FIC – PSYCHOLOGY 100 Introduction to Psychology I – Article Summaries Reading and interpreting published research is one of the most important skills any scientist develops. The Article Summary allow...

FIC – PSYCHOLOGY 100

Introduction to Psychology I – Article Summaries
Reading and interpreting published research is one of the most important skills any scientist develops. The Article Summary allow you to demonstrate that you can read and summarize some specific research literature. One important skill you need to succeed when writing papers, answering essay exam questions, or simply taking notes in lecture is the ability to summarize material accurately and concisely. Accurately means that you have selected only the key points and recorded them precisely. Concisely means that you have used the minimum number of words to communicate the accurate meaning of the original source. One goal of the Article Summary is to give you practice in summarizing material in your own words.


Your assignment is to read and summarize one (1) article from a mainstream, scientific psychology journal. The article has been chosen for you (see over) and although some class time will be allocated for working on the summary, you will be expected to complete most of the work on your own time.
The article summary is worth 10% of your grade. The assignment consists of three components: 1) Taking notes on the article prior to writing the summary (1%); 2) Peer review of Article Summary draft (1%) and Feedback Response (1%); and 3) Complete Article Summary (7%).

1. 
   
   Taking Notes on the Article:
   
   

We will start working on the article summary in class by taking notes on the article. For homework, you will finish your notes and bring them to class the following week. You will use these notes to write your summary.

1. 
   
   Peer Review:
   
   

Reviewing a review of your work is an excellent way to see if your ideas are being received in the way that you intended. For the peer review, you will be required to bring a draft of your article summary. You will then exchange summaries with a peer and read and comment on each other’s work. Please be respectful of each other’s efforts. Peer review guidelines will be provided in class.

Feedback Response:

The task for this assignment is to reflect on the feedback of your peer. The purpose of the exercise is to ensure that you have understood the feedback and can identify concrete areas for improvement in future assignments. Feedback response worksheets will be provided in class.

1. 
   
   Complete Article Summaries:
   
   

A complete article summary submission will have the following:

1. an APA title page


2. the 1-2 page (450 words maximum – you must include a word count) summary including one APA format citation


3. an APA format Reference page


4. In class writing assignment


5. the peer reviewed summary with reviewer’s comments


6. a completed Feedback Response worksheet


7. the notes on which your summary is based

Incomplete assignment submissions will not be graded (e.g., an article summary without a Reference page). Late penalties of 10% per day will be assessed from the due date until the assignment submission is complete (that is, 1% per day [weekends count as two days] will be deducted from the original 10%).
Article summaries are due at the beginning of class.

Article summaries will be assessed on the following criteria: accuracy of the summary; your ability to communicate a clear understanding of the article content; and APA format and academic level writing. More details about how article summaries will be assessed will be provided in class.
Article for Summary

You will summarize,
in your own words, the following article:

Otgaar, H., Candel, I., & Merckelbach, H. (2008). Children’s false memories: Easier to elicit for a negative than for a neutral event.
Acta Psychologica, 128, 350-354.

What is a summary?

1. When you summarize effectively, you are condensing the key aspects of the writer's ideas using your own words


2. The purpose is to condense and organize an extended section of a text, a chapter or an entire book


3. Accurately represent the ideas of a text/author/their relevant supporting evidence


4. In summaries, the student's opinion is not usually evident

Some things to consider in your summary (but not necessarily include)

1. According to the introduction, what information was already known about the topic (look for references to prior research)?


2. What was the hypothesis of the study?


3. What variables were studied? What were the hypotheses concerning the variables?


4. Who were the participants of this study? Were there any special participant characteristics?


5. What were the procedures used to test the hypotheses?


6. What were the major results of the study? Were the results consistent with the hypotheses?


7. How do the results relate to the other studies cited in the introduction?


8. How did the researcher(s) interpret the results?


9. Did the author give suggestions for future research or applications?