PART I. The first paragraph (or first 2 or 3 paragraphs) of almost every psychology paper, whether it’s an empirical research article or an integrative literature review, starts with a broad introduction to the importance of research on the topic. It is usually focused on the real-world issues (e.g., the prevalence and negative consequences of the behavior being studied) and/or an ongoing debate among psychologists about conflicting theories or research findings. The paragraph should frame everything that follows in some meaningful historical, theoretical, or practical context.
I’ll especially be looking for:
- At least one specific number, usually about the prevalence of the behavior being studied. For example, in a paper about the mental health of prison workers, you could report the total number of prison guards, the percentage that quit their jobs, and/or the percentage that are assaulted by prisoners. Or, in a study on adolescent depression, you would need to report the prevalence of the diagnosis, probably across several different ages.
- Several sentences about the positive or negative consequences of the behavior being studied, with at least two citations to published psychology research articles (depending on the topic, medical journal articles may be ok too). For example, in a paper about cyberbullying, you would cover many negative consequences such as depression, suicide, becoming a bully, etc. If your paper is about the relationship between bullying & one specific outcome, you can say that, but still cite to other research about other outcomes that won’t be part of your review paper.
- At least one clear conceptual definition of the behavior that’s being studied. Some behaviors (e.g., purchasing decisions) may not need a definition, but most (e.g., psychopathy, spirituality, cognitive load, dream rebound) do.
Either in the first paragraph, or in a separate second paragraph, you should describe the more specific topic that you will write the paper about. The topic needs to be specific enough so that there is a clear bivariate relationship (i.e., Is X related to Y? or Does X cause Y?) to look for in the research articles that you’ll be reading. I definitely encourage you to review more complex relationships (like something involving mediation or interactions), but there still should be a ‘most important’ bivariate relationship that anchors the paper. If not already given in the first paragraph, you should give a good conceptual definition of both variables involved in the relationship.
The topic also needs to be broad enough so that there is a relatively large, but not too large, number of articles that have conducted research on the topic. (I dislike putting a required number of articles, but a good topic & review will have at least 20(ish).)
- A good search in PsycINFO should lead to hits on about 80-100 journal articles. A search on [ab(substance abuse) AND ab((faith-based OR spirituality))] hits on 144 journal articles. That search is probably under-inclusive because there are more synonyms for spirituality, so it may need to be refined by focusing on specific disorders (addiction? depression?), or just faith-based treatments. A search on [ab(stress) AND ab(aging)] hits on 1492 journal articles. That definitely needs to be narrowed down. A search on [ab(“dream rebound”)] leads to 1 hit–that topic needs to be expanded.
PART II. After the introduction and identification of the topic, the next paragraph(s) should describe a psychology theory that can be applied to the topic. You can describe more than one theory if appropriate, but the first draft needs at least one theory. Make sure to properly cite the original source of the theory–the article(s) or book(s) that initially presented the theory. As much as possible, summarize the theory in your own words. Limit quotations to definitions of important constructs.
PART III. The paper should have at least two (perhaps more) paragraphs that summarize prior research on the topic, as much research as you currently have. Each paragraph should cite to at least 2 different psychology journal articles. Don’t write any paragraphs that only describe one psychology article. The paragraphs should be organized in some way, though the exact organizational scheme is up to you, and depends on your topic. For example, you could compare and contrast correlational vs. experimental research. Or, you could compare different psychological perspectives (e.g., biological vs. social vs. cognitive). Or, you could compare research involving one theory vs. research using another theory.
CHANGE for Fall 2023: For this first draft, instead of 2 paragraphs with 2 articles each, you just need to write one paragraph about one article. However, that article should either be (1) a meta-analysis or systematic review paper relevant to your topic; or (2) a very recent, very relevant individual research article relevant to your topic. Instead of the second paragraph, you should submit a second References list, containing at least THREE other articles that you’ve found and consider to be relevant to your topic, but maybe haven’t fully read yet. In the Second References list, put the reference to the article in APA format, and then below each one copy and paste the Abstract of the article.
PART IV. There should be one paragraph that describes how your experiment is new and different from previous research on the topic. This paragraph should identify some “gap” or problem with the existing research, and describe how your new experiment will address that gap/problem. As part of how your experiment will address the gap/problem in prior research, you should integrate your theory. If there’s an research question that needs to be answered, you should use the theory to help you propose your hypothesis (i.e., the predicted answer to the research question). Use your theory to make it clear to the reader why you’re hypothesizing what you are.
If you have a topic about some bivariate relationship that has been tested in many prior research studies, you’re going to need to make your study more complex in some way. You could add a third variable, either as a moderating variable (interacting with the other independent variable) or as a mediating variable (i.e., a theoretical explanation). It is very likely that the combination of more than one independent variable will be a new, important aspect of your study, so point that out, and describe why it is theoretically important to test several different variables together in your experiment.
At the end, there should be a few sentences, or a separate paragraph, summarizing your intended research design. It is very likely that your variables, design, and method will change between now and December, but describe for now what you think it will be.
Include a References list at the end. As noted above, there should be 2 References. The first should have only those articles that you used and cited in the text of the paper (i.e., a regular References list). The second should have at least 3 additional articles that are relevant to your topic, with the article’s Abstract copied below each reference.