Writing is the lifeblood of psychology. Psychology students are required to show their ability to communicate, make empirical observations, and have logical arguments. When studying psychology, you will be required to do tons of assignments and writing. Research papers are one of the assignments you will do while studying psychology. At first glance, it may seem complicated, but with a comprehensive guide, you should be able to write an excellent paper.

A logical flow of ideas is critical. Choose a good research topic and a strong hypothesis. This will be the foundation of your research paper. Ensure that you proofread your work before submitting it. Also, you can look for inspiration from previously done psychology research papers or you could use our trusted psychology essay writing service for more help.

Structure of a Psychology Research Paper

Understanding the structure of a psychology research paper will be an excellent place to start. A good research paper should have a sequence. One thing that professors will score in your research paper is the structure. One thing leads to the next.

Your psychology research paper should have:

1. An introduction

This is where you introduce your topic of research. Talk about what your paper is about and mention how the topic has been addressed in previous research. Proceed to a literature review by summarizing previous studies on the topic and connecting them to your own.

At the end of your introduction, make a hypothesis. An excellent example of the hypothesis is sleep-deprived students perform poorly than the ones that are not sleep-deprived.

2. Method

You have to test your hypothesis and tell the reader the method you will use to do so. Here you will talk about who will participate in the study, the materials you will use, and the procedure.

3. Findings

Here you will present the data you have collected from your study. You can present your data using summary tables, graphs, and pie charts. The information is not to be interpreted in this section.

4. Discussion

In this section, you are required to analyze and interpret the data presented in the findings. For an effective discussion, relate your results to your hypothesis. Also, you can compare your findings with other studies covered in your literature review.

In this section, you are also to highlight the limitations of your research methodology.

In the end, make a summary of your conclusion you have drawn from your study.

5. References

To show the credibility of your research paper, include references. List down the references you have used in your research body and use the referencing format requested by your professor.

Abstract and appendix should be included in your paper. The abstract is placed before the introduction, while the appendix is after the discussion.

Your research paper abstract should be written once you are done with the research paper to summarize your research paper. Your abstract should include your research question, the population of study, method, results, and the conclusion drawn from the results.

The appendix consists of additional information not necessarily vital for the text but guides the reader on your text’s information.

College essay about depression, with outline example.

How to Write an Excellent Psychology Research Paper

1. Choose a concise topic

Psychology is a broad subject; you are, therefore, likely to fall into the trap of choosing a broad topic. Straightforward topics will help the reader understand your scope better and give you an easy time making an argument. For instance, “How bipolar disorder affects your health” is a good and focused research topic.  We also have a variety of 100+ essay topics for every branch of Psychology researched by our team of Professional writers that you can choose to research about.

The success of your research paper depends on how good your topic is. If you are having problems choosing a suitable topic for your psychology paper, kindly feel free to use our free essay title generator tool.

2. Have a strong hypothesis

The hypothesis is testable because it forms the foundation of your research paper. The hypothesis answers your research question and also creates a clear picture of the relationship between the variables.

A good hypothesis must show the relationship between the variables; it should also be testable and consistent with the body of knowledge. A strong hypothesis should also be concise and simple.

3. Create an outline

Writing an outline is important for a research paper. It will help you organize your points to develop a logical argument. The structure informs your outline of a research paper.

Include the abstract, introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. This will give your research paper a logical flow. Once you have the outline, you can proceed to write your paper.

4. Proofread your work

Do not be in a rush to submit your research paper to your professor. Edit and proofread your work. Please take note of all errors and correct them. Plagiarism can ruin the credibility of your research paper; therefore, work on it too. Revisit the instructions provided for the research paper and take note of the minimum percentage of plagiarism allowed.

You can ask a friend to help you proofread your work and use a plagiarism checker. Ensure that your work is clean before you submit it.

5. Use unbiased language

Your content should be free from group stereotypes, gender stereotypes, bias on race, age, and socioeconomic status. Also, avoid using offensive language in your research paper. Be mindful of your language to avoid prejudice. Such tones can weigh down your research paper.

6. Use credible references

Referencing allows you to give credit to other writers and their contribution to your topic of research. Most importantly though referencing, you get to provide the reader with evidence to support your claims or ideas.

This adds credibility to your work. Using unreliable resources will be a downer. Ensure that your references are credible. Look at the author, where they got the information and the year of publishing. Outdated sources will impede your paper.

7. Avoid jargons

Jargons are best used for very technical papers. Jargon will make your work complicated and hard to read. Make your paper as simple as possible, and it will draw the attention of the reader.

As you have seen, writing a research paper is not as complicated as it may appear. Understanding the structure of a psychology research paper will make everything easy for you. Create an outline as it will give the roadmap to complete your paper.

Having a hard time coming up with a suitable topic for your philosophy paper, here are sample philosophy essay topics for your assignments

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