SONA ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS 2
This assignment is an alternative to the SONA Participation Assignments (1 and 2). You
must complete this assignment if you are unable or choose not to participate in research. See
canvas for a list of articles to choose from), and you must choose from the articles that we have
listed in Canvas.
Article Summary Paper (10 possible)
Please follow the instructions and guidelines below. If you are unclear about any of this
information, please ask.
What is a summary paper?
This paper will require you to read and summarize the major elements of an empirical research
paper. I suggest also looking at the example papers, which will give you a nice visual image of
APA style that you can mimic in your own paper.
This summary paper will include the following things:
1. Title page: 1 page (.5 points)
Use APA style to present the appropriate information:
o Remember that we follow the “professional” guidelines for formatting
from the 7th edition of the APA manual! See the title page of this
document for a template!
o A Running head must be included and formatted APA style
There must be a page number on the title page that is right
justified. It is included in the header
o Your paper title appears on the title page. This is usually 12 words or less,
and the first letter of each word is capitalized. It should be descriptive of
the paper (For this paper, you should use the title of the article you are
critiquing. The paper title can be the same title as in the Running head or it
can differ – your choice)
o Your name will appear on the title page
o Your institution will appear on the title page as well
o For all papers, make sure to double-space EVERYTHING and use Times
New Roman font. This includes everything from the title page through the
references.
o This is standard APA format. ALL of your future papers will include a
similar title page
2. Summary of the Article: 1 ½ page minimum, 3 pages maximum – 8)
An article summary should briefly summarize, in your own words, the article research
question and how it was addressed in the article. Below are some things to include in your
summary.
The summary itself will include the following: (Note – if the article involved
more than one experiment, you can either choose to focus on one of the studies
specifically or summarize the general design for all of the studies)
1. Description of the overall purpose of the study (this can be as little as one
sentence, and no more than 2 sentences)
SONA ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS 3
2. Type of study (Was it experimental or correlational? How do you know?)
3. Variables:
1. What were the independent and dependent variables? Be specific
with these. Define the terms independent and dependent variable
and make sure to identify how they are operationally defined in the
article)
4. Participants:
1. How many were there? How were they recruited?
5. Method:
1. Was there random assignment to groups?
2. What did the participants do in the study?).
3. How was data collected (online, in person, archival data, etc.)
6. Note the findings (What were their results/findings?). Don’t include the
statistical analyses that they did, instead, focus on the overall
interpretation for these findings.
3. References – 1 page (.5 points)
Provide the reference for this article in proper APA format (see the book Chapter 14
for appropriate referencing guidelines or the Chapter 14 powerpoint).
If you cited other sources during either your summary, reference them as well (though
you do not need to cite other sources in this assignment – this is merely optional IF
you happen to bring in other sources). Formatting counts here, so make sure to
italicize where appropriate and watch which words you are capitalizing!
4. Grammar and Writing Quality (1 point)
Few psychology courses are as writing intensive as Research Methods (especially
Research Methods Two next semester!). As such, I want to make sure that you
develop writing skills early. This is something that needs special attention, so make
sure to proofread your papers carefully.
Avoid run-on sentences, sentence fragments, spelling errors, and grammar errors.
Writing quality will become more important in future papers, but this is where you
should start to hone your writing skills.
We will give you feedback on your papers, but I recommend seeking some help from
the FIU writing center to make sure your paper is clear, precise, and covers all needed
material. I also recommend asking a few of your group members to read over your
paper and make suggestions. You can do the same for them!
Other guidelines:
2). Page size is 8 1/2 X 11” with all 4 margins set one inch on all sides. You must use 12-
point Times New Roman font (Note: these instructions are in 12 point Times New
Roman font).
3). As a general rule, ALL paragraphs and sentences are double spaced in APA papers.
This includes the spacing in your Paper I: Article Summary Paper. It even includes the
references, so make sure to double space EVERYTHING
4). When summarizing the article in your own words, you need not continually cite the
article throughout the rest of your critique. Nonetheless, you should follow proper
referencing procedures, which means that:
SONA ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS 4
o If you are inserting a direct quote from any source, it must be enclosed in
quotations and followed by a parenthetical reference to the source. “Let’s say I am
directly quoting this current sentence and the next. I would then cite it with the
author name, date of publication, and the page number for the direct quote”
(Winter, 2013, p . 4).
1. Note: We will deduct points if you quote more than once per page, so keep
quotes to a minimum. Paraphrase instead, but make sure you still give the
original author credit for the material by citing him or using the author’s
name (“In this article, Smith noted that …” or “In this article, the authors
noted that…”)
o If you choose to reference any source other than your chosen article, it must be
listed in a reference list.
5). PLEASE use a spell checker to avoid unnecessary errors. Proofread everything you
write. I actually recommend reading some sentences aloud to see if they flow well, or
getting family or friends to read your work. Writing quality will become more important
in future papers, so you should start working on that now!
If you have any questions about the articles, your ideas, or your writing, please ask.
Although we won’t be able to review entire drafts of papers before they are handed
in, we are very willing to discuss problems, concerns or issues that you might have.
Purpose of the Summary Paper
1). Psychological Purpose
This paper serves several purposes, the first of which is helping you gain insight into
research papers in psychology. As this may be your first time reading and writing papers
in psychology, one goal of Paper I is to give you insight into what goes into such papers.
This paper will help you learn about the various sections of an empirical research report
by reading at least one peer-reviewed articles (articles that have a Title Page, Abstract,
Literature Review, Methods Section, Results Section, and References Page). This paper
will also give you some insights into how the results sections are written in APA
formatted research articles. Pay close attention to those sections, as throughout this
course you’ll be writing up some results of your own! You’ll need this practice when you
go to write your article critique paper this semester.
2). APA Formatting Purpose
The second purpose of the this paper is to teach you proper American Psychological
Association (APA) formatting. In the instructions below, I tell you how to format your
paper using APA style. There are a lot of very specific requirements in APA papers, so
pay attention to the instructions below as well as Chapter 14 in your textbook! I highly
recommend using the Paper I Checklist before submitting your paper, as it will help walk
you through the picky nuances of APA formatting.
3). Writing Purpose
SONA ALTERNATIVE ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS 5
Finally, this paper is intended to help you grow as a writer. Few psychology classes give
you the chance to write papers and receive feedback on your work. This class will! We
will give you feedback on this paper in terms of content, spelling, and grammar.
