Assignment:
1. Identify a topical issue about child or adolescent development (e.g., should armed police officers be stationed in schools? Is playing Fortnite and similar video games harmful to children? What is effective ways to combat cyberbullying?). Perhaps select one of the issues in your In the News source if you are interested in it, consider a topic you have heard about in your classes, or search online to find other current issues.
2. Conduct a search for 4 non-scholarly sources (source comes from someone not affiliated with a University). Find sources related to that topic that come from different media sources (e.g., newspaper, magazine, blog, organization website, advertisement, TV, documentary, book, personal interview, podcast, social media feed). You will be assessed on how well you pick sources that demonstrate a connection to one another.
3. Search for 4 scholarly sources that address the topic you have selected. Again it is best to find sources that address the claims of the non-scholarly articles as closely as possible. Three of your sources must be empirical studies (data was collected and analyzed). One of your sources should be a literature review. It is useful to find your literature review first, as they usually provide sufficient background on the topic to help you understand the topic and find additional scholarly sources.
Literature Review Paper
a. An introduction that presents the topic and main claim(s) you will be addressing in your paper. The introduction should capture the reader's interest, present any controversies in the topic, a thesis or question you will address in the paper, and an outline of the rest of the paper.
b. Body of your paper organized in themes/sections. Within these sections you should describe the claims and evidence from your sources. Present information about positions your sources take, how they support those positions. Follow the description with a critical evaluation of your sources. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the information provided by the source and unanswered questions or how the source contributes to the topic and leads to the next paragraph.
c. Comparison of sources. You should make comparison among sources and your evaluation of the sources. How do the sources support one another, refute one another, and explanations for which sources were more impactful and why.
d. Conclusion. You should make conclusive statements about the topic/issue you are addressing, implications of the issue to parents, teachers, counselors, or others in interacting with children, and issues or factors that are left unresolved or unaddressed.