactorily explained how
this article fits into the overall
field of psychology. Did not submit or incompletely identified the corresponding chapter(s) from your textbook.. Thoroughly explained how
this article fits into the overall
field of psychology. Thoroughly
identified the corresponding chapter(s) from your textbook.
5. Explain why this article is different and similar from articles in
non-scholarly periodicals, such as magazines and newspapers. Weight: 20% Did not submit or incompletely explained why
this article is different and similar from articles in nonscholarly periodicals, such as magazines and newspapers. Insufficiently explained why
this article is different and similar from articles in nonscholarly periodicals, such as magazines and newspapers. Partially explained why
this article is different and similar from articles in nonscholarly periodicals, such as magazines and newspapers. Satisfactorily explained why
this article is different and similar from articles in nonscholarly periodicals, such as magazines and newspapers. Thoroughly explained why
this article is different and similar from articles in nonscholarly periodicals, such as magazines and newspapers.
6. Clarity, writing
mechanics, and formatting requirements Weight: 10% More than 8 errors present 7-8 errors present 5-6 errors present 3-4 errors present 0-2 errors present