“Does Violent Video Games Cause Aggression

PSYC*1000-02 FALL 2012 SEMINAR RESEARCH PAPER

TASKS

Write a 5-page research paper on “Does violent video games cause aggression?” (15% of total course grade).

REMEMBER YOU MUST AND MAY HAVE 5 PEER REVIEWED ARTICLES AS YOUR RESEARCH. 

USE GOOGLE SCHOLAR

REFERENCE IN APA FORMAT

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to:

1.Explore an area in psychology. 
2.Learn how to consider different evidence and arguments in formulating your own opinion. 
3.Learn where and how to find information to write a research paper in psychology. 
4.Learn how to plan and format a psychological research paper.

GUIDELINES FOR PLANNING AND WRITING YOUR PAPER 

1. Information search
A crucial skill you will learn throughout your academic career is how to find, sort and use information effectively and appropriately. The amount of information available to you can be overwhelming, and an emphasis of this course is on helping you to navigate it. A good place to begin is by using the PsycINFO database – a detailed guide to searching it will be provided in class.

2. Writing the paper
a. Length and formatting
Your paper should be 5 pages long, excluding your reference list. It should be double-spaced and typed in 12-pt Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins.
b. APA Style
All sources that you cite in your paper, as well as the reference list, must be formatted according to APA style. An online tutorial can be found here: http:// www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx
c. Structure
In general, your paper should consist of roughly 3 sections:
i) An introduction in which you describe your topic, explain why it is of interest or importance to you, and a brief statement of what you will do in your paper;
ii) A body in which you go into greater detail on your topic of choice (e.g. discuss evidence for or against something, describe a phenomenon or theory, ask critical questions of a body of research). This should form the bulk of your paper (3 – 4 pages).
iii) A conclusion in which you briefly summarize the arguments/ description/discussion you have provided, and draw together what you have written to reach a conclusion. It is often helpful here to connect what you have done to your initial interest in the topic.

Academic integrity
You are responsible for understanding the nature of, and avoiding the occurrence of, plagiarism and other academic offenses. 

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA (HOW WILL THE PAPER BE MARKED?) 

Research paper
The paper will be marked out of 20 points, and converted to a mark out of 15. It will be marked according to the following criteria:

Notes:
1. Did you go beyond the material in the text, lectures and seminar readings?
2. How appropriate was the source material for your research? That is, did you use scholarly sources, or just popular magazines? If you were looking for the use of psychological research by non-academic organizations, did you search the Internet? If writing about a particular psychologist/researcher, did you read and cite some of her/his work?
3. Did you take a critical view of the sources you used, or did you accept authors’ assertions uncritically? Did you consider the ideological or political viewpoint that the author might have (e.g., some articles on day care are written by people who believe women should not work)? Do the assertions you make follow from the research you have cited (e.g., the work you review is correlational and you make causal inferences).
To receive 6 points the paper must strike a balance between 1) arriving at conclusions based on the work referenced and 2) considering alternative