AP PSYCHOLOGY
RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
GOALS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------This research assignment in Psychology is designed to accomplish several
goals:
 To research one topic of Psychology in depth with the most recent
data/studies
 To demonstrate an understanding of APA guidelines
 To develop written skills of communication
 To demonstrate an understanding of the purpose and content of an
annotated bibliography
 To utilize current technology in the research process
 To develop skills in oral presentation
OVERVIEW
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To accomplish these goals you will be developing an annotated
bibliography on a specific topic related to Psychology. You will write the
annotated bibliography based on the assumption that you are writing a
formal research paper on this topic during your first year of a college level
Introduction to Psychology course. Additionally you will present the
findings of your research to the class in a graded PowerPoint presentation.
RESEARCH STEPS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Select a topic from the chapter and list provided. The topic should relate
to a specific Psychology subject so that you are not writing an annotation for
sources that are very long in length because their subject matter is too
general (i.e. an entire book on psychology in general)
2. Read and study the handout from Purdue University’s Writing Lab (The
OWL) and the Annotated Bibliography sheet that has been prepared for you.
3. Gather four sources (these can be e-sources) including:
 one book,
 one web site,
 one scholarly journal
 one specialized Psychology reference book.
4. Review the sources and write an annotated bibliographic reference for
each. The bibliography should include:
 a summarization -2 to 4 sentences
 an assessment – 1 to 2 sentences
 a reflection – 1 to 2 sentences
Refer to the Purdue handout for information on summarization, assessment,
and reflection. Each annotation should be a paragraph of approximately four
to six sentences.
5. Use APA format for the bibliographic information. Consult the IMC site
under Bibliography Help. Enter the required information (author’s name,
title of source, city of publication, etc) into KnightCite. It will help you
format your citations with fill-in-the blank forms. KnightCite will generate
an almost correct bibliographic reference for the information you provide.
HOWEVER… Knight Cite will NOT correctly capitalize your entry. There
is a chart on the IMC site to help you with this.
6. Arrange your sources in alphabetical order according to author or editor’s
last names.
POWER POINT PRESENTATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Using the information gleaned from your literature search, you will complete the
following requirements:
A Power Point Presentation which gives a summary of the latest information
on your topic and highlights the special area of interest associated with your
topic. The display should be academic, attractive, and orderly. You must save
your Power Point on Google Drive and share it with me @ skavhuie@gmail.com
A. General requirements for the Power Point presentation...
 Develop a Power Point presentation that supports an 12-15 minute oral presentation.
 A minimum of 20 slides... no maximum, but no more than 15 minutes
B. Creating an effective Power Point presentation
 Clearly and logically organize the content. This is a visual summary & analysis of your
topic.
Be both creative and practical in your design. Use fonts, background formats and color
schemes that enhance readability.
 Pictures or graphics should be balanced with the text. Do not have paragraphs that you
read to us.
 DO NOT use automatic slide transition or sounds effects.
C. Power Point evaluation criteria...
 Visual Layout:
-Readability: Text formats are easy to read (size, color, bold, italics, background)
-A creative balance of text & graphics
-Spelling and Grammar (100% perfection is the minimum standard)
 Power Point Content
-Clear & logical organization of the content
- Appropriate background information
- The Power Point covered the required material
- Text should be minimal – your commentary should be plentiful
EVALUATION
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Annotated Bibliography is worth 53 points. Additionally some
preliminary steps in the process may be assigned points. Please see the
rubric for specific point values.
Power Point and Oral Presentation are worth 75 points combined. Please
see the rubric for specific point values.
The project is due on _____. There will be a 10% deduction for each day it
is late. If you are absent on the due date, email your final copy to me.