The paper can be on any topic of interest in Motivational Psychology. The instructor will
allow students some latitude in writing a their APA research paper on a wide range of subjects.
However, references must be paginated and scholarly which generally means that they are
from (a) scholarly, peer reviewed journals; (b) a dissertation or a master’s thesis; or (c) a
scientific book written by an academic expert at a Tier 1 or Tier 2 level research university.
Examples of references that are not acceptable are: Non-academic sources or sources that
are not credible, reliable or valid such as Wikipedia, online newspapers, online magazines,
online blogs, online chat rooms or discussions, websites and any non-paginated reference.
citations of references make it clear to the reader exactly where they can find the quotation. In
general, there should be at least one literary citation for every page of written content
and a superior paper for a letter grades in the “A” categories below will have 13 full pages [not
counting the title page, abstract, reference section pages, tables, lists, graphics or
illustrations, the appendices or anything which is reproduced to stretch or extend the
number of pages]. The research paper for this class will only require three basic elements
written in APA Style: [1] a title page; [2] a review of the literature; and [3] a reference section.
All of the APA paper examples that you will see on YouTube are examples of experimental
research studies which include sections that are unnecessary for our class paper such as an
introduction section [which contains the hypotheses or research questions]; a methodology
section [which discusses the research design, methodology and procedures of the experiment or
study]; a results section [discussing the outcome of the experiment or study] and a discussion
section
[which restates the hypotheses and contains the results of the study, the meaning or significance
of the results and implications of the results for further research]. Research study papers may
also contain footnotes, graphs and appendices or tables that are necessary to identify or
describe the results of the experiment or study. The purpose of our paper is to research a
scholarly topic using paginated sources that are outside the primary texts and to
demonstrate a reasonable [undergraduate level] of proficiency in using the university
library and psychology databases as well as in writing a paper in APA Style. The number of
written pages and the number of scholarly paginated references are important criteria.
The paper is evaluated based on the number of pages and the number of scholarly references
in the grade categories below. If your paper does not meet the criteria for the letter grade
below you will not get that grade.
The paper must be word processed and double-spaced using a 12 point font [no larger
and no smaller] with one inch margins all around. The due date for the paper is listed on
the academic calendar pages in the back of this syllabus during the 11th week of class.
Turning in a late paper or a partially completed paper is better than no paper at all. CSUN
maintains strict policies in regard to plagiarism defined as intentionally or knowingly
representing the words ideas, or work of another as your own work in any academic
exercise. Papers for this class will be submitted electronically on Canvas and the assignment will
automatically interface with the Turnitin website which will scan each paper for plagiarism
and provide the student with a report approximately five minutes after the paper is
uploaded to Canvas.
EVALUATION OF WRITTEN WORK
The APA Research Papers are evaluated in all of the areas which are summarized above and below
based on the objectives of the course and targeted learning outcomes. The evaluation of papers
is a three level process. REVIEW LEVEL ONE, ISA’s will go through the papers to record the
date the paper was uploaded in Canvas online as well as how many written pages were
completed in accordance with the assignment guidelines. THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE
THAT STUDENTS MAKE is failing to recognize that APA style software marks the title page as
page #1. So, if you are not aware of that, the paper that you thought was 13 pages is now 12
pages; REVIEW LEVEL TWO, the ISA’s will record how many scholarly paginated sources
beyond the primary texts are cited; REVIEW LEVEL THREE, at grading time, when all other
demonstrations of knowledge have been received, the instructor will read your paper in order
to determine what credit value your research paper will have. Research papers should
incorporate all of the following:
1. OVERALL ORGANIZATION: The paper should have the specific APA structure explained
above and the subject should be discussed in a thoughtful way with clear explanations that
logically discuss the topic of the paper.
2. COMPREHENSIVE CONTENT: The paper should scientifically explore the topic as noted
above. The paper should present peer-reviewed scholarly sources that comprehensively identify
and describe, explore or support the subject matter from a scientific perspective [e.g.] no
personal reflection or commentary