Stress Estimate Research Project: Joe Cool Sample Paper

Stress Project Writing Guidelines – Lab section: LV Paper due: 3/8 Thurs by 11:59pm
This sheet outlines what is expected for each section of the Stress Estimate research project and is also the basic format for any general scientific research paper.  Use the ‘Joe Cool’ sample paper in the Course Packet for formatting examples. 
Title Page (1 point): The title should provide readers with the main topic of the paper in 12 words or less.  The goal is be informative and interesting so try something creative to catch the reader’s attention. 
Method (4 Subsections, 4 points)  - center, bolded title:Participants – flush left, bolded heading Who was involved in the study and how were participants recruited for the study.Materials – flush left, bolded headingIdentify the scales used and describe the on-line nature of the survey.  Anything special someone should know if they were going to replicate the study? Procedure – flush left, bolded headingThe series of steps taken to run the study, written in paragraph form and in the past tense while avoiding any usage of pronouns (i.e. “Participants were asked to complete the on-line survey over a six day period”). Data Processing – flush left, bolded headingWhat steps did we take to process the data prior to running any analyses?  Consider steps after first opening the data file to the beginning of the descriptive analyses within this section.  These should be listed in order and presented in the past tense.Please remember, don’t talk about being the researcher –just stick to what each participant did and what steps were taken.
Results (8 points) – center, bolded heading: Start by stating the purpose of the analyses in a short statement. For example, the purpose of the initial analysis was to explore differences in average stress levels between certain groups of subjects. Describe the analyses briefly, including the variable tested, the test used, and the results of each test.  For the categorical variables you should indicate the t scores and p-values for each in the text but refer to the Descriptives Table for the mean and standard deviation for each level.  In a second paragraph describe the correlational analyses, including the r and p values in the text and referring the reader to the Figures at the end.  Remember, there is no data interpretation or drawing of conclusions in the results section.  Just present the facts/results.
Discussion (10 points) – center, bolded heading:Now you get to interpret data and draw conclusions.  Provide a brief review of the scientific questions. Provide succinct statements of the significant findings and if they support a hypothesis or not.Comment on the limitations of the study, and how they may have impacted the results.Provide at least one suggestion for future research with this survey approach (try to be specific).Provide a summary on the importance of the findings and practical implications of the research.
References (1 point)Include APA style references for the two articles providing the scales used in this study.Tables and Figures (6 points)These are included at the end of the paper (Tables first, then Figures)Table 1. Descriptives including: n, Mean & Std Dev of Stress & Skills for categorical variables Figure 1. Graph of Hypothesis 1Figure 2. Graph of Hypothesis 2
Notes:-Italicize M, SD, t, r, p-State the exact p value (p=X) unless SPSS says p=0.000. Then you should say p<0.001.-Round test statistics, means, and standard deviations to 2 decimal points-Round p values to 3 decimal points
General Tips:-Everything should be written in past tense-You can use ‘we’ in scientific papers, but DO NOT use ‘I’ or ‘my’-Double-space the paper-Relax and let things flow, then circle back to polish them up