Summary and Reaction Paper Assignments
What to include in your summary? Each summary should answer the following questions (you should have at least one full sentence for each number, in many cases there will be several sentences for each number):
• What is the title of the article?
• Who are the authors of the article?
• What is the name of the journal where the article can be found?
• What is the year of publication? If there are different dates for online publication versus print publication, and these are listed, it is okay to include both but the one that "counts" as the final one is the print version. For online journals, there may be an "advanced online publication" date versus a final publication date; you would use the final publication date.
• What rationale did the author(s) provide as to why the topic that they are studying is important? Please describe in at least 3-5 sentences. You will find this information in the "introduction" section of the paper.
• How many participants were included in the study? Be as specific as possible with information about gender, race, age, and any and all information provided in the "participants" section, which is a part of the "method" section.
• How was the information gathered in the present study? For example, was it an interview? A survey? An experiment? Was it a one-time data collection, or were the data collected over several months or years? Be as specific as possible. You can find this in the "procedure" section of the "method" part of the paper, and sometimes in other sections of the "method" section as well.
• What specific instruments or tests are used to measure the constructs that the researchers say that they are measuring? Be as specific as possible. The authors likely give specific names for scales or experimental techniques, or may list questions that were asked.
• What statistical techniques did the authors say that they used in the "results" section? Or, if the data were qualitative, what techniques were used to analyze the data? There are likely several steps that were taken, in any type of article. Please discuss all steps that were taken.
• Select ONE specific result that is most interesting to you, and explain it (if you want to present more than one, that is fine too! But, you need to select at least ONE).
• In the discussion section, the authors usually summarize their findings, and then discuss reasons why these occur and their implications for future research. Ideally, articles will also discuss implications for working with individuals and families. For this question, please list ONE claim that the authors make about their work - why do the authors of the paper think that their research is important?
• It is time to provide your opinion about the article. Did it answer questions that you had about your topic? Why or why not?
• Do you think that the authors used appropriate methodology? Why or why not? For example, you might not like the way that the authors measured a particular construct. Or, you might think that the authors should have used a different technique all together to get their information. Alternatively, you might love what they did - so in this question you need to explain what about it you found appealing.
• Last but not least, what do you think the authors could do to expand their research in the future?
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.