RESEARCH AND WRITING PROJECT
HOW IS IT EVALUATED?
The final grade for this project will be based on the quality of your work on all parts of the project. The basis for evaluating each aspect of the project are detailed below. The project grade is worth 20% of your overall course grade. All Psych One Teaching Fellows follow the same guidelines for grading. These guidelines are mandated by the course coordinator (Dr. Jennifer Randall Crosby), who performs several checks on the reliability of grading across the quarter. If you have any questions or concerns about how your work is being graded, you may speak to your TF or contact Jennifer directly at [email protected].
Part 1 (Literature Search) and Part 3 (Peer Review)
Both of these parts will be graded out of 5 points, and will each be worth 5% of the final grade.
Part 2 (Draft Research Proposal) and Part 4 (Final Draft)
Part 2 (Draft Research Proposal) will be graded out of 10 points, and worth 10% of the final project grade. It will be graded using the same criteria that will be used for Part 4 (Final Draft), with the goal of providing feedback that will help students produce a final draft that reflects careful scientific thinking and clearly conveys the author’s ideas. Below are the components for the grading rubric used in Parts 2 and 4:
Introduction
Note: Work that fully meets all expectations for the assignment will earn a 96. To earn higher than this (an A+), work must substantially exceed expectations by showing greater creativity and challenge
Overall Project Grade
The Overall project grade is the sum of the 4 project components, totaling 100 points. For each individual component, late work beyond the 1 free late day will result in deductions of 1 point per day for Parts 1-3 and 3 points per day for Part 4.
Part 1 (Literature Search) and Part 3 (Peer Review)
Both of these parts will be graded out of 5 points, and will each be worth 5% of the final grade.
- A grade of 5 means that every question is answered fully and completely, and the writing is clear, concise, and grammatical.
- A grade of 4-4.5 means the work is quite solid, but may be missing some small components or have small issues with writing clarity and/or grammar.
- A grade of 3-3.5 would represent more serious issues, such as not addressing all of the questions in the assignment, or having several problems with writing clarity and/or grammar.
- Grades below 3 would reflect work that fails to address the questions and/or appears to reflect minimal effort.
Part 2 (Draft Research Proposal) and Part 4 (Final Draft)
Part 2 (Draft Research Proposal) will be graded out of 10 points, and worth 10% of the final project grade. It will be graded using the same criteria that will be used for Part 4 (Final Draft), with the goal of providing feedback that will help students produce a final draft that reflects careful scientific thinking and clearly conveys the author’s ideas. Below are the components for the grading rubric used in Parts 2 and 4:
Introduction
- Explains phenomenon of interest clearly so that someone unfamiliar with the topic would understand
- Provides background information that summarizes the relevant research literature, including at least two primary research articles
- Communicates clearly how past research is relevant to and motivates the research question
- Previews the methods and hypotheses
- Identifies a research question that is grounded in and extends past research
- Addresses a gap in psychologists’ knowledge and/or makes a practical contribution to the world
- The number and sampling of participants is appropriate and practical
- Any specific demographic characteristics of the participants are appropriate and justified
- Recruiting measures for participants are explained in sufficient detail
- Explains how stimuli and other procedural items are generated or borrowed from past studies
- Gives an account for how possible confounding variables are controlled for and/or measured
- Procedures explained in sufficient detail that an independent researcher could replicate the study
- The procedures are overall logical and practical
- Steps are taken to ensure that procedures are ethical
- Details what specific tests, observations, or questionnaires are used to measure the variables
- IF the measure is novel, the validity of the measure is justified; ELSE, the measure being borrowed is properly credited to its creators
- Lists all variables being measured, including variables being measured for use in statistical control of potential confounds
- Presents a testable hypothesis which is logical, specific, and appropriate given the research question, the procedure used to test the hypothesis, and the measures being collected
- The proposed analysis is appropriate given the research question, the procedure used to test the hypothesis, and the measures being collected
- The discussion describes specific strengths of the study accurately and with careful thought and critical thinking
- The discussion describes specific weaknesses of the study accurately and with careful thought and critical thinking
- The discussion identifies areas of needed future study, and the broader implications of research findings
- (Part 2 only) The author shows understanding of the difference between correlational and experimental approaches by proposing one study that is correlational and one that is experimental
- (Part 2 only) The author proposes two studies that complement one another given the research question
- The author has organized the paper into sections according to instructions
- (Part 4 only) The cover letter clearly describes the changes that were made and justifies any changes that were not made.
- In-text citations are formatted in APA style with few-to-no errors
- Works cited section is formatted in APA style with few-to-no errors
- The author uses a scientific tone and writing style
- The writing is grammatical and carefully proofread
- The writing is clear, economical, and compelling
Note: Work that fully meets all expectations for the assignment will earn a 96. To earn higher than this (an A+), work must substantially exceed expectations by showing greater creativity and challenge
Overall Project Grade
The Overall project grade is the sum of the 4 project components, totaling 100 points. For each individual component, late work beyond the 1 free late day will result in deductions of 1 point per day for Parts 1-3 and 3 points per day for Part 4.