Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Getting started

Getting started
Why is getting started hard and how can this be overcome?

Edit the placeholder chapter title and sub-title above.
Ensure exact match of wording and casing (capitalisation) with the 2024 list of topics.
All sub-titles end with a question mark.
Seek approval for any changes to wording and punctuation.
Do not list author name. Authorship is as per the page's edit history.

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Replace the link in the box above once the multimedia presentation has been published.

Overview

Figure 1. Explore the topic, then brainstorm a structure. The Overview should start with an engaging scenario or case study which illustrates the problem and engages reader interest. Ideally, also include an image (e.g., see Figure 1). Present the scenario in a feature box. The feature box colour can be changed. Have you ever had an assignment to complete and no matter how much you try to start it just feels impossible? Have you ever wondered why that might be? Getting started on tasks is sometimes the trickiest part! This book chapter will go on to explain why getting started can be so difficult, and outline strategies that can be implemented to help get over that first hurdle.

This template provides tips for the topic development exercise. Gradually remove these suggestions as the chapter develops. It is OK to retain some of this template content for the topic development exercise. Also consult the book chapter guidelines.

The Overview is typically consists of one to four paragraphs inbetween the scenario and focus questions. Suggested word count aim for the Overview: 180 to 330 words.

Suggestions for this section: Engage the reader with a scenario, example, or case study, and an accompanying image Explain the problem and why it is important Outline how psychological science can help Present focus questions

Focus questions: Break the problem (i.e., the sub-title) down into three to five focus questions. Focus questions can also be used as top-level headings. What is the first focus question? What is the second focus question? What is the third focus question? Ask open-ended focus questions. For example: Is there a relationship between motivation and success? (closed-ended) What is the relationship between motivation and success? (open-ended)

Headings

• Aim for three to six main headings inbetween the Overview and Conclusion
• Sub-headings can also be used, but
  • avoid having sections with only one sub-heading
  • provide an introductory paragraph before breaking into sub-sections

Key points

• Provide at least three bullet-points per headingʔ and sub-heading, including for the Overview and Conclusion
• Include key citations

Figures

Figure 2. Example of an image with a descriptive caption.

• Use figures to illustrate concepts, add interest, and to serve as examples
• Figures can show photos, diagrams, graphs, video, audio, etcetera
• Embed figures throughout the chapter, including the Overview section
• Figures should be captioned (using Figure #. and a caption). Use captions to explain the relevance of the image to the text/
• Wikimedia Commons provides a library of embeddable images
• Images can also be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons if they are openly licensed
• Refer to each figure at least once in the main text (e.g., see Figure 2)

Learning features

Interactive learning features help to bring online book chapters to life and can be embedded throughout the chapter.

Scenarios

• Scenarios or case studies describe applied/real-world examples of concepts in action
• Case studies can be real or fictional
• A case study could be split into multiple boxes throughout a chapter (e.g., to illustrate different theories or stages)
• It is often helpful to present case studies using feature boxes.

Feature boxes

• Important content can be highlighted in a feature box. But don't overuse feature boxes, otherwise they lose their effect.
• Consider using feature boxes for:
  • Scenarios, case studies, or examples
  • Focus questions
  • Tips
  • Quiz questions
  • Take-home messages

Links

• When key words are introduced, use interwiki links to:
  • Wikipedia (e.g., Sigmund Freud wrote about (e.g., dreams) or
  • Related book chapters (e.g., writer's block)

Tables

• Use to organise and summarise information
• As with figures, tables should be captioned
• Refer to each table at least once in the main text (e.g., see Table 1)
• Example 3 x 3 tables which could be adapted

Table 1. Descriptive Caption Which Explains The Table and its Relevant to the Text - Johari Window Model

	Known to self	Not known to self
Known to others	Open area	Blind spot
Not known to others	Hidden area	Unknown

Quizzes

• Using one or two review questions per major section is usually better than a long quiz at the end
• Quiz conceptual understanding, rather than trivia
• Don't make quizzes too hard
• Different types of quiz questions are possible; see Quiz

Example simple quiz questions. Choose your answers and click "Submit":

1 Quizzes are an interactive learning feature:

	True
	False

2 Long quizzes are a good idea:

	True
	False

Conclusion

• The Conclusion is arguably the most important section
• Suggested word count: 150 to 330 words
• It should be possible for someone to only read the Overview and the Conclusion and still get a pretty good idea of the problem and what is known based on psychological science

Suggestions for this section: What is the answer to the sub-title question based on psychological theory and research? What are the answers to the focus questions? What are the practical, take-home messages? (Even for the topic development, have a go at the likely take-home message)

See also

Provide internal (wiki) links to the most relevant Wikiversity pages (esp. related motivation and emotion book chapters) and Wikipedia articles. Use these formats:

• Light triad (Book chapter, 2021)
• Collaborative authoring using wiki (Wikiversity)
• Self determination theory (Wikipedia)

Suggestions for this section: Present in alphabetical order Use sentence casing Include the source in parentheses

References

List cited references in APA style (7th ed.) or wiki style.

APA style example:

Rosenberg, B. D., & Siegel, J. T. (2018). A 50-year review of psychological reactance theory: Do not read this article. Motivation Science, 4(4), 281–300. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000091

Suggestions for this section: Important aspects of APA style for references include: Wrap the set of references in the hanging indent template. Use "Edit source": {{Hanging indent|1= the full list of references}} Author surname, followed by a comma, then the author initials separated by full stops and spaces Year of publication in parentheses Title of work in lower case except first letter and proper names, ending in a full-stop Journal title in italics, volume number in italics, issue number in parentheses, first and last page numbers separated by an en-dash(–), followed by a full-stop Provide the full doi as a URL and working hyperlink The most common mistakes include: Incorrect capitalisation Incorrect italicisation Citing sources that weren't read or consulted

External links

Provide external links to highly relevant resources such as presentations, news articles, and professional sites. Use sentence casing. For example:

• Six top tips for writing a great essay (University of Melbourne)
• The importance of structure (skillsyouneed.com)

Suggestions for this section: Only select links to major external resources about the topic Present in alphabetical order Include the source in parentheses after the link