Psychology Third Year Project
PS3900, PS3910, PS3920, PS3930
PS3960, PS3980, PS3990
MODULE HANDBOOK
2008-2009
Module Leader: Paul Seager - Year Three Tutor,
Room DB104,
Email: pbseager@uclan.ac.uk
1
SOME IMPORTANT PIECES OF INFORMATION
THE EMPIRICAL NATURE OF THE PROJECT
Students are expected to perform an empirical project that
has a data gathering component. In most cases this will
require the student to gather new data from research
participants. However, in the case of projects in applied
areas, where the normal research procedure is to
investigate company, hospital, school, police, etc records,
then data gathered for the project may be derived wholly,
or in part from, such sources. Use of pre-existing data
sets would usually be inappropriate for experimental
projects. Your supervisor will guide you on these issues.
PLAGIARISM
Take great care not to plagiarise the work of another when
writing your report. The penalties are severe. Please
make sure you sign the Plagiarism Declaration (page 16)
and bind it in with both copies of your Project.
RECRUITING PARTICIPANTS
Please note that when attempting to recruit participants for
your study, you must not send out bulk e-mails (spam)
using the university e-mail system – it is against university
regulations.
If you wish to recruit participants via e-mail (using a more
targeted list of recipients), you must first consult with
your supervisor to get guidance on whether or not this
would be acceptable. You should also to get your
supervisor’s clearance regarding the content of any emails that you might wish to send.
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CONTENTS
PAGE
SECTION
Aims of the project ....................................................... 4
A
Finding a supervisor..................................................... 4
B
The importance of having a supervisor, and
ethical clearance …………………………………………..5
C
The supervision process .............................................. 5
D
Handing in a first draft .................................................. 6
E
Format of the final project report ................................ 6
F
Handing in the final project report .............................. 7
G
Penalties for late submissions .................................... 7
H
Extensions on the deadline of Tues. May 5, 2009 ...... 7
I
Guidelines on writing your report ............................... 8
Giving yourself feedback: a checklist ......................... 12
Method Support Sessions ............................................ 14
Record of mandatory supervision ............................... 15
Word length and plagiarism declaration ..................... 16
This Handbook is designed to help you get the best possible
mark for your Project. Remember it is worth TWO modules.
3
PSYCHOLOGY THIRD YEAR PROJECT HANDBOOK
2008-09
A)
AIMS OF THE PROJECT
The project is a major piece of work, and an opportunity for you to engage in a
study in an area of your own particular interest. It will expand your
understanding of conducting and analysing an empirical study. You are
encouraged to choose a topic of special interest to you from the list supplied
at the 2nd year progression briefing. Your choice of topic will help us to match
you with the supervisor who is best able to supervise your project.
In order to complete the project you are required to:
1. Undertake a critical literature review which will entail reading
comprehensively around the topic of your choice.
2. Define a problem in such a way that it is open to empirical
investigation.
3. Develop a research design which will appropriately address the
question posed.
4. Carry out the project with due regard to methodological, interpersonal,
administrative and ethical factors.
5. Undertake an appropriate analysis of the data.
6. Write up the project in a way which clearly communicates the
background to the question posed, the way in which the question was
empirically addressed, the extent to which the results permit an answer
to it, and any future research that the results might suggest.
STUDENTS ARE ADVISED THAT AN AVERAGE OF 10 HOURS PER
WEEK IS AN APPROPRIATE AMOUNT OF TIME TO DEVOTE TO THE
PROJECT, AND THAT THE PROJECT IS WORTH TWO MODULES.
B)
FINDING A SUPERVISOR
Please read the handout supplied at the progression briefing which gives
suggestions of topics which staff in the department are able and willing to
supervise. These topics reflect areas of active research and interest amongst
Psychology staff. You are advised to read the list of topics in detail because
there is some cross over of areas between some of the subheadings, e.g.
‘Cognition and Perception’ and ‘Neuropsychology & Neuroscience’
Please choose 2 topics from the list, a first and a second choice, and
complete the form at the front of the handout, entitled ‘THIRD YEAR
PROJECT TOPICS 2008-09’. Place completed forms into the box on the
counter in the Psychology Office (DB120), labelled ‘COMPLETED PROJECT
FORMS 2008-09’ by Noon on Friday April 11th 2008.
I will then allocate students to an appropriate supervisor, based on your
chosen topics.
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A LIST WILL APPEAR ON THE NOTICEBOARD NEXT TO PAUL
SEAGER’S OFFICE DOOR (DB104) AROUND THE BEGINNING OF JUNE
2008 TELLING YOU WHO YOUR SUPERVISOR IS.
In a few cases you may have to wait for the arrival of new staff in
September before being told who your supervisor is. This is standard
practice, and does not indicate a problem.
C)
THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A SUPERVISOR AND
GETTING ETHICAL CLEARANCE
It is absolutely compulsory to have a supervisor, and to gain ethical
clearance before you ask any participants to participate in your study.
It is essential that you adhere to the following guidelines regarding ethical
clearance. You are forbidden to recruit any participants, or to conduct any
part of your study until you have obtained ethical clearance. The
departmental ethics committee, or its representatives, must approve your
project before you collect any data. You will be given the go ahead for your
study, all being well, at the third mandatory meeting (see page 15) with your
supervisor, (i.e. before 12th December 2008).
How to obtain ethical clearance
Fill out an ethics form which you should download from the link on the
psychology department homepage (‘Student Support’ tab – ‘Ethics’ option).
Discuss the form with your supervisor, who will inform you at a later date
whether or not it has been approved. It may be that the project is not
approved, in which case you will need to modify it, so it is important that you
do not delay too long before completing the ethics questionnaire.
DEADLINE FOR GAINING ETHICAL APPROVAL
You must have your ethics form officially approved by mid-February 2009 at
the very latest. If this is not done, you will receive a letter from the Chair of
the Ethics committee, Mike Eslea, reminding you of the urgency of doing so.
You will also be reminded that if you submit a project for which ethical
approval has not been obtained, it will not be accepted and you will receive a
mark of ZERO. Ethical approval cannot be backdated.
D)
THE SUPERVISION PROCESS
Apart from the fairly frequent informal talks you will have with your supervisor
about your project, there are five formal mandatory supervision meetings,
(itemised on page 15 of this handbook) which you must attend in the course
of the year. These will ensure that you are making good progress.
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The form lists the action to take prior to each meeting, and topics to discuss
during meetings. At the end of each mandatory meeting you should ask your
supervisor to sign your form.
E)
HANDING IN A FIRST DRAFT
Your supervisor will allow you to submit one draft of your project for advice
and feedback. It is strongly advised that you submit this draft in its entirety
rather than in a piece-meal fashion. A common and serious shortcoming in
project write-ups is a failure to properly link the various sections; for example,
one often finds results sections that don’t speak too well to the hypotheses
developed in the introduction, or discussion sections that make no contact
with any aspect of the introduction. These kinds of shortcomings are unlikely
to be picked-up if different sections of the report are handed in at different
times. Refer to the timetable on page 15 for a guide to when to hand in a
draft.
F)
FORMAT OF THE FINAL PROJECT REPORT
 Projects should be typed on white paper, double-spaced,
with approximately a 1” margin top, bottom and right, and
with a 1.5” margin on the left.
 Page numbers are essential throughout, excluding the
Appendices.
 There is a maximum word limit of 8000 words, but no
minimum word length is stipulated.

Two typed copies must be submitted to the Psychology
Office, by 4pm on May 5th, 2009. Please note that one
copy will be available for collection from the departmental
office by you after marking (between July & September).
You must also e-mail an electronic copy of your project, plus
your SPSS data file, to your supervisor so that your project
can be checked for word length (and plagiarism).
 Specially prepared covers can be obtained from the
Psychology Office. They should be bound (flat binding
please) with your name in the window on the front cover. If
space allows, the Title should also appear in this window but
your name is more important. The Title can always be
printed below if space is short.
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 Binding can be done by Reprographic services (Chandler
Building). If Reprographics is too busy then you can do your
own binding in the Library. Ask at the Library desk for
details. Make sure you allow time for binding before the
deadline, as students university-wide will all be requesting
this service and queues can be long.
G)
HANDING IN THE FINAL PROJECT REPORT
Two typed copies must be submitted to the Psychology Office, by
4pm on May 5th, 2009. Don’t forget that you must also e-mail an electronic
copy of your project, plus your SPSS data file, to your supervisor so that your
project can be checked.
H)
PENALTIES FOR LATE SUBMISSION
Late submission of projects carries the following penalties, which are always
imposed:
Up to 5 working days late =
maximum mark of 40%
Over 5 working days late =
0%
I)
EXTENSIONS ON THE DEADLINE OF MAY 5th, 2009
Under certain circumstances an extension on the deadline can be given by
the Head of Psychology, in consultation with the Third Year Tutor. If you are
ill, or if other personal circumstances genuinely affect your ability to complete
the Project in time, then there is a procedure by which an agreed extension
might be granted. Please discuss any serious problems with your supervisor
initially. If they agree that an extension is justified they will complete the first
part of the form with you, and then pass to me for approval.
However, please bear in mind that extensions are not lightly given, and you
will be asked to provide rigorous documentation to support your application. If
you are ill we will require medical certificates, and possibly a letter from your
doctor. If a close relative is ill we may require some corroborative evidence of
this, for example from their GP.
Please note that if you need an extension it is probable that you also
need to complete an extenuating circumstances form, which you can get
from the office staff. An extension is NOT a substitute for submitting an
EC’s form. Think about whether you need to do both. If in doubt email me at
pbseager@uclan.ac.uk.
If the reasons for your extension request are serious and genuine then
you won’t find us unsympathetic, but if you’ve got a bad hangover, or a
nasty paper cut…….you’ll be out of luck, I’m afraid!
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GUIDELINES ON WRITING YOUR REPORT
Please note that:
These guidelines are not intended as a set of rigid rules. By
the end of your third year, you will know the rudiments of
writing a good report, and be able to use some discretion. It
is up to you to produce the most concise and coherent report
possible, and your supervisor will advise you on this process.
SECTIONS IN YOUR PROJECT REPORT
Your second year lab reports will serve as a rough basis for the project write
up, which should have the following sections:
 TITLE
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 METHOD (with Design, Participants, Materials, Procedure)
 RESULTS
 DISCUSSION
 REFERENCES
 APPENDICES (where necessary)
Whether or not you label your ABSTRACT and INTRODUCTION is up to you.
All other sections, except the TITLE, should be labelled.
To a large extent the ‘GUIDELINES ABOUT EMPIRICAL REPORTS’ in your
Assessment Handbook are relevant to writing your project report. They are
not reproduced here in full, but the most important points are reiterated below,
with some additional information. If you have any queries your supervisor will
be able to help.
TITLE: This should provide an accurate but concise description of what your
project is about, e.g. ‘THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON SIMPLE AND
CHOICE REACTION TIMES’
ABSTRACT: The aim of the ABSTRACT is to provide a concise overview
so that the reader can quickly deduce the following:

Purpose: What is the purpose of your study? State the primary
objective, and the major hypotheses/predictions that you tested.
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
Methods: What was done, and how did you do it? State (briefly) the
design and procedure used, including the number of participants, the
interventions, groupings, or experimental manipulations, as
appropriate, and the outcome measures.

Results: State the main results of the study.

Conclusions: State the conclusions that can be drawn from your
findings, with any implications or limitations which are appropriate.
INTRODUCTION: The aim of the Introduction is to provide relevant
background information, and to explain the rationale for your study. It should
begin with a literature review to ‘set the scene’.




What is the area of your study?
What other studies have been done in this area, and what have they
found?
What methods have been typically used, and what measures or
instruments have been used?
What gaps have you identified in the literature? The latter may well
provide the rationale for your own study, i.e. you may be attempting to
fill a gap which you have identified.
This scene setting should provide a clear rationale for the study you are about
to report, and your Introduction should end with a clear account of what your
study entails. This should include a clear indication of the question(s) you are
exploring, and the hypothesis(es) you are testing. You may well be exploring
several questions which differ in importance. When summarising them at the
end of the Introduction you should state them in order of importance. This will
not only clarify the issue for the reader, but will help you to structure your
Results section. Here, it should be obvious to your reader which results
address which hypothesis, and it makes sense to present your results in the
same order that your hypotheses/predictions are mentioned at the end of your
Introduction. Obviously the results which pertain to your major research
question should appear first in the Results section.
METHOD: There are four sections to the METHOD:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Design
Participants
Materials
Procedure
RESULTS: This section is simply a report on your findings. Do not include
raw data here. Individual subject scores belong in an Appendix, (refer the
reader to the appropriate one, e.g. See Appendix 3).
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Similarly, do not include printouts of your statistical analysis here, put it in an
Appendix. Only the outcome of that analysis belongs in this section, and
clearly labelled tables are a good way of displaying your results. Remember
when giving mean scores to explain what a high or a low score means, e.g.
when measuring say, attitudes to alcohol, indicate whether a high score
represents a positive or a negative attitude.
The Results Section will often begin with a Table of means and standard
deviations. It should be constructed so that the reader can see at a glance
any general trends in the data, and whether or not these trends support the
major hypotheses. For example, if you were reporting the results of an
experiment to see if drinking two pints of beer, compared to water, affected
reaction time to a visual stimulus, you would present a simple table so that the
reader could make an immediate comparison between the alcohol and water
condition. You would introduce the table in a straightforward way, such as
“Table 1 contains the mean RT’s (in msecs.) and SD’s for the beer drinking
and water drinking conditions”. As well as a sentence to introduce them, all
tables must have a heading/legend which includes the units of measurement.
For example, ‘Table 1: Mean Reaction Times (msecs) for subjects
drinking 2 pints of beer and 2 pints of water’.
These descriptive data should be followed by information about your statistical
analyses. You should say what specific statistical tests were used, and where
appropriate, indicate whether it was one or two tailed. For each test you
should report the value you obtained for the test statistic, (and for some tests
the degrees of freedom). You also need to indicate:
1. whether or not the value obtained was significant;
2. if significant, at what level (i.e. p<.05, or <.01 or<.001);
3. if non-significant, the exact probability value (e.g. p=0.19);
4. the direction of the difference, especially if for some reason it is not
otherwise obvious to the reader.
All of this information can be expressed quite concisely. Here is an example
for a significant result: “A two tailed related t-test indicated that the mean
reaction time in the water condition was significantly faster than in the beer
condition (t(16)=2.98, p<.01)”. [The number in brackets after the ‘t’ denotes
degrees of freedom].
Here is an example of a non-significant result: “A two-tailed related t-test
found no significant difference in mean reaction time between the two
conditions (two tailed related t-test; t(16)=.31, p=.805).”
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As the purpose of the Results Section does not extend beyond reporting the
results and the outcome of the statistical analysis, it is not appropriate to
comment on your findings. This should occur at the beginning of the
Discussion, and you should refrain from using terms like “proved” or
“disproved”. Things are rarely that certain, and it is more usual to say that a
hypothesis or prediction has been supported, or not, as the case may be.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT YOUR RAW DATA
Please do not dispose of any of your raw data, even after you have handed in
your Project, as it may be required by the exam board. Pleading that you
have lost it will not be acceptable. You must keep it in its entirety until you
have received your final results.
DISCUSSION: This section should begin with a statement of the results in
non-statistical language. For example, “The results of this study
demonstrate that participants who consumed beer prior to a reaction time test
took significantly longer than those who consumed water to respond to a
visual stimulus.” It should then progress to explain/interpret the meaning of
the results with regard to the experimental aims and predictions. How do
these findings relate to what you talked about in your Introduction? How do
your results fit in with the findings from previous studies? What are the
implications? In addition there may be methodological problems that need to
be mentioned here, especially if the expected results were not obtained (but
please do not say “the experiment did not work”). Finally, do you have any
suggestions as to what might be an interesting way to progress with future
research in the area?
REFERENCES: There must be a Reference Section at the end of your
project report, which includes a list of all articles/ books/ reports/ websites to
which you have referred in your text. Never cite references that you have not
read. For example if you have read about a study by Baddeley, in a book by
Best, do not mislead the reader into thinking that you read Baddeley’s original
article. There are ways to express this in the text, e.g. “Best (1990) describes
a 1974 study by Baddeley in which….”, or “Baddeley (1974) (see Best 1990)
demonstrated that….” In either case it is Best (1990) which should appear in
the Reference list, since it is Best that you have read.
References should be listed in alphabetical order, author’s second name first.
The most common convention for expressing the information is illustrated in
the following examples (for an article and a book respectively):
Baddeley, A. (1981). The Cognitive Psychology of Everyday Life. British
Journal of Psychology, 72(2), 257-269.
Campbell, R. (1992). Mental Lives: Case Studies in Cognition. Blackwell,
Oxford.
Note: the emboldened number is the volume; the number in brackets is the
issue number for that year’s volume. The book or journal title is italicised.
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GIVING YOURSELF FEEDBACK: A CHECKLIST
When you have written your first draft give yourself feedback by asking the
following questions:
ABSTRACT: “Will the reader know, in essence but not in detail”:
1. What question(s) your study was attempting to address?
2. How you ‘operationalised’ it (them)? More simply, will they know what
variables, if any, you manipulated, and what variables you measured?
3. What you found?
4. What you concluded?
INTRODUCTION: “Will the reader know”:
1. What general issues your experiment or study is seeking to explore,
and why?
2. What the current state of knowledge is about these general issues,
based on your literature review of current research findings?
3. How the general issues gave rise to your particular hypotheses or
predictions, and what the rationale is for your study? In order to
achieve this you need to have told the reader, in general terms,
something about your experiment/study, for example you will need to
have stated what the dependent and independent variables are.
4. What your hypotheses/predictions are?
METHOD: “Will the reader”:
1. Understand how you designed your experiment/study?
2. Understand how your ‘Method’ tests your hypotheses/prediction?
3. Have sufficient information to be able to repeat your experiment/study
in exact detail?
RESULTS: “Will the reader”:
1. Be able to look at a table of (usually) means/SD data and readily make
the comparisons required to see if your findings are in the predicted
directions?
2. Be able to see whether your results are statistically significant?
NOTE: Any Figures, Graphs or Charts should be included in the RESULTS
section, and may be mentioned in the DISCUSSION. Only include such
figures if they clarify results already presented in a Table, (e.g. if you are
interested in how performance varies over time then the data in the Table
would be clarified by being further represented on a graph). Remember to
give a clear title (often called a ‘legend’) to each Table or Figure.
DISCUSSION: “Will the reader”:
1. Have been given a brief summary of the major findings?
2. Have been taken through the implications of the major findings, i.e. the
extent to which the results strengthen or weaken the hypotheses?
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3. Have their attention drawn to any major flaws in the experiment/study
which lead you to have reservations about your findings and their
implications? (N.B. this should not be taken as an invitation to ‘grub’
around for trivial criticisms of your study).
4. Have been invited to consider how your results might suggest further
questions which warrant investigation by research?
IMPORTANT ADVICE
Having carefully checked all of the above, be sure to hand in a first draft to
your supervisor so that you can benefit from their feedback. The advantages
of doing so cannot be sufficiently stressed.
BUT REMEMBER
Plan the timing of this carefully with your supervisor. The draft hand in date is
often around Easter, a time when many staff will plan to take holiday.
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METHODS SUPPORT SESSIONS:
Important Guidelines for Project Students
Students are allowed to attend the method support sessions (a.k.a. Stats
Surgeries) for support with their project data and analysis. However,
there are clear guidelines regarding the help that can be given:

Only project students who have attended the Research
Methods Revision workshops are allowed to attend the
support sessions – see 3rd Year noticeboard at the start of
each semester for workshop dates and times. If you have any
queries regarding the revision workshops, please contact Jane
Hutchinson (jmhutchinson@uclan.ac.uk)

Project students are entitled to ask for help with the
mechanics of SPSS and interpretation of the SPSS outputs, if
they have discussed the analysis with their supervisor and
specified what test(s) they wanted to do

Project students cannot not ask for advice on what tests to do
nor on how to interpret the test results
If the support you need cannot be provided in the session, your supervisor
will be alerted to this and notified of the specific support you require (i.e.
interpretation of results in relation to predictions). Please note that all
attendance will be monitored and your supervisor will be informed of any
support requested and received.
If you have any queries regarding the Method Support sessions, please
contact Jane Hutchinson, jmhutchinson@uclan.ac.uk)
METHOD SUPPORT SESSIONS:
See Year 3 noticeboard for room allocation
TUESDAYS
1 – 2 pm
THURSDAYS
1 – 2 pm & 5 – 6 pm
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Student’s record of mandatory supervision
Dates given are approximate
Type of
Meeting
1. Initial
Meeting
Action for
student
Check notice
board for
information on
supervisor.
Make an
appointment to
see them and
agree a working
title
Action for
supervisor
Advise on
reading
literature,
search strategy,
etc.
Sign form
Deadline
Supervisor’s
signature
By October 3rd
2008
Prior to 2nd formal meeting – Read around topic and write brief proposal (1 side A4)
2. Go ahead
meeting(s).
Repeat until
approval given
Discuss your
ideas with
supervisor
Evaluate
proposal and
approve if
appropriate.
Record student
attendance by
signing the form
Before
November 7th
2008
Prior to 3rd formal meeting – plan implementation of project idea. Consider data
analysis. Download ethics form and complete.
3.
Implementation
meeting
Outline and
discuss ideas.
Give ethics form
to supervisor
Sign ethics form,
and get
countersignature.
Give to Mike
Eslea.
Offer advice.
Record student
attendance
Before 12th
December 2008
Prior to 4th formal meeting – Collect data
4. Analysis
meeting
Bring raw data
and summary of
results in a clear
format.
Approve
analysis.
Record student
attendance
Before 13th
February 2009
Prior to 5th formal meeting – Write up a draft of the project and submit it to your
supervisor, leaving time for them to read it before the 5th meeting
5. Final draft
feedback
meeting
Discuss
feedback with
supervisor
Give feedback
on final draft.
Record student
attendance.
Before 3rd April
2009
Prior to project submission – take any necessary remedial action.
FINALLY – Hand in 2 copies of your project to the psychology departmental office.
DEADLINE = 4pm Tuesday May 5th 2009.
15
A copy of this form MUST be bound into the front of both copies of your
project
DECLARATIONS ABOUT WORD LENGTH AND PLAGIARISM
WORD LENGTH
There is a maximum word length of 8000 words for the project, not including
the Contents page, Reference Section, Appendices, or any Tables, including
titles, in your Results section. Please note that 8000 words is the maximum
allowed, but this should in no way be interpreted to mean that less than 8000
is undesirable. On the contrary we would encourage you to be as succinct
and economical as possible in your use of words, in order to achieve clarity of
expression. You must also e-mail an electronic copy of your project,
plus your SPSS data file, to your supervisor so that word length can be
checked.
Take great care not to exceed this word length. The penalty for doing so will
be a mark of zero (0%).
WORD LENGTH DECLARATION:
I have checked the word length of this project, excluding the Reference
Section, the Appendices, and the Tables in the Results section and I declare
that the word length does not exceed 8000.
I declare that the word length is __________ words (please state word count)
Signature:___________________________
PLAGIARISM:
Take great care not to plagiarise the work of another when writing your report.
The penalties are severe. Please sign the statement given below with regard
to the work which you are submitting. Please read it carefully before you sign.
PLAGIARISM DECLARATION:
“Apart from the contributions of my supervisor, the empirical work and
its analysis reported here were conducted entirely by myself. If there
are occasions when I have used the words of others I have
acknowledged them by the use of quotation marks, and I have cited the
source; otherwise, the text of the report is written in my own words”.
Signature: ________________________________________________
Date: _____________________________________________________
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