Students in the Psychology doctoral program are either (a) to complete a master’s degree or (b) to demonstrate research competence as one requirement for attaining candidacy status. The Developmental Program expects that students will meet this requirement during the second or at the latest third year in the program. The Developmental program strongly recommends that students fulfill this requirement by completing the master’s degree, and it is expected that most students will do so. Guidelines for the master’s thesis are described below.
1. Master’s committee. The student’s master’s project will be advised by a three person faculty committee, comprised of the student’s primary mentor, one other faculty member in the developmental area, and one additional faculty member (faculty from other departments are acceptable in this role).
2. Proposal. The student should begin by writing a research proposal with the following sections. The document should conform to APA style throughout.
a. The Introduction should present a clearly specified research question. In it, the student should provide a comprehensive, but focused review of the relevant literatures, making clear the theoretical motivation and empirical basis for the proposed research. The literature review should be more detailed than a typical journal article introduction, but need not be as detailed as a typical review article. Another possibility is to write an introduction similar to that of a journal article, with a more detailed literature review contained as an Appendix. This section should also include a section describing the present study (typically a paragraph or two) and a summary list of hypotheses and research questions
b. The Methods section should specify the methods to be used and their appropriateness to address the question. This section follows the format found in journal articles, yet will include more information than journal space typically permits (e.g., sample items from a questionnaire; more details about the nature of materials used; how participants will be recruited; more details about psychometric properties of the measures). An alternative is to write a methods section in the style of a journal article and provide these additional details in an Appendix (analogous to Supplementary Information for a publication)
c. The Analysis Plan should specify the proposed analytic strategy with as much detail as possible, making clear the appropriateness of the plan to address the research question. (e.g., a student could not only lay out the type of analysis, but the specific factors, covariates, etc. that will be used, and appropriate follow-up tests). Discussion of appropriate power should be included. Discussion about identifying and addressing missing data, skewed data, and outliers should also be included where appropriate.
d. Appendices should include IRB approval (if available), copies of all questionnaires, photos/drawings of stimulus materials when possible, and any other materials needed for attempts to replicate the research.
3. Proposal hearing. The written proposal should be distributed to the committee no less than 2 weeks prior to the proposal meeting. At the meeting, the student should review the proposed research in a brief presentation and then respond to questions from the committee. This meeting is intended to provide an opportunity for the committee to offer advice on the project. The committee members’ decision to approve the proposal should be based on their evaluation of the merits of the research plan and the appropriateness of the project (in type and scope) for the master’s degree. If the committee does not approve the research proposal they can specify revisions to be made prior to their approval. Revisions can be evaluated individually by the advisor, or by each member of the committee. Alternatively, if the committee judges it necessary, a second meeting can be called.
4. Students are reminded that IRB approval is required for all research involving human subjects BEFORE the project begins. IRB approval is required as an Appendix in the proposal. If the student has not applied for IRB approval at the time of the meeting the student must provide committee members with a copy of the approval letter before the research begins (and within 1 month of the proposal).
5. Students are required to enroll for at least 6 credits of Psyc799 prior to defending the master’s thesis. Students should meet departmental and University requirements for enrollment during the semester in which they defend their thesis.
6. Final Written Product. Once the research is complete, the student should construct and defend a final report on the project. The written product can take the form of a traditional master’s thesis, with Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion sections. Alternatively, the student can present a full journal article reporting the findings. Journal articles should be ready for submission (although students may decide to wait for the committee’s input before submitting the paper for peer review). In either case, the final written product should conform to APA style throughout.
7. Oral Defense. The final written product should be submitted to the committee no less than 2 weeks prior to the defense. During the defense, the student should present a brief overview of the project and its findings, and then address the questions of the committee. In accord with Graduate School guidelines, the defense will be open to other UMD faculty. If the student and the committee agree, the initial student presentation of the defense may be open to other students and members of the UMD community, who are permitted to ask questions; only the student and committee members attend the remainder of the defense. The committee will determine whether the project satisfies the master’s degree requirement, and whether revisions are necessary. Revisions can be evaluated individually by the advisor, or by each member of the committee. Alternatively, if the committee judges it necessary, a second defense can be called.
8. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with the Graduate School’s requirements for committee forms and thesis submission (see http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/catalog/masters_degree_policies.htm) and to work with the Psychology Department’s Graduate Office to make sure that the necessary forms are completed on schedule.
