PSYCHOLOGY 200
Introduction to Professional Practice
~ Michael J. Walk, M.S. ~
PSYC 200 – Day One
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Agenda:
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Introductions
Syllabus
WebTycho
Begin APA
Word 2007
Michael J. Walk
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B.A. Psychology, Eastern University
M.S. Applied Psychology, UB
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Focus on research, measurement, and stats
Adjunct Professor
Workshop Instructor
Freelance Programmer and Data Analysis
Special Assistant and Agency Performance
Manager, Maryland Transit Administration
Introductions
Your name
Your major / course of study
Why you are here in this course
What is your experience with psychology
What do you like to do during your free time
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Syllabus
Syllabus Major Points
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Online office hours
Course objectives
Schedule of assignments and reading
Tests
Conferences
Pop Quizzes
Late assignments and extensions
Extra Credit
Citing sources
**Achievement and Learning Center**
WebTycho
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http://ubonline.tycho.ubalt.edu/
For this class:
 Distribute copies of the syllabus and update it as needed
 Class list: email addresses for all students and teacher
 Conferences: “like a forum”
 Assignments: may use as way to turn in your assignments
 Grades: will keep most of grades on WebTycho; you can see
them at any point in semester
Good WebTycho practices:
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Type your work in a word document and paste in
Explore the options. There are many menus.
Let’s try it.
WRITING (NOT) FOR DUMMIES
Why writing in a psychology class?
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Ideas need to be communicated to be shared
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Success of communication is ≤ quality of
communication
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Your ideas are only as good as your ability to
communicate them.
Your communications are inexorably tied to the quality
of the method by which you communicate.
Writing is the most common form of formal
communication for idea exchange.
Quality of written communication ≤ adherence to
standards (style, formatting, English rules)
If you cannot write well, you cannot communicate
well (formally).
ALL Professionals in the Sciences
Write
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Examples of writing you’ve done in your work?
Examples of writing you might do in future work?
Legal
Cost
Resume Analysis Vitae White Program
Website
Statement
Paper Evaluation
Poster
Training
Legal
Session
Materials
Treatment
Executive
Website
Statement
Research
Plan
Summary
Email to
Email
to
Report
Cost
Treatment boss Cost Executive
Counter-White
boss
Analysis
Plan Budget
Program
Business
Poster ProposalPaper
Analysis
Summary
Proposal Evaluation
Business Session Budget
Plan
Proposal
Legal White TrainingPoster
Letter
Business
Resume
Business
Paper
Statement
Session
Plan
Website Letter
Materials
Vitae
Email to Research
Training
Treatment
CounterExecutive
Counterboss
Materials
Plan
Resume
Report
Proposal
Summary
Proposal
The Practice of Formal Writing
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Writing is NOT the same as talking
Takes time and planning to do your best
What are some of the habits of good writers?
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Make time for writing
Look up things if you’re unsure
Do multiple drafts
Challenge yourself
Read
Writing will take multiple sessions (leave notes)
Revise, revise, revise (have others help)
READ THE TEACHER’S COMMENTS
APA Style—always “in”
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What is APA Style?
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Standardized method of communicating scientific and
other written information.
Created by the American Psychological Association
Why do I need to know it?
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All scientific literature related to psychology is
published in APA style
If you ever write an article, book, essay, etc. that is to
be taken seriously by the psychological field, you need
APA style
All journal articles that you will be reading will be in
APA (generally speaking)
APA Style
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Why do we need a “standardized format”?
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Primaryis publicSecond
Science
and shared
Author
Author our science so that all
Need
a way to discuss
Pub Date
communication is effective and efficient
Article
Title
Enhances clarity, precision, and
organization
Think of math…
Statistical
Test Used
Bagozzi, R.Value
P., &ofYi, Y. (1988).
On the evaluation of structural
Probability
equation models.
of stat
the Academy of Marketing Science,
test stat Journal
of test
16(1), 74-94.
Journal name
Logically, there were significant differences in age (F(2, 297) =
13.13, p < .001), tenure (F(2,
297) = 14.42, p < .001), and
pages
Volume
#
Issue # 297) = 11.64, p < .001) among the three position
education
(F(2,
types.
Types of Articles
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Empirical Studies – original research
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Intro, method, results, discussion
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Define problem, summarize previous studies, identify lit
issues/gaps, suggest next steps
Use / summarize empirical data
Literature Reviews – evaluate published lit
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Theoretical Articles – use published lit to advance theory
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Trace theory development, expand/define constructs,
compare/contrast theories, present new theory?
Rarely use empirical data
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Use empirical data to demonstrate method
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Brief reports, book reviews, etc.
Methodological Articles – discuss research methods or
analytical techniques
Case Studies – single person, group, etc.
Others
General APA Rules
(APA pp. 228-229)
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Margins: 1” all around
Spacing: Double never single except in tables/figures
Font: 12-point Times New Roman
Running head
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Abbreviated title
Max 50 characters
Flush left, uppercase letters, at top of every page
Page numbers: top right of page, every page
Alignment: Left
What is left-justified?
Here is some text that may be
justified to the left. I’m not quite
sure which one is correct. I will
need your help to decide; show
your pick by raising your hand
when the vote occurs.
Here is some text that may be
justified to the left. I’m not quite
sure which one is correct. I will
need your help to decide; show
your pick by raising your hand
when the vote occurs.
Here is some text that may be
justified to the left. I’m not quite
sure which one is correct. I will
need your help to decide; show
your pick by raising your hand
when the vote occurs.
Here is some text that may be
justified to the left. I’m not quite
sure which one is correct. I will
need your help to decide; show
your pick by raising your hand
when the vote occurs.
General APA Rules
(APA pp. 228-229)
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Margins: 1” all around
Spacing: Double (never single except in tables/figures)
Font: 12-point Times New Roman
Running Head
Page Numbers
Alignment: Left
End-of-line hyphenation: NONE
Paragraphs: indent 1st line (use tab key)
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Exceptions: (1) abstract, (2) block quotes, (3) titles,
headings, (4) tables and figures.
Major Parts of APA Papers
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Title Page
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Abstract
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Any supporting documentation / articles used
Tables
Figures
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Contains the text of the article
References
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Summarizes the article
Text (or body)
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Contains title and authorship info
Graphs, charts, photos, etc.
Appendices
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Complete measures, screenshots, etc.
Title Page from Top to Bottom
(APA pp. 23-25, 229)
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Title
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Summarize main idea: state main topic, variables
included in study, and relationship b/w them
Should be able to stand alone
No abbreviations
Title Caps, centered, upper half of page, max 12 words
Title Page from Top to Bottom
(APA pp. 23-25, 229)
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Byline—author(s)
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Institutional Affiliation
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First name, middle initial(s), last name
Use same publication name for entire career
NO TITLES (e.g., Ph.D., M.S., Psy.D., etc.)
Names should appear in order of contribution
Centered, immediately under title
Location where research conducted
Centered, immediately under author (see p. 24 for
multiples)
Author note—know it exists and what it contains
Class Exercise – Create a title page
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Title: EXPLANATION OF A WEB-BASED
METHOD FOR REPEATED-MEASURES AND
MULTI-SOURCE RESEARCH
By: MICHAEL J. WALK @ THE UNIVERSITY
OF BALTIMORE
Class Exercise – Create a title page
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Title: EXPLANATION OF A WEB-BASED
METHOD FOR REPEATED-MEASURES AND
MULTI-SOURCE RESEARCH
By:
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MICHAEL J. WALK
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RALIGN T. WELLS
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DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK,
KATHARINE ALVESTAD
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DIVISION OF APPLIED BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
THE UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK
(and now works at the University of Baltimore in DABS)
Hint: we need an author note
Abstract
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The MOST IMPORTANT paragraph in your
paper. 1st point of contact for your reader.
Rules for good abstract (APA pp 26-27, 41)
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Word limits vary by journal: 150-250 words
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Accurate
Nonevaluative
Coherent and readable
Concise
Our class: no more than 150 words
Contents vary by article type (empirical, lit review,
theory, methodological, case study).
On page 2, word Abstract centered at top, single
paragraph with no indent
Body
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Starts on page 3
•Place
•The
title at top of page, centered
body contains the text of your paper
Microsoft Word Primer
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Word’s defaults are NOT always APA style.
It is your responsibility to change the formatting of
your document.
It is your responsibility to GET HELP if you need
it.
Typical issues:
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Page header: Guide for Word 2007 on page header
Font type and size
Extra space b/w paragraphs
Hanging indent
Centering
See handouts.
Summary and Questions
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Assignments Due Next Week:
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Reading
Conference #1
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Initial response due by 11:59 pm on Sunday
Essay #1
What are the basics of APA format?
Name some sections of a typical APA paper.
Is attendance mandatory?
Name any of the primary goals of this course…