Dr. Mildred Alvarez
PSYC 204 (Advanced Child Psychology Seminar)
LITERATURE REVIEW TERM PAPER: TOPICS AND GUIDELINES
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See both the short description of the term paper requirement in the syllabus and
this handout for relevant information.
Topics:
In class readings, we are exploring many theoretical foundations in the field of
developmental psychology. Our readings should be a springboard for you to focus on a
thoughtful evaluation of specific research studies. For the term paper, you will describe,
discuss and evaluate a selective set of empirical research studies representing any one
of the broad, general topics listed in the course syllabus. The empirical research
studies you choose will be concerned with a narrow or specific issue that relates to the
broader topic. In order to help you write about specific aspects of a topic for your review
paper, you will write a STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION OR
PROBLEM that your paper will address. The development of such a statement will help
you (a) focus on a search for empirical research studies that address your specific
research question, and (b) organize and write a thoughtful and evaluative review that
clearly goes beyond summarization.
As you search for a paper topic, think of topics and issues where you believe
research is needed; avoid writing your paper on areas that have been extensively
researched (e.g., the influence of television on aggression).
Refer to class readings relevant to your general interest and supplement these with
empirical research studies you find from the developmental psychology literature. Focus
on empirical research studies cited in journals that have a developmental orientation such
as the journals Child Development and Developmental Psychology. These journals are
examples and studies appearing in other psychological journals are acceptable so long as
they clearly address the issues from a developmental point of view. By a
“developmental point of view”, what I mean is that the studies should take age
differences or changes as we age into consideration, or at least discuss the issues of a
given age period with the awareness that the findings represent a snapshot in time.
Writing a STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION OR PROBLEM that your
paper will address:
To help you accomplish the goal of writing a focused and thoughtful review
paper, you will be required to develop a specific statement of a research question or
problem (two examples are provided below). You will then organize your review paper to
answer that question or address that problem. Please note that it is important that you do a
preliminary literature search before you develop your statement so that you can
identify the specific issues you will plan to later examine in more depth in your paper.
The preliminary literature search will also help you to identify the possible components
of a rough outline of the content of your paper.
Helpful steps in writing a statement of the research question: (a) start with a
sentence that allows the reader to appreciate the significance or importance of the topic,
(b) next, state how you plan to answer the question (this part of the statement helps to
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serve as a “mini-outline” that the reader should be able to follow as they read your
paper), (c) your final sentence should conclude with your goal to consider the
implications and future directions of the research. Below are a couple of examples of a
statement of the research question or problem. Use these as guides to develop your own
statement.
EXAMPLE #1: Television may be an important socializing influence on children’s gender role concepts
and attitudes. Briefly describe how males and females are portrayed on American television as reported in
the research literature. Then discuss the research findings about whether and how television portrayals
influence children’s concepts and attitudes about “appropriate” behavior for males and females. Conclude
with a brief discussion of the implications of the research findings.
EXAMPLE #2: Before school-age, children’s learning seems clearly, and perhaps universally, intrinsically
motivated. However, by the time these same children have entered school, many of them present
motivational difficulties of one sort or another. Discuss the research findings about developmental changes
in children’s levels of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the factors that may account for those changes.
Also, discuss the role that home environment and parent’s motivational practices play in children’s
academic intrinsic motivation and achievement. Conclude with a discussion about directions for future
research.
Write-up Guidelines:
1- Begin your review paper by writing the research question/problem that your paper
will address at the top of the first page of your paper in single-space. Follow APA
style for the rest of your paper.
2- Paper length: 8-10 double-spaced, typed pages of actual narrative content (i.e.,
not including a cover/title page, abstract, or references). Use 12-point font size,
Times New Roman, and 1-inch margins all around.
3- Follow the APA Publication Manual instructions for how to write a review
article (paper). Review articles summarize what was learned, but go beyond a
summary by providing a critical (thoughtful) evaluation of published information.
For example, in addition to providing a summary so the reader has context and
can appreciate the state of current research, you will want to identify
contradictions or gaps and suggest next steps in addressing this problem based on
what you have identified that has been done to date.
4- References: Use about 8-10 journal article references in your paper. One and not
more than two of these references must be from our class reading list of articles.
Do not use our textbook or other textbooks as one of your 8-10 references.
Include at least five relatively recent (2005 to present) empirical research studies
addressing a related, similar issue. Please note that a journal article based on an
empirical study is one that includes an Introduction, Method, Results, and
Discussion section. Do not use Dissertation Abstracts or other abstracts or
summaries as references for this term paper. Again, make sure that your
references report findings and discuss the issues from a developmental
perspective or point of view.
5- General reminder as you write your paper: Define all concepts and do not
assume that we all agree on the definition of a concept such as “stage”,
“temperament”, etc.
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