PSYC 365
PAPER OUTLINE AND REFERENCES INSTRUCTIONS
You are required to submit the outline for your research paper and a reference page with at least
5 scholarly sources. This assignment will give you an opportunity to practice conducting and
reporting research. As you begin the research phase of your Project, you may need to redefine or
refocus your topic. If you spend the time now finding sources that you will actually use in your
Research Project, then a big portion of the work will be finished early in the course and you will
be able to improve your paper by implementing the suggested changes from your instructor. At
this stage in the project, you only need to outline the paper, not the experiment. Both the outline
and the reference page should be formatted in APA style in one document.
Review the Paper Outline and References Grading Rubric to improve the quality of your work.
The outline and references are due by the end of Module/Week 2.
DEVELOPING THE OUTLINE AND REFERENCE PAGE
Although the reference page is one of the last things included in the organization of your paper,
finding your sources is one of the first things you must do. You must include the textbook, the
Bible, and at least 5 scholarly research sources on your list. Two of the research sources must be
original research (author conducted a study, with Method, Results, and Discussion sections),
with an asterisk (*) next to each original research entry. The instructor will correct the format of
the citations and of the references so that you will have those parts correct in the paper.
In the outline, every heading level must have at least two entries (A, B; 1, 2). Likewise, in the
paper there should be at least 2 headings in each topic category. The outline should be built
around the research sources that you have found for your paper. Include research citations of the
sources at the appropriate points in the outline.
Review an APA style guide in order to ensure your outline and citations are correctly formatted.
FINDING SCHOLARLY SOURCES
Begin by searching for information that will help to increase your knowledge about your chosen
topic. Your initial research may or may not be confined to a scholarly database. Once you have
familiarized yourself with the basic information surrounding your topic, access the Liberty
University Library Research Portal through the Services/Support link on the course menu. When
you are looking for the scholarly research articles, think of several surrounding issues and
several synonyms for those issues. Then, enter various combinations of those terms into the
research database. Popular writing and web pages will have useful and interesting information
also, but your minimum of five Research Paper sources must be scientifically reviewed sources
such as those published in journals. Keep a list of every combination that you use so that you
will not have to repeat your searches. Make use of the interlibrary loan tool and contact the
library or your instructor with any research questions.