Thursday, 31 March 2016

PSY 326 Week 1 Assignment 1 Research Article Identification


PSY 326 Week 1 Assignment 1 Research Article Identification
Research Article Identification. Due by Day 7. Read each of the abstracts for the articles listed below and then select one of them to be the full article that you will use for all the written assignments in this course. The abstracts and full-text versions of the articles can be accessed through the EBSCOhost database in the Ashford University Library:

  •   Baldwin, V. N., Powell, T., & Lorenc, L. (2011). Factors influencing the uptake of memory compensations: A qualitative analysis. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 21(4), 484-501. 
  •   Goodman, S. H., Dimidjian, S., & Williams, K. G. (2013). Pregnant African American women’s attitudes toward perinatal depression prevention. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 19(1), 50-57. 
  •   Hetrick, S. E., Simmons, M., Thompson, A., Parker, A. G. (2011). What are specialist mental health clinician attitudes to guideline recommendations for the treatment of depression in young people? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 45, 993-1001. 
  •   Ivandić Zimić, J., & Jukić, V. (2012). Familial risk factors favoring drug addiction onset. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 44(2), 173-185. 
  •   Kaewprom, C., Curtis, J., & Deane, F. P. (2011). Factors involved in recovery from schizophrenia: A qualitative study of Thai mental health nurses. Nursing & Health Sciences, 13, 323-327. 
  •   Kirtadze, I., Otiashvili, D., O’Grady, K. E., Zule, W., Krupitsky, E., Wechsberg, W. M., & Jones, H. E. (2013). Twice stigmatized: Provider’s perspectives on drug-using women in the Republic of Georgia. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 45(1), 1-9. 
  •   Moore, R. C., Viglione, D. J., Rosenfarb, I. S., Patterson, T. L., & Mausbach, B. T. (2013). Rorschach measures of cognition relate to everyday and social functioning in schizophrenia. Psychological Assessment, 25(1), 253-263. 
  •   Scullin, M. K. (2013). Sleep, memory, and aging: The link between slow-wave sleep and episodic memory changes from younger to older adults. Psychology and Aging, 28(1), 105-114.
    Refer to the tutorial titled, “Finding an Article When You Have the Citation”, which is available within the Ashford University Library for questions on how to search for articles.
    After making your selection, read the “Methods” section within the article. Write a two- to- three page paper (excluding title and reference pages) that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center, presenting the information listed below. Your paper should begin with an introduction paragraph (including a thesis statement) and end with a concluding paragraph reaffirming the thesis and summarizing the major points made in the body of the paper.
    The body of your paper must contain the following criteria: 
    1. Identify the study by title and authors. 
    2. Determine what question(s) the authors are trying to answer by doing this research. 
    3. Differentiate between qualitative and quantitative research methods and terminology. Specify which
      approach is used in the study. 
    4. Explain whether the study is qualitative or quantitative by citing specific clues from the article, such as
      sample size, data collection techniques, the nature of the data collected, or the data analysis techniques
      used. 
    5. Associate the chosen study with a specific research area of psychology based on the information on
      research area in Chapter 1 of your course textbook. Explain your reasoning. 
    6. Summarize ethical issues which were addressed in the article and analyze the ethical principles applied.
      Can you discern additional ethical issues that apply but were not mentioned 

PSY 326 Week 1 Discussion Ethics in Research


PSY 326 Week 1 Discussion Ethics in Research
Ethics in Research. 1st Post Due by Day 3. After reading Chapter 1 in your text, the APA ethical principles articles Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (paying particular attention to Standard 8) and Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in the Care and use of Nonhuman Animals in Research , as well as viewing the video Obedience and Ethics: Benefits and Costs of Psychological Conformity Studies, analyze and critique the principles introduced and applied in the various sources. Summarize what you feel are the ethical pros and cons of Milgram’s research. Include in your post definitions and a discussion of terms such as, informed consent, confidentiality, deception, debriefing, and institutional review board. Find an additional example of a completed research study that has raised ethical concerns. Evaluate the ethical pros and cons of that study and explain your reasoning for each aspect.
Your initial post should be 250-300 words. Utilize a minimum of two peer-reviewed sources that were published within the last 10 years and are documented in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Guided Response: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response to at least two of your peers. Do you agree or disagree with their analysis of the ethical issues in Milgram’s experiment and in the other study they chose? Explain why, and support your assertions with properly cited evidence from scholarly sources. 

PSY 326 Week 2 Assignment Annotated Bibliography


PSY 326 Week 2 Assignment Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography of Research Methods. Due by Day 7. Using the Ashford University Library databases, locate and read peer-reviewed articles on a variety of research designs and methods. Be sure to include at least one article regarding the method used in the study you selected in Week One. Create an annotated bibliography in which you select, summarize, and evaluate at least six of these peer-reviewed sources. The sources chosen must have been published within the last 10 years. Note that the articles required for this assignment are not research studies; instead, they are articles about how to do various aspects of research.
At least three of the sources should be about qualitative research methods, and at least three of the sources should focus on quantitative research methods. Do not select any articles about both qualitative and quantitative methods or about mixed methods. For each source, identify the approach (qualitative or quantitative) and the research design category (non-experimental or experimental). Summarize each source in your own words, describing its purpose and how the information would be useful to a researcher designing a new study. Do not use quotations from references for this assignment.
Refer to the Tutorials section within the Ashford University Library for help with searching for articles. To find these tutorials, click on the “View Tutorials” button on the Library’s home page. There is also a subject guide devoted to Research Methods. In searching for articles on topics in psychology and other social sciences, it is strongly recommended that you utilize the EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and SAGE Journals Online databases. You may only select articles that are available in full-text format. To do this, limit your search criteria by selecting the Full-Text box in the search function of the database.

Your paper must be a minimum of four pages (excluding title page) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. All sources must be documented in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. For more information about annotated bibliographies and APA style, please see the Ashford Writing Center. 

PSY 326 Week 2 Discussion 1 Research Design


PSY 326 Week 2 Discussion 1 Research Design
Research Design. 1st Post Due by Day 3. Consider the following scenario: You have been approached by a pharmaceutical company that has developed a new drug that is supposed to be effective in the treatment of schizophrenia. Before mass producing the drug they want to be sure that it is more effective than the drug they are currently producing. They have offered you an opportunity to pitch your design of a research study to determine the effectiveness of the new drug compared with the old one. The company will hire the person with the most effective research design.
In your posting/pitch include the following:

  •   Compare and contrast the characteristics of non-experimental (descriptive and correlational) and
    experimental research designs. 
  •   Specify whether the aim of the implied research question is to describe, predict, or explain. 
  •   Choose a research design to evaluate the relative effectiveness of the two drugs. 
  •   Provide a brief overview of the study you would design.
    Your initial post should be 350 to 400 words. Utilize a minimum of two peer-reviewed sources that were published within the last 10 years and are documented in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
    Guided Response: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Taking on the role of the pharmaceutical company’s administrator, provide a substantive written response to at least two of your peers’ postings/pitches. Discuss whether or not you agree with their idea for designing the study. If you disagree, explain what you feel would be a better approach and why. In addition to responding to at least two other students’ original postings, it is recommended that you reply to at least one of those who responded to your original postings either respectfully defending your choice of research design or listing how you might implement the changes your classmate suggested 

PSY 326 Week 2 Discussion 2 Hypothesis Testing


PSY 326 Week 2 Discussion 2 Hypothesis Testing
Hypothesis Testing. 1st Post Due by Day 3. Based on the study you designed in the Research Design discussion, apply the scientific method by specifying the five steps of hypothesis testing for your study.

  •   Step 1: State the hypothesis. 
  •   Step 2: Collect the data – For the purpose of this discussion, you will state how you would collect the
    data. 
  •   Step 3: Calculate statistics – For the purpose of this discussion, you will indicate the statistical analysis
    technique(s) you would use. 
  •   Step 4: Compare to a critical value – For the purpose of this discussion, you will indicate where you
    would set the alpha value and why. Note: This step is hypothetical, as you are not actually conducting a statistical analysis. Consequently, you will choose if the results of your hypothetical analysis are above or below the critical value. 
  •   Step 5: Make a decision – For the purpose of this discussion, you will create a conclusion based on the hypothetical results from Step 4. Be sure to include a recommendation on the effectiveness of the new drug based on the results.
    Utilize a minimum of two peer-reviewed sources that were published within the last 10 years and are documented in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
    Guided Response: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response to at least two of your peers. Do you agree with the choice of statistical technique for the study? Why or why not? Should your classmate’s post have included any additional information?. 

PSY 326 Week 3 Assignment 1 Critique of a Research Study


PSY 326 Week 3 Assignment 1 Critique of a Research Study
Critique of a Research Study. Due by Day 7. Read the full texts of the study you selected in Week One and the sources you included in your Week Two bibliography. Evaluate the usefulness of each source and write a critique of the study from Week One, using the textbook and relevant articles from the Week Two assignment to support your analysis of the study. Use the following section headings and content in your paper.
I. Introduction
 State the purpose of the paper. Clearly identify the study being critiqued, by title and authors.
Summarize the research question, hypothesis (if a quantitative study), and background information on the topic from the study’s literature review. Did the authors present a well- balanced summary of current knowledge about the topic? Is there any apparent bias in the literature review?
II. Methods
 Differentiate the research design (experimental or non-experimental) and approach (qualitative or
quantitative), sampling method, and data collection methods. Indicate the sample size, variables and measures (if a quantitative study), statistical tests (if a quantitative study), coding and analysis procedures (if a qualitative study), and any assumptions made by the researchers. Were the procedures chosen appropriate for the study? What alternative methods would you suggest?
III. Ethical Aspects
 Analyze ethical issues pertaining to this study. Did the researchers explicitly address ethical
issues in the article? If not, was there evidence in the report that the participants’ safety and confidentiality were protected? Was an approval process by an Institutional Review Board or similar ethics review committee mentioned? Were any of the practices ethically questionable (deception, coercion, etc.)?
IV. Results
 Present a summary of the results of the analysis performed in the study. Did the authors keep their
interpretations and conclusions separate from the analysis results (evidence)? V. Discussion and Conclusion
 Analyze and critique the conclusions drawn by the researchers. Do the conclusions follow logically from the results of the analysis? Evaluate the overall efficacy of the research study by identifying the strengths and weaknesses of aspects of its design and implementation. Identify the limitations noted by the researchers and add any limitations you see that were not mentioned in the article. Describe the directions for future research proposed by the authors and evaluate their appropriateness. Recommend at least one idea for a future study that will overcome some of the limitations of this study. Keep in mind that this suggested future study will serve as the basis for your Final Paper.

Your paper should be four to six pages in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Utilize a minimum of five peer-reviewed sources that were published within the last 10 years and are documented in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. These sources should include the article being critiqued and three of the sources from your Week Two assignment, as well as the course textbook. If at least three of the articles from the Week Two assignment are not useful in evaluating the study being critiqued or for suggesting alternative methods for studying the topic, search the Ashford Library for other suitable peer-reviewed sources. 

PSY 326 Week 3 Discussion 1 Descriptive Research


PSY 326 Week 3 Discussion 1 Descriptive Research
Descriptive Research. 1st Post Due by Day 3. Evaluate and briefly discuss the three descriptive designs presented in Chapter 3 (case studies, archival research, and observational research). Be sure to discuss the strengths and weaknesses associated with each approach. Which of these three approaches do you think is the best descriptive design and why? Finally, recommend research questions or topics for which each of these designs would be effective in investigating.
Your initial post should be 250 to 300 words. Utilize a minimum of two peer-reviewed sources that were published within the last 10 years and are documented in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

Guided Response: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response to at least two of your peers. Do you agree with the choice of the best descriptive design? Why or why not? Are appropriate examples of research topics for each design given in the post?.