Lecture 11 Honours Thesis Structure Honours Theses in

Lecture 11: Honours Thesis Structure

Honours Theses in Psychology Share the Same Basic Structure Forward pages n Introduction n Method n Results n Discussion n References n Appendices n

Forward pages Are number using roman numerals n Cover page n Contain the abstract n Contain indices, list of tables, list of figures n Acknowledgements n Usually 8 pages or so n

Introduction Introduces a topic n Reviews background theory n Defines terms n Relevant empirical evidence, pointing out methodological limitations n Leads to proposal to conduct “The Present Study”: Study design n Hypotheses laid out (usually 2 or 3) n

Method n Participants n n Study sample, demographics, selection/ recruitment issues Measures Sometimes these are listed out, but they could also be organised thematically n Must stipulate what actual measure comes from each n n Procedure n What was actually done with participants? Order?

Results (Quantitative thesis) Descriptive statistics of the measures n Preliminary analyses n n n E. g. , are background variables related to measures? Do they then have to be included as covariates? Planned statistical tests of the hypotheses n Based on study design and the nature of the data collected Posteriori tests: Things you did not expect can be examined n Qualitative descriptions of the data n

Discussion Brief summary of the findings n Interpretation of the results n Hypothesis supported? n If not, why? n Limitations of the study n Reflecting back to theory being tested n Future directions, practical implications of the research n

References Must cross reference thesis n Must be current n Must be in APA format n Must be complete n

What kind of appendices do you have before you?

Appendices Must be ordered in the same order they are mentioned in thesis n Published, copywrited material is not appended n Unique measures are n Pilot data n Scoring protocols n Consent, recruitment forms n Debriefing scripts n

Six Common Questions for Honours Students 6. What have you learned from conducting this research? n 5. Where did this research idea originate? n 4. What are the implications for your research? n 3. How would you change the measures you used, if you had the opportunity? n 2. What were your hypotheses? n 1. What was your research design? n

Test 50 points n 9 questions n Ethics case, design a study from a newspaper article, content & class activities from PP n Readings are important, particularly those highlighted in class n