Quality Assurance Record
Internal approval: Dr Cheryl Pitt
External approval: NA
Assignment Brief Academic Year 2021-22
| Module Code and Title: |
PS654 Empirical Dissertation |
Module Leader: | Dr Graham Dean |
| Assignment No. and Type: |
Coursework 1: Dissertation Report |
Assessment Weighting: |
90% |
| Submission Date: |
Wednesday, 27th April 2022, before 14:00 |
Target Feedback Date: |
Friday 20th May 2022 |
AssignmentTutorOnline
| Assignment Task |
| You are required to undertake an independent project under the guidance of a Supervisor. In line with requirements of the British Psychological Society (BPS), this must be an empirical project. Empirical projects should: identify an issue that needs investigation; critically evaluate relevant theories and research in the area; employ a method to collect, and subsequently analyse, data (primary or secondary); interpret, evaluate, and consider the implications of these findings in relation to previous research. This work may be qualitative, quantitative or draw upon mixed methods. CW1 is the main assessment component of this module that demonstrates: an ability to critically review previous theory and research on a chosen topic; how the study builds upon previous research; an ability to clearly describe the methods used and the project’s findings; and a critical understanding of these findings, their implications and how they relate to previous work. Dissertation Format Guidelines Quantitative Study The format of the dissertation must include the conventional sections of a Psychology quantitative empirical report: 1) Title Page – Must include: Dissertation title; Student’s name; Student’s ID number; Date it is submitted; Degree Programme 2) Acknowledgments – If appropriate 3) Contents – Must include page numbers |
1.1.1
4) List of Figures – If appropriate
5) List of Tables – If appropriate
6) Abstract – Must be typed on a separate page
7) Introduction (i.e., Literature Review)
8) Method
8.1) Participants
8.2) Materials and Apparatus
8.3) Design
8.4) Procedure and Ethics
Please note: sometimes the design can be included in the procedure and ethics section.
To be discussed with the Supervisor.
9) Results
10) Discussion – Include ‘Word count’ at the end of this section
11) References – These must be in APA Referencing Style – Must start on a separate page
12) Appendices – One of the appendices must be the Ethics Application Form, signed and
dated by the Supervisor; and another must be the SPSS Outputs – Must be on a separate
page
Qualitative Study
The format of the dissertation must include the conventional sections of a Psychology
qualitative empirical report:
1) Title Page – Must include: Dissertation title; Student’s name; Student’s ID number; Date it is
submitted; Degree Programme
2) Acknowledgments – If appropriate
3) Contents – Must include page numbers
4) List of Figures – If appropriate
5) List of Tables – If appropriate
6) Abstract – Must be typed on a separate page
7) Introduction (i.e., Literature Review)
8) Method
8.1) Participants
8.2) Data Collection Method
8.3) Data Analysis Method
8.4) Ethical Considerations
9) Results/Analysis
10) Discussion
Please Note: Sometimes ‘Analysis’ and ‘Discussion’ can be combined in one single section – To
be discussed with Supervisor.
11) Reflexive Analysis – Include ‘Word count’ at the end of this section
Please Note: Sometimes ‘Reflexive Analysis’ can be included in the ‘Method’ section as a fifth
sub-section – To be discussed with Supervisor.
12) References – These must be in APA Referencing Style – Must start on a separate page
13) Appendices – One of the appendices must be the Ethics Application Form, signed and
dated by the Supervisor; and another must be the annotated/worked transcript – Must be
on a separate page
| This assignment has been designed to provide you with an opportunity to demonstrate your achievement of the following module learning outcomes: |
|
| LO 1 | Review and critically evaluate thoroughly the main extant research in your chosen area of study; |
| LO 2 | Develop relevant and considered hypotheses or research questions; |
| LO 3 | Devise, describe and use an appropriate and ethical methodology that can be used to investigate the chosen topic; |
| LO 4 | Select an appropriate method of analysis that addresses the research questions or provides evidence that supports or refutes the hypotheses; |
| LO 5 | Present research findings in the form of a clearly articulated and considered academic manner. |
| Submission details |
| Electronic submissions Please use the relevant Turnitin submission point in the Assignment submission link area in your Online Hub. |
| Task requirements |
| Font size, style and document formatting should be in accordance with standard APA formatting guidance from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Ed) (e.g. double spaced and 12 pt. Times New Roman or equivalent). The dissertation word count is 8,000 words, with a permitted 10% margin above or below the stipulated word count – between 7,200 and 8,800 words. The word count excludes ‘Title page’, ‘Acknowledgements’, ‘References’ section, ‘Appendices’, figures and tables. Please note: A word count that is lower or higher than the set range will be penalised by a lower mark – 5% of the overall mark will be deducted for a word count 10% lower or higher than the set range, and a further 5% of the overall mark deducted for a word count in excess of 10% lower or higher than the set range. Please ensure you include the total word count for the dissertation at the end of the main text – before the references section. Students must include all cited work in the ‘References’ section. Failure to acknowledge the work or the ideas of others amounts to plagiarism, which is a very serious academic offence. The required format for referencing in Psychology dissertations is the format adopted by the American Psychological Association (APA). |
| Referencing and research requirements |
| Please reference your work according to the American Psychological Association (APA) style as defined in Cite Them Right Online (http://www.citethemrightonline.com). This information is also available in book form: Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2016) Cite them right: the essential reference guide. 10th edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Copies are available via the university library. |
| How your work will be assessed |
| Your work will be assessed on the extent to which it demonstrates your achievement of the stated learning outcomes for this assignment (see above) and against other key criteria, as defined in the University’s institutional grading descriptors for Psychology. If it is appropriate to the format of your assignment and your subject area, a proportion of your marks will also depend upon your use of academic referencing conventions. This assignment will be marked according to the grading descriptors for Level 6. |
| Please ensure that your work has been saved in an appropriate file format (e.g. MS Word or pdf). Your file must also contain at least 20 words of text, consist of fewer than 400 pages and be less than 40MB in size. You can submit your work as many times as you like before the submission date. If you do submit your work more than once, your earlier submission will be replaced by the most recent version. Once you have submitted your work, you will receive a digital receipt as proof of submission, which will be sent to your forwarded e-mail address (provided you have set this up). Please keep this receipt for future reference, along with the original electronic copy of your assignment. 1. You are reminded that it is your responsibility to keep both an electronic and a hard copy of your assignment for future reference. You may be required to produce a copy of your assignment. 2. You are reminded of the University’s regulations on cheating and plagiarism, which can be viewed on the University website: https://bucks.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/9546/Academic-Misconduct Policy.pdf. In submitting your assignment you are acknowledging that you have read and understood these regulations. 3. Late submission within 2 weeks of the deadline will result in the mark for the assignment being capped at 40%. Beyond two weeks the work will not be marked. 4. Students with authorised extensions should submit an electronic copy of their assignment to the appropriate extension submission point. |
| Submission date and time |
| This assignment should be submitted before 14:00 UK time on Wednesday 27th April 2022. Work that is submitted up to 10 working days beyond the submission date will be accepted as a late submission. Late submissions will be marked and the actual mark recorded, but will be capped at the pass mark (typically 40%), provided that the work is of a passing standard. Work submitted after this period will not be marked and will be treated as a non-submission. Feedback and marks for this assignment will be available by 17:00 on Friday 20th May 2022. |
- Assignment status: Already Solved By Our Experts
- (USA, AUS, UK & CA PhD. Writers)
- CLICK HERE TO GET A PROFESSIONAL WRITER TO WORK ON THIS PAPER AND OTHER SIMILAR PAPERS, GET A NON PLAGIARIZED PAPER FROM OUR EXPERTS
