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Master of Social Sciences in Psychology

STUDENT HANDBOOK FOR SS5799 CAPSTONE PROJECT IN PSYCHOLOGY

1. Introduction

Psychology is a scientific discipline aiming at understanding mind and behavior. Students admitted to the Master of Social Sciences in Psychology (MSSPSY) program all learn about the body of knowledge that exists in psychology as well as the scientific procedures for making new discoveries.

SS5799 Capstone Project in Psychology is a 3-credit course of the MSSPSY program. This course aims to enable students to demonstrate their ability to develop, plan and execute psychological research. It is designed to foster independent thinking and to encourage academic debate on significant issues and principles of psychological research via group supervision. Students will normally work in groups of 3-4 students to work on a topic of their choice (the exact number of students per group will be decided by the course leader upon knowing the actual enrolment for this course).

A capstone project should be an empirical research project. Students are required to undertake, under supervision, an empirical investigation examining specific problems or questions in psychology by developing testable hypotheses and using scientific procedures to evaluate the hypotheses. Students will learn to develop research designs, collect and analyze data, present the results of their independent research in written form.

This Handbook is designed to serve as an informational resource to help you progress through SS5799 in a timely manner and by addressing the major issues related to your meeting course requirements. The handbook is provided to augment (not replace) other handbooks (university or departmental) which contain many important university policies and procedures with which you should be familiar. Additionally, all of the forms described and provided in the appendices of this handbook can also be accessed and downloaded on Canvas.

2. Prerequisites for Admission to SS5799

Prerequisites for admission to SS5799 include:

(a) successful completion of 12 credits of the program

3. Course Intended Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

1. design and carry out psychological research under supervision;

2. integrate knowledge of psychological theories and research skills into the planning, design and implementation of their research;

3. communicate effectively findings of psychological research in a scientific manner; and

4. work effectively in a team.

4. Course Assessment

4.1. Assessment Criteria of the Capstone Project

Capstone Project Supervisors, Course Leader, and second readers, if any, will assess the written report and recommend a grade based on a set of standard criteria (Appendix 1).

If there are any special circumstances surrounding the work on the project that the Supervisor feels should be considered in assigning a mark, these are also indicated on the grading form and can influence the final grade. For example, on the positive side, the student was very innovative and did a tremendous amount of work. Or on the negative side, the student was a virtual passenger who did little more than follow directions.

Submitted reports are assumed to be clear of plagiarism and other related regulations governing academic honesty once the Report Submission Declaration Form is completed and submitted together with the thesis. Details of the regulations are available at the website of Office of the Provost (http://www.cityu.edu.hk/provost/academic_honesty/rules_on_academic_honesty.htm).

Submitted theses that do not comply with research ethics may be marked with a “F” grade.

4.2. Assessment Process of the Capstone Project Report

In order for the Department to keep track of the Capstone Project reports that are submitted for marking and assure that marks are forwarded to the School of Graduate Studies as quickly as possible, students must submit the written report to their supervisor and to the drop box in Canvas on time.

The assessment process is as follows:

1. The Supervisor will recommend a mark and grade, comment on the report, and return the report with the evaluation form to the Course Leader.

2. The Course Leader will decide whether a second reader is needed to assess the report.

3. The Course Leader will be responsible for adjusting the marks where he/she deems necessary, and assigning the final grade.

4. The School of Graduate Studies will be notified of the final grade after the Assessment Panel Meeting.

5. The report will not be returned to the student, but students are entitled to read the report with comments. Students may wish to make their own copies for retention before submission.

Students should follow the Regulations and Guidelines for Taught Postgraduate Programmes with regard to the appeal process if they consider to applying for a review of their grades.

5. Research Ethics

5.1. The Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct

Students must comply with the university policies and regulations concerning research conduct and academic honesty. Students should familiarize with the Rules on Academic Honesty at the website of Office of the Provost as well as the Department’s Statement on Plagiarism (Appendix 2) regarding academic dishonesty. All university policies with regard to the falsification of data, fraudulent claims, and plagiarism will be enforced. Failing to adhere to established standards in the conduct of research is a serious offence and may lead to failing of the course.

Students should also observe the Professional Codes of Conduct concerning research and publication stipulated by the American Psychological Association (APA). Students are encouraged to discuss with their Supervisor whenever they have questions or concerns about ethical principles related to research.

5.2. Obtaining Ethics Approval for Research with Human or Animal Participants

The Research Ethics Sub-committee of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and the Departmental Ethics Review Committee are responsible for the ethical review and approval of research projects that involve human or animal (live, non-human vertebrates) subjects, conducted by students.

Students may apply for Expedited Review (reviewed by the Departmental Ethics Committee) or Full Review (reviewed by the Research Ethics Sub-committee of CLASS) depending on the extent of approval needed. It is advisable for students to attempt Expedited Review due to the limited time span of the study. Procedures and application forms of ethical review are available in Canvas. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the form and return it to the supervisors for endorsement in the beginning of the semester.

Important Note: Operation of any research activities involving any kind of contacts with, observation of, data collection from human or animal subjects must not begin until notification of ethics approval has been provided by the Departmental Ethics Committee or the College Research Ethics Sub-committee.

6. General Guidelines for Conducting the Capstone Project

The capstone project is a major research undertaking of the MSSPSY program. The following notes aim to assist students in planning, executing and writing the capstone project. The time indicated is for reference only. Students should discuss with their Supervisor to derive the most suitable timeline for their project.

Thesis research defined: At the beginning of the semester, all students should have decided upon a precise topic for their research. It is advised that students should submit their research project for research ethics approval as soon as possible.

Planning for data collection: In Weeks 1 and 2, students should prepare for data collection after getting approval from their supervisors. Materials, questionnaires and permission to conduct the research in an institution should be ready.

Gathering and analyzing data: Naturally, the time needed for gathering data will depend on the type of research. It is expected that students will complete data collection and do some analyses in Weeks 5-6. Also, students should check with their Supervisor about methods of statistical analysis.

Writing of drafts: Students would be well advised to get started on the first section of their report early in the semester. Supervisors are generally happy to read the draft and provide feedback on such matters as style, comprehensiveness, and length. It is quite common for some students to write 2 or 3 drafts of each section before both the Supervisor and student are happy with it. The report style and referencing system used should conform to the style described in the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7^th ed., 2020).

Final draft: Supervisors will probably be prepared to look at completed final drafts in Weeks 9-10, and this step is essential before the research project reaches its final copy. Please check your final copy with the Final Report Checklist before submission (Appendix 3). The report should be ring-bound.

7. Organization and Format of Capstone Project Report

These notes are intended as a guide to the writing of research reports in general. They will be relevant to most psychology courses, but it is assumed that you will interpret them in conjunction with specific directions or expressed expectations of your Supervisor.

Bear in mind that you are writing scientific reports. As such, they should be expressed in language that is clear, concise, objective and devoid of words having emotional or emotive connotations. The third person and the past tense are considered most appropriate for scientific reports. The report must be written in the form indicated by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7^th ed., 2020).

7.1. Formatting Guidelines

Paper. Use only one side of high-quality A4 size paper.

Typeface Size, Font, and Print. Report must be typed (preferably using a word processor). Use a 12-point standard Times New Roman font. Use the same font throughout the document. While illustrations may be in color, you should use only black type in your report.

Line Spacing. Indent every paragraph and double-space your report.

Margins. To facilitate binding, the left margin of your thesis must be 40mm.  The remaining margins should not be less than 20mm. If an illustration is too large to fit into the margins, reduce it so that it will fit.

Pagination. Pages should be numbered through the report in Arabic numerals on the upper right-hand corner, including appendices but excluding the table of contents and other materials preceding the beginning of the general text, which may be numbered with lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii, …). Pagination must be carefully checked for correct sequence and completeness. All errors must be corrected before the final deposition.

Other Formatting Style. Reference list and editorial style (e.g., figures, tables, graphs, etc.) should conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7^th ed., 2020).

7.2. Organization of Materials

Students are required to hand in one hard copy and one disk copy (attached to the back the cover page) of their research report. The length of report should range between 5,000 and 8,000 words (excluding abstract, table of contents, reference list, tables, figures, and appendices).

The report should contain the following parts in the order shown:

Title Page

The title page must contain the following information:

· the name of the University

· the report title

· the degree for which the report is submitted

· the full name of the candidate

· the month and year of the Department’s endorsement in recommending the award

A sample title page is attached in Appendix 4.

Abstract

Each Capstone Project report must include a structured abstract (generally around 300 words), including (1) Objectives, (2) Method, (3) Results, and (4) Conclusions.

Acknowledgements

Inclusion of acknowledgments is optional. This page must be numbered with lowercase Roman numerals.

Report Submission Declaration Form

Students should fill out and sign the thesis submission declaration form (Appendix 5); put it after the acknowledgements.

Table of Contents

A table of contents is required in all Capstone Project report. It must list all major sections of the report (Appendix 6). Page numbers must be justified right.

List of Tables and List of Figures

The list of tables and list of figures should immediately follow the table of contents on a new page. These pages must be numbered with lowercase Roman numerals. A sample list of tables and list of figures are shown in Appendix 7 and Appendix 8 respectively.

Text Section

The text must be divided into chapters. Each Capstone Project report should contain the following chapters:

§ Chapter 1: Introduction and Literature Review (start on a new page)

§ Chapter 2: Methodology (start on a new page)

§ Chapter 3: Results (start on a new page)

§ Chapter 4: Discussion and Conclusions (start on a new page)

Headings

All major headings and subheadings must be presented consistently throughout all chapters and major sections, in terms of capitalization, placement on the page, font style, and font size used. For instance, if the heading for chapter one appears centered in all capital letters, then the other chapter headings must also be centered, in all capital letters. The word “chapter” and the title of the chapter must be consistent in capitalization or mixed case.

Reference citation in text

Every statement of research findings in the report and every reference cited in the text must be acknowledged using the correct referencing method. Every reference cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the report.

Subject to specific variation because of the work being reported, the following suggestions are made about what might normally be expected to appear in each chapter.

Introduction and Literature Review

The introduction has no heading, and usually no side headings, unless it is lengthy and clearly divides into several subsections.

· General introduction. This section basically gives the reasons for conducting the research. The problem addressed and implications of the study should be briefly introduced. The question "Why was this study carried out?" should be answered.

· Literature review. This section usually entails the citing of previous relevant research which has led to the present work. Previous relevant research should be critically evaluated and discussed. The theoretical reasoning justifying the extension of previous research should also be put forward. This information should lead naturally to a statement of the hypothesis being tested.

· Hypotheses to be tested. These should follow from the previous discussion and should be stated in the simplest form and in the present tense, for example, "There is no significant difference between male and female students on tests of mechanical aptitude." Hypotheses typically conclude the Introduction.

Methodology

· Participants. You need to specify what samples you are taking from the population, how and why you are taking those samples, for example, "participants were first year social work students from a university in Hong Kong.  Altogether, they were 56 females and 49 males. The age range for females was 18-45 with a median age of 23 and for males was 18-39 with a median age of 22". Other variables defining the sample which could be included might be socio-economic status, occupation, level of education, marital status and so on.

· Materials. This subsection contains a precise description of all the apparatus, tests or questionnaires involved. Clear diagrams of any equipment should be drawn. If possible append an example of any test or questionnaire to the report.

· Procedure. This entails a straightforward description of what was actually done and said to the participants. Instructions given to the participants should be included word by word unless they are lengthy, in which case they should be appended to the report.

Results

· Text. The statistical tests used in testing the hypotheses are stated. Data may then be presented in summary tables or graphs in condensed form. The results of statistical computations are presented with all tests of significance. It is not sufficient to simply present tables or figures in this section. All results should be described in brief prose, referring to tables or figures where they are relevant.

· Tables and Figures. Tables are numbered and headed flush left, principal words capitalized, above the table. For example:

Figures are identified below the actual figure. Begin each caption flush left, and type the word Figure followed by the appropriate number and a period, all in italics. Example:

Whenever practicable, tables and figures should be included in the report adjacent to the corresponding text.

Discussion and Conclusions

· The significance of the results should be discussed. The results should be related to the hypotheses and you should discuss whether the hypotheses are supported or not. Findings from the studies summarized in the literature review are re-examined in the light of your data.

· You should discuss any limitations of your study and make recommendations for further research, for example, controlling a different variable, even formulating new hypotheses.

· There should be a concluding paragraph which contains a brief statement of what was established by this piece of research and whether further exploration in this area seems to be justified.

· Always remember that a research report is an exercise in communication. It should therefore be presented in formal English prose and the argument should be logical, yet clearly and concisely stated.

Reference List

All Capstone Project report must have a list of references. Authors should be listed in alphabetical order. The reference list should be double-spaced. Please refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020) for detailed instructions on the correct referencing method. A sample reference list is shown in Appendix 9.

Appendix or Appendices

Appendix material may include examples of questionnaires and tests, sets of instructions, tables of raw data and statistical calculations. Appendixes are placed only at the end of the thesis text: they should not appear at the end of a chapter. Begin each appendix on a new page.

10. Submitting the Capstone Project Report

Students are required to submit the soft copy of the thesis to BOTH the Supervisor by email and the Course Leader through "Turnitin" in Canvas. When emailing to the Supervisor, the raw and cleaned SPSS dataset, and the questionnaires, should be submitted together with the soft copy of the thesis. Late submission will not be entertained.

11. Suggested Readings

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7^th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000.

Dunn, D.S. (2008). Short guide to writing about psychology (2^nd ed.). New York: Pearson/Longman.

Evans, D., & Gruba, P. (2002). How to write a better thesis (2^nd ed.). Carlton South, Vic.: Melbourne University Press.

Galvan, J.L. (2009). Writing literature reviews: A guide for students of the social and behavioral sciences (4^th ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak.

Hart, C. (2001). Doing a literature search: A comprehensive guide for the social sciences. London: Sage.

Howitt, D., & Cramer, D. (2008). Introduction to SPSS in psychology: For version 16 and earlier (4^th ed.). Harlow, England: Pearson.

Neumann, W.L. (2006) Social research methods: Quantitative and qualitative approaches (6^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

12. Appendices

Appendix 1: Capstone Project Assessment Criteria

(1) Introduction and Literature review (25%) High marks are given to papers in which: (a) The research questions are clearly communicated (b) Relevant literature is reviewed critically; sensitive use of references is shown (c) A clear understanding of the psychological concepts applicable to the questions chosen is demonstrated (d) Research hypotheses are clearly formulated and emerge logically from the literature review (e) The significance and potential contributions of the study have been articulated

(2) Method (20%) High marks are given to papers in which: (a) Care in choosing appropriate methods is shown (b) The research is appropriately designed and executed with the proper procedures (c) Sensitivity to methodological issues such as the appropriateness of instruments or methods used is demonstrated (d) Use of advanced statistical methods that are clearly beyond the master level

(3) Results (20%) High marks are given to papers in which: (a) Appropriate statistical and other data analytic techniques are applied to evaluate hypotheses or research questions (b) An understanding of the methods of analysis used is shown in the report of findings (c) All main findings are covered and clearly described

(4) Discussion (25%) High marks are given to papers in which: (a) Major findings are succinctly summarized and discussed in relation to prior data (b) Major implications of results of the study are spelled out (c) An appreciation of the limitations of results of the study is shown (d) Sensitivity to cross-cultural issues (if applicable) is demonstrated

(6) Style and Participation in the Research Process (10%) High marks are awarded to those who are (able to): (a) Keep mechanical, spelling and grammatical errors to a minimum (b) Make the work interesting and informative (c) Initiative, responsive to feedback, and directly involved in the execution of the experiment or research

Other Consideration: Degree of independence To what extent has the student contributed to his/her Capstone Project in an independent way?

Appendix 2: Department’s Statement on Plagiarism

Statement on Plagiarism

Plagiarism means "dishonest copying."  A plagiariser takes someone else's ideas or words and, without crediting the source, passes them off as his or her own. There can be dishonest copying from a published source like a printed book or from unpublished material like another student's coursework. Plagiarism is a serious academic offence which may lead to expulsion and other heavy penalties. Students should pay particular attention to the academic conventions surrounding quotations, citations and attributions. Although students are encouraged to work cooperatively, there must be individual authorship of term papers and written assignments. Students are asked to make sure that their coursework is not copied by others. And, each student's assignment should be individually written to avoid any suspicion that it has been dishonestly copied from someone else's work.

This department views with the gravest concern the action of a student who plagiarises the work of another person. Plagiarism simply means the taking and using as one's own of the thoughts and writings of another. To indulge in literary theft of this kind is highly unethical and ultimately selfdefeating. If a student submits an assignment or other piece of work that contains direct and unacknowledged transcription from one or more sources then that student will receive no marks for that assignment and, in all probability, a fail grade for the relevant module.

Thus:

If you use the exact words of another author you must acknowledge this by the appropriate use of quotation marks.

If you use the ideas of another author you must clearly acknowledge that.

Use of unpublished or unreported material, other students' papers and research must be acknowledged.

If the paper, or any part of it is the result of collective research and compilation this must also be clearly acknowledged.

Plagiarism

"Plagiarism" can be defined as the attempt to gain advantage for yourself  academic advantage, financial advantage, professional advantage, advantage of publicity  by trying to fool someone, such as a teacher, an editor, an employer, or a reader, into thinking that you wrote something, thought something, or discovered something which, in actual fact, someone else wrote, thought, or discovered. Plagiarism is sometimes defined, aphoristically, as "literary theft." In any case, it is a serious breach of the rules of academic, scholarly, literary, and professional conduct. If discovered, plagiarism will be punished with appropriate severity, ranging from an "F" grade on a piece of academic work to permanent expulsion from a course and public disgrace.

Broadly speaking, we may say that there are two kinds of plagiarism: plagiarism on a grand scale, and plagiarism on a small scale. An example of plagiarism on a grand scale would be to submit, for example, a paper, project, or dissertation little or none of which was your own work, but rather was work which you had just copied from someplace. Any student committing such plagiarism would be expelled from the course; if the plagiarism were discovered after the student's graduation, his or her degree would be stripped from the student, retroactively.

Plagiarism on a small scale occurs when the writer of a paper, a project, or a dissertation lifts from some source a sentence, several sentences, a paragraph, an idea, a thought, or even information without proper documentation of the source of that sentence, several sentences, paragraph, idea, thought, or information. (The only exception is the case where the writer uses a source to remind himself of something that is "common knowledge"  when was Mao Zedong born? What is the population of Chongqing? etc. In such a case, the writer need not acknowledge the source.) The "lifting from a source" just described is still plagiarism even if the writer of the paper, project, or dissertation changes the wording around a little bit.

You are urged to study carefully the material in the following section "An Analysis of Passages Including Plagiarism and An Unplagiarized Passage," from which you can learn to identify plagiarism in its various forms, and so avoid it. If you understand the analysis, you are far less likely to commit the serious fault of plagiarism in your own scholarly writing.

An Analysis of Passages Including Plagiarism and An Unplagiarized Passage

You are urged to study carefully the material below, from which you can learn to identify plagiarism in its various forms, and so avoid it. If you understand the analysis, you are far less likely to commit the serious fault of plagiarism in your own scholarly writing.

The ideas and examples in the following paragraphs come from Ding Wangdao and Wu Bing, eds., 15054. Note that in the material below, you should think "document" or "documentation" every time Professors Ding and Wu write "footnote" (as verb or noun, respectively).