Homework Assignment
Chapters 1 & 2: Scientific Thinking and Research Methods 46-115-01 Intersession 2017
Due: Wednesday, May 24th, 2017 by 5:00 pm on Blackboard
This assignment will be graded out of 15 points and will count towards 15% of your course grade. Your completed assignment should be submitted on Blackboard in advance of the deadline.Only assignments in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or PDFs will be accepted.Assignments should be no longer than 4 pages double-spaced (not including the title page and reference section), in Times New Roman, 12pt font. If you experience any technical difficulties with Blackboard, email your assignment to me before the deadline.LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL LOSE 10% OFF THEIR FINAL MARK FOR EACH DAY THEY ARE LATE STARTING ON MAY 24th AFTER 5pm.
NOTE on plagiarism:The University of Windsor Policy on Plagiarism states“the source of any ideas, wording, or data obtained from othersmustbe disclosed and properly acknowledged by citations, quotation marks, and bibliographic references in the proper format.Using the work of others without acknowledgement is plagiarism.
”(FAHSS Plagiarism Policy, 2012, p. 1).
It is required that you will use the course textbook and the journal article provided (on Blackboard, underResources) to complete this assignment; however, you must put all ideas/answers IN YOUR OWN WORDSandprovide proper citations and references for your source(s) using APA style.
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Assignment
Find an example of a pseudoscientific claim reported in the media. Example:“Lose 55 pounds in 1week by taking this revolutionary new weight loss supplement!”You can use an infomercial, television ad, newspaper ad, magazine ad, website, etc. The more information included in the claim, the more material you will have to work with for the assignment; therefore, more detailed claims are better.
Instructions:
1. Summarize your chosen claim. (5 pts)
Be sure to include:
What the claim says;
What evidence is presented to support the claim (if any); and,
What conclusion most people (who aren’t taking Intro. Psych) would likely draw
from this claim?
Don’tforget to cite and reference where you found the claim!
Marking Key for Part 1: 01234
5
2
provides no details about claim or supporting evidence
|
summarizes claim only, no supporting evidence mentioned
|
summarizes claim and little supporting evidence; no mention of the logical conclusion most people would draw
|
summarizes claim, provides some supporting evidence; no mention of conclusion or draws incorrect conclusion
|
summarizes claim clearly, provides good detail of supporting evidence and draws logical conclusion
|
summarizes claim clearly and effectively with good supporting evidence and explains logical conclusion
|
2. Using the
“
key
warning signs” from the
journal article,
Science and Pseudoscience in Law Enforcement(posted on Blackboard underResources),and
pages 22 to 35 in your textbook(pay special attention to Table 1.5Some Warning Signs That Can Help Us Recognize Pseudoscienceand Table 1.6Logical Fallacies to Avoid When Evaluating Psychological Claims),outline the specific reasons why the evidence given does or does not convince you of the validity of the claim.Don’t forget to cite (and provide references for)any information/ideas/quotes you take from the claim, article, or your textbook!(5 pts)
Marking Key for Part 2: 01234
5
no mention of evidence; does not use textbook OR journal article
|
mentions some evidence against claim but does not explain why it is problematic
|
discusses evidence for claim but draws incorrect conclusion or does not link it to claim; uses only textbook or article but not both
|
discusses some evidence that refutes claim and connects it to the claim
|
good explanation of evidence using both textbook and article; good discussion of why it does/ does not support the claim
|
excellent explanation of evidence using both textbook and article; discussion of why it does/does not support the claim
|
APA Formatting (2 pts):
0 .5 1 1.5 2
3
Severe APA infractions (e.g., including only a References or Works Cited list but no in-text citations).
|
Serious APA infractions (e.g., significant errors in references or citations).
|
Moderate APA infractions(e.g., only including page numbers in-text, errors in reference format).
|
Mild APA infractions minor errors in formatting for in- text citations or references (e.g., including page number instead of year, listing authors alphabetically instead of according to authorship).
|
No APA infractions (e.g., proper crediting of sources, correct formatting for in- text citations and references).
|
Resources (3pts): 0123
Assignment incorporates none of the required resources (i.e., does not include source with pseudoscientific claim, current version of the textbook, and Lillienfeld and Landfield article).
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Assignment incorporates one of the three required resources (e.g., source with pseudoscientific claim, but not the current version of the textbook or Lillienfeld and Landfield article).
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Assignment incorporates two out of the three required resources (e.g., source with pseudoscientific claim, current version of the textbook, but not Lillienfeld and Landfield article).
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Assignment incorporates all three required resources (i.e., source with pseudoscientific claim, current version of the textbook, and Lillienfeld and Landfield article).
|
Page Maximum Deductions:1-point will be deducted for each additional page over the 4 page, double-spaced maximum for this assignment.