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Assignments | Social Impact Paper & Lit Review (Butler): Start Here

PSYCH 2301 & PSYC 2314, Prof. Joseph Butler (Fall 2024)

Assignment Summary

Your Goals:

In this assignment, you're investigating a social issue that significantly impacts individuals in the United States through the lens of psychology. The goal is for you to engage with a real-world problem and apply psychological principles to advocate for change.
 
  • 4 page, APA style essay
    • Introduce the issue and its relevance to psychology
    • Provide analysis of how this issue impacts people at various stages of their lifespan (supported by your research)
    • Explain the concerns and recommendations for addressing this issue
  • Research to find reputable sources, academic journals, and psychological literature to gather info
  • Identify a political figure, media organization, advocacy group, or other third party who could address your social issue

Your Goals:

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current research, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research. A good lit review does not just summarize sources; it analyzes, synthesizes, and provides critical evaluation to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.
 
  • 10+ page, APA style essay
    • Identifies the themes, debates, and gaps in the existing body of research
  • Locate at least 8 academic articles through the library databases

Questions to Ask Yourself

There a dozens of acronyms and checklists and methods for evaluating sources. They all add up to one goal, though: helping you make an informed decision about...

Is this source worth listening to?


Who created this information?

Is there a named author? Is it published by a reputable organization?

Or is it unclear or unknown?


What does that creator know?

Do they have any relevant credentials?

Are they discussing their area of expertise?

Are citations provided?


Does the creator have an agenda?

They can have a point of view without being biased!

Is the message crafted to get an emotional response?

Is data cherry-picked?


What else have they made?

Is there a topic specialization?

Can you pick up on a recurring tone? Or recurring point of view?


Is it timely?

Is there a published or modified date?

Is your topic time-sensitive? (Is this important info?)


Specific enough?

Starting your research? Overviews are okay.

Otherwise, seek deeper dives. Use multiple sources to get a look from many angles.


Good enough, or good?

A source doesn't have to be WRONG for us to skip it -- it can just not be trustworthy enough.


What's YOUR agenda?

It's easy to poke holes when we disagree with something.

Did you go easier on a source because it agreed with you?

Related Guides

PowerNotes: Clip, Save, Organize

PowerNotes is a research manager that works on anything you can open in your browser. Set up your free account and install the PowerNotes extension. 

Save and organize quotes as you research so you've got an outline ready to go. The built-in citation tool can export a bibliography.

Get Started with PowerNotes