Psychosocial Advocacy for Challenges in Child and Adolescent Development
Research Paper (100 points) and pamphlet (25 points)
For this paper you be responsible for designing an intervention for either 100 children/adolescents OR 100 families (whichever is relevant) for a developmental problem that you have identified. This can either be an extension/revision of a current intervention or an experiment to determine if a new type of intervention would be effective. In either case, the intervention needs to be based in relevant literature regarding both the scope and nature of the problem, as well as what you have read this semester regarding race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and culture.
The paper is to be 4-7 double-spaced pages with APA formatted in-text citations, title, and reference page (note: the title and reference pages do not count towards the page count). The paper is due April 24th by 11:59pm on Desire2Learn.
In thinking about this assignment, it is best to consider the following:
- What topics/social concerns that affect children are of interest to me?
- What factors are responsible for causing or sustaining this problem?
- How has this problem been addressed so far?
- What are the gaps in how it has been addressed? What areas have not been covered? For whom does the intervention work? For whom does it not work?
- What would I suggest doing in order to fill in those gaps? How could I make this intervention work for more children/adolescents?
- How will I know if this intervention/prevention is effective?
The grading will be as follows:
Content – 80 points. Does the author adequately describe the problem? Does (s)he know what the literature says about factors relevant to the problem? Is the intervention/prevention strategy proposed based in the literature? Is it feasible? Does it adequately address confounds of SES and culture? Does the author propose a reasonable method of testing the effectiveness of the strategy?
Grammar/Mechanics – 20 points: Is the paper written in accordance with the rules of American Standard English? Is the paper properly formatted?
I am happy to meet with you to clarify any difficulties you are having with the paper, formatting, or locating research. Please feel free to show me drafts of your paper as it progresses for guidance and feedback.
APA format resources
The basics of APA format – http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-tutorial.aspx
APA Sample paper – http://supp.apa.org/style/PM6E-Corrected-Sample-Papers.pdf
For the pamphlet:
You will also be responsible for creating a folding pamphlet (see templates on D2L), that will summarize and present your research. Unlike the paper, however, you should explore different ways of getting the information across and consider:
- What information would a parent/school official without your background want or need to know?
- How do you make the information stand out?
- How do you get information about this problem, resources for dealing with it, and what you are proposing into a smaller area?
I recommend looking at other pamphlets and pieces of information that you can find for guides, but this pamphlet should reflect your own creativity and innovation in presenting the info.
