Term Paper Assignment

 

Term Paper Due: Last day of class

I. Topics:

This is a research paper wherein you will summarize the research/thinking in a particular area of the psychology of the exceptional child. You will need at least three (3) primary research references to complete this paper. (Internet, newpapers and magazines are not acceptable references.)

The individual topic you choose is up to you — you can select any topic we discussed in class, but feel free to select something else that may be of interest to you. Please submit your topic selection and at least three (3) potential references to me by the date noted in the syllabus.

Your task in this term paper is to support an hypothesis by summarizing the current thinking on your topic by researchers in the area. You should (1) clearly state your hypothesis and the viewpoint from which your paper will be based, (2) discuss the research supporting your hypothesis, and (3) critique the information (discuss your thoughts on the advantages to society arising from the research, as well as addressing the limitations or questions still unanswered --> This should incorporate your own opinion as to why such advantages and limitations are important to consider in understanding this issue.)

II. Guidelines for Term Paper:

Term papers should have a particular structure, as do many other types of papers

you will write or have written in your college courses. Four major areas should be covered, and highlighted by titles in writing your paper:

1) Introduction. In this section you will identify the hypothesis you have chosen as the subject of the paper. You should explain why you believe this is an

important issue to address given its impact on an individual's life and that of society in general.

2) Review of the Research (here you will use headings that reflect the various points you will be making). Discuss in this section the relevant research/thinking (your reference material) on your topic. You should be using your references to support your explanation as to why this is an important issue to address, and to convince me that I, too, should agree that your hypothesis is correct. (Ideally, you will be making several points backed up by the research you cite, and in doing so you may have several headings to highlight the various points.)

3) Conclusion. This section should briefly summarize the main points on the issue that you have been making in the body of your paper. It should also highlight why you believe this topic should continue to be pursued or is crucial

to today's world.

Also included in this part should be an evaluation of the research/thinking you have reviewed. Do you believe they are correct in their thinking? Why? Do you think there are

some points they have neglected to bring up that may bear on understanding

this topic better? What are they? (Essentially, give me your opinion on what you have read and reported to me on.)

4) References. Each of the references you used as supporting evidence should be listed on a reference page in the appropriate format. Examples of the appropiate way to cite your references are as follows:

For Books:

Rymer, R. (1993). Genie: An abused child's flight from silence.

New York: Harper Collins.

For Edited Books: (Those that contain chapters by different authors)

Shneidman, E.S. (1987). A psychological approach to suicide. In

G.R. VanderBos & B.K. Bryant (Eds.), Cataclysms, cries, and

catasrophes: Psychology of action (pp. 151-183). Washington,

DC: American Pschological Association.

For Jounrnal Articles:

Rothbart, M.K., & Ahadi, S.A. (1994). Temperament and the

development of personality. Journal of Abnormal

Psychology, 103, 55-66.

 

A first step to finding appropriate references for your paper may be by looking at

the chapter in our textbook that discusses your topic. Look first in the index to find your topic; next read the material on your topic and note the references given (e.g., Rothbart & Ahadi, 1994). Then go to the reference list at the back of the text that gives you the authors cited and write down the full citations (examples of such are given above for books and journal articles). Next, you should use the Psychinfo database on the library to search for appropriate articles.

 

III. Evaluation of Term Paper:

Due dates for the term paper are specified at the top of this assignment. The criteria for evaluation (also set out in syllabus) is as follows:

--Topic/Outline/References is worth 30 points;

--Content (following of guidelines; references adequately support your points; and demonstation of understanding and conveying the

information in your selected topic) is worth 70 points.