Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making
Research paper:
• Think of a topic…
o Do not choose something that is too broad and can’t be talked about in 7-10 pages
o Do not choose something too narrow that there is nothing to write about!
• Research first…
o The writing process is a fluid one. As you do your research, you will come across material that you did not expect to find, but may work well with your paper, and possibly change the topic or tone of it. That is O.K.! That is what research is supposed to do! As you read the material that you have gathered, you may uncover information that you did not expect to find. It fits your topic, but may take your paper into a different direction. That is O.K. too! In fact, if you are really trying to do “research” for your paper, and not just splicing together facts, figures, and quotes in order to finish the assignment, you will find that you are slowly becoming an expert on the subject you are researching. Genuine research will enable you to have the tools that you will need to write confidently on your topic.
• Use three to four articles on a particular topic area.
• Read the articles! Then read them again…find new ones if you need to do so.
• Write a persuasive paper
o 7-10 pages (not counting title and references)
o Double space!
o APA
• Do not quote too much! If more than half your paper is quotes, I will take points off. I want you to summarize and have ideas…not quote other people. A good general rule of thumb is that you should not quote more than one time every page, and the quotation should not be longer than 1-2 sentences. If you ABSOLUTELY feel like you need a longer quotation, or more frequent quotations, it is best to consult a friend or another outside source. They might be able to provide suggestions of how to present the same ideas without having to directly cite a source.
• Support your ideas! Do not have an opinion with some sort of back up or cite that you do not find evidence and so you think it would be good to research.
• Proofread, revise, proof read again! This is the most commonly skipped part of the writing process for all types of assignments, but this step is what makes great papers stand out from good ones.
o Reading your paper aloud to check for clarity or sentence structure errors
o Reading paper to check for organization and argument strength
o Having a friend/tutor read your paper and provide feedback
o Checking paper for grammatical errors
o Consulting the assignment to ensure all requirements have been met
Title page:
• Topic
• Class name
• Header: Your name, title and page number so that it shows on all pages
Abstract/Executive Report
• Write this last. Tell me in one paragraph, or two short ones, what your paper is about.
Introduction
• Have an opinion on a topic also, known as a hypothesis. Tell me what you are going to argue about! Persuade me to support your idea.
Body
• Describe the various methodologies and outcomes of the articles to support your opinion on this idea topic.
Conclusion: consider the following
• What is missing from current research?
• What could the researchers have done better?
• Perhaps the research is good but is too narrow or too broad?
• Suggest, in detail, future research that could/should be done
• Did you persuade me?