Psychology Research Paper

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lina<3

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How should I start off my research paper on 'What is the best age for marriage?' I have my points, but I'm never and have never been good at starting off things :) Please help me.

P.S This is my first time on this thing, and I'm already a college student !
 

waflob

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I'm not really sure that we can answer that - it's less of a linguistics problem and more a matter of accepted format and/or structure.

I googled "research paper format" and got lots of hits that seemed promising. You might find some better advice there.

(welcome to the forums, btw)
 

lina<3

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Thank you then :) I'll just work on my draft then upload it for suggestions. Is that better ? I really thought no one would reply back this fast. I really need to tell my other college friends about this website and that it actually works :) Thank you .

Happy Thanksgiving out there !
 

lina<3

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Lina Su’a
Fitu Papu
Psych. 150
24 November 2011
Relationships: What Is The Best Age For Marriage?
The average age to marry is unique and different across the world. At the age of 12, most children are partially aware of what love is. They pick up relationship ideas from what they witness in homes where a couple is present as mother and father, schools where they read and are taught about relationships, including sex, and also on television through commercials, cartoons, and movies. By the age of 16, most children start getting involved in relationships for a multiple of reasons. Surprisingly, it sometimes takes two people only a few years and months, even weeks to decide on marriage. Marriage is a huge and a sacred commitment, involving sacrifice, patience, understanding, and endurance. Which leads us to the question- what is the best age for marriage? Apparently, many people fail to realize that love is an ideal thing, while marriage is the real thing. Hypothetically, the best age to marry is 30.



*I need help with continuing on to the body ! My thesis statement isn't included because I still need "big help" with formulating it . Could my question: What is the best age for marriage? be the hypothesis ? or is that the topic and supposedly age 30 is my hypothesis ?
 

konungursvia

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It sounds like a high school debating topic to me.
 

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Hypothetically, the best age to marry is 30.
You've made a very bold statement about the ideal age for marriage. I would expect the rest of the paper to be a justification, from your research, for making that statement.
 

lina<3

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It sounds like a high school debating topic ? So, what exactly is that supposed to mean ?
 

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That university research papers are not written to be entertaining, but to gather and present research. If you do some research, and give the topic any thought at all, (at all!) you will see there is no answer to the question. You may find thousands of pages' worth of material on the social and psychological consequences of marrying at various ages -- you haven't even mentioned the age difference between one spouse and the other -- but you will almost certainly find your results cannot possibly be distilled into a final numerical answer, like "30" or "42".
 

lina<3

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Didn't I say that that part is just the introduction ? And that I'm working towards the body ? Thanks though for helping .
 

lina<3

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The average age to marry is unique and different across the world. At the age of 12, most children are partially aware of what love is. They pick up relationship ideas from what they witness in homes where a couple is present as mother and father, schools where they read and are taught about relationships, including sex, and also on television through commercials, cartoons, and movies. By the age of 16, most children start getting involved in relationships for a multiple of reasons. Surprisingly, it sometimes takes two people only a few years and months, even weeks to decide on marriage. Which leads us to the question- what is the best age for marriage? Apparently, many people fail to realize that love is an ideal thing, while marriage is the real thing. Hypothetically, the best age to marry is 30 given that it takes time to develop mentally and emotionally, financially. However, research studies indicate that there is no best age to marry because of diverse educational, financial, and emotional reasons.

*any suggestions or corrections before I move on to the body which I will elaborate on the different educational, financial, and emotional reasons why there is no best age to marry ?
 

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The average age to marry is unique and different across the world. At the age of 12, most children are partially aware of what love is. They pick up relationship ideas from what they witness in homes where a couple is present as mother and father, schools where they read and are taught about relationships, including sex, and also on television through commercials, cartoons, and movies. By the age of 16, most children start getting involved in relationships for a multiple of reasons. Surprisingly, it sometimes takes two people only a few years and months, even weeks to decide on marriage. Which leads us to the question- what is the best age for marriage? Apparently, many people fail to realize that love is an ideal thing, while marriage is the real thing. Hypothetically, the best age to marry is 30 given that it takes time to develop mentally and emotionally, financially. However, research studies indicate that there is no best age to marry because of diverse educational, financial, and emotional reasons.

*any suggestions or corrections before I move on to the body which I will elaborate on the different educational, financial, and emotional reasons why there is no best age to marry ?
If you don't intend to provide support for your hypothesis that 30 is the best age - in fact it looks like you intend your research not to show this - why are you making that hypothesis?
My suggestion is to leave out the word "hypothesis" or "hypothetically" if you don't understand it. You could say something like, "My subjective instinct is that 30 is the best age for marriage. However the results of my research point out the danger of making such unsubstantiated guesses in what purports to be a scientific discipline."
 

lina<3

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Throughout the body, I will elaborate on my findings and how they clearly object my hypothesis. I mentioned the term "hypothetically" in the research paper because we were instructed to formulate a hypothesis. I decided to include the hypothesis in the introduction and will elaborate on how I came up with it throughout the body, even in the conclusion too.
"in what purports to be a scientific discipline."-could you elaborate on what this meant please ?

Thank you very much for your awkward responses :)
 

Raymott

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Throughout the body, I will elaborate on my findings and how they clearly object my hypothesis. I mentioned the term "hypothetically" in the research paper because we were instructed to formulate a hypothesis. I decided to include the hypothesis in the introduction and will elaborate on how I came up with it throughout the body, even in the conclusion too.
"in what purports to be a scientific discipline."-could you elaborate on what this meant please ?

Thank you very much for your awkward responses :)
I don't think this is the best way to get further help.
Most Psychology Departments would consider that psychology is a science, and that if you use a term like "hypothetically", you mean it in a scientific way.
 
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lina<3

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Thank you very much for your help and I apologize if I sounded offensive :) Your comments and suggestions are helping me so much with my paper.
 

lina<3

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Relationships: What Is The Best Age For Marriage?
The average age to marry is unique and different across the world. At the age of 12, most children are partially aware of what love is. They pick up relationship ideas from what they witness in homes where a couple is present as mother and father, schools where they read and are taught about relationships, including sex, and also on television through commercials, cartoons, and movies. By the age of 16, most children start getting involved in relationships for a multiple of reasons. Surprisingly, it sometimes takes two people only a few years and months, even weeks to decide on marriage. Which leads us to the question- what is the best age for marriage? Apparently, many people fail to realize that love is an ideal thing, while marriage is the real thing. From subjective instinct, 30 is the best age for marriage. However, research studies indicate that there is no best age to marry because of diverse educational, financial, and emotional reasons.
Education
Supposedly, by the age of 30, one would have obtained some kind of degree. At the age of 18 to 19, high school years have been completed; from 19-25, we see a man with a B.A in Computer Engineering or a woman with Masters in Liberal Arts. Realistically, education plays a vital function in every relationship, including marriage. It allows one to genuinely learn and mentally prepare him/her for present and future decisions. In fact, married couples and non-married couples often encounter serious marriage problems as a product of lacking educational experiences, which sometimes eventually result in ugly divorces. Hundreds of research results indicate that it is best to wait until one has obtained a college degree, as it appears to be very important on resumes and job applications.



*any suggestions, I'm starting on the body now.
 

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Hundreds of research results indicate that it is best to wait until one has obtained a college degree, as it appears to be very important on resumes and job applications.

*any suggestions, I'm starting on the body now.
Can you post some of your references to these hundreds of research results?

I'm still not sure whether you understand the difference between a research paper and an opinion piece for a women's magazine.

What you should be doing is:
1) State your hypothesis in the opening: 30 is the best age for marriage.
2) Then, look for some evidence (A true scientific study would look for evidence both for and against the hypothesis - to find the truth. It's probably acceptable in Psych150 to ignore the evidence against.)
3) Give that evidence with adequate documentation. (Your subjective opinion doesn't count as evidence, or documentation)
4) Write a conclusion, saying whether your hypothesis has been confirmed, or not.
You have already decided that your hypothesis is true, so it's not strictly a truth-seeking study. It's a piece of persuasive writing. You will probably pass Psych150 with this, but technically, it's not a research study. If you have not been taught what a research study is, your approach will probably be adequate, and none of your fellow students will know either.

Just one hint:
Supposedly, by the age of 30, one would have obtained some kind of degree.
Words like "supposedly" don't belong here. Every time you use a word like that, you are signalling that this is your preconceived opinion, not a result of your research.
 

lina<3

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Alright, thank you so much for your help :) I'll be in touch !
 

lina<3

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Can you post some of your references to these hundreds of research results?

I'm still not sure whether you understand the difference between a research paper and an opinion piece for a women's magazine.

What you should be doing is:
1) State your hypothesis in the opening: 30 is the best age for marriage.
2) Then, look for some evidence (A true scientific study would look for evidence both for and against the hypothesis - to find the truth. It's probably acceptable in Psych150 to ignore the evidence against.)
3) Give that evidence with adequate documentation. (Your subjective opinion doesn't count as evidence, or documentation)
4) Write a conclusion, saying whether your hypothesis has been confirmed, or not.
You have already decided that your hypothesis is true, so it's not strictly a truth-seeking study. It's a piece of persuasive writing. You will probably pass Psych150 with this, but technically, it's not a research study. If you have not been taught what a research study is, your approach will probably be adequate, and none of your fellow students will know either.

Just one hint:
Supposedly, by the age of 30, one would have obtained some kind of degree.
Words like "supposedly" don't belong here. Every time you use a word like that, you are signalling that this is your preconceived opinion, not a result of your research.

Raymott:
Can you write my paper for me please?
 
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Not a teacher, but a researcher.

The word "hypothetically" is not normally alluding to "hypothesis". It is used for discussing a fictive situation, case, etc.

"The average age to marry is unique..."
This is a misuse of the word unique. Using average in conjunction with unique is to me self-contradictory. What you mean is that the average age to marry varies depending on home country.

Good luck with the paper :)
 
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