Psychology homework help. General Psychology
Bibliography Assignment
Prof. Sullivan
The purpose of this assignment is to learn how to do scholarly research in the area of Psychology. For additional instruction see http://quincycollege.libguides.com/soc101
Due:
What is an annotated bibliography?
An annotated bibliography serves two purposes – (1) uncovers the documented research others have already done on this topic (“literature review”) and (2) organizes this large body of knowledge so that a researcher can use it later to help formulate his or her own project.
The “lit review” is one of the earliest steps in any research project. You want to know what has been written on this topic already. Who are the experts and what have they found so far? By uncovering what has been written on this topic already, you could then narrow your topic down to something that will make a new contribution to the field.
For this assignment, then, you are NOT writing a whole paper or doing all the original research for a project. You are simply getting more familiar with one subfield of sociology and you are documenting what others have already said about the topic in a way that prepares the ground for further research.
Instructions
From the following list of (textbook) topics, choose one topic and assemble a bibliography of 4-5 annotated citations.
Topics to choose from: Brain and Behavior (2) ● States of Consciousness (4) ● Learning (5) ● Memory (6) ● Thinking or Intelligence or Language (7) ● Human Development (8) ● Personality (10) ● Psychological Disorders (12) ● Psychological Therapies (13)
Narrow down your topic: Make your topic more specific by choosing a subtopic from the chapter. For example, from chapter 8 on Human Development, you could choose to research Parenting Styles (p. 306). Use “How”, “What”, “Where”, “Why”, and “When” questions to further narrow your topic.
Choosing good sources: You must use “scholarly” sources. A good way to tell if your source is scholarly is to look at the name of the publishing house. Scholarly publishing houses are usually associated with a university (e.g. Indiana University Press, Yale University Press). A scholarly journal is ‘peer-reviewed’ and typically has a number of footnotes at the end of each separate article. It may also have the word “journal” in its title. When in doubt, ask the librarian or a classmate. Avoid sources that are only found on web sites, such as CQ Researcher. Avoid Wikipedia and other wiki sites on-line. Avoid popular magazines like Newsweek or Time.
Answer these questions in your annotation
Annotate your bibliography. List each source and provide 5-6 sentences that paraphrase the main point of each book or article. Try to explain what makes this source different from all others on your list. What is the question the researchers asked? What method did they use to do their research? What data did they discover? What were their findings or conclusions? Make each entry in your bibliography stand out so that you can recall what was special about that source. You must use your own words for this. Do not copy straight from the back of a book or any portion of the text of the book.
Follow the (APA) format:
Two helpful websites for style guides:
Citation Machine
Purdue English Dept.
Additional Instructions
- Alphabetize the list by last name of the author.
- Title the page “Annotated Bibliography” and put your name underneath.
- Typed, double spaced, 10-12 pt. font. One inch margins. No cover page needed but be sure to put your name on the page.
- No report covers, folders, or binders. Upload to get full credit.
- Refer to the student sample for additional guidance.
Bibliography Rubric
_____/50 Four to Five scholarly sources on one topic (10 pts for each source)
_____/30 Summaries – distinctive original summary of most important points of article
_____/15 Citation style correct
_____/5 Alphabetical order (by last name of first author)
_____/100 Total
