For this assignment, students will select one event** in psychology of which to complete an indepth analysis.
The analysis should include what happened before, during and after the event. The point of the paper will be to use the hindsight that we have to understand why that event happened and how it changed the future.
**NOTE: The term "event" is used loosely. An event could be a series of research studies that changed the way we see a concept now. It could be a famous speech or theoretical article that came out that is now seen as a game changer in psychology. It could be the development of an instrument. Really anything that happened in psychology is an event.
Forty Studies That Changed Psychology by 
Great Psychologists and Their Times by 
Marking the Mind: A History of Memory by 
B. F. Skinner and Behaviorism in American Culture by 
Exploring Happiness: from Aristotle to brain science by 
Control: a history of behavioral psychology by 
Aspects of the History of Psychology in America 1892-1992 by All students must talk with a librarian staff about their paper. There is a form on moodle that needs to be filled out and signed in order to complete this task. This form must be turned in to the professor during the rough draft conference. This is not the writing center, this is the library.
Our reference desk is staffed from 9 am to 3 pm Monday through Friday. If someone is not at the reference desk, please come down to the circulation desk to ask for assistance.
You are also welcome to stop by our offices anytime from 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday. You may also email us to set up a time for research assistance to make sure we are free.
You can contact Holly at schettlerh@morningside.edu or Adam at fullertona@morningside.edu.
For your paper, you will need to look at the proceedings leading up to the event, the details of the event, and changes brought to the field.
These databases can help you with your research related to psychology:
You can also find recent articles through the journal index. Use this link when searching for a specific journal title to see if Morningside College has access to the full-text.
If you can not find the full-text of an article you need, you may request the article through interlibrary loan, or ILL.
Also remember to check the library's catalog! Any books on the history of psychology should be helpful. You can also search based on a topic related to your event (developmental psychology, moral reasoning, etc.).
Your professor also has a list of books available for your use in her office.
As a part of your research, you may need to look into broader social and/or cultural events and how the event shaped how we view ourselves in the world.
These databases will help you with more general or historical research:
Again, the library catalog will be helpful for this part of your paper.
To find historical or primary sources, you can take multiple approaches.
(1) Do some background reading using Google or Wikipedia. Do these non-academic sources mention any primary sources you can track down?
(2) Who are important psychologists for the "event" you are researching? What did they write concerning the "event?" Can you track these resources down?
(3) Read secondary resources on your "event." Do these resources mention or include any primary documents you can track down or use?
(4) Search the library's databases or WorldCat ILL for sources written by the psychologists that are a part of your "event." The databases below may be especially helpful.
The EBSCO eBook collection includes titles covering many subjects. Click here to start searching for eBooks on your topic.
You may have heard that Wikipedia is not a good resource for academic research. While you should not quote Wikipedia, the website can have a role in your research.
For those who do not know, Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia. It is constantly growing and changing because anyone can add to or edit articles however they like. The problem is that some individuals may add in false or biased information. Thus, Wikipedia may not be a reliable resource.
If you are unfamiliar with a topic or wish to get a broad overview quickly, Wikipedia can be an excellent resource with which to begin. References included in Wikipedia entries may also be used as a jumping off point for students in their research.
Google Scholar (2010) provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites. Google Scholar helps you find relevant work across the world of scholarly research.
All scholarly writing needs to be properly cited. If you need help with citations, you can talk to your professor or a librarian.
You can also check out our citation style LibGuides:
Some books are available through your professor. Make an appointment to browse her shelves and see what is available to check out.
Don't forget other professors too. They may have historical books that would be of interest to you.