Lifespan Development.

Journal Article Summary assignments The Journal Article Summary assignment provides an opportunity for students to research a topic of interest within specific areas of Lifespan Development. The students will not only gain insight and information regarding the chosen topic, but an understanding of the process of research and its methodology. Hopefully, this will also prepare them for future endeavors of this type. Each student will look at the following areas of growth and development: 1) Prenatal Development OR Birth (due at the beginning of the semester—see due dates in Calendar), and 2) Death and Dying (due at the end of the semester—see due dates in Calendar) For each developmental period that is listed above, you will explore the HCC databases–Psychology Database journals is Preferred– previously called ProQuest Psychology. ( Do NOT use Psychology Collection), then identify a primary source article (you should have already done the tutorials in Module 1), then develop a summary of that journal article on a topic within one of the areas mentioned above. The summary must follow the steps below to be sure it has met all the requirements of the assignment. Some topic examples may include: For prenatal/birth options: Positive or negative effects of mother’s health or choices during Pregnancy or Birthing options or issues, etc.; For death/dying options: Effects of end of life decisions, Effects of death of a parent on children, or Hospice/Palliative care, etc. The steps for completing Journal Article Summary 1. Choose an article from a professional journal. These are available through HCC databases. You have a brief overview of the Library in a set of notes within Module 1 to help you find the kind of resources necessary for this type of assignment. If it is not clear, you may make arrangements for a personal library orientation with a reference librarian. You may begin the process of looking for articles immediately by accessing the library from home. 2. Make sure that the article is considered a PRIMARY SOURCE. This would be found in an academic journal ONLY. The author(s) must be the researcher(s) reporting on their own specific study and its results. A Primary Source would include the following: a review of the literature, a description of methodology including the sample selection process, a description of the statistical analysis, and a discussion of the results. You may not use an abstract instead of the complete article. You should use only articles that have been published in the past 10 years. I would like you to put a link to the article on your submission. 4. After copying the reference information (see example following) in APA format, summarize in your own words the content of each article in two to three paragraphs. The summary should include a synopsis of the study and the research methodology. This will include a description of what the researchers wanted to find out, what population they used, what types of methods— instruments, physiological measures, etc.—were used, what were their conclusions? You may not use or summarize the authors’ Abstract. This summary should not include personal opinions formed as a result of the readings (see example that follows). 5. Submit your article summary online in CANVAS for the specific assignment. The summary should be typed and double-spaced. Your summary should be in exactly the same format as shown in the example following:

PSYC 200 Page 2 Example of Journal Article Summary Ratanasiripong, P., Sverduk, K., Prince, J., & Hayashino, D. (2012). Biofeedback and counseling for stress and anxiety among college students. Journal of College Student Development, 53(5), 742-749. Retrieved from ProQuest Education Journals database on September 8, 2014. Link: http://libproxy.howardcc.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1287027729?accountid=35779 This study was conducted to determine if the use of biofeedback in combination with traditional counseling methods, as opposed to counseling alone, would allow college students to better cope with the stress and anxiety that they face. The 30 participants of the study were selected from a counseling center at a large public university in the western United States. The students involved in the study were referred based upon exhibition of symptoms of anxiety and stress during interaction with the counseling center. Before taking part in the study, each student involved completed the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), a widely used measurement in the counseling population, to determine their current stress and anxiety levels. This particular test consists of 21 items measured on a scale of 0-3 (3 being the most severe, 0 being not present) to determine the presence of anxiety. Biofeedback can be described as the process of becoming more aware of the body and mind’s reactions to stimuli and gaining the ability to manipulate and control them. Students were randomly assigned to either the group receiving biofeedback training combined with counseling, or to the group receiving counseling alone. The experimental group received four sessions of counseling combined with four sessions of biofeedback training over a 4-week period. The experimental group also received portable biofeedback devices to be used at home in between sessions. The control group received four sessions of counseling over the same 4-week period. The study found that both the control and experimental groups experienced a reduction in stress and anxiety levels according to post treatment BAI scores. The mean post-treatment BAI score for the control group was 13.13 compared to the 19.80 post-treatment score. The difference

PSYC 200 Page 3 in those scores demonstrates a medium effect. However, the experimental groups’ post-treatment score was 10.53 compared to a 24.12 pre-treatment score, representing a large effect. The study determined that while counseling alone is beneficial, the combination of biofeedback training and brief counseling sessions is a more effective method than counseling alone

Research assignment

Research assignment

Criteria

Ratings

Pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomePrimary source article: 10 for primary article; 5 for academic article, but not primary; 0 for article in magazine

10 for primary article 5 for academic article, but not primary 0 for article in magazine

10 pts

Primary source

Primary source research article that includes a method section.

5 pts

Academic article

Journal article, but not primary, is a dissertation or research is over 10 years old.

0 pts

Magazine article

Not from a professional, academic journal

10 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeSummary that is in your own words; includes the hypothesis, the participants, the methodology and the results

Absolutely a summary in your own words to demonstrate that you were able to digest and understand the content of the study.

15 pts

Original work

Unicheck score indicates no similarity, student used own words.

8 pts

Summary not completely in own words OR missing parts of the criteria

Unicheck score is showing some similarity, not fully in students own words, results not detailed

0 pts

Missing major parts of summary-not own words.

Did not use own words, high Unicheck score indicating large sections are not students own words.

15 pts

This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAPA citation plus LIVE link to the article

APA format MUST be used correctly. Live link must be included in the bibliographic information

5 pts

No errors, live link included

Student has no APA errors, link included works

3 pts

Minimal errors

Errors in citation OR link

0 pts

Multiple errors

Errors in APA AND link

5 pts

Total Points: 30

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