HDF 207 Developing a Research Project Assignment Final Paper (100 pts) Overview:
HDF 207 Developing a Research Project Assignment Final Paper (100 pts)
Overview:Review the existing research on a topic of interest to identify additional research questions or hypotheses that would further advance understanding of the issue. Your final paper should look like the introduction/literature review of a scholarly research article published in an academic journal.
What should be included in the paper:
Overview of the issue or problem: the extent of the problem and who is impactedCurrent statistics related to the issue or problem
Key concepts or terms should be clearly identified
An integrated review of the existing literature.
This should NOT be a series of short article summaries.Focus on findings across studies.
What are common findings?
Where do results of research diverge? What are possible reasons for why results of different studies diverge?
What do we still need to know about the issue/problem?
Include details as appropriate such as population of focus (e.g., age, demographic characteristics of importance/interest)
Usefulness of this information for improving developmental outcomes, relationships, or overall well-being
How might the proposed research be useful for practice and/or policy
Proposed research questions or hypotheses
These should be clearly and logically related to the research reviewed in the paper
Additional information/requirements:
Body of the paper should be approximately 3 to 4 pages (5 to 6 pages when including title page and reference list).
No abstract is required
A minimum of 10 scholarly resources
As current as possible for the topic
At least 7 of the 10 must be research studies (original research or secondary data analysis)
Most recent research on the topic—typically within the last 10 years to 15 years, any older studies should be clearly noted why they are included (e.g., classic/highly cited study; topic hasn’t been more recently studied)
Research conducted in the U.S. unless the focus is specially on cross-cultural differences.
APA style required for references, in-text citation, title page, headers/page numbers, headings, spacing, margins, and font size.
Grading/Point Distribution
Criteria
Points
Overview of the problem
10
Integrated review of the literature
30
Identified gaps in the research
10
Benefits/importance of the research for practice and/or policy
10
Clearly defined research questions or hypotheses logically connected to research reviewed
10
Appropriate scholarly resources (including most recent, best available for topic)
10
APA style
10
Overall quality of writing
10
