Planning

your
assignment
Charmaine Botha
Learning Skills Advisor
Monash South Africa
Learning Skills Advisors Librarians
Charmaine Botha Sibusisiwe Mgquba
Focus: Focus
Health Sciences, Social Sciences, FP Health Sciences, Social Sciences, FP
& HDR & HDR
Tel: 011 950 4455 Tel. 011 950 4150
charmaine.botha@monash.edu Sibusisiwe.mgquba@monash.edu

John Small Linda Mbonambi

Focus Focus
Bus Eco, IT, HDR & FP Bus Eco, IT, HDR & FP
Tel: 011 950 4248 Tel: 011 950 4032
John.small@monash.edu Linda.mbonambi@monash.edu

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 What do we want to achieve with an
academic assignment?
Demonstrate
to your lecturer that you are able to:
Embark on an inquiry / research analyse question
Find Information / do research
Evaluate and Analyse the information
Organize the information
Apply the information to answer the question
Communicate (specific format) your knowledge
(written/oral)

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Its like being a lawyer presenting a case
in court:

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 Assessment Task 1:
Psychotherapy Lab Report
Value: 15%
Due Date: Wednesday 9th September by 4pm
Word limit: 1500 words (+/- 10%).
Details of task:
This task involves the writing of a social cognition lab report.
In particular, this lab report will examine the empathy and attitudes
of students toward Prisoners (i.e. It will explore the question of
whether there is a relationship between these two variables,
namely empathy and attitudes).
This report will draw on previous research conducted within this field of
social psychology. For this lab report, you will not be required to
collect data yourself. You will be required to do a secondary analysis
and interpretation of the data that will be provided to you.
You will learn more about the lab report during the lab programme in
lab classes 1 and 2. Lab classes 1 (introduction, method) and 2
(results, discussion) will be devoted to the lab report.5
 Purpose of the report
deepening your knowledge of social and
community psychology,
develop your analytic and
report writing skills

Standard scientific lab report in APA formatting as

detailed in
Findlay, B. (2012). How to write psychology
research reports and essays (6th ed.). Australia:
Pearson 6
 Presentation requirements:
Standard scientific lab report in APA formatting as detailed in
Findlay, B. (2012). How to write psychology research reports and essays (6th
ed.). Australia: Pearson
The report is to include
Title page:
the title of the research,(not more than 15 words in length)
the student name and student number,
tutor name, your lab class (day, time, campus) and
the word count
abstract, (+/-200 words)
introduction,
method,
results,
discussion and
references 7
 Starting references
: R., & Rowland, J. (2002).
Batson, C. D., Chang, J., Orr,
Empathy, attitudes, and action: Can feelings for a member
of a stigmatized group motivate one to help the group?
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1656-1666.
Kjelsberg, E., Skoglund, T. H., & Rustad, A .B. (2007).
Attitudes towards prisoners; as reported by prison inmates,
prison employees and college students. BMC Public Health,
7(71).
Melvin, K. B., Gramling, L. K., Gardner , W. M. (1985). A
scale to measure attitudes toward prisoners. Criminal
Justice and Behavior, 12:241-253.

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 Title page, title and abstract
These are all done last
First complete your assignment and then pay
attention to these
FORMAT here is important!!!
Is there a correct APA formatted title page at the beginning of the report?
Is the word count 1500 words?
Was an appropriate title provided? It should be concise, identify the topic
clearly and include the relevant variables
Abstract:
summarise the report in an ordered and in a balanced way including the
necessary information from the sections
Skills acquired in grd 12 : prcis writing (select main idea from each section)
Word limit 150-200 words ( 1/10 of your total report)

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 Introduction (research part)
Introduce and describe the concepts of
empathy (compassion/ understanding) and
attitude (outlook/ view) prisoners
Combine the key variables being looked at
showing a link/relationship between them as
postulated by previous research.
Establish a sound rationale for the present study.
Formulate the present laboratory report aims
and hypotheses.

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 Begin by identifying the key concepts
e.g. the topic/content areas
Identify the directive words e.g.
analyse, discuss, etc.
Note any limitations e.g. scope, time
period, field of study, area

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 Introduction
Using relevant previous empirical research findings
(this is from your resources).
Introduce and describe the concepts of empathy and
attitudes
Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the
relationship/link between empathy and attitudes
towards prisoners as postulated (suggested) by
previous research.
Establish a sound rationale (justification
/motivation) for the present study
Formulate aims for the present laboratory report
State a clear hypotheses.
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 Plan your argument
Once you have analysed the topic and read your
starting reference, you will need to construct a rough
plan.
Mind-mapping usually works well here as well as
discussing the topic with your fellow students. (but
STOP here so as not to fall into a collusion trap)
Some students prefer to make a plan before
researching, some after.
However, it is important to remain flexible, as your
knowledge of the topic and opinion on it may change
as you read more.
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 Is there a relationship between
empathy and attitudes towards Using
prisoners?)
relevant
previous
empirical
Introduce research
and Introduce
describe prisoners and findings
the concept describe the Combine the
of concept of key variables
empathy) (empathy and
attitudes) attitudes
SHOW an towards
prisoners)
understanding being looked at
showing a link
of the between them
as postulated
relationship/ by previous
link research

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 Find Witnesses (resources)
Once you have identified the content area you will need to
examine, you will need to consider what kinds of resources are
required (books, journals, websites, statistics, etc.) and set about
acquiring them.
Look at your Introductory reading, use the reference lists of these
books and journals, and identify what will be required.
Remember you will need to evaluate the worth of these
resources, so read critically.
Decide what kind of supporting information will be necessary,
and set about organising your resources to achieve your goal.
Often books are good for big picture information, while journals
are often good for supporting details.

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 Starting reference:

Batson, C. D., Chang, J., Orr, R., & Rowland, J. (2002). Empathy, attitudes, and action: Can
feelings for a member of a stigmatized group motivate one to help the group? Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 1656-1666.

Abstract
Research reveals that inducing empathy for a member of a stigmatized group
can improve attitudes toward the group as a whole. But do these more positive
attitudes translate into action on behalf of the group? Results of an experiment
suggested an affirmative answer to this question. Undergraduates first listened
to an interview with a convicted heroin addict and dealer; they were then given
a chance to recommend allocation of Student Senate funds to an agency to
help drug addicts. (The agency would not help the addict whose interview they
heard.) Participants induced to feel empathy for the addict allocated more
funds to the agency. Replicating past results, these participants also reported
more positive attitudes toward people addicted to hard drugs. In addition, an
experimental condition in which participants were induced to feel empathy for a
fictional addict marginally increased action on behalf of, and more positive
attitudes toward, drug addicts.

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Batson, C. D., Polycarpou, M. P., Harmon-Jones, E., Imhoff, H. J.,
Mitchener, E. C., Bednar, L. L., Klein, T. R., & Highberger, L.
(1997). Empathy and attitudes: Can feeling for a member of a stigmatized
group improve feelings toward the group? Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 72, 105-118.

Finlay, K. A., & Stephan, W. G. (2000). Reducing prejudice: The

effects of empathy on intergroup attitudes. Journal of Applied Social
Psychology, 30, 1720-1737.

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 Possible key words for search:
(Play around and try alternatives)
Use Advance search option where available
1st variable:
empathy
Feeling / benevolence / compassion
understanding
2nd variable
Attitude
Outlook / approach / view / opinion
Judgement
Limiter
Prisoners / inmates / criminals / detainees

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 Library resources
Resource Name Keywords Results Comments
SEARCH
SA Library Main key concept Physical Book(s) in SA libarary SA has limited books in this area
the role/Link of self- concept in at least one or two versus large
Physical Books number of students (lecturer
academic value
Sub key concept(s) Electronic Books needs to reserve)
Self-esteem Do a secondary search within the book of
Academic achievement Everyone can use the same e-
E-Books your sub-key concept
book at the same time

DATA BASES Keywords Results Comments

(S) > Main key concept Journal articles / Books/ Articles relevant to SA
the role /link of self- concept in academic
SA e Publications value
Theses/ Web pages and Africa available
(O) Sub key concept(s)
Ovid Medline Self-esteem
Academic achievement
(P) > Main key concept Examples of relevant articles in Abstracting and
the role/link of self- concept in academic
PsychINFO value
journals and other resources as Indexing database
(S) > Sub key concept(s) well (these are interdisciplinary Large number of
Science Direct Self-esteem databases) articles available
Academic achievement
international
(S) > Main key concept Examples of relevant articles in Large number of articles
the role/ link of self- concept in academic
Scopus value
journals and other resources as available international
(G) > Sub key concept(s) well (these are interdisciplinary
Google Scholar Self-esteem databases)
Academic achievement
(Monash)

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Finding Resources General Search:
Type in key concepts
to do a general
search under the
Monash SA, e-book
or Online Articles tab

Finding a specific Database:

Chose letter on the A-Z list:
(or according to subject):
PsychINFO
Science Direct
Scopus
Ovid Medline

Using Lib Guides: Select

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Psychology

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 The essay/report structure
Can be seen as a diamond with the introduction and conclusion at the top and bottom and the
body paragraphs fitting into the middle of the diamond in a series of smaller diamond shapes.

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 Body paragraphs
Paragraph element Purpose

1. Topic This sentence starts by referring to the thesis/your

Sentence argument. It continues to include the main point of this
paragraph (your voice)
2. Additional This explains further the point made in the topic sentence.
Information (your voice)

3. Evidence These are essential to justify your point. Your evidence

sentences comes from your research and may include examples,
data, quotes, statistics, graphics and illustrations. All
supporting evidence must be from authoritative sources and
cited in your essay. (quote or paraphrase reference voice)
4. Concluding Again, this sentence links the main thesis of the essay with
sentence the main point of the paragraph. (your voice)

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 Method
Provide information on the participants (include the total number of
participants, the number in each of the groups, how many males and
females, age, where they are from, why they participated, etc.)
Provide detailed information on the materials (including the
psychometric properties of the measures) and procedure used

Results
Provide a brief description of how data was analysed. Descriptive
statistics should be provided for key variables in APA formatted table
(mean, median, SD, Interquartile range, skewness and kurtosis)
Explain the normality distribution of the key variables (frequency graphs
must be included in appendix)
The results for the correlations should be provided in a scatterplot and in
an APA formatted table.
The use of textual description explanation of tables and/or figures;
reported in correct APA format. 23
 Discussion ( Similar to a Conclusion)
Clear summary of the main findings, with reference to aims and
hypotheses should be included.
Comparison findings from current study with relevant previous
empirical research findings as discussed in the introduction.
Brief summary of any methodological faults of the study & their
potential impact on the findings.
Concludes with a summary of main findings & suggestions for
further research.
References
Primary sources have been consulted and appropriately cited within
the text and in the reference list in accordance with APA 6th edition
formatting.
Appendix
contains relevant statistics tables if appropriate
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 Acknowledging your resources:
Citing and referencing
NB NB NB : if you cite and reference correctly, you will not plagiarize
Ways to cite and reference:
1. MANUALLY (DO the library on-line tutorial 15minutes):
http://resources.lib.monash.edu.au/learning-objects/test/apa-quick-guide/
http://monash.edu/library/skills/resources/tutorials/citing/
2. Using MICRO-SOFT WORD REFERENCING (but you still need to have
the manual referencing background knowledge)
3. Using ENDNOTE (but you still need to have the manual referencing
background knowledge)
Referencing resources: Monash Shared (S:)
S:\UG-Subjects\Shared\Library\Charmaine Learning
skills\Referencing\APA Psychology 2015
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 Writing your report
For more assistance on
writing or
communicating your
findings, contact a
learning skills advisor
in the library

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