01. Overview

This paper was completed for a psychology research methods course, PSYC 012, and was intended to be an introduction to the process of writing an academic research paper. The paper, Motivation in STEM and non-STEM College Applicants, examined the level, as well as potential driving forces, of motivation in students enrolled in STEM and non-STEM undergraduate programs, wherein we hypothesized that STEM majors would report higher levels of motivation to pursue their degree. This project was the culmination of five weeks of planning, writing, and revising during which I collaborated with an assigned peer group—Sherry Barr, Aidan Bradley, Cassandra Joy Rosales, Anahi Rubio, and myself. Though the project was a collaborative effort and was presented to the class as a group, each person was required to write their own final paper containing the information we had worked together to collect and interpret. Simply put, although each section of the paper was divided amongst the group, it was our individual responsibilities to revise, synthesize, and finalize our sections into a final draft.

02. Skills Used

This project required that I utilize skills which include, but are not limited to: literature search, writing in an academic format, statistics, statistical calculation software, public speaking, communication amongst instructors and peers, and collaboration with a group of peers. Of the skills mentioned, I encountered the most difficulty with switching to a formal, academic writing style utilizing APA format. I also struggled with my literature search as there were very few studies in recent years that were related to my group's topic, or could be used to substantiate our research question and hypothesis.

03. Outcomes

Completing this project gave me the opportunity to learn more about research in the field of psychology and the process of writing an academic research paper. Likewise, it demonstrated the importance of balancing internal and external validity—confidence in the causal relationship being measured not being influenced by another variable, and generalizability of the findings, respectively—when developing the overall research/study, as strengthening one may diminish the other.

04. Reflection

Though I viewed the project as another assignment in the list of required courses in my psychology program at the time, I am glad to have had the opportunity to learn more about research methods [in the field of psychology]. In fact, completing the project made me more confident in my ability to participate in research and led to my joining a social psychology research lab only a few short months after. Without this project, the research process would have remained foreign and complicated, and moreover, a process which I could not imagine myself being a part of.