Paper 1

Please review the APA folder before starting this paper!!! It will make your life easier!! 

Paper 1 is a literature review. You need to follow APA guidelines!! There is a folder in blackboard for you to review. Lab 1 (due 7/10) will introduce you to how to find your articles. First, you will need to think of a behavior you want to change in YOURSELF! We will be looking at how self-monitoring either increases or decreases a behavior. In the past, many students have selected exercise, smoking cessation, studying, and diet. You are free to pick any behavior, however weird it might be. FOLLOW THE RUBRIC!!!!!!!

To do:

1. Find three experimental articles on your topic and submit them in the assignment for lab 1.
   1. Your article MUST demonstrate experimental control. There needs to be an independent and dependent variable. Meta-analyses and descriptive studies will not be accepted.
   2. Focus your search on journals like JABA and Behavior Modification.
   3. I will be reviewing your articles beforehand and will provide feedback if the article does not meet the requirements.
   4. Your articles must be submitted in a PDF format! No links, no word documents, no screenshots of the title.
2. Write a one-page summary for each of your articles.
   1. Introduce the article with the authors name and date (apa format).
   2. Describe the topic, IV and DV’s.
   3. Summarize the procedures and results. DO NOT INCLUDE STATS! Read the stats and report the results in words. For example, “Galanaugh et. al (2021) used an ABAB design and found that self-monitoring daily exercise resulted in an increase of the average minutes engaged in daily activity when compared to baseline levels.”
   4. Develop a transition sentence to introduce the next article. For example, “Galanaugh (2021) demonstrated the effectiveness of self-monitoring daily exercise by using a cell phone application. Self-monitoring has been found effective using a variety of methods.”

“Smith (2021) investigated self-monitoring daily exercise using a written journal.”

1. For this paper, you do not need to write a methods section. You move right into the discussion.
2. Your discussion is a synthesis of your three articles. You summarize what the articles found in a few sentences, then connect them together. Identify the limitations of the studies and come up with a future direction. A common future direction is for the study to be replicated.
3. Write your abstract and make sure you include keywords.
4. Make a title page.
5. Submit to blackboard.

There are sample papers in the paper 1 folder for your review, in addition to the rubric which has all of the requirements per section. Please show up for office hours BEFORE the paper is due. Give yourself time to get your questions answered.

Abstract (150-200 words)

• Summarize your whole study.
• Introduce your research question.
• Give 3-4 sentences on what you found in the literature review.
• Provide 1-2 sentences summarizing  what it means. Was self-monitoring successful?

Introduction (1-2 paragraphs)

• The first section of the main text of the report is the Introduction.
• The purpose of the Introduction is to (a) describe the purpose of the study, (b) place the study in the context of previous research on the topic, and (c) justify your hypotheses (Smith, 2006).
• Each paragraph of the Introduction should bring the reader closer to understanding why the study was done and what hypotheses you are making.
• The first paragraph of the Introduction should introduce the general topic of the study. Do not begin too generally (e.g., discussing all of psychology), but do not begin too specifically either (e.g., by stating the hypothesis).
• Be sure to define any terms you are using that are specific to the field of study. Indicate what your operational definitions are.

 

Literature Review (3-5 pages)

• In subsequent paragraphs, you should be building a case for your study.
• Explain what has been found in previous research on this topic, describe what gap exists in this literature, and explain how your study will fill the gap (i.e., provide a unique study that will contribute new knowledge in the area).
• Toward the end of your Literature Review, you should briefly describe the design of your study in such a way that it connects to the justification you’ve given for the purpose of the study and leads to your hypotheses. “The purpose of this study is to….”
• Be sure to briefly review the justification for your hypotheses. Do not simply state your hypotheses and assume the reader will know why you are making them.

 

Discussion (1-2 pages)

• The first part of your discussion should review the hypotheses you stated in the introduction and you should state which hypotheses were supported by the data.
• In the second part of the discussion section, you should compare your results to past studies, particularly studies discussed in the introduction (compare the studies… what did they have in common?)
• If the results are not the same, discuss possible reasons for the difference (compare your studies, what were some differences?)
• Were there any possible confounding variables that could have affected their results? If so, what were they and how did they specifically affect the data?
• You want to propose future research.
• The discussion section is less rigid than the other sections in format. You have more freedom here to discuss any relevant issues pertaining to your study.
• Be sure to end your Discussion section with a paragraph summarizing the contribution of your study.
• See the Appendix for some additional APA-style writings tips.