Understanding research methodology

Research Paper: Final Submission Assignment Instructions

Overview

Understanding and evaluating original research is an important skill for developmental psychologists. Understanding research methodology and the sections of a journal article is critical for doctoral-level psychologists. This assignment will help you learn to objectively evaluate research on a developmental psychology topic and to seek, understand, and integrate scholarly sources of information. This assignment will also help you gain scholarly knowledge of a topic of interest. Researching the literature on a topic and integrating it will also help you begin to clarify and discern your own research interests and will help prepare you to conduct independent research and write about your findings in a scholarly manner.

Instructions

You will write a 7-8-page (not including title page, abstract, and reference page) research-based paper in current APA format that focuses on a topic of your choice related to developmental psychology. The paper must cite at least 8 scholarly journal articles (or chapters/articles from the Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, available in the LU online library, may be used for up to 3 of the articles; see reference at the end of this document). Other references, including the course text and the Bible, may be incorporated in addition to the 8 journal articles, but the majority of the content of the paper must be supported by research-based scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles.

The following are not considered scholarly sources: about.com, psychologytoday.com, Psychology Today magazine, Wikipedia, verywell.com (Kendra Cherry), simplypsychology.com (Saul McLeod), psychcentral.com, webmd.com, mayoclinic.com, books written for a general audience, and magazines written for a general audience. Many of these resources can be useful for gaining knowledge of a topic and often contain accurate information, but they are not scholarly sources acceptable for use in a graduate-level research paper. Non-scholarly sources are not necessarily useless or inaccurate, but a graduate-level research paper must contain research-based sources, such as journal articles describing original research studies. If you are unsure whether or not a reference is scholarly, ask your instructor.

You can find a list of journals affiliated with the American Psychological Association (APA) on the Research Paper pages under Research Paper Resources. These are not the only acceptable journals—many others are available—but this list is provided to give you examples of scholarly journals. If you click “By Subject” and then click “Developmental Psychology,” you will see journals specific to developmental psychology. Child Development is another well-respected developmental psychology journal. Some of the databases have the option to select “peer-reviewed” sources; selecting this option will help you eliminate non-scholarly sources from your search results. The Jerry Falwell Library is a reliable place to conduct your searches. You do not need to pay for articles. Articles that ask you to pay for access can generally be accessed through the Jerry Falwell Library without requiring payment.

Research papers must be written in formal, academic language. Avoid the following in a research paper:

• Decorative fonts, color, and decorations on the title page

• Contractions
• One-sentence paragraphs
• Building suspense or writing in a dramatic style
• Flowery language
• Emotional language, such as saying “It is sad that…”
• Addressing the reader or the paper, or making the reader or the paper the subject of a sentence, e.g. “In this paper, the reader [or you] will learn about…”
• The following words or phrases:

• • “a lot” or “alot”
  • “ok,” “OK,” or “okay”
  • “nowadays,” “now-a-days,” or “now a days”
  • “we” – as in “Now we are going to learn about…” or using “we” to refer to people in general
  • “you”
  • “thru” for “through”
  • “I think/feel/believe…”
  • “oftentimes” or “often times”
  • “based off of” for “based on”

• Redundancies such as “each and every” or using 2 conjunctions together, e.g. “but yet…”
• Separating 2 sentences with a comma
• Discussing the process of researching or writing the paper, e.g. “I went to the library and read an article about…”
• Assuming the reader knows of the course you are taking or about your course textbook, e.g. “In week 3 of our class…” or “As it states in our course textbook…” (If you use the course textbook as a reference, use a citation and reference in current APA format, as you would with any other reference.)
• Questioning the reader or beginning the paper with a question, e.g. “Have you ever wondered about…?”
• Stating that the topic is an “interesting” or “important” topic
• Using vocabulary that you do not know the meaning of, or eloquent phrases, to attempt to impress the reader
• Excessive quoting of other material

The Research Paper must be objective and present actual research findings, not your opinion or what you want the research to show. Avoid exclusively using sources that support your biases. Because people often choose topics about which they have strong opinions, you will have a chance to discuss your opinions about your topic, as well as any personal significance the topic has for you, in the Discussion in Module 4: Week 4. The Research Paper itself is not a place to express opinions. You may certainly reach a conclusion that supports your views, if that is what the research actually shows, and express the conclusion in the paper, but such a conclusion must be supported by the research you cite in the paper and cannot be based on your opinion.

There are 2 options for integrating a biblical perspective. You may incorporate a biblical perspective into the paper, or you may discuss the topic from a biblical perspective as part of your Discussion post in Module 4: Week 4. Or, you may do both if you wish.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool. You will have the opportunity to resubmit until you are satisfied there is no plagiarism, but if you plan to run the paper through Turnitin multiple times, you must allow time for this process in order to submit the final version of the paper on time. Note that sometimes the score may appear relatively high because of the references or because of several small coincidental matches that may not be of concern. You are not looking for a specific percentage; instead, examine the report to see the matches to determine the significance of the similarities. If you are unsure if matches that show up are of concern, contact your instructor. You will not be penalized for unintentional plagiarism in drafts of the paper prior to your final submission.

Be sure to review the Research Paper: Final Submission Grading Rubric before completing the assignment.

Reference Information for Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science:

Lerner, R. M., Overton, W. F. & Molenaar, P.C.M. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of child

psychology and developmental science, Vol. 1: Theory and method (7th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.

You can access the above text on the Research Paper: Final Submission Assignment pages under Research Paper Resources.