Psychology research paper

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to allow you to conduct an in-depth exploration of one childhood development theme of your own choosing through your own research.

How to proceed

Write a research paper about one of the topics below:

Should boys and girls be taught in separate classrooms?
The physical inactivity of Canadian children as a serious health and social development issue.
The effects of television advertising on children.
The effects of TV or video games violence on aggression in children.
The problem of bullying in school.
The effects of divorce on children.
The effects of TV or video games violence on aggression in children.

Assignment Details

The research paper has four parts:

Introduction (3 pts): Give the question or topic studied. Say why this topic is important and relevant. Give a thesis statement (what the issue or problem is that you will discuss).

Summary of research (8 pts): Using at least three journal articles on the topic, summarize the important factors and issues considered in the literature and what the articles recommend. At least three articles should come from scholarly journals although you may use magazines or internet articles as supplements and include one review article if you can. Address the following content:
how the topic is defined in the research literature?
why it is an important developmental issue (i.e., what are the age-specific vulnerabilities in physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development).
what its effects or consequences are on children’s development.
indicate what underlying psychological processes are thought to lead to the altered developmental consequences (do certain theories of development provide an explanation of the processes involved?).
how the problem can be resolved or what is being done to address the problem.
3. Analysis (8 pts): Give your comments on the findings. Try to be objective, and base your comments on the information you have provided in the Introduction. For example, you can give an evaluation of different points of view, point out unresolved issues or gaps in the research that has been done so far, and identify biases or limitations of the research that has been done so far. You can compare the way one article takes a different approach to the issue. If solutions are offered, are there different ideas on what to do?

4. Conclusions and discussion (5 pts): Give your conclusions of the issue based on your review. Summarize the key issues you have identified earlier. For example, you may have new understandings or insights into this subject. Which aspects of the issue do you think still need to be studied? What are your suggestions for how this topic can be studied differently? Where should future research focus? How can the findings be practically applied?

5. References (2 pts) At the end of your paper, provide a reference list in which you give the author’s name, title of the article, where it was published, which issue, and year. In the paper, when you refer to another author’s ideas, put the author’s name and year the article was published in brackets. It is not required, but if you want to use the American Psychological Association’s (APA) manual for style, you may.

You will also be graded on the structure and organization of writing (2.5 pts) and overall clarity and effort (1.5 pts).

Instructions and Grading (total 30%)

Detailed instructions for the assignment:

Identify your topic and use headings for each of the five sections.
Use at least three up-to-date articles in your paper (anything after 2000 is acceptable). Articles can include scholarly articles, magazine articles, books, newspaper articles, government documents, etc. At least three of the sources must come from scholarly journals (use a review article if you can).
Make sure that you reference the sources of information you use in your paper.
The paper should be 8–9 pages long, not including your reference list. It should be typed in 12 font, and double spaced.