Research Project Introduction Guidelines and Rubric

Roughly 6 paragraphs (can be more if you need to write more to make it ‘flow’) and 2-3 pages

As you write, use your notes on Roediger and McDermott (1995) and your Article Evaluation Assignment to help you describe in brief what each article did/found

Paragraph 1

General introduction to false memories – What are memory illusions? Give a brief background on why it might be interesting to study false memories at all,

Paragraph 2

Discuss Roediger and McDermott (1995)

Paragraph 3

Discuss Gallo et al (1997)

Connect to above articles

Paragraph 4

Discuss McCabe et al (2002)

Connect to above articles

Paragraph 5

Discuss Neuschatz et al (2003)

Connect to above articles

Paragraph 6

Propose hypothesis with some lead-in describing how you arrived at this hypothesis from the evidence given in the above articles.

(Questions to ask yourself to help you write a paragraph leading up to the hypothesis: Why did a specific researcher choose a specific stimulus? What outcome on the dependent variable (the recall of critical lures, e.g. falsely remembered words) did a specific stimulus have? Do you think warning subjects about the nature of the task will reduce false recall?)

Hypothesis to use: “In this experiment, we will investigate whether previous participation in a DRM experiment plus full knowledge of the DRM paradigm will lead to reduced rates of false alarms with future testing” You do not have to use this exact wording if it fits awkwardly with what you have already written, but be sure to include the IV, DV, and proposed outcome (change in DV) in whatever you write.

References section

Hint: You are referencing the same articles that you are working with in the Article Evaluation.

GENERAL TIPS:
Use the research writing “funnel”; start general, get more specific until your hypothesis

Use predominantly paraphrasing, with some direct quotes when they are called for. (Direct quotes are best used when a complicated idea is best expressed by the original author. Most research papers are primarily composed of paraphrasing.)

Points Possible	Points Earned
APA Formatting	Title at head of introduction section	1
Times New Roman, size 12	1
1 inch margins all around	1
Running Head, Last name, and page number in header	1
In-text citations use correct naming, numbering, punctuation	1
Reference citations are correct including indentation	1
At least 5 paragraphs/3 pages long	2
Introduction content
General introduction to false memories	2
Introduce Roediger and McDermott (1995) Study	2
For each of 4 other studies include: why researchers tested it, brief description of methods/procedures, brief description of outcome including whether it was statistically significant
Gallo et al (1997)	2
McCabe et al (2002)	2
Neuschatz et al (2003)	2
Use primarily paraphrasing when discussing research from articles	2
Make paragraphs/chain of thought “flow” by connecting each study to the previous work	2
Lead up to the hypothesis by summarizing why all the previous research indicates testing the hypothesis is a good idea	2
Give the hypothesis	1
25	/25