hello, please could anyone advise on what a academic report is?
Im studying a online access to HE course, my unit is; Introduction to psychology.
I have questions i need to answer, ive pasted the questions below as 'assessor assessment guidance'
( i think it its all a little confusing) but to start ive answered SECTION 1,2,3,4 on a document and then was going go on from there... but i have no idea what a academic report is. everything on google seems to show different and its made it more confusing.
but this is my assignment brief;
You are required to write an academic report that demonstrates your understanding of psychological research.
Your report must include the sections that are outlined in the assessor guidance document. This can be found in the “Download Assessor Guidance” below.
GUIDANCE
The report should be written using a recommended structure and format. Conclusions and recommendations must stem from your findings.
Indicative word counts for each section have been provided, but remember that your overall report must not exceed the maximum word count for this assignment.
Relevant theory must be referenced and you must include a references list and bibliography.
The report should be a maximum of 2,000 words.
This word limit is the absolute maximum you are permitted. If you are over the word limit for this assignment in any way you will receive your assignment back without further comment or feedback.
=assessor assessment guidance
SECTION ONE
Explain what is meant by “the scientific method”.
You should identify what is meant by the scientific method, the methodology that makes
psychology scientific, and explain the benefit of this in terms of the validity of psychological
research, for example, research designs (repeated measures, independent measures
design) and research methods (sampling strategies, variables – IV, DV and the control of
extraneous variables).
(Indicative word count – 300 words)
SECTION TWO
Outline two research methods, one experimental and one non-experimental, used in
psychology study and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.
Describe the key points of one of the experimental methods (laboratory, field or natural) and
evaluate this method.
Describe the key points of one of the non-experimental methods (naturalistic observation,
questionnaire, interview, case study) and evaluate this method.
(Indicative word count – 300 words)
SECTION THREE
Luke is 13 years old. He is behaving in a very aggressive manner at home. This is becoming
an increasing concern for his mum and she confides in her friend that her daughter, Kate,
was never as aggressive as her brother. What is going on? Apply psychological
understanding to explain Luke’s behaviour.
You need to explain why Luke might be behaving in this way using two of the
following psychological approaches:- Biological, Psychodynamic, Humanistic,
Cognitive and Behavioural (this includes classical and operant conditioning and
social learning theory).
You need to outline the main elements of the two chosen approaches and provide an
evaluation of both approaches by considering their strengths and weaknesses.
(Indicative word count – 500 words)
SECTION FOUR
Read the following details about The Pygmalion Effect by Rosenthal and Jacobson 1968, a
significant psychological study.
Professor Rosenthal, of Harvard University, and Jacobson, a principal of an elementary
school in San Francisco, carried out an interesting field experiment to determine whether
teachers’ expectations of students’ performance actually had any effect on how well the
students learned throughout the year. Did what the teachers expect of their students come to
fruition?
To start their study, Rosenthal and Jacobson gave 18 classes of students, aged 4 to 16, an
intelligence test so that the researchers could see if there was a development through the
year in which they carried out the study. Then they chose 20 per cent of the students at
random and told the teachers that these children showed ‘unusual potential for intellectual
growth’, and that they could be expected to ‘bloom’ during the year. However, because they
were randomly selected, there was no relationship between the score they achieved on the
test and this claim made by the psychologists.
At the end of the school year the students were retested. Those labelled as intelligent
showed a significantly greater increase in test scores than the other children who were not
singled out for the teacher’s attention. The researchers explained this by using the ‘selffulfilling prophecy’ that the teachers’ expectations influenced the performance of the
students.
Is this study ethical? Refer to the ethical guidelines for psychological research and
state your reasons. Discuss some other research in your course materials that have
led you to consider the importance of ethical guidelines for psychological research.
(Indicative word count – 500 words)