Psy 493 – Senior Thesis
Autumn 2006
Instructor: Prof. Wes Lynch
Class Meetings: Tu & Th 12:45-2:00pm, 317 Traphagen Hall
Office Hours: Tu&Th, 2-4pm or by appt.
Office: 328 Traphagen Hall; Phone: 994-3803; e-mail: wlynch@montana.edu
Syllabus & Course Objectives
General Overview. Senior Thesis is the capstone course for all Psychology majors. Typically it is taken during the last semester before graduation, although some students may take it earlier. In all cases students must have completed (or in rare cases be completing) an Undergraduate Research (Psy 489/490 or USP 490) or Field Practicum (Psy 491) course. If you have not taken one of these courses, please see me immediately.
Your primary responsibility in this class will be to improve your thinking, writing, and speaking skills in preparation for your post-baccalaureate career or future graduate education. My primary responsibility as your instructor is to assist you in planning, organizing, writing, and speaking effectively, so you can make the best possible thesis presentation to the faculty and students of MSU. In addition, I hope to stimulate you to think critically about your future career plans.
The main objective is for you to consolidate your knowledge of psychology (past learning), demonstrate your ability to develop and present an independent future project plan, and prepare for your post-baccalaureate future. Overall objectives are for you to be able to do the following:
· Effectively search and critically evaluate existing psychological literature that is directly relevant to the topic or problem of your research or field practicum work as it relates to your future plans. A major focus of your literature search should be to find existing methods that can be applied to your problem.
· Communicate effectively in a professional manner about your research or field practicum work and your future plans. (Recall what you learned in your Public Speaking course!)
· Write a professional job resumé.
· Attend as many classes as possible, help other students in this class with their projects, and make the Senior Thesis course a valuable learning experience for everyone involved.
· Write a professional quality NSF-style grant proposal on the topic relevant of your research or practicum idea. (See Publication Manual of the APA, fifth edition).
· Make a formal presentation of your grant proposal during the Senior Thesis Conference to be held at the end of this semester.
Senior Thesis offers the opportunity for you to expand your basic research or field practicum topic, problem, or idea into a plan for future research or program development, and to present your plan to the public. This plan will take the form of a NSF - (National Science Foundation) style grant proposal. The grant proposal format is useful because it offers the opportunity to 1) critically review the existing literature related to your topic, 2) summarize any preliminary data you may have already collected that relates to your proposed topic or idea, and 3) extend your thinking about the future direction your idea or topic should take. For those of you going on to work in specific job or area of applied psychology (e.g., counselling, I/O, management, program director) the grant proposal may take the form of a program development plan. In either case, this plan will take the form of a scientific proposal.
Specific Tasks. The following are specific tasks that will be accomplished by each student during this semester (Note: Underlined items will be evaluated.)
· Write and submit a professional job resumé and goals letter (or application cover letter).
· Review current psychological literature relevant to your preliminary thesis question.
· Write and submit a Preliminary Conference Abstract.
· Revise your thesis based on your literature review and the advice of peers, your faculty consultant(s), and your instructor.
· Present your thesis topic, background literature review, and proposed methods to the other members of the class in a 10-15 min oral presentation, with question & answer time following.
· Write and submit the Introduction and Methods sections of a grant proposal.
· Check your Methods plan with peers and faculty (or other) experts and revise as necessary.
· Present your thesis, Expected Results (predictions) and Implications (conclusions or discussion) sections: What do you expect to happen? Why are the results of your thesis likely to be important?
· Make your final Thesis Presentation (poster or oral) to faculty and students.
· Submit your final written Grant Proposal in NSF format.
Required Texts. The following required books contain valuable information and I recommend you make as much use of them as possible. There are other useful resources also available in the Renne library and on the internet.
American Psychological Association (2001). Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Edition.
Rosnow, R.
L. and Rosnow, M. (2005). Writing Papers in
Psychology: A Student Guide to Research Reports, Essays, Proposals, Posters,
and Brief Reports, 7th Edition.
Recommended Texts. The Reber & Reber dictionary is available at the MSU bookstore and should be purchased by anyone who is seriously interested in a career in Psychology. It is not required, but contains a wealth of information beyond the mere definition of psychological terms. It is a valuable book to have in your library for the future. The Nicol and Pexman book may be useful to those of you who want to present statistical results or other kinds of tables. See me to borrow a copy.
Reber, A.
S. and Reber, E. S. The
Penguin Dictionary of Psychology, 3rd Edition.
Nicol, A. A. M. and Pexman,
P. M. Presenting Your Findings: A Practical Guide for Creating Tables,
Faculty Consultants
I don’t expect you to work entirely independently on the development of your project plan and grant proposal. While I do expect that each student will do his or her own work, each of you should take full advantage of the expertise and knowledge of other students, myself, and particularly other MSU faculty. Each of the faculty members listed on the Psychology Department Faculty webpage (http://www.montana.edu/~wwwpy/faculty.htm) is prepared to consult with students enrolled in this class. I recommend that you meet with your consultant once early in the semester and again later. At least one meeting with your consultant(s) is required and a form verifying that you have satisfied the requirements of this meeting must be turned in (see schedule). You may, however, meet with your faculty consultant(s) as often as you and s/he feel is necessary or useful. However, be aware that faculty time is limited – don’t abuse the priviledge and always be professional and go to meetings PREPARED!
Assignments to be Submitted
Your grade will be based on the total points accumulated during the semester. There will not be any exams as such. The following are the major assignments that must be completed. The table below indicates the value of each.
Resumé and Letter. During the first class or two, I will ask you to think about the next 5 years of your life and develop a 5-year plan for the future. I will probably ask you present this plan orally to class, if time allows. You should make your plan as detailed as you can, but present it concisely. In other words, spend lots of time thinking about the next 5 years then tell us about your plans – BRIEFLY (~3-5min). By the second or third class, I will ask you to summarize what you have done in terms of work experience and other professional experience (e.g., volunteering, special classes, etc). This summary will take the form of a Professional Resumé. Included with the resumé I will expect to see a 1-page letter describing your goals for either a job (job application cover letter) or post-graduate education (goals letter).
Preliminary Conference Abstract. Before you actually begin work on your thesis, I will ask you to write a 350-word (maximum) abstract describing what you propose to do (and what you have already accomplished toward reaching that goal). Your final thesis presentation will take place during a Senior Thesis Conference planned for the last week of regular classes. As is typical of all professional conferences, a volume of published abstracts must be made available to the potential attendees. Often abstracts for conferences must be submitted many months in advance of the actual conference, at a time when your work is not yet complete. So writing an early version of the abstract is not uncommon. You will have a chance to revise this abstract a second time before the actual conference; but for this assignment, do your best to present your proposed work in as much detail as possible. I will provide some samples from professional conferences and from previous Psy 493 classes. Please indicate whether you would prefer to make an Oral Ö or Poster Ö presentation. You may change your mind later.
Presentation of Introduction and Methods. I will ask each student to make a short (10-15min) oral presentation to the class, followed by discussion (5-10min), which summarizes the existing literature relavant to your topic as well as any “preliminary data” or work you have done (i.e., Introduction section of your Grant Proposal) and briefly describes the methods you propose to use in the proposed future work (i.e., Methods section of your Grant Proposal). This assignment will give you the opportunity to practice speaking to a group and will require you to have completed most of the work on two of the major sections of your Grant Proposal. In addition to giving you the opportunity to make a preliminary oral presentation, you should use this opportunity to solicit comments and suggestions from your classmates. I will evaluate the content of your presentation as well as your style, and the quality of the class discussion it generates.
Written Draft of Introduction and Method Sections and Consultant Form. Immediately after the oral presentations are completed, I will expect you to turn in a written “first draft” copy of the complete Introduction and Methods sections of your thesis. This should be in APA style (See “Publication Manual…”) and should be as complete and accurate as you can make it, including references. You will have the opportunity to revise these sections before you turn in your final draft, but make this draft as complete as possible – you won’t have much time to revise these sections later.
Written Draft of Results, Discussion, and All Other Sections. This should be a draft of all the remaining sections as described in the Thesis Proposal Guidelines handout (coming soon) and should be written in APA style (see “Publication Manual”). You’ll have an opportunity to make final revisions after this draft has been returned with my comments. Again, make this draft as complete as possible – you won’t have much time to revise these sections later.
Conference Presentation. Your conference presentation will take the form of either an oral presentation with visual aids or a professionally constructed poster presentation. I will provide additional details on both of these methods of presentation in the weeks to come. On your Preliminary Abstract (described above) I ask that you indicate whether you would prefer an Oral or Poster presentation. Not everyone will get his or her preference. Approximately 30% of the class will be expected to make Oral presentations. I will let you know, well in advance, which type of presentation you will be making. I will be the primary evaluator of the quality of your conference presentations although I may ask consultants and other faculty who attend the conference for their input also.
Final Written Proposal. The written grant proposal in final form is due no later than 5pm on Monday, May 3rd. This is the Monday of final exam week. If you have final exams in your other classes during this week, I suggest you try to get your proposal finished by the last day of regular classes, so you will have the weekend to study for other exams. No late written proposals will be accepted.
Participation, Professionalism and Class Attendance. A small portion of your grade will be based on my (entirely subjective) assessment of your overall participation in the class. I will gather information from faculty and from my own observations of your willingness to participate in class activities, to turn in assignments on time, and to help your fellow students.
Miscellaneous. I may ask you to do some outside or in-class assignments that I feel will help you with the main assignments. For those that I collect, I will provide a “few” (1-3) additional points. This will be “optional.” See ? below.
Tentative Point Distribution
|
Written resumé w/goals letter (25pts) |
25 |
|
Preliminary Conference Abstract |
15 |
|
Short Oral Presentation of Introduction and Methods (I&M) |
35 |
|
Draft Introduction and Method Sections and Consultant Form |
5 |
|
Draft Results, Implications, etc. (ALL remaining sections) |
5 |
|
Conference Presentation (evaluated by WL and other attendees) |
100 |
|
Final Written Proposal (evaluated by WL only) |
200 |
|
Participation, Professionalism, etc. |
15 |
|
Miscellaneous – homework and assignments |
? |
|
TOTAL |
400 + ? |
Grade Assignment
I will use a modified A, B, C grading system in which the regular 90%, 80%, 70% cutoff scores will be used, with the addition of plus grades (+) for high Bs (B+) and high Cs (C+). There will be no minus (-) grades. Following are the percentages of total possible points that must be obtained for each grade:
|
90% or higher = |
A |
|
87-89.99%= |
B+ |
|
80-86.99%= |
B |
|
76-79.99%= |
C+ |
|
69-75.99% = |
C |
|
60-68.99% = |
D |
|
59.99% or below= |
F |
Schedule of Activities
|
Week |
In-class Activity |
Handouts |
Items Due |
|
8/29
8/31 |
-Introduction. -Planning and discussion of “Controversial Items.” -Discuss resumé, CV & letter writing. -Self-assessment worksheet/ |
Syllabus and schedule. DeGalen & Lambert pages. Self-assessment worksheet. Resumé guidelines.
|
None
Presentation by Alyce Maas: Career Services |
|
9/5
9/7 |
-Self-assessment: Finish & discuss. -Exercise: P, Q, P, H -Abstract writing workshop. |
Sample Goals letter.
Exercise: Problem, Question, Purpose, Hypothesis. Abstract samples. Title page samples. |
Optional: Self-assessment worksheet. Resumé (CV) & Letter due.
|
|
9/12
9/14 |
-Literature searching presentation. -Introduction & Methods writing workshop. -Proposal writing overview. |
Proposal writing guidelines. I & M sample comments (and scoring). Psychology Databases: MSU (Possible library visit) |
Optional: Preliminary abstract writing form.
Abstract & Title page draft due.
|
|
9/19
9/21 |
-I&M presentations (15min) + Q&A (5min): Timed! -Discuss I&M writing issues. |
Handouts provided to all other students by presenters: Required. |
Consultant Form due. Optional: Presentation handout copy to Wes. |
|
9/26
9/28 |
-Presentation plus Q&As (cont’d). -Discuss funding sources. -Discuss I&M writing issues. |
None. |
Optional: Potential funding sources. I&M complete draft due.
|
|
10/3
10/5 |
-Results & Implications workshop: discuss samples. - Data analysis and Excel graphs demo. |
Lynch’s proposal sample. Other proposal samples. |
Revised abstract. |
|
10/10
10/12 |
-Return & discuss I&M drafts
Ditto |
Lynch’s written comments on I&M drafts.
|
Optional: Revision plan (1pg). R&I draft due. |
|
10/17
10/19 |
-Results & Implications writing: Discussion. -Individual meetings. |
Summary written feedback on R&I sections (if available). |
Final Abstract (e-mail attachment) for printing is due. |
|
10/24
10/26 |
-Discuss remaining proposal sections. -Presentation workshop. -PowerPoint template overview. |
Individual meetings sign-up sheet.
PowerPoint template.
|
Final Proposal full-draft. |
|
10/31
11/1 |
-Discuss full proposals & presentation plan. -Individual meetings. |
TBA |
Final Proposal full-draft. |
|
11/7
11/9 |
-Individual meetings on Final draft of proposal |
TBA |
|
|
11/14 |
Student Presentations Planning, practice. |
|
Nothing due or accepted after this date (until finals week)! |
|
11/21 |
|
|
|
|
11/28 |
Student Presentation practice 10min + 5min – Timed! |
|
|
|
12/5
12/7 |
Conference Day 1
Conference Day 2 |
TBA |
|
|
Finals Week |
|
|
Written Proposal due Th, 12/14 by 5pm. |
Behavioral Expectations
Collaboration
University policy states
that, unless otherwise specified, students may not collaborate on graded
material. Any exceptions to this policy will be stated explicitly for
individual assignments. If you have any questions about the limits of
collaboration, you are expected to ask for clarification.
Plagiarism
Paraphrasing or quoting another’s
work without citing the source is a form of academic misconduct. Even
inadvertent or unintentional misuse or appropriation of another's work (such as
relying heavily on source material that is not expressly acknowledged) is
considered plagiarism. If you have any questions about using and citing
sources, you are expected to ask for clarification.
Academic Expectations
Section 310.00 in the MSU
Conduct Guidelines states that students must:
A. be
prompt and regular in attending classes;
B. be
well prepared for classes;
C. submit required assignments in a timely manner;
D. take exams when scheduled;
E. act
in a respectful manner toward other students and the instructor and in a way
that does not detract from the learning experience; and
F. make and keep appointments when necessary to meet with the instructor.
In addition to the above
items, students are expected to meet any additional course and behavioral
standards as defined by the instructor.
Withdrawal Deadlines
After November 17, 2006, I will only support requests to withdraw from
this course with a “W” grade where extraordinary circumstances exist.
Accommodations
If you have a documented
disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation(s), you are
encouraged to contact your instructor and Disabled Student Services.