Homework: Literature Review
Length: 4 to 5 pages.
I am writing a Literature Review for a Psychology class. I have already identified a research question. The research question is 'how does trauma affect children in foster care?' I will provide the links to the articles that I hope to be useful to the homework, the scoring guide, and the homework template.
Analysis of Sources
Begin by documenting the most important elements of your selected sources. Answer the following questions for at least three of the best articles you have selected:
o Main idea: What is the purpose or thesis statement of the article? (This may be located in the introduction or conclusion of the paper.) How is it relevant to your research question?
o Major points: What conclusions about the main idea did the author come to in the article? Do the major points support the main idea?
o Supporting evidence: What arguments, citations, examples, data, and other evidence support the author's conclusions? Is the evidence convincing?
o Patterns or themes: Are there any ideas or recurring information that the author keeps coming back to throughout the article?
o Application: How do the techniques, strategies, best practices, and other findings in the article apply to practice in psychology and in your specialization?
o Connection to research question: How does this information directly link or apply to your research question? If you have trouble coming up with a connection, do not use it in your homework.
Instructions
Complete the following in your homework template:
Introduction
State your research question and explain how it relates to your specialization and professional interests.
Synthesis of Literature Into a Cohesive Review
In the preparation study in Week 5, you identified at least three key themes, or focuses of inquiry, that are relevant to your research question and present in each article. These themes may be based on:
o Related aspects of research questions.
o Related or differing conclusions.
o Other factors or ideas the studies have in common.
o Other points of contrast between the studies.
Use concise formulations of these themes as headings for the next sections of the paper. In these sections, compare and contrast your resources' positions relative to each theme, and then synthesize your own position relative to the theme. Support your conclusions by citing your references. The themes you identify should be based on content, not research methods or how the study was conducted.
Granello's 2001 article, "Promoting Cognitive Complexity in Graduate Written Work: Using Bloom's Taxonomy as a Pedagogical Tool to Improve Literature Reviews," provides a framework and strategies to help you work through this part of your homework.
Conclusion
Restate the conclusions you came to regarding the themes you explored with your research. Support your conclusions by citing your references. However, if you find that more research would be needed to decide a question, briefly outline ideas of how you could undertake that research.
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.