Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:
The final project for this course will consist of a literature review. The purpose is to investigate a counseling topic in your field of expertise with focus on counseling intervention and/or evidence-based counseling techniques. You are required to review quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research articles published within the last 5 10 years in counseling journals related to your selected topic. You are also required to include articles focused on program evaluation efforts related to your topic of interest. A literature review involves the analysis and synthesis of your chosen literature/articles. What it isn’t: A literature is not an annotated bibliography. Analysis pertains to systematically breaking down each article into its parts. In a literature review we are looking at information given to the reader. We review interpretations, understandings, and arguments that the authors have proposed in order to convince the reader of their “story” or point of view of the topic. You, the student, are asked to extract key ideas, theories, concepts, and methodological assumptions from your chosen articles. Synthesis in turn, is the process of connecting the parts identified in your analysis in a new and meaningful way. Your arrangement of the parts of all reviewed articles will be new and overarching. Synthesis requires you to have gained a working knowledge of your chosen topic and the capacity to think of it in broader terms, “seeing the big picture.” You will be working on describing and showing how a set of ideas put forth by your chosen literature/articles compare and differ, and how they can be related to your chosen topic. Your project should include an introduction, analysis of articles, synthesis of the research findings, and a conclusion, which should also contain your perspective/opinion. The specific formatting requirements of you finished paper is further elaborated in your course syllabus. Format your paper following the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. In order to comply with APA style formatting, you must include a cover page and a reference page. LITERATURE REVIEW 1) Select a clinical mental health topic and relevant evidence-based counseling interventions/techniques that are of interest to you. (Prevalent Risk Factors Associated With Antisocial Personality Disorder Among Known Serial Killers) Note: Not all counseling interventions or techniques are strongly supported by research (evidence based). This is OK, some interventions or techniques lend themselves to being researched more readily than others (i.e. cognitive behavioral techniques vs. psychodynamic interventions) however, there should be some support in the peer-reviewed literature. 2) Submit your chosen topic to your professor for approval. 3) Select: - At least four quantitative research articles - At least four qualitative research articles - At least one mixed methods research article - At least one treatment/program evaluation article Your review should include a minimum of 10 peer-reviewed articles. Note that mixed methods research articles may not be published on every topic of interest. In these cases, additional program/treatment evaluation articles may be substituted. • The project is required to have an introduction and subheadings following APA style. You should write as though you are submitting the project for publication and therefore, your work should be mechanically correct and follow APA Publication Manual guidelines (7th ed.). Do not use first person voice – no use of the words I, me, you, our, etc. The contents and organization should be clear and concise, and be thoroughly referenced with citations in the text. Use of Microsoft Office or Open Office Suites (Libre Office etc.) are required. Do not use Google docs and the like – the formatting options do meet requirements. • A reference page in APA style is required. Quality references are required. How many different reference sources are required? While there is no set limit, it is required that at least 10 different QUALITY sources (more preferred) be used. NO NEWSPAPERS, OPINION WEBSITES, WIKIPEDIA, other WIKI-type resources, TEACHER LESSON PLANS, OR BOOK REVIEWS. Secondary citations should be avoided or kept to a minimum; if they are used, they must be formatted correctly. • There is no maximum page limit for this project however, it is expected to be a major Master’s Degree work of approximately 10-12+ pages of text. Students are encouraged to consult with the professor during the writing process for additional assistance. Partially completed or substandard projects will not be accepted. Locate 4 or more appropriate RESEARCH articles from academic journals and print them. Again, NO newspaper articles, opinion pieces, or book reviews. If there is only one reference or no references provided in an article it more than likely does not qualify as a research article suitable for this assignment. Also, review articles are not useful for this project – only research-based articles (i.e. authors collect their own data) are acceptable. USE THE FOLLOWING SUBHEADINGS o Desсrіption of the Problem o Significance of the Problem o Research Questions (three well-crafted research questions presented in bullet format – an introductory paragraph should precede the research questions) o Review of the Literature (first two pages) o References o The source articles need to be cited in text as well as listed in the reference list. Every statement or assertion in the class project paper needs to be supported by at least one reference citation. Paraphrasing is preferred to direct quotations; only one direct quote per paper is allowed. Students are required to submit pdf copies of the research articles referenced in their work. Annotate on each article, which type of Research Design was used (Quantitative, Qualitative, Mixed Methods, or Treatment/Program Evaluation). o Completed Review of Literature (additional three pages) [minimum of 5 full pages, more is encouraged for full grade] o Discussion o Conclusion [minimum of 2 pages for discussion and conclusion; more is encouraged for full grade] o References The reference section should be APA formatted and include 10 or more research-based articles. More is encouraged for full grade. You may use the references from Part I and add more or use all new sources. All sources listed in the reference section must be present in the body of the paper and must be cited properly. Writing the research project should be considered formal writing. Follow correct APA style and criteria provided by the professor. DO NOT PLAIGARIZE from other authors, yourself, or rework old papers. Work will be submitted to a program (turnitin) designed to detect these types of infractions. Academic dishonesty will be reported following university procedures stated in the student handbook. Student work must be word processed (12 font, double spaced, Time New Roman). The information should be broken into subheadings as described. Not following APA style and/or not using formatting as outlined by the professor will result in point deductions from the student’s grade. Use formal language throughout (no “we,” “our,” “I.” “you,” “my,” etc.) Refer to yourself (if you must) as “the author of this report” or “this investigator” or similar wording. All reference articles MUST be research based articles from credible journals. DO NOT USE an author’s opinion piece, book review, newspaper article, or mysteriously written reports from an online posting. Do not use articles that appear to be “how to” lesson plans. Also, do not use dissertations or master’s theses. Do not write in bulleted or numbered style. The only exception is the statement of the research questions, which should be numbered. Correct in-text paraphrased citations are required. In-text direct quotes may be used on a very limited basis. Only one direct quote or block quotation (40 or more words) is allowed in the entire paper.