Assessing Student Writing in an Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Course
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| Title: | Assessing Student Writing in an Undergraduate Psychology Research Methods Course |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Renee M. Penalver (ORCID |
| Source: | Teaching of Psychology. 2026 53(1):104-110. |
| Availability: | SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 7 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Higher Education Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: | State Universities, Undergraduate Students, Psychology, Majors (Students), Student Writing Models, Writing Evaluation, Writing Skills, Research Papers (Students), Research Reports, Communication Skills, Scoring Rubrics |
| Geographic Terms: | California |
| DOI: | 10.1177/00986283251357559 |
| ISSN: | 0098-6283 1532-8023 |
| Abstract: | Background: The American Psychological Association (APA)'s Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major, 3.0 includes communication as one of the five learning goals. We examined to what extent psychology majors communicated their ideas in an APA-style research paper. Objective: This study aimed to provide data about students' written communication skills in an upper-division psychology research methods course. Method: Two faculty raters created a rubric and coded 100 APA-style research reports on nine categories of written communication. Each category was rated as 1="does not yet meet expectations," 2="meets expectations," or 3="exceeds expectations." Results: The range of scores across all 100 papers was 9-23, M =13.11, SD =2.96. 90% of papers "met expectations" in at least one rubric category, and 44% of papers "exceeded expectations" in at least one rubric category. There were no papers that "met expectations" in all nine categories. Conclusion: Students struggled with synthesizing the literature and communicating results through graphical communication in their APA-style research papers. It is essential to continue to assess psychology undergraduates' writing skills. Teaching Implications: To improve undergraduate student writing, psychology faculty may use rubrics to identify the weakest areas and use existing support to guide students. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1492873 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Background: The American Psychological Association (APA)'s Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major, 3.0 includes communication as one of the five learning goals. We examined to what extent psychology majors communicated their ideas in an APA-style research paper. Objective: This study aimed to provide data about students' written communication skills in an upper-division psychology research methods course. Method: Two faculty raters created a rubric and coded 100 APA-style research reports on nine categories of written communication. Each category was rated as 1="does not yet meet expectations," 2="meets expectations," or 3="exceeds expectations." Results: The range of scores across all 100 papers was 9-23, M =13.11, SD =2.96. 90% of papers "met expectations" in at least one rubric category, and 44% of papers "exceeded expectations" in at least one rubric category. There were no papers that "met expectations" in all nine categories. Conclusion: Students struggled with synthesizing the literature and communicating results through graphical communication in their APA-style research papers. It is essential to continue to assess psychology undergraduates' writing skills. Teaching Implications: To improve undergraduate student writing, psychology faculty may use rubrics to identify the weakest areas and use existing support to guide students. |
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| ISSN: | 0098-6283 1532-8023 |
| DOI: | 10.1177/00986283251357559 |
