Real World Analysis Reports – Assignment and Rubric (35% of grade) Topic due Monday, 9/13 by midnight 1st report due Wednesday, 10/6 before class time (2:45pm) 2nd report due Wednesday, 11/3 before class time (2:45pm) 3rd report due Wednesday, 12/1 before class time (2:45pm) In these short papers (~1,000 words each), please apply theories and research findings discussed in class and/or in the book to your real-world issue. The report must include information from the literature that we are currently reading and must be completed individually. Your RWAR should include in-text citations and a reference list at the end in APA format; the word count does NOT include the reference list. Strong reports will open with the topic of interest and a real-world example, followed by the application of several literature findings to extend our knowledge of that topic, then a strong conclusion. Bonus points if you use the literature to suggests prescriptions for intervention work. Here is a short example of a topic intro + two literature citations + the beginning of a ref section: Vast socio-economic and health disparities exist between Whites and racial minorities in America, and these tend to widen as the economy declines. For example, during the recent recession, inflation-adjusted median wealth fell by 66% and 53% among Hispanic and Black households, while White household median wealth fell by only 16%. How does economic recession lead to greater disparities? One mechanism through which recession might lead to greater discrimination in the allocation of resources is through increased perceptions of resource threat. That is, prejudice can derive from the perception of competition between groups (Realistic Group Conflict Theory; see Jackson, 1993 for a review) or the perception that ones’ own group is being deprived of a resource that another group receives (Relative Deprivation Theory; Walker & Smith, 2002). In the case of White decision makers, the impression that White people are competing with other groups for resources and falling behind during economic recession could induce greater prejudice, which could influence downstream behavior. For example, a White employer might fire a greater number of racial minorities because of increased prejudice resulting from feelings that a recession disproportionately harms White people, or that minorities are “taking” White peoples’ jobs… References Jackson, J. W. (1993). Realistic group conflict theory: A review and evaluation of the theoretical and empirical literature. The Psychological Record, 43(3), 395. Walker, I., & Smith, H. J. (Eds.). (2002). Relative deprivation: Specification, development, and integration. Cambridge University Press. ANALYSIS REPORT RUBRIC Points Component Description 10 Topic 15 Lit. cited Introduction and explanation of topic, with real world examples Examples from the psychology literature related to the topic 30 Comprehension Understanding of the literature 30 Focus and details Organization Editing TOTAL Application of literature to topic 10 5 /100 Topic Literature cited (book/articles) Comprehension (book/articles) Focus & Details (book/articles) Organization Editing Clarity of topic, connection to literature, conclusion Spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice, formatting Exceeds Expectations Topic is clear and wellfocused 3-4 strong examples Mastered the material, explained elegantly Connections to topic are clear and are well supported by detailed and accurate information. Exceptionally logical and superbly organized Paper is nearly free of errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice, formatting Meets expectations Topic is clear, but still broad 3-4 good examples Understood the material, explained clearly Connections to topic are clear and supported by accurate information Clear topic, clear connections to literature, clear conclusion Errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice, formatting maybe be present but are not intrusive Falls below expectations Topic is somewhat defined Vague examples No credit Topic is unclear No examples Understood the Did not material, understand/could explanation not explain the unclear material Connections to Connections to topic are clear but topic are not are not well clear supported and/or information is lacking/inaccurate Generally organized, but lacked some clarity Poorly organized or ideas were presented randomly Errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation, word choice, formatting are frequent, noticeable, and/or intrusive The writing makes the paper unreadable