Topics of term papers on psychology. How to write a term paper on psychology

When receiving higher professionaleducation in the field of psychology, the standards of each university provides writing and protection of term papers. They show the level of mastering the discipline by the student and are good practice for systematizing the knowledge gained. It is important to understand that the choice of a topic in psychology and the further organization of research is a serious stage in professional development. In the process of writing a work, you can not only demonstrate your abilities in your chosen field of science, but also successfully use them in practice.

Coursework in psychology: the choice of topics

Education at the Faculty of Psychology involves writing and defending term papers in various special areas. It is necessary to understand the stages of the study and the requirements for this type of work.

Если научиться правильно организовывать свою research activities, it is very easy to enter the final stage of training and easily defend the final qualifying work. Moreover, with the advance selection of specialization and the theme of the final qualifying work (the graduation project), you can perform different research projects, but in the same vector. In this case, they will become the stages of the development of a diploma and will affect the depth of study of the material and the quality of research.

It does not hurt for a successful start to decide onsupervisor who will oversee your research. He will help at a preliminary stage to analyze the topic of coursework in psychology and formulate the problem to be investigated. Since the student himself does not always sufficiently possess information on the field of scientific activity.

The choice of topic is determined by the interest of the author tosubject. The topic should be relevant, that is, claimed by society from a practical point of view. To determine the degree of knowledge of the topic, you should familiarize yourself with specialized sources of information, reference books and monographs of recent years. For example, the journal Issues of Psychology or Psychological Studies, the anthologies of universities, will help outline the perspectives of the author’s interest, the field of psychological knowledge.

Once the topic of work has been determined, you can proceed to the next stage: developing a work plan.

Work plan

At this stage, a working version is created.research topics on psychology, which in the process of its study will change several times. The plan helps to build a work sequence and give a general idea of ​​its content. Acquaintance with theoretical sources will allow compiling an understanding of the problem and ways to solve it. It is better to think over the content of the experimental part in detail and focus on theoretical sources, limited to the specifics of practical material. This will help avoid the danger of "drowning in information." Coursework in psychology should have the following sections:

• Content.
• Introduction.
• Theoretical chapter of research on the topic.
• The practical part of the work.
• Analytical material, revealing the purpose of the work.
• Conclusion, with conclusions throughout the study.
• Bibliography.
• Applications.

All parts together form the logic of the topic and must consistently disclose tasks to achieve the goal of the study.

Justification of the relevance and purpose of the study

The content of the work is written in the very end, includes a list of sections with an indication of the corresponding page of the work.
It may differ in size and number of sections, but the logical structure remains unchanged.

An introduction is that part of the work that uncovers the problem of psychology to be studied.

Relevance and Purpose. It is determined in the process of a brief review of the material studied, substantiates the formulation of the problem and its relevance for the purposes of scientific research.

Based on the relevance, the goal is formulatedresearch. She, in fact, is the theme of the course work. If, for example, the social psychology of the individual is to be studied, and the theme of the work is “Self-assessment of the personality”, then the goal of the research is to identify the social factors that influence this process.

Tasks.To reveal the goal, the coursework in social psychology should contain specific research objectives. The list of theoretical, practical and analytical tasks determines the nature of the work chapters that answer the questions posed in the introduction. Usually the number of chapters corresponds to the number of research tasks and determines its volume. If the social psychology of the personality is studied, the following tasks are legitimate:

• Theoretical study of the influence of society on a person.
• Practical study of the factors influencing the formation of personality.
• Analysis of the research results with recommendations for their practical application.

Determination of the subject, object and hypothesis of scientific work

It is important to correctly limit the subject and object of research. The subject is what is studied in the work. The object is the base of the study.

If a term paper on social psychology is written, then the subject of research may be, for example, the deviant behavior of adolescents, and students of 5-7 classes of secondary school may be the object.

Hypothesis.This is a definite postulate, which appears in a hypothetical form and requires practical proof. If the child’s developmental psychology is studied, the hypothesis is judgment: conflicts in the family affect the child’s anxiety level.

If the subject of the study is a childpractical psychology, then usually experimental research is conducted on the basis of a kindergarten. And the results of the experiment can be the basis for creating a practical methodology. In this case, the real significance of the work has a pronounced result.

At the end of the introductory part, the logic of the structure is justified and a list of basic scientific points of view on which the research is based is given.

The theoretical part of the course work

The first chapter of the course work is a theoretical study of the problem. It consists of three sections:

• Definition of category apparatus.This part of the work defines the conceptual research tools. An interpretation of the basic terms, definitions and concepts that will be used in the work is given.
• Analysis of theoretical views on the problem. The objective of this part of the study is to show the level of development of the topic, existing schools and approaches, as well as the history of the formation of the problem.
• Definition of the position of the author.In the conclusion of the theoretical part, the position of the author is substantiated on the basis of studying the theoretical material on the research topic. It is advisable to rely on classical materials on psychology. If you study the psychology of raising children, without reference to the work of Vygotsky LS not enough. Knowledge of classical works indicates a qualitative approach to the study of the topic.

Practical research: stages and purpose

This is an experimental piece of work. Depending on the subject of study, it is organized on a specific object that meets the objectives of the study.

A large number of experimental studiesorganized on the bases of general education, pre-school institutions, social institutions and organizations. These are natural social conditions of personality formation. Experimental studies of social groups and become an empirical basis for testing the truth of hypothetical judgments.

The experimental part of the course work confirms or refutes the hypothesis of the project, demonstrates the author's ability to use the conceptual apparatus. Allows to practice the results.

The experimental part includes mandatory paragraphs, the number of which depends on the objectives of the study. In this chapter there are three stages of the organization of scientific work:

• Definition of the purpose and tools of the organization of the experiment.
• Registration of the actual data obtained as a result of the experiment with explanations, in graphs, figures, diagrams.
• Presentation of the findings on the results of the experiment, confirming or refuting the hypothesis.

The experimental part carries the mainsemantic load of the study, because it serves as the basis of work. It is acceptable and expedient to start writing from the experimental part. The psychology of raising children is effectively studied in kindergarten, at the stage of the primary socialization of the child. A study based on a comparison of experimental data of two groups, one of which is an experiment, and the other is used to compare the results, easily identifies the level of accuracy of the hypothesis.

Analytical chapter of work

In this part there is a return to the theory. But this theory is based on actually reliable data obtained during the experiment.

Третья глава вмещает в себе как теоретический material of the first part, and conclusions from the experimental part. Here it is important to show how developed the fundamental points of the theory. What place can the studied problem take in the course that general psychology studies? Topics of coursework contain a problem that requires practical solutions. Therefore, in the analysis it is necessary to confirm the significance of the research for the practice of application. For example, on the basis of the data obtained in the study, develop a methodology or practical recommendations for possible use in life.

Conclusion and conclusions

The conclusion should answer the questions posed in the introduction. Each research task is given a concise and specific answer, which is located in the corresponding section of work.

Логическая последовательность ответов на задачи leads to the disclosure of the topic and the fulfillment of the purpose of the study. It should be said in conclusion about the level of relevance of the work and the confirmation or refutation of the hypothesis. Coursework in general psychology may contain not a hypothesis, but a general judgment, which formulates the author’s view of the work on generally accepted approaches in the context of a new historical reality.

The conclusion is an abstractpresentation of the main ideas of all the chapters of the work. It is appropriate to use in her quotes from classic works. Those theoretical principles which were used in the course work. Quotes give emotionality and a certain artistic flavor to the work.

Bibliography and applications

The list contains a list of sources that reveal the topic of coursework in psychology.

Bibliography requiresstrict compliance with the requirements given in the methodological developments of the university, on the basis of which the work will be protected. The bibliographic list should contain mandatory materials of the last three years, specialized sources, reference materials, publications in professional journals, monographs and articles. Required links to Internet resources when using them. It is advisable to check the work on plagiarism, currently it is one of the requirements for the protection of coursework.

The application is carried out toolsstudies (questionnaires, descriptions of technologies), demonstration material (images, tables, graphs) that were not included in the material of the chapters. They are made strictly according to the requirements of the university. The number of applications should correspond to the amount of work and serve as proof of the results of its experimental part.

Useful tips on writing and protecting coursework

• A defense statement must disclose yourlogical way in the process of achieving the goal. It should not be voluminous. Do not exceed ten pages of text without including materials for the demonstration, which is called handout and is prepared in several copies for members of the commission.
• Выбор темы курсовых работ по психологии должен have a strategic goal - preparation for the defense of final qualifying work. All coursework must from different sides to reveal the area of ​​professional interest. This achieves maximum concentration on the subject of research and the effectiveness of training in general.
• The right choice of supervisor will help youquickly advance in scientific research. If a look at the problem being studied does not coincide with the approaches of the leader, this will be an excellent chance in preparing for defense, the manager in this case will act simultaneously as an opponent.
• Themes of coursework in psychology can be general and highly specialized. Narrow specialization requires depth, broad - research volumes.

Successful and fruitful work.