General Psychology Project

Winter 2011
Toni Rose

DUE DATES:
 Project proposal is due Friday, January 14th on the form provided
 Project outline is due Friday, February 18th
 Project Paper is due by the beginning of class Monday, March 14th.
o Project is worth 30% of your course grade (300 points). You will lose 30 points
per day if your paper is turned in late.
 Presentation date: ___________________.

CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

1. Research Project: Choose a topic in psychology that interests you. Investigate your
topic using at least five sources. Two sources must be articles from scholarly
journals. You may also use credible websites (not Wikipedia!), interviews, books,
magazines, etc. You will write a research paper and give a short presentation to the
class. If you need help choosing a topic, look through the table of contents and index
of your textbook and see what catches your eye that you’d like to learn more about.
2. Service Learning Project: Volunteer for a minimum of 15 hours with a service
organization in your community. In addition, read one scholarly journal article about
the psychology topic to which your volunteer experience relates. Write a paper
describing the purpose the organization, summarizing what you did and what you
learned, and drawing from the article you read to show how it relates to psychology.
You will also give a short presentation to the class. A list of service organizations is
available if you need suggestions.
3. Job Shadow Project: Spend a minimum of 15 hours shadowing a professional in a job
related to psychology and interview this professional to learn more about the
profession. In addition, read one scholarly journal article related to the profession
you are investigating. Write a paper about the profession and your experience, and
drawing from the article you read to show how it relates to psychology. You will also
give a short presentation to the class. A list of psychology-related jobs is available to
give you ideas for job shadowing.

ALL PROJECTS WILL INCLUDE:

1. Proposal
 The proposal form is included in this packet.
2. Outline
 You will turn in a 1-2 page outline. This may be a simple list with bullet
points, short paragraphs, or an idea web showing the main points you plan to
convey in your paper and how you plan to organize them.
 Your outline must include:
 An outline for the structure of your paper including: thesis statement,
3-5 main points, and evidence/details related to your main points.
 An annotated bibliography in APA style. See above for required
type/number of sources, depending on which project option you
chose.
  If you chose the service learning project, your outline will include
notes on how your volunteer experience is related to topics we study
in this class, and a summary of the organization where you will be
volunteering.
 If you choose the job shadow project, your outline will include 10-15
questions you have asked or plan to ask the person you are
shadowing.
3. Final Paper
 5-7 pages, typed, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font, 1”
margins. Papers are graded based on quality, NOT length. A longer paper
doesn’t automatically earn a higher grade.
 College-level, academic writing. If you want or need help at any point in your
writing process I highly recommend a visit to the SPSCC Writing Center.
Writing Center staff will give you helpful feedback and can help you organize
your ideas or edit your paper.
 Cite all of your sources (books, journal articles, interviews, websites, etc) in a
reference list using APA style. Use in-text citations any time you are referring
to information you gained from one of your sources. Be careful to properly
credit ALL of your sources, every time you draw information from a source,
to avoid plagiarism.
 If you chose service learning or job shadowing, attach the verification of
hours form, which will be provided.
4. Presentation
 Your presentation will be 5 minutes long. Practice ahead of time (with
friends, family, in a mirror, etc) a few times to make sure you can stay within
the time limit.
 Your presentation will include a definition of your topic, what you did to learn
about it, and three things you learned.
 Your presentation will demonstrate depth of understanding and critical
thinking about your topic.
 Visual aids are not required, but are optional. Let me know ahead of time if
you will need to use the projector.

Refer to Purdue Online Writing Guide (OWL) for all APA guidelines questions:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
 FINAL PROJECT RUBRIC
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY – WINTER 2010
PROPOSAL (10)
(5) Turned in on time

(5) Approved

OUTLINE (30)
(10) Plan for organization of paper (thesis, main points, support)

(5) Correct number of sources/job shadow questions/summary of organization for service learning

(15) Annotated bibliography, APA style

PRESENTATION (60)
Ready to present on scheduled day (minus 6 for every day late)

(5) 4-5 minutes long

(10) Basic definition of topic/organization/profession

(30) 3 key points

(5) Shared with class how you gathered the information for your project (i.e. references)

(10) Presentation demonstrates critical thinking and depth of knowledge on topic

PAPER (200)
Due Monday, March 14th (minus 30 for every day late)

(15) Formatting: Times New Roman 12 point font, 1” margins, double-spaced

(15) Length: 5-7 pages (excluding title page and reference list)

(20) College level, academic, formal writing

(20) Proper use of in-text citations, APA style

(10) Reference list – correct number/type of sources / Verification of hours form attached (job
shadow/service learning)

(20) Reference list – APA style

(20) Information gathered from research is well integrated into paper, along with original critical thought
and analysis

(20) Conventions – spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar

(10) Introduction: grabs readers attention; thesis is thoughtful, insightful, and clear; clearly
delineates subtopics to be reviewed

(20) Organization: flow of paper is logical and easy to follow, main points are backed up with evidence and
detail, strong transitions link subtopics

(30) Paper demonstrates clear understanding of subject matter with depth and strong critical thinking.
Material is presented objectively and thoroughly,