Final Seminar Paper
The paper has as its goal your exploration of a topic of adolescent development from
multiple theoretical perspectives. That is, the paper is an opportunity for you to integrate your
presentations with the discussion we have been having all semester about the three metaphors of
adolescent development (architect, juvenile, and apprentice). The paper should be about 8 or 9
(maybe 7 to 10) double-spaced pages. There should be three sections: Introduction, Research
Review, Integration and Conclusions. You may also added subsections to each section if you
think it helps the organization of the paper
Introduction
The introduction should cover what you will do in the paper. Think this through very
clearly before writing it up (and this is where meeting with me would be helpful). The
introduction should begin with an outline of the broad topic (e.g., adolescent identity, pro-social
behavior, sexuality, externalizing behavior). This outline should be based on the Handbook of
Adolescent Development review article you read to provide background context for your specific
topic. The specific topic should also be introduced with appropriate definitions and explanation
of the phenomena you are focusing on.
Your general review should also highlight the three metaphors of adolescent development
that will play a key role in your paper. The introduction should frame the theoretical issues of
your specific topic – that is, explain that you are exploring the specific topic by integrating
research associated with the three metaphors of adolescent development.
I see two general ways that students may perform the integration of research that are
based on the metaphors. Students may integrate the research by designing the next best study on
your topic. Such an approach would integrate research by proposing a study that explores how
variables associated with two or all three perspectives may be relate to each other and the
phenomenon of interest. Alternatively, students may integrate the research by providing a
theoretical basis for understanding various findings on the topic. Such an approach would
integrate literatures that are based on studies from all or some of the metaphors.
Research Review
Once your topic is defined (both generally and specifically) and the goals of the analysis
are set up, you are in a position to review the research. Here the empirical papers can be
reviewed theoretically and empirically. Empirically, describe each study and the results in
sufficient detail to evaluate it. Theoretically, try to locate each study in one of the metaphors,
explaining why it fits there. Be detailed and specific in your arguments. The theoretical and
empirical reviews should keep in mind your overall goal of integrating multiple theoretical
perspectives.
Integration and Conclusion
In this section you will integrate the research in one of two ways described above (or in
some other way which we discuss). It may be helpful to summarize the results of the review
before integrating them. It may also be helpful to review the relative strengths and limits of the
research on your topic both theoretically and empirically prior to integrating them. Both the
summary and review should prepare the reader for and set up the integration. The integration
section itself should be written as clearly and in as precisely as possible. If you are proposing the
next best study, I am looking for general outline of the hypothesis, design and procedure. Please
make sure that all variables are operationalized and provide a brief account of the strengths and
limits of your design. If you are proposing a theoretical account of the literature, provide details
of the assumptions and how it accounts for other positions. Perhaps provide possible ways to test
your explanation (although not a complete account of the design etc.)
Finally, by way of conclusion, comment on the value of seeking to integrate various
theoretical perspectives in understanding your topic. Do you feel that the integration is
achieving a better understanding of the topic?