Research Paper

PSY 110 Literature Review Project

In this course, you will compose a type of research paper called a literature review. The purpose of a literature review is to pursue the answer to a research question using established research by other social scientists. Over the next six weeks, you have the following deliverables that will help you complete the final research paper.

Unit 1: Select a research topic:

1. Look through the table of contents and the index in your textbook to identify possible topics for your research paper. You can also conduct an Internet search for topics. Then, compile a broad list of all the topics you found that interest you.

2. As you make your list, look for patterns. Your list may reveal that you are particularly interested in language development, personality disorders, or how early environment affects development. Circle or put a star beside those that most interest you. (Keep in mind that you’ll want to choose a topic that is broad enough for you to develop a research question on, but narrow enough that your topic is well focused.)

3. Use the information to narrow the list to three possible topics. After each topic,

· Write a short sentence that expresses why you are interested in that topic.

· Be sure to include your name in your document.

· Your instructor will approve your topic(s) before you move forward with the next step.

Unit 2: Develop a research question:

1. Review your instructor’s feedback on the research topics you submitted last week and select a single topic that interests you.

2. Use your textbook and available resources on the Internet to review more material about your subject. (You can use a search engine at this stage. You are only perusing the material to develop a research question.) Write down various questions you have about the subject.

3. Here are some tips to remember:

· Make sure your questions are answerable. Questions that begin with the word why may be harder to answer than questions that begin with who, what, when, where, and how.

· Consider that you only have about three weeks to conduct your review. Try to ask a question that is narrow enough for you to actually answer in those three weeks.

4. Narrow your list to the best three questions you have. Make sure you are interested in researching these, and that the questions are broad enough to support a full research paper. Examples of good research questions include:

· What is the connection between diet and Asperger’s syndrome?

· Are people who are intrinsically motivated more successful than extrinsically motivated people?

· What are the global standards for ethics in operant conditioning studies?

Unit 3: Bibliography:

1. Review your instructor’s feedback on the research questions you submitted in Assignment 2 (Research Question) and select only one question to guide your research.

2. Using two to three key words or key phrases related to your topic, conduct an Internet and traditional library search to compile a bibliography for your research question.

3. Here are some tips to remember:

· Make sure to include a minimum of six print-based sources. For example, magazines or journals that have an online and print presence. You may also use digital books such as eBooks that are available through Deets Library.

· Use established sources for your research.

· Good sites include peer-reviewed journals (Psychology Today, Journal of Abnormal Psychology), scientific magazines and newspapers (Scientific American, The New York Times), and books.

· Be wary of: Wikipedia; sites that end in .com or .net; papers posted to the Internet (these may be graduate theses and are not peer reviewed); and personal sites.

Unit 4: Research Outline:

1. Finish compiling all the sources you plan to use in your paper. Look over each of the sources to get more direction on how to organize your outline.

2. Construct the outline with the following components:

· An introduction

· Introduce the research question

· Identify the main researchers of note in this field

· A well-organized body

· Organize and discuss the main findings of the literature you reviewed. All of this discussion should be directly relevant to answering the research question.

· Identify methodologies, theories, and controversies surrounding the research, but keep them organized so the reader is not confused.

· A conclusion that attempts to answer the research question by

· Posing a theory based on the research

· Evaluating the research reviewed and expressing your ideas about the future research about the topic or question.

3. Each of these sections in the outline should be fleshed out with a paragraph or two. These can be unfinished ideas and should demonstrate an engagement in, but not a mastery of, the material. Remember that you are not expected to have read all the pages of the sources you’ve identified. A good rule of thumb is to read through all the abstracts to make sure you have a sense of how each source will contribute to the overall form.

Unit 5: Research draft paper:

1. Prepare a rough draft of your research paper for instructor review.

Unit 6: Research final paper / presentation:

1. Paper:

· Review the first draft of the research paper that you wrote in Assignment 5 (Research Draft).

· Incorporate instructor feedback and review your outline to make final revisions to your paper.

2. Presentation:

· Review this unit’s required readings in Chapter 12.

· Using your Southwestern College Zoom Pro account along with the presentation software of your choice, develop a video presentation on the topic of stress awareness and coping strategies that would be appropriate for sharing with coworkers in a professional environment.

· Your presentation should include of eight (8) to ten (10) slides (whether PowerPoint, Prezi, KeyNote, etc.)

· Include the context of the work situation, such as military, production line, service industry, educational setting, etc., and some of the primary stressors that workers experience.

· Use strategies from the text and one other outside source to help coworkers identify, address and/or prevent stress and promote coping.

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Unit # Project Details 1 Select a research topic 2 Develop your research question 3 Bibilography 4 Research outline 5 Draft paper 6 Finalize paper/presentation

Unit # Project Details

1Select a research topic

2Develop your research question

3

Bibilography

4Research outline

5Draft paper

6

Finalize paper/presentation