Psyc 1B Writing for Psychology: Part A Research Summary (6%)
Due Friday June 14th (Wk 3), 11.59 pm
Word limit: 250 words
The Research Summary task develops your skills in carrying out a targeted information search.
You will concisely explain the key points of empirical psychological research, begin to critically
evaluate the research you have found, and then consider how that research influences your
perspective on an issue relevant to Psychology.
Task instructions:
1) Conduct a literature search for an article broadly related to the essay question (not the target
readings provided on the assessment instructions). The essay instructions are available on
Moodle, and you will need to read these instructions to identify the essay question. You MUST
select a peer reviewed, empirical (original research) article, published within the last 20
years.
For more information about how to conduct a targeted literature search, please refer to the
Writing in Psychology interactive module (on Moodle). Find out more about the different article
types here:
https://libguides.csmd.edu/empirical_research
https://libguides.uml.edu/healtharticle_types
2) Briefly explain the aims, method and key findings of the study reported in the article that you
selected – provide enough information so that a reader who is not familiar with the topic area can
broadly understand what was done and found. If the article includes several studies you may
summarise just one of them, or you may write one summary that covers them all.
3) Critically evaluate the research by identifying EITHER one strength OR one limitation of the
study. If you identify a strength, explain why you consider this aspect a strength in relation to the
essay topic– how does this aspect help the study effectively contribute to knowledge on this
topic? If you identify a limitation, explain how this limitation affects what the study is able to
demonstrate, in relation to the essay topic.
4) Finish with a clear statement explaining how this research influences your perspective
regarding the essay question
Word limit
Provide a word count for the assessment. Your submission should be 250 words in total (not
including reference list, headings or titles, including in-text citations). We will deduct 2 marks for
submissions that are more than 10% over this limit (i.e. any more than 275 words).
Formatting and Submission
Please submit your assessment as a Word document, via the submission link on Moodle. Your
submission should be double-spaced, and in12-point font. You may choose to use sub-headings
(e.g. “Summary” “Evaluation”), but this is not compulsory. There are no other specific formatting
requirements other than those stated here.
Academic integrity
You may refer to other sources (in addition to the article you are summarising), but this is not
necessary to fulfill task requirements and should not distract from the main focus of the
assignment described above. You must cite and reference all sources in APA 7th style, including
the article that you have selected. Your assessment must be your own, independent work.
Presenting other people’s work as your own work is plagiarism and is a serious academic
offence.
As this assessment task involves some creative processes, you may use software to generate
initial ideas. However keep in mind that ideas and output generated by such software are often
poor or inaccurate. In any case, you must develop or edit computer generated content to
such a significant extent that what is submitted is your own work, i.e. only occasional AI
generated words or phrases may form part of your final submission. It is a good idea to keep
copies of the initial prompts, in case there is any uncertainty about the originality of your work. If
outputs of generative AI such as ChatGPT form any more than an occasional part of your
submission, it will be regarded as serious academic misconduct and subject to the standard
penalties, which may include 00FL, suspension and exclusion.
Late submissions
Consistent with School of Psychology guidelines 5% will be deducted for every 24 hours your
submission is late (including weekends). We do not accept submissions more than 5 days
(120 hours) after the due date, unless you have an extension or Special Consideration past
that date. You can read more about the Special Consideration process via the information on
Moodle.
Marking criteria
You will receive a mark out of 6 based on the following criteria:
• Effective information search: article has been selected according to instructions.
• Summary of research: concisely communicated key aspects of the research aims,
methods and results.
• Critical evaluation: Identified and explained one strength or limitation.
• Answer to the question: A clear statement explaining how the research has influenced
your perspective regarding the essay question
• APA referencing: appropriate APA 7th style for in-text citations and final reference list
• Word limit: the student has not exceeded the word limit (10% leeway)
Marking guide
0-2: Some or all of the criteria have not been demonstrated in the attempt
3-4: All criteria have been demonstrated to an extent, but some or all need development.
5: All criteria have been demonstrated successfully.
6: All criteria have been outstandingly demonstrated; evidence of understanding and insight