Annotated Bibliography

CANVAS – PSY326 Week Four Welcome to Week Four of Psychology 326, Research Methods at Ashford University. This week we learn about the second category of research designs, which is called correlational. This category is different than the purely descriptive designs we looked at last week, because with correlational research, we explore the relationships between variables.

There are many different correlational research designs. But the one we will study this week is survey research. As you will see from reading Chapter 4 in the textbook, within survey research, there are many ways to design a specific survey.

I personally find this week the most fun because students get to design a survey research project on any topic they wish. It’s so interesting to see the different topic ideas. And I always learn something new from my students during this week of the course.

In the discussion, you’ll plan and describe all of the important aspects of your survey idea, including the topic and explaining why it’s important, identifying an appropriate sampling strategy and sample size, deciding how to distribute the survey, considering any ethical implications, and providing two sample questions exactly as they will appear on the survey.

The quiz this week covers the information in Chapter 4 about non-experimental correlational research methods. The written assignment is an annotated bibliography. This bibliography should include all of the references other than the textbook that you will use for your final research proposal. Check the Week 5 assignment instructions for details about what sources are needed.

As soon as you receive feedback on your Week 3 paper, start thinking about how you would design a new study on the topic of the study you just critiqued. Would you try using a different research method? A different way of recruiting participants? Or a different data analysis technique?

In the course materials, there’s an example research proposal that I put together so you can get an idea of what is expected for the final paper and how the references are used in a research proposal. Take a look at that. And then find at least 6 peer reviewed journal articles that will help you create a high quality research proposal on your topic.

One of these should be the article you critiqued last week. And one should be about research ethics. You can also include one or two other studies related to the topic. But it is especially important to have some sources about the research methods you plan to use.

You should use the textbook in your final paper. But it does not count as one of the 6 required peer reviewed articles. You do not need to summarize the textbook or include it in the Week Four paper.

When you have all of your sources, read them, take notes on them, and compile your annotated bibliography. There are resources in the instructor guidance and in the Ashford Writing Center

on how to do an annotated bibliography. Your instructor may also post more resources in an announcement.

In short, type your APA style reference list. Make sure the references are in alphabetical order. Then after each reference, insert two paragraphs.

In the first paragraph, summarize the main points of the source in your own words. Do not use wording from the source or quotations for this assignment. In the second paragraph, explain how this source will be used in your research proposal. For instance, if it is a research study on the topic, you would use it in the literature review section to provide background information on the topic and how it has previously been studied. If it is an article that explains how to perform a research method you want to use, it will help you prepare your method section.

When the bibliography entries are done, add a title page and your assignment should be complete. You do not need a separate references page because the annotated bibliography is the references page with additional information inserted after each reference. I’ll talk more about the final paper in next week’s video. In the meantime, have a great week and don’t hesitate to ask your instructor if you have any questions.