Conformity Experiment
Topic is: How likely are people to conform to the opinions of a group?A research paper should describe a proposed or completed study in enough detail to demonstratewhat question the research was designed to answer, what else is known about the topic (which makes it clear why your study is needed and important), exactly what was done or will be done in the experiment, and what the findings do or will mean to the field. Please prepare a 4-5 page research paper that follows APA methodology and is divided into six parts, indicated by the following headings and subheadings:Introduction: The introduction should begin on the page after the title and should not be labeled with a subheading. Align left and indent the first line of every paragraph. Begin the first paragraph of the Introduction with a sentence that introduces your topic. Its ok to make a general statement; the point is to introduce your reader to what your paper is about. In the introduction you provide your reader with information about what question you have tackled (or plan to tackle) and how that question relates to other work in the field. The rest of the first paragraph will give some general information about your topic and briefly discuss how it has been addressed in previous research. If you need to define any relevant terms, here is the place to do so. Next, is the Literature Review. Before you begin to write, decide on what order you will address the studies that you have found. Do not just summarize the research chronologically; instead, organize the research by topic. You will also want to start out broad and then narrow to your topic, which usually means that you should start with the studies that are loosely connected to your own study and end with the studies that are most closely related to your study. At the end of theIntroduction, you need to state your hypothesis. You can do this explicitly by sayingsomething like The purpose of this study was to…or The present study was designed to investigate…. It is very important to relate your hypothesis back to the studies that you referenced in your Lit Review so that your hypothesis has some basis in previous research. Make sure to clearly express this connection. You may also want to include a very broad overview of the method you will use to test your hypothesis.Method: Do not start a new page. Center the word Method at the start of the section. This section will contain a detailed account of what you did so that someone else can conduct the experiment exactly as you did if needed. The Method section usually is divided into three subsections: participants, materials and procedure. Participants: This subsection should describe who participated in your study. You willwant to include information about the number of participants used in the study, wherethey come from and the selection criteria as well as any other important characteristicslike age, sex, education level, or occupation. Be sure to mention if participants weregiven any type of reward or motivation to encourage them to participate in the study. (Optional Section) Materials: This subsection should document any materials orequipment used in your study such as a stopwatch, slide projector, specific papers, wordlists or any other supplies. Procedure: This subsection should present a complete summary of what happened in thestudy. You should include: The research design that was used The independent and dependent variables Any controls that were used How participants were assigned to conditions Important aspects of the instructions given to participants What the participants did, step-by-stepThe format for the method section is specified in the APA style guide. You should includeenough details so that another person could replicate your study precisely, without consulting you.Predicted Results: What did the study find or what do you expect it will find? In this section your job is to provide the evidence of what you discovered. Present the results that bear directly on your hypothesis.Discussion: In this section, you will interpret your findings and describe the implications of your study. In your Discussion, make sure to:1. Discuss your results in relation to your hypothesis. Did your results support yourhypothesis? If so, how?2. Compare your results to those of the studies mentioned in your Lit Review.3. Identify and discuss limitations in the experimental design that may have reduced thestrength of your results. Were there any confounding variables? Was your sample size toosmall?4. Make suggestions for future research. If you were to perform the study again, how might you change it? Would it be a good idea to study a different demographic?Avoid overstating the importance of your findings. Be modest rather than expansive. At the end of the Discussion, make a final summary statement of the conclusions you have drawn. When appropriate, you might want to comment on the importance and relevance of your findings. How are your findings related to the big picture?References: Your reference section should begin on a new page after the discussion section. The format for your reference page is laid out by the American Psychological Association (APA). You should consult the APA style manual for specific guidelines.
