Information About Written Reports (for PSY 1410 students)

The last day to participate or turn in written reports is Monday, April 21, 2025 by 11:59 pm (central time zone)

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What is a Written Report

If you choose not to participate in research or are less than 18 years of age, you may fulfill your research credit requirement by reading two (2) of the assigned research papers and answering a set of questions on the written report form. Students must turn in two (2) written reports to earn their full 10 points of credit. Answers must be typed, clearly written, using complete grammatical sentences (see below for grading guidelines). This exercise is designed to take approximately 2.5 hours (the same amount of time as research participation). Students who are over 18 years of age may also choose to complete a combination of research credits and a single written report.

Who Must do Written Reports

• If you choose not to participate in research
• If you are less than 18 years of age
• If you cannot find enough credits through studies

How to do Written Reports

To obtain full credit, you must first choose and read two (2) articles from these three:

1. Harra, R. C., & Vargas, I. (2024). A peer-based mentoring program for reducing anxiety and depression symptoms among college students: A preliminary study. Journal of American College Health, 72(9), 3491–3498. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2023.2172580
2. Kardum, I., Hudek, K. J., Mehić, N., & Banov Trošelj, K. (2024). The dark triad traits and relationship satisfaction: Dyadic response surface analysis. Journal of Personality, 92(4), 931–947. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12857
3. Naudszus, L. A., Altmann, T., & Roth, M. (2024). Relationships between self-esteem-related dream content and explicit and implicit measures of self-esteem. ACTA PSYCHOLOGICA, 251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104582

• Free copies of the articles are available on the library’s e-reserve system. Here are instructions on how to access the e-reserves. 
• You must use the Written Report Form F2023
• Turn in TWO separate written report forms, one for each article that you read.
• Answers must be typed, clearly written, using complete grammatical sentences (see below for grading guidelines). This exercise is designed to take approximately 2 hours (the same amount of time as research participation).
• File format. Please turn in your work in .docx format or as a .pdf file (we prefer .docx). We cannot read files in .pages format — files written in pages format will be returned ungraded but may be resubmitted before the deadline in .docx format. 
• File Names. Please rename the form with your name, e.g. instead of “Written Report Form F2023,” yours might be, “Sponge Bob Report One of Two and “Sponge Bob Report Two of Two.”

How to Turn in the Reports

Send your written reports as an email attachment to Research.Pool@mtsu.edu by Monday, April 21, 2025 (even if your class does not meet on Mondays). Please also send a copy of the submission email to your instructor. The graduate assistant in charge of grading and assigning research credits will receive your reports. Your credits will then be listed with those of students participating in research on the MTSU Study Sign-Up System.

Did the Instructor get notified of my reports? 

Your instructor will be given a list of student credits. You can check your record (on the SONA system) to be sure you received proper credit. There is typically a one to two week delay between when you turn in the reports and when your credit will be reported to your instructor.

Guidelines Used to Assign Full or Partial Credit

Full Credit (5 points)	The report has been completed thoroughly, with responses demonstrating that the student carefully read the article and answered all the questions correctly. No more than one quoted sentence is included. Questions are answered using complete, grammatically correct sentences.
Partial Credit (4 points)	Most answers (at least 4) were completed thoroughly, while some were incomplete, or contained spelling and grammatical errors. No more than 2 quoted sentences are included.
Partial Credit (3 points)	At least 3 answers were completed thoroughly, while ½ (3 answers) were incomplete, or contained spelling and grammatical errors. No more than 2 quoted sentences are included.
Partial Credit (2 points)	Answers provide little evidence of student effort and/or indicate that the student did not completely read the article (e.g., minimal and incomplete sentences resulting in incomplete answers, fewer than 3 questions completed thoroughly). Work contains multiple spelling and grammatical errors. No more than 3 quoted sentences are included.
Patrial Credit (1 point)	Same as partial credit for 2 points, but some questions are left unanswered by the student.  Work contains multiple spelling and grammatical errors. Four or more quoted sentences are included.
No Credit (0 points)	ANY evidence of plagiarism (copying more than three words in a row from the original article) will result in a zero for the entire report. Copying answers from another student also is considered plagiarism and will result in a zero on both students’ reports.  Any use of AI generated answers will also result in a zero for the entire report.

Problem? 

Contact Dr. Stuart Bernstein, Research.Pool@mtsu.edu, ACB 357, 615-898-5943.