1) How do I find more references?

- Try following the ‘reference trail’: When you find one good journal article, look within the reference section for other good articles.

- Textbooks (eg. Gray’s Psychology) are good for background information and sometimes even for finding peer-reviewed journal articles. See question 4.

- Trying running a general search on a major database such as ‘PsycInfo’ and ‘ScienceDirect’ (via the library website)

 

2) How can I find out more about psychology essays and reports?

There are some useful essay-writing guides for psychology in the library and at the co-op bookshop. You may also want to ask your tutor if they have any useful materials.

 

3) ‘It’s my first psychology essay/report, where do I start’?

• Start with any ‘starter’ references provided with the essay/report question.
• Textbooks are great for background information. (see Question 1)
• Often having a quick read over some relevant reference articles or book chapters can help you understand the essay question or report topic.
• But remember to put some serious ‘thinking’ time into understanding what the essay or report should be about.
• Considering writing more than one draft of any essay or report (unless you are accustomed to doing your assignments another way) because by writing it all over again you get the chance to re-structure your ideas and in doing so you might discover strengths and weaknesses in your thesis (your argument/position/report) – which might require more explanation or information (or less).
• Warning: these tips are far from exhaustive – they are just a few of the many issues relevant to essay and report writing.

 

4) Why do most psychology exams consist of multiple choice questions?

Exam questions are difficult to write and exams are often re-used from previous years. That’s why there are generally no past exam papers available to undergraduate psychology students. Although sometimes you can get lucky when your lecturer posts a few practice questions online on WebCT (remember to ask them to!).

 

5) How do I complain about a tutor?

If you don’t feel that you can talk to your tutor about it, then try contacting your course coordinator.

But keep in mind that your tutor has a tough job; they have to teach difficult course material to a diverse group of students and often have multiple classes to teach (and assignments to mark). Consider whether the problem is something the tutor can actually rectify, and whether the problem is not just about the course material being long and difficult (you can complain about that in the unit evaluation at the end of semester) and whether other students in your tutorial class are experiencing similar difficulties. Also remember that you can email your tutor directly and they are obliged to reply within two weeks.