Psychological Theory and Concepts

Write a 3-5 page literature review incorporating scholarly sources that will introduce a hypothesis for a research study using pre-existing data that will be conducted throughout the course.

Introduction

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Explain types of psychological research methods.
  • Explain the purpose of psychological concepts that are addressed in research.
• Competency 3: Design an ethically appropriate psychological research study utilizing psychological theory and concepts.
  • Predict human behavior using a theory or psychological concept.
  • Describe the value and limitations of a theory or psychological concept to explain psychological phenomena.
• Competency 4: Conduct an ethically appropriate psychological research study.
  • Develop a plausible hypothesis that relies on scientific evidence and reasoning.
• Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
  • Write an organized literature review that supports a thesis with main points that are supported by evidence.
  • Use APA-style formatting, citations, and references.

During this course, you will be designing and conducting a study based on pre-existing data and analyzing the results. Each assessment will work together to help you through this process, so it is important to complete the assessments in order.

Preparation

Variables

Throughout this course, you will work on developing a research project using data from the GSS Data Explorer website, which contains archival data. Archival data is preexisting data that has been collected by another individual or organization, and is available to be analyzed enabling us to draw new conclusions about the data.

In Assessment 2, you will use the website to extract your data using the two variables that you select for this assessment. Begin by selecting two variables of your choice from the following list. Note that “r” represents the participant. These are the variables that you will use throughout the course in your research project.

• Satisfaction with financial situation.
• Change in financial situation.
• Opinion of family income.
• Marital status.
• Highest year of school completed.
• Spouse’s highest degree.
• Does r or spouse supervise anyone?
• How often r attends religious services.
• Condition of health.

Next, start to design a research topic involving the two selected variables. For example, if you select “condition of health” and “How often r attends religious services,” you may want to research how religion impacts an individual’s health and wellness.

Scholarly Sources

Before you conduct research, you need to center your hypothesis and supporting literature on this topic through a literature review, which will be the first piece of your project. You will need to find at least seven scholarly sources to use for your literature review. Below are resources that may help you.

• Start with Research Methods in Psychology Library Guide, which provides focused library databases and APA resources that may direct your article search.
• Organizing all of your articles and notes will help you work through your literature review more efficiently. Complete Developing a Matrix to Organize Your Literature Review, which will help you organize your notes and think of ways to categorize your findings, such as definitions, variables, findings, and population. It also provides an example of a completed matrix.

Instructions

Write a 3–5 page literature review that incorporates at least seven scholarly sources. Address the following within your literature review. Ensure that each main point of your paper is supported clearly with evidence from your sources. Under some points, there are guiding questions to guide your thinking, but be sure to consult the scoring guide to make sure you are covering all of what will be assessed. 

• Explain the psychological concepts that were addressed in the research. 
  • Are there any patterns, themes, or trends that you were able to trace in your research? 
• Describe the concepts related to the theory that will be the basis for your research. 
  • Discuss the value and the limitations of the theoretical concepts. 
• Develop a plausible hypothesis, where you predict the outcomes of the relationship between your two variables, that relies on evidence and reasoning.
• Use APA-style formatting, citations, and references.

Submission Requirements

Submit your literature review as your deliverable for assessment.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Explain types of psychological research methods.
  • Explain the purpose of psychological concepts that are addressed in research.
• Competency 3: Design an ethically appropriate psychological research study utilizing psychological theory and concepts.
  • Predict human behavior using a theory or psychological concept.
  • Describe the value and limitations of a theory or psychological concept to explain psychological phenomena.
• Competency 4: Conduct an ethically appropriate psychological research study.
  • Develop a plausible hypothesis that relies on scientific evidence and reasoning.
• Competency 5: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
  • Write an organized literature review that supports a thesis with main points that are supported by evidence.
  • Use APA-style formatting, citations, and references.

As you launch your research project, get started by reading the following chapters in your textbook.

• Salkind, N. J. (2017). Exploring research (9th ed.). Pearson. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.
  • Chapter 1, “The Role and Importance of Research,” pages 1–12.
    • This chapter explains what research is, the various types of research, and when to apply these types.
  • Chapter 2, “The Research Process: Coming to Terms,” pages 15–25.
    • This chapter will help you gain a full understanding of variables, developing a hypothesis, and the importance of significance.
  • Chapter 3A, “Selecting a Problem and Reviewing the Research,” pages 29–61.
    • This chapter will help you develop research interests and learn how to write a literature review. This will help you for your upcoming assessment, where you will create a literature review based on the topic and variables that you choose.

Complete Research Continuum to review different types of research, if they are quantitative or qualitative, and their levels of objectivity and subjectivity.