What are the strengths and weaknesses of specific viewpoints or research paradigms?

The purpose of the Final Paper is to demonstrate your knowledge of the literature in a subarea of contemporary social psychology.

Selecting a topic

Select a topic for your review which interests you, one you want to learn more about. Your topic should be at least as focused as one of the topics we devote one module to in class. It can be more narrowly focused if your interest is more specific than that.

You could select a topic such as attachment in romantic relationships, social support, influence in groups, or use of fear in persuasion messages. You could select a basic concept, such as self-esteem, self-handicapping, or leadership. Or you could organize your review around a question/hypothesis. For example, what evidence is there to support the assertion that men place more emphasis on physical attraction than do women? Feel free to consult with the instructor about other possibilities. Please do not just recite the same material on a given topic that we have covered during class. If you select a topic that was covered in class, be sure to demonstrate depth and/or breadth of inquiry into the topic that is beyond what was covered in class. You must submit your choice of a topic, an outline of the paper, and a tentative list of references to be used in Module 3.

Doing the review

The most important step in doing the review is to consult the relevant databases (e.g., PsychINFO, Academic Search Complete). Your search will identify many articles. Based on the abstract of the article, you will be able to decide that many of them are not directly relevant. Locate and read the articles whose abstracts are promising.

Be sure you review recent multiple issues of major journals. This is the best way to locate the most recent articles. In social psychology, you will want to consult the following resources held by the NLU Library:

The British Journal of Social Psychology: http://national.worldcat.org/oclc/43956718

European Journal of Social Psychology: http://national.worldcat.org/oclc/607821478

Journal of Social Psychology: http://national.worldcat.org/oclc/776543164

Personality and Social Psychology Review: http://national.worldcat.org/oclc/45007180

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology: http://national.oclc.org/746945676

Writing the review

Your review should summarize the literature on your topic. Concentrate on synthesizing or integrating some of the literature, that is, point out connections between different concepts, viewpoints, or research paradigms. You also need to evaluate the literature you discuss. What are the strengths and weaknesses of specific viewpoints or research paradigms? How does this recent literature extend our knowledge? What are the needed next steps in developing theory or research in this area? You should use at least ten references in your final paper.

Conclusions

In the Conclusions section of your final paper, be sure to point out at least three findings which are supported by the reviewed literature.

The final paper should be between 8 and 10 pages in length in APA Style (not including References).

Your assignment should be approximately 2,000-2,500 words in length (typically, 8 to 10 double-spaced page).
Your assignment should include a title page and a reference list page (if using references), and be completed in Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, with appropriate header, page numbers, one-inch margins, and meet all other requirements of APA Stylebook.
A minimum of ten references must be used. Please format them in the most current APA format.

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