Write a paper that includes:
(a) a summary of the article’s intro/purpose, design/methodology, main findings, and
discussion (~1.25 pages). Summarizing an entire article in 1.25 pages is not as easy task. Based
on my experiences in previous semesters, students often write way more than 1.25 pages and
don’t leave enough room for their analysis. The key with summarizing the article is to hit on the
main points of the article in each section (and be sure to include all sections!) and also realize you
cannot include every detail of the study. It’s a great idea to write a longer summary in the draft of
your paper so you get all your thoughts out and make sure you address all the key information.
Then you can edit the text down to meet the page requirements. A general guideline would be to
have 3 paragraphs that include the intro/purpose (1st paragraph), design/method (2nd paragraph),
and main findings/discussion (3rd paragraph). This section should include in-text citations in APA
format of the article itself
(b) an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the research design and methodology (~2
pages). This section should include both strengths and weaknesses, as every study has its merits
and limitations. Think about creating 4-5 strengths/weaknesses for this section, with an entire
paragraph devoted to each one (e.g., 3 strengths/1 weakness; 2 strengths, 3 weaknesses). For each
strength/weakness you want to focus on, you need to (a) describe the strength/weakness in the
study, (b) describe information from sources (textbook or articles) that support the point you’re
trying to make, and (c) show how the article does or does not align with the recommendations
from the textbook. For example, if you want to say that the experimental study had poor internal
validity, you need to define what internal validity is, specify which threat to internal validity the
study has not addressed, and explain why the weakness related to internal validity is a problem
for results of the study. It would not be sufficient to simply say they did not randomize
participants and that is a threat to internal validity. You need to explain in detail what the concept is and why it creates a problem for the study. This section should include lots of APA-formatted
in-text citations from the textbook and the article you’re analyzing.
(c) suggested strategies for improving the method in future studies (~1.25 pages). This section is
an opportunity for you to provide suggestions on how the study could be improved upon by future
researchers who want to complete similar studies on this topic. A logical way to focus this section
is to build upon the weaknesses you identified in the previous section and talk about what you
would change about the methods to overcome those weaknesses. Similar to the previous section,
you want to identify 3-4 specific recommendations for improving the method, focus an entire
paragraph on each one, and provide detailed explanations and support from the textbook. For
example, if you noted a weakness that the sample of participants was not diverse enough, it is not
sufficient to simply say they need to get a more diverse sample. You will want to explain exactly
what kind of sample would be more diverse and how that would improve the results and quality
of the study. This section should include in-text citations in APA format of the article itself and of
the textbook.
After you write the paper, the final task will be to make sure you format the paper according to the
following guidelines. The body of your paper (i.e., summary, strengths/weaknesses, future research)
should be at least 5 pages and no more than 5 pages in length, plus your APA-formatted title page and
reference list (7 pages total). Format your paper with 1†margins on all sides, Times New Roman 12-
point font, double-spaced, and page numbers in the top right corner. Also, do not use any direct quotes
from the article or from the textbook. The key is to paraphrase these ideas into your own words, while
giving credit to the original source.
