RESEARCH PAPER:Due Week 7
This major course paper must be 10 to 12 pages (3000-3600 words), not including the title page, abstract, or reference pages. It will focus on a topic directly related to the course, of the student's choice and pre-approved by the course instructor. For this paper, students are required to review 6 to 8 scholarly, peer-reviewed articles from the APUS Online Library, summarizing, critiquing and discussing how the articles are related; and describing what additional research is needed in the future to expand the body of knowledge related to the topic. The relating of articles must be done via transition statements between related summaries such that the paper interweaves all the articles into a coherent and well-articulated review of scholarly publications related to the paper topic focus. For example, after one article summary, the statement, "Related research conducted by Smith (2010) showed that..." would be an effective means of connecting it to another summary. The paper will end with a minimum of two paragraphs summarizing points made and articulating suggestions for future research directions arising from the article reviews.
Selected articles must have been submitted for approval by the end of Week 3 and brief descriptions of content and URL links from the APUS Online Library must be submitted by the end of Week 5 of the course as the Annotated Bibliography assignment. Articles selected for written assignments other than the Annotated Bibliography (e.g. for Discussion Forums) cannot be used in the completion of the course Research Paper.
Paper topic examples:
Critically examining the concept of creativity and its role in intelligence and problem solving
Comparing and contrasting two learning theories from the same group (e.g., Thorndike vs. Skinner)
Comparing and contrasting two learning theories (e.g., functionalistic vs. cognitive)
Comparing and contrasting Noam Chomsky's theory of language acquisition with an alternative model
As a culminating course assignment, this submission will be evaluated based on:
The degree to which the article summaries are related and truly integrated within the paper; lack of supporting evidence of actual connections between the articles will result in a significant point deduction.
Evidence of academically mature insight and use critical thinking skills in analyzing and relating the articles.
Clear and thorough articulation of the paper's key points.
Compliance with APA paper formatting standards.
Minimal to no grammar, spelling or basic writing errors