Exploring Current Psychological Research Through APA Format

Journal Article Analysis/APA Assignment

Objective: With this regular assignment, students will learn to analyze and evaluate research journal articles while also practicing APA formatting. This assignment will help students build many of the skills needed to write formal papers.  

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Instructions: Complete the following to write a short APA-style paper: 

  1. Find a research journal article to analyze
    1. The topic for the article must come from a chapter covered this week.  
    2. Use a keyword from the chapter to select an article (see chapter Key Terms)
    3. Open a new tab and go to PsyPost. Enter the keyword in the Search box to find related articles. PsyPost is a psychology/neuroscience news website that reports current research studies to the public. 
    4. Choose an article, read it, and at the end of the article click on the study title to go to the publisher’s site with the actual research journal article. If you can access the full article there, go to step g. to finish, if not, go to step e.
    5. Go back to Bb, click on Linscheid Library (left menu) to go to the Advanced Search page. Enter the title of the research journal article and click Search
    6. If the Library has the article, a link will appear; if not, complete an Inter Library Loan request for it (article usually received in ECU email in a few hours). Link to ILL page – 1) must be logged in to the library website to use the link and 2) use information from the research journal article (see d.) to complete the form. 
    7. Save the pdf of the journal article to device or cloud service – pdf must be submitted with paper to Bb assignment link (see rubric).
  2. Use the template starting on p. 2 to complete a short APA-style paper that includes:
Paper ElementsPoints
Title Page 1
Journal Article Chart – completed5
Citations for web article, journal article, and textbook2
Article Summary 4
Article-Textbook Connection 5
Article Critique (weeks 4 and 55
Reference Page with web article, journal article, and textbook3
Pdf of journal article must be submitted to Bb with paper, if not =-10

NOTE: We will go through this assignment together using the video provided the first week.

Click here for help with APA    

Week # Journal Article/APA Assignment: Title of the Journal Article

Student Full Name Here

PSYCH 1113

University

Chart for: Change to Title of the Journal Article
Author(s)Study Participants/ Population (n)Hypothesis / Research Questions / ObjectiveMethod or Study DesignStudy ResultsCritique
In-Text CitationsWeb ArticleJournal ArticleTextbook
(Parenthetical)
Narrative

Article Summary 

[Write a one-paragraph summary of the journal article that ties the information in the article chart into a clear, logical narrative that briefly explains the study and what was found. Make sure to cite both the journal article and web article. Use the web article to help you understand, but DO NOT copy/paste from it.]

Article-Textbook Connection

[Write a paragraph connecting the results of the study to the content from the textbook chapter – discuss similarities and/or differences. Provide appropriate in-text citations for the web article, journal article, and the textbook in the paragraph.]

Article Critique

[Weeks 4 and 5, write a one-paragraph critique of the study using/citing only the journal article. Not all studies are created equal, so critiquing them teaches us to critically think about what distinguishes stronger studies from weaker studies (e.g., population size (n), participant selection, study design, alternative interpretations, stated limitations, age of the study, etc.).]

References

[Provide alphabetical list of APA references for web article, journal article, and textbook. ]

Example references for journal article, web article, and textbook (in that order):

Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social

psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173–1182. doi:10.1192/bjsp.158.1.18 

Dijkstra, M. (2021, November 25). Exposure to CO2 after traumatic experience strengthens fearful memories in mice. PsyPost. https://www.psypost.org/2021/11/exposure-to-co2-after-traumatic-experience-strengthens-fearful-memories-in-mice-62166 

Hergenhahn, B. R. (2008). An introduction to the history of psychology (6th ed). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

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