Alterna�ve Op�on: Research Report Papers
• Research report papers are worth 1 credit per paper.
• You may submit as many research report papers as you like to count toward the 10 credit total
requirement.
• You will turn these in directly to the instructor of your General Psychology course. They may ask you
to submit them by email, or through Blackboard. Follow the instruc�ons given by your instructor.
• You MUST use ar�cles from the last 2 calendar years (2022 and 2023 only), and they must come
from one of these major psychology research journals:
Psychological Science
Behavioral Neuroscience
Developmental Psychology
Emo�on
Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology
Health Psychology
Journal of Applied Psychology
Journal of Compara�ve Psychology
Journal of Consul�ng and Clinical Psychology
Journal of Counseling Psychology
Journal of Educa�onal Psychology
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cogni�on
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Percep�on and Performance
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cogni�on
Journal of Family Psychology
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science
Neuropsychology
Professional Psychology: Research and Prac�ce
Psychological Assessment
Psychological Bulle�n
Psychological Methods
Psychology & Neuroscience
Psychology and Aging
Psychology of Addic�ve Behaviors
Psychology, Public Policy, and Law
Rehabilita�on Psychology
• To find appropriate ar�cles, go to Google Scholar (scholar.google.com).
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• In the search box at the top of the screen, type in a few words that describe the topic you’re
interested in, then the word AND, then the �tle of one of the above journals you’d like to search. For
example, if you’re interested in au�sm in children, type in…
o Au�sm in children AND “Journal of Consul�ng and Clinical Psychology”
• Then click on the magnifying glass. Now you’ll see a list of ar�cles. On the le� side of the page, click
on the words “Any Time.” Now “Custom Range” will pop up, with two empty boxes. You’re now going
to tell Google Scholar to show you only ar�cles published since 2022. Simply type “2022” into the
le� box (leave the right one blank) and click “Search.” The list will now show only ar�cles published
in 2022 or later.
• Click on the �tle of each ar�cle to see a brief descrip�on of it, called an Abstract. When you find an
ar�cle you are interested in reading and wri�ng about, you can download the ar�cle as a pdf. The
ar�cles that you can fully access with a pdf will say [PDF]…. to the right of the lis�ng. Click on that
pdf link to download the ar�cle.
• Now read the ar�cle, carefully, and write a brief report about it. The report should be typed, at least
ONE but no more than TWO pages long, single spaced, and contain the following informa�on:
o what the author(s) was/were trying to do
o how the author(s) did it
o what the author(s) found
o what the author(s) concluded (i.e., what the findings mean)
o your own impression of the findings [This should cons�tute a good, solid paragraph.]
• Submit this report AND a pdf of the ar�cle you are wri�ng about to your instructor.
• Keep your report simple and straigh�orward; do not make this task more than it is intended to be.
Your report should simply demonstrate your general understanding and impression of the study and
the ar�cle.
• IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to write your report using your own words. Do your own work. Do not
submit another person’s work as being your own. No credit will be given to reports that are
plagiarized in any way, including but not limited to being copied word for word or paraphrased
excessively. IN ADDITION, VIOLATIONS OF THIS STANDARD MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE ACADEMIC
INTEGRITY MONITOR FOR ACTION. (YOU REALLY, REALLY, REALLY DO NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN.)
