Homework #5
PSY 211
Due 3/31/09
Instructions. This assignment is designed to ensure that students are capable of differentiating between different types of psychology articles. Include a cover page, and attach the three articles you find (described below). No additional write-up is needed. All articles must be full-text, not merely abstracts or summaries.
1. Make a cover page that includes your name. The title on the cover page should be a research topic of personal interest. Although no additional write-up is required, a good topic would be one that could adequately be addressed in a term paper (e.g. “the relationship between extraversion and stress”). Since you will soon be writing up a term paper, it would be intelligent to pick a topic related to your term paper (though this is not required). Try to avoid topics that are too general (e.g. “anxiety”). If you get stuck, you might look through introductory textbooks or the classroom data file for ideas. Examples of some sample topics:
· Predictors of fast food consumption
· Personality and political views
· Consequences of ADHD
· Causes of depression
· Persuasion tactics
· Consequences of religious fundamentalism
· Personality predictors of sleeping patterns
· Factors associated with leadership
· Physical therapy for hip injuries in older adults
2. Find an article on the topic from a newspaper or popular (non-scientific) magazine. Many examples are available, but Psychology Today Magazine is available for free online and has many relevant articles (http://www.psychologytoday.com). You can also do a search of various newspapers through our library web site (click on the newspapers link at http://www.lib.cmich.edu/databases). Attach the full-text article and label it “A”.
3. Find an article from a scientific journal that describes a specific research study. The best way to do this is through PsycINFO, which is accessible through the Psychology link on the library web site (http://www.lib.cmich.edu/databases). The article should present results from a specific study. Attach the full-text article and label it “B”.
4. Find an article from a scientific journal that is a review or theoretical article. The best way to do this is through PsycINFO, which is accessible through the Psychology link on the library web site (http://www.lib.cmich.edu/databases). Rather than presenting any results from a specific study, the article should review past research and draw general conclusions based on past studies. Attach the full-text article and label it “C”.