James Madison University Wordmark

Department of Psychology

Symposium
Jamie Hoffman presents her research
at the JMU Psychology Symposium.

Honors Thesis

Each Honors Thesis must be supervised by a committee of three faculty members who are familiar with the issues being investigated by the student, and agree to serve in this capacity. It is the student’s responsibility to discuss their thesis ideas with potential faculty committee members and request their participation on the committee. Students are encouraged to identify a potential chairperson for their thesis committee as soon as possible. The chairperson can help the student begin important planning activities prior to enrollment in Psyc 499.

The thesis committee will be composed of the thesis chair and at least two other faculty members. The chair must be a member of the faculty of the Department of Psychology or Department of Graduate Psychology. Closest supervision of the student project will come from the honors thesis chairperson, so the student should try to identify a chair for their thesis first, and then seek that person’s advice regarding other potential committee members. Usually at least one or two faculty members on a thesis committee is chosen from the faculty of the Department of Psychology. The third member of the thesis committee can be any faculty member at JMU, including faculty from other departments.

  1. Committee members must have the background and interest necessary to counsel, direct and evaluate the specific student research project undertaken. Participation as a committee member is voluntary on the part of the faculty member.
  2. The student under the supervision of the thesis chairperson primarily designs the thesis. As the thesis is developed, committee members need only be consulted if their expertise is needed. During this phase of the project, the student prepares a written thesis proposal that is discussed with, and edited by the thesis chairperson.
  3. Once approved by the thesis chairperson, the complete written thesis proposal is distributed to all committee members for review. A meeting is scheduled, not less than one week after the proposal is distributed, to allow the full committee to discuss the proposal with the student. The student must not further edit the proposal document after it is distributed to the committee until after this meeting.
  4. The thesis committee discusses the written proposal, and oral comments made during the meeting, and can either reject the proposal, approve it pending revisions, or approve the proposal as written.
  5. Once the full committee approves the proposal, the student works on the project and is primarily supervised by the thesis chairperson. An IRB or IACUC proposal must be completed at this time, if the student is conducting research with human participants or animal subjects, respectively. Once approved, data collection can commence. During this phase of the project, committee members need only be consulted if their expertise is needed.
  6. As the thesis is completed, the student writes the thesis document under the supervision of the chairperson. Several drafts of the document are usually required, and the thesis chairperson edits these. Committee members need only be consulted if their expertise is needed.
  7. Once approved by the thesis chairperson, the complete written thesis is distributed to all committee members for review. A meeting is scheduled, not less than one week after the thesis is distributed to allow the full committee to discuss the thesis with the student. The student must not further edit the thesis document after it is distributed to the committee until after this meeting.
  8. The thesis committee discusses the thesis, and can either reject it, approve it pending revisions, or approve the thesis as written.
  9. Committee members must sign documents declaring the thesis to be successfully completed.
  10. Students are encouraged to present their thesis findings at professional meetings, and publish their findings in professional journals. Authorship for thesis work must be determined on a case-by-case basis, consistent with the contributions made to the project by the thesis committee members. The Department of Psychology stands behind the ethical guidelines of the American Psychological Association with respect to authorship of presentations and publications, which have been reprinted below.

Ethical Principles Of Psychologists And Code Of Conduct, APA

(December 1, 1992, from: www.apa.org/ethics/code.html)

6.23 Publication Credit.

  1. Psychologists take responsibility and credit, including authorship credit, only for work they have actually performed or to which they have contributed.
  2. Principal authorship and other publication credits accurately reflect the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their relative status. Mere possession of an institutional position, such as Department Chair, does not justify authorship credit. Minor contributions to the research or to the writing for publications are appropriately acknowledged, such as in footnotes or in an introductory statement.
  3. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored article that is substantially based on the student's dissertation or thesis.

Thesis Registration

Students in Psychology register for the 6 credit hour honors thesis experience through three sequential courses: Psyc 499A (1 credit hour), Psyc 499B ( 3 credit hours), and Psyc 499C ( 2 credit hours). Typically Psyc 499A is taken as a 4th block course (end of Spring semester) during junior year, and Psyc 499B and 499C are taken during Fall and Spring semesters of the Senior year, respectively. Selecting a thesis topic and committee takes time. Students should begin discussing their thesis topic with potential thesis advisers and committee members early during the Spring semester.

The application for the Honors Thesis can be obtained from the Director of the JMU Honors Program. The Department of Psychology requires that each student wishing to complete an Honors thesis select their topic, thesis committee, and submit an application to the Head of the Department of Psychology no later than the final deadline for registration for Psyc 499A. The application requires students to briefly describe their topic, and obtain signatures from all committee members agreeing to serve.

Changes in Thesis Committee Membership

If for any reason the members or chair of an Honors Thesis committee needs to change, students must request that change by resubmitting an application form and updated proposal to the Honors Program Office. The proposal needs the signatures of the new Committee Chair, all Faculty Members serving on the committee, Psyc Department Head, and CISAT Dean (or Associate Dean) before it is submitted to the Honors Program. This documentation should include a brief statement regarding the reason for the change, and an indication of whether the proposal or just the committee membership is being revised. If as a thesis committee is reformulated, a note or e-mail from any faculty member who is no longer on that committee should be sent to the Honors Program Office indicating their agreement to no longer serve on the committee.

Thesis Grades

Students earn separate grades for Psyc 499A, 499B, and 499C. It is possible to earn passing grades for each course component even if the project is not completed. If the project is not completed, 400-level elective credit will be earned; however, the experience will not satisfy the requirement that Psychology Majors complete a capstone course. Also, the student’s diploma will not state that the student earned a bachelor’s degree “with distinction.” The thesis chair is responsible for all grades.

Chronology

The following chronology assumes that the student is planning to graduate in May. Students graduating in December may also complete an Honors Thesis. For December graduation, adjust the chronology. The formal thesis process begins with Psyc 499A, taken three semesters before the planned graduation date.

Sophomore year through third block of junior year

Before you register for the honors thesis, you need to determine the topic area you would like to study. This is often one of the most difficult decisions you must make during the entire thesis process. You might consider keeping a log of your ideas. Whenever you encounter a topic or issue that intrigues you (as you study for classes, talk to your friends, or watch TV), add the idea to your list. Later you can review the list and select some topics to pursue further. Do some library or Internet research on the topics that interest you to help you further refine your ideas. Discuss your ideas with faculty who may share your interest in this topic area. Identify one faculty member who is interested in your topic area and excited by the possibility of helping you complete a project in your chosen area. Your Academic Adviser or the Department Head or Assistant Head can help you select an appropriate thesis adviser. Ask this person to be the chair of your thesis committee. Once the chairperson is identified, discuss other potential committee members with the chair, and then discuss the project with the other potential committee members.

After you have identified your topic and the faculty who will serve on your committee, complete the required application form for the Honors Thesis (available from the JMU Honors Program), obtain the required committee-member signatures, and submit the form to the Head of the Department of Psychology. You must register for the Honors Thesis course (Psyc 499A) no later than the last day of registration for 4 th block courses (shortly after Spring Break). You must submit your completed application form to the Honors Program office no later than the deadline set by that office (usually April 1).

Fourth block of junior year.

Psyc 499A. During this block course, students should begin an extensive literature review of the topic. While this is being done, students should meet with their thesis adviser on a regular basis to inform the adviser of the student’s progress and to refine the research topic. Toward the end of this process students should also consult the members of their thesis committee to obtain their comments about issues being investigated. By the end of this 1 credit block course, students should have obtained a substantial number of readings in the topic area of the thesis. The topic to be studied should be identified with sufficient resolution to complete these readings and meaningfully think about research on this topic.

Summer between junior and senior years.

Students should continue to read and think about the literature collected during Psyc 499A. No formal meetings with the thesis committee are expected, however, students are expected to continue to develop their knowledge about the subject area to be investigated. There is much work to accomplish during Senior year. The student who is well prepared or has begun the work described here for Psyc 499B has a clear advantage.

Fall semester of senior year.

Psyc 499B. During this semester the student should meet regularly with their thesis adviser and plan their project. An appropriate experimental design should be developed for the project. All materials needed for the study should be identified or developed during this semester.

The student must write up his or her research plan in the form of a thesis proposal (recommended deadline October 15). The proposal usually contains all of the following elements:

  • Literature review. This is the full literature review that will ultimately appear in the final thesis document.
  • Methods. This is the full methods description that will ultimately be included in the final thesis document, although it is written in future tense in the proposal and past tense in the final document.
  • Expected Results. This is a brief statement regarding what the student expects to find as a result of the methodology just described.
  • Potential Implications. This is a brief statement of how the findings can be interpreted with respect to the literature reviewed earlier in the proposal, and how this information can be useful to others.
  • References. This is a complete reference list for all literature cited in the proposal.
  • Appendices. This section includes any materials that have been developed for the project (surveys, stimuli, etc.) or descriptions of materials to be used (such as transcript or descriptions of the content of audio or videotapes). A copy of the “informed consent document” to be used for human studies should also be included.
  • IRB Proposal. Include the text of the proposal you will be submitting to the Institutional Review Boards (IRB) for use of human or animal subjects.

The thesis proposal should be submitted to the chair of the Thesis committee for approval. Revision of the draft is almost always necessary. Complete each revision promptly and attend to the recommendations of your committee chair. You should plan to complete several drafts of the thesis proposal.

When the committee chair feels that the draft is ready for full committee review, make copies of the latest draft for consideration by the entire committee. Do not further revise the document after you have distributed it to the committee members. Schedule a meeting of the entire committee to discuss the thesis proposal and seek approval of the committee to continue the project. Expect your thesis committee to recommend revision of the thesis proposal. If revisions are necessary, make these after the committee meeting.

Expect to discuss every aspect of your thesis plan with your committee at the meeting. Committee members will be want you to explain or elaborate on:

  • What are the main issues being addressed?
  • Why did you select these topics for investigation?
  • What are your specific hypotheses?
  • How are these hypotheses being tested with your research design?
  • How will your data be analyzed?
  • What do you expect to find?
  • What are the implications of your findings for our understanding of this topic area?

Apply to present your research at spring conferences. NCUR, the National Conference for Undergraduate Research, holds a national conference during the spring. Applications to make a presentation at this conference are due early during the fall semester. JMU selects students to attend NCUR and pays the transportation, housing and conference expenses. Honors Thesis students are strongly encouraged to apply to attend NCUR. Past participants report that it has been an excellent experience.

Many state, regional and national conferences are held in the spring and require applications for presentations to be submitted during the fall. Consult with your faculty adviser, identify appropriate venues for your research, and apply to make a presentation.

After you receive approval from your thesis committee, submit a brief proposal (human subjects or animal subjects JMU policies) to the appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) for their approval. The proposal must be approved by the thesis committee and the IRB before data can be collected.

While waiting for approval from the IRB, the student can finalize development of materials needed for the study, practice techniques to be used in the study, and conduct planning activities. If approval is received, the student may begin collecting data as part of Psyc 499B; however, it is more typical that data collection occurs during the next semester.

Spring semester of senior year

Psyc 499C. Start to collect data for your project as early during this semester as possible. Ideally, data collection should be complete by mid-semester. Meet with your thesis chair as necessary.

As soon as the data is available, complete your data analysis. Review your findings with your thesis chairperson.

Complete your thesis document (recommended deadline is about March 15). During Psyc 499B introduction, methods, references, and appendices sections were completed. Now you will need to revise these, and add full results, and discussion sections, as well as an abstract and title page. Make sure your thesis conforms to the JMU thesis guidelines available from the Honors Program office. Use standard American Psychological Association (APA) style for all elements of the document not specifically addressed in the JMU guidelines.

Submit your complete Honors Thesis document to your committee chairperson for review. Expect that additions and revisions will be necessary. Consult with other members of your committee as recommended by the chair, but do not submit complete drafts of your thesis to these other faculty until you are directed to do so by your committee chairperson. Continue to work with your committee chair to revise your thesis document.

When directed to do so by your committee chairperson, submit copies of the complete thesis document to all members of your committee and schedule a meeting of the full committee to be held at least one week later (recommended deadline is about April 1). Do not make further revisions to your thesis document after you submit it to your committee until after the committee meets.

The purpose of the full-committee meeting ("thesis defense") is to receive feedback about the thesis project from your faculty committee, and to allow the faculty to ask you questions regarding topics such as what you did, why you did it, what you found, and what it means.

The “best result” you can expect from a thesis defense meeting such as this would be a statement of congratulations and agreement among the faculty that you will successfully complete the thesis project after a few relatively minor changes are made to the final document. This conclusion is not guaranteed. It is not unusual for students to be asked to complete additional work (such as additional data analysis or the addition or modification of substantial sections of the thesis document) and resubmit the thesis, before the committee would agree that the project was successfully completed.

Submit your final thesis document to the Honors Program by the scheduled deadline. Extensions of the deadline are rarely permitted.

Submit multiple copies of the signed thesis document, printed on the appropriate paper according to the JMU guidelines, to the JMU thesis office by the required deadline. Provide each member of your thesis committee with a copy of your thesis (these copies can be printed on standard paper).

Psychology students are expected to participate in the Psychology Symposium held in April. This is an opportunity for all Psychology thesis students to share their accomplishments with fellow students and the faculty at large. If a student project has important scientific or applied value, it is recommended that the project be presented at conferences and/or published in an appropriate journal. It is customary for the student to share authorship on these presentations and publications with their collaborators. This always includes the committee chairperson and may also include the other members of the committee, depending upon their degree of involvement in the project.