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PSYC500: Human Growth and Development (Matthews)

Assignment

You may elect to write another one page summary article discussing an empirical research study.  Empirical refers to having collected data.  Consequently, the article must contain data collected by the authors of the article.  Review papers in which other researchers’ data are reviewed, papers that are opinion papers or theoretical papers with no data are not acceptable for this assignment.  This paper should follow the same format as that described for the required Empirical Paper.  See additional handouts for the precise form and scoring of this paper. 50 points.  

Example Paper Topics:

Self Esteem as Related to Anorexia or Bulimia                                           

The Effects of Retirement on Self Esteem    

Does Inclusion Impair Academic Progress of Students                              

Intelligence Tests Biased or Not      

The Effects of Premarital Cohabitation on Divorce Rates                        

Sources of Stress for the Family

Do Gender Differences Exist in Cognitive Abilities (e.g., math scores)                                     

The Impact of Prevention Programs on Adolescent Sexual Behavior     

Factors Related to Suicide Prevention

Instruction & Example

1) Perform a PsycInfo or ERIC literature search to locate an empirical  (an article in which the authors discuss data that they have collected and not a theoretical or review article) article relating to human development and economic, racial, ethnic, or religious variables. (See Find Articles tab on the left.)

2) Obtain a hard copy of one article, carefully read the article, and write (in APA format) one paragraph summarizing one finding of the article.  [Most articles provide information supportive of a number of potential theses.]

3)   Write a thesis statement of which the article is supportive.

4)   Write a formal APA citation for the article.

5)  Submit 2 copies of the following:  the complete article; one page with thesis, paragraph, and citation.  With a copy of the professor approval form.