Research Paper Assignment Guide

Prompt:

The Research Paper assignment is designed to integrate your developing skills in self-reflection, scientific knowledge, awareness of research methods, and critical thinking, as they relate to the field of developmental psychology. You may find that your topic for the Research Paper is related to your focus in the Autobiographical Developmental Essay (e.g., you may choose to focus on the same or similar developmental stage) and/or the Theory Essay (e.g., you may choose to explore more of the theories you discussed). You may also wish to tackle a completely new developmental stage and/or topic, and that is just fine! The important part of selecting your focus for this assignment is that you follow your own natural curiosity about the human condition.

Your Research Paper should be at least 1000 words double-spaced (the last page will be your references page which does not count towards your word count)using 12-point font and 1-inch margins. You must incorporate at least 3 peer-reviewed journal articles as sources, in addition to your textbook.

Preparation:

Ensure that you are up to date on your reading assignments for the course (through Chapters 15 and 16, Middle Adulthood).

Review key characteristics of each major developmental stage to help with your focus for the paper.

Reflect on the major area of development in which you are most interested (e.g., physical, cognitive, social, emotional).

To complete this assignment, you will:

Step 1: Select one of the major developmental periods you have studied thus far in the course: infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, early adulthood, or middle adulthood.

Step 2: Select a phenomenon or construct that features prominently in your chosen developmental stage. The construct should reflect one or more of the major areas of human development (physical, cognitive, social, emotional). For instance, if you are focusing on adolescence, perhaps you select the construct of egocentrism, which includes both cognitive and social components.

Step 3: Review the section(s) of the Santrock text that are relevant to your developmental stage and construct.

Step 4: Prepare a research paper that addresses the following:

Step 4.1: Describe, in detail, the developmental stage you are focusing on for this research paper. You should briefly review the major developmental tasks of this stage as they pertain to physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development.

Step 4.2: Describe, in detail, your selected construct of interest. Be sure to define the construct and discuss its relevance during your selected stage of development. If the construct first appears earlier in development, or somehow changes with development across various stages, you will need to discuss how the construct changes over time.

Step 4.3: Pick at least one theory that helps to explain the relevance of your construct to your chosen developmental stage. Explain the theory and its application to your construct and stage.

Step 4.4: From the available 12 peer-reviewed journal articles, select and read at least 3 peer-reviewed journal articles that have some relevance to your topic and/or proposed study. Some articles may contribute information about your topic of study, or they may contribute information about research methods that could be applied to your specific topic of study. You are not required to understand or discuss the statistics involved in these articles, but you should be able to glean some information from the articles with relevance to your topic or proposed methods.

Step 4.5: Now, consider yourself a scientist. Imagine you can conduct any study you like about this construct in your chosen developmental stage. Put forth at least 1 research question, and describe the method(s) you would use to collect the data (e.g., observational, survey/interview, standardized test, case study, physiological measures). Explain what type of study design you would use (e.g., descriptive, correlational, experimental). What is your hypothesis about what the results of the study will be? Why would this study be important to conduct, and how might it contribute to new knowledge in this area of developmental science?

Step 4.6: Prepare a references page that lists each of your sources in APA style. Note that you will need to list your textbook as well as each of your 3 peer-reviewed journal articles. The References page will be the last page of your research paper.

References

(should include 3 articles and Santrock text)

Conrod, P. J., & Nikolaou, K. (2016). Annual Research Review: On the developmental neuropsychology of substance use disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57, 371-394. https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/jcpp.12516

Dirks, M. A., De Los Reyes, A., Briggs-Gowan, M., Cella, D., & Wakschlag, L. S. (2012). Annual Research Review: Embracing not erasing contextual variability in children’s behavior – theory and utility in the selection and use of methods and informants in developmental psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 558-574. https://psyc.umd.edu/sites/psyc.umd.edu/files/pubs/Dirks,%20De%20Los%20Reyes,%20Briggs-Gowan,%20Cella,%20&%20Wakschlag%20(2012).pdf

Glenn, C. R., Kleiman, E. M., Kellerman, J., Pollak, O., Cha, C. B., Esposito, E. C., Porter, A. C., Wyman, P. A., & Boatman, A. E. (2020). Annual Research Review: A meta-analytic review of worldwide suicide rates in adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61, 294-308. https://kleimanlab.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Glenn_et_al-2019-Journal_of_Child_Psychology_and_Psychiatry.pdf

Koss, J. J., & Gunnar, M. R. (2018). Annual Research Review: Early adversity, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, and child psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59, 327-346. https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/jcpp.12784

Lau, J. Y. F., & Waters, A. M. (2017). Annual Research Review: An expanded account of information-processing mechanisms in risk for child and adolescent anxiety and depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58, 387-407. https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/jcpp.12653

Mandy, W., & Lai, M-C. (2016). Annual Research Review: The role of the environment in the developmental psychopathology of autism spectrum condition.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57, 271-292. https://efisiopediatric.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/mandy2016.pdf

McAdams, T. A., Cheesman, R., & Ahmadzadeh, Y. I. (2023). Annual Research Review: Towards a deeper understanding of nature and nurture: combining family-based quasi-experimental methods with genomic data. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 64, 693-707. https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jcpp.13720

Newlove-Delgado, T., Russell, A. E., Mathews, F., Cross, L., Bryant, E., Gudka, R., Ukoumunne, O. C., & Ford, T. J. (2023). Annual Research Review: The impact of Covid-19 on psychopathology in children and young people worldwide: Systematic review of studies with pre- and within-pandemic data. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 64, 611-640. https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jcpp.13716

Odgers, C. L., & Jensen, M. R. (2020). Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61, 336-348. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8221420/

Russell, M. A., & Gajos, J. M. (2020). Annual Research Review: Ecological momentary assessment studies in child psychology and psychiatry. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61, 376-394. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8428969/

Santrock, J. W. (2023). Life-Span Development (19th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US).

Thomas, M. S. C., Ansari, D., & Knowland, V. C. P. (2019). Annual Research Review: Educational neuroscience: progress and prospects.Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57, 477-492. https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jcpp.12973

Williams, N. J., & Beidas, R. S. (2019). Annual Research Review: The state of implementation science in child psychology and psychiatry: a review and suggestions to advance the field. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 60, 430-450. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6389440/pdf/nihms-983463.pdf

case study 

 

• “How has your life been impacted by a personal injury accident (yours, someone in your family, or that of a close friend)? What have you learned from this experience, and how has this accident shaped who you want to be professionally?”

•  should not exceed 2 pages and should be in PDF format.

Week 1 Discussion: Social Factors

I live in Lady Lake, FL. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2022, the city of Lady Lake’s population was 16,661, the median income was $42,088, and the percentage of people living in poverty was 14.0% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022). The grocery store that I usually shop at and that is local is called Winn-Dixie. The Winn-Dixie I went to was located in Lady Lake FL. I did my research when I went grocery shopping yesterday and gathered the prices of the following, all were non-organic.

· 1 gallon of milk: $ 4.19 (whole milk)

· 1 loaf of bread: $4.19 (butter bread)

· 1 bag of apples (including price per pound): $5.99 (for a 3lb bag) /$2.39 per pound.

· 1 bag of carrots: $2.39 (baby-cut carrots)

· 1 large container of yogurt: $5.99 (Greek yogurt 32 ounces)

· 1 2-liter of soda: $1.49 (liter of coke)

· 1 bag of chips: $5.99 (bag of Doritos)

· 1 package of cookies: $4.19 (Chips Ahoy)

When it comes to buying groceries there are several social factors that could impact what groceries are purchased. Poverty levels can impact what groceries are purchased due to limited income. Those with limited income and are considered to be “in poverty” will rely more on cheaper and more affordable food options.  According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, “Low-income groups tend to rely on foods that are cheap and convenient to access but are often low in nutrients” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.).Cheaper food options may not be the most nutritious or healthy. Also, those who live in poverty might rely more on food that is processed and packaged, these foods will last longer helping them get the most out of their money.  We can look at what is gathered above, yogurt is $5.99 and will not last as long as cookies which is $4.19.

The second social factor that could impact what groceries are purchased would be availability. When grocery stores have a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables it can be easier for people to select those healthier options and incorporate them into their diets. If the grocery stores do not have these items readily available, then customers may be led to frozen processed fruits and vegetables. Availability and assortment are important for those who may not have the money or accessibility to other sources of fresh produce.

A community health nurse could use outreach as an intervention to address areas of food security. According to our book,
Community/Public Health Nursing, the definition of outreach is, “locates populations of interest or populations at risk and provides information about the nature of the concern, what can be done about it, and how services can be obtained” (Nies & McEwen, 2022). The community health nurse should focus on the poverty population recognizing that they are at risk for food security and reach out to them. Once information is gathered the CHN can then do further research on how we can help those in need and provide them the services they may need.

References

Nies, M., & McEwen, M. (2022).
Community/Public Health Nursing. Elsevier Health Sciences.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2022).
U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ladylaketownflorida,US/PST045222?

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.).
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from Access to Foods That Support Healthy Dietary Patterns: https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/access-foods-support-healthy-dietary-patterns#:~:text=Low%2Dincome%20groups%20tend%20to,are%20often%20low%20in%20nutrients.&text=Fresh%20fruits%20and%20vegetab

Reply

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BELOW IN RESPOND IN 50 WORDS OR MORE:

 In my Week 1 discussion post, I talked about my concerns with nursing wages and burnout becoming more prominent. Throughout the semester, I have been able to deepen my understanding of these topics. I completed my article review on nursing burnout and through my research, I found that burnout has been gradually getting worse throughout the years. The number seems to be rising more than before and the lack of bedside nurses is climbing as well. This also causes a high nurse turnover and more dissatisfaction over time. Many hospitals are now turning to residency programs to have less nurse turnover as new graduates are required to sign a residency contract if they would like to work in that setting. This allows for less turnover and longer training times at the cost of flexibility and appropriate wages. At least in my case, I was getting paid more at my previous job (SNF) than I was starting at the hospital through the residency even though my previous job offered me less than the median salary for SNF nurses. I also believe that the cost of living in South Florida has gone up exponentially over the past few years and regardless of what “middle-class” job you have, money will be very tight for young adults trying to start to live independently without government support. Overall, I hope to see a change over the next few years for those who love the nursing practice as we are responsible for a significant amount of care provided in the healthcare setting and should be respected as so.