PSYC503 Week 8 Discussion - Reflection

Reflection

In our first week, you were asked to share your thoughts on academic writing: your strengths, your concerns, and your self-determined areas of needed improvement. In our final week, you are being asked to reflect and share, once again. To that end, please respond to the questions below:

1. Reflect on where you were with your academic writing skills and knowledge before taking this course (e.g., as shared in the week 1 discussion) and where you are now.
• Have the challenges you noted during week 1 changed? If so, how so? If not, why not?
• How confident and comfortable are you now with your academic writing knowledge and skills?
• What additional strengths would you add that you have now as an academic writer?
• What areas do you still wish to improve and what are some tools or resources available that can help you do so?
2. Which tools/material have you found the most helpful in developing as an academic writer?
3. How do you anticipate using the information from the course throughout your graduate program?

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PSYC503 Week 8 Assignment Interview and Reflection Project

Week 8 Interview and Reflection Project

Instructions

What and Why

The overall goal of our course is to develop greater awareness of and proficiency in formal academic, professional writing. To that end, you will conduct interviews with at least 2 professionals (you are free to interview more if you wish). The purpose of these interviews is to gain insight into the relevance of and need for effective professional written communication.

 

When

This is a course length project. Thus, you have until the last day of the class to submit your final submission. However, if you wish to interview your professor, it will be necessary to plan in advance so that you can get a time scheduled with your professor.

 

Who

You are to select at least 2 professionals. Ideally, these professionals would be in your field of interest. They do NOT have to be psychologists or mental health professionals, although they certainly can be.

 

When selecting professionals, it would be best if the individuals were in different organizations and/or professions, as well as have differing levels of responsibility. Having such diversity will give you a greater perspective. The only requirement when selecting your interviewees is that they must write as part of their professional duties. This writing can include many different types of fields/disciplines (e.g., professional authors, lawyers, scientists, psychologists, professors in all disciplines, etc...). 

 

Guidelines for the interviews

1. Identify your professionals. Be sure to explain that you are a graduate student with APUS and are needing to arrange for an interview as partial requirement for a semester project.
2. Conduct your interviews. When possible, face-to-face interviews are always best. However, as we are in the online arena, phone interviews are also acceptable. Additionally, you may use Skype, FaceTime, and/or email technologies to conduct the interviews. If you will be recording your interview, be certain to gain permission from the interviewee to record (this could be required by law depending upon your state/jurisdiction). 
3. Be sure to record the interview and/or take copious notes so that you can recall the details when you begin the writing phase.

 

Guidelines for interview questions

1. Demographic information (e.g., gender, education, occupation, years of experience in the field, etc...)
2. Interview questions
• Level and type of daily written communication
• Current challenges in written communication
• Past challenges in written communication
• Type of academic and professional writings
• Positive experiences with regards to academic/professional writing communication

• Negative experiences with regards to academic/professional writing communication
• Writing journey

o    It is best to use open-ended question format, as this encourages individuals to share whatever they feel relevant in addressing your question.

o    Areas to explore (this is not a required or exhaustive list; feel free to create your own questions)

 

Final Submission

You have some freedom in how you submit your finalized project. That is, you can submit a written paper, a PowerPoint presentation (with Notes), a Prezi presentation, or some other creative, but pre-approved, format.

 

Keep in mind that the objective is to discover the relevance of and need for effective academic, professional writing. To that end, in your final submission, you will need the following:

• Summarize each participant's interview information
• Discuss commonalities between interviewees' experiences
• Discuss differences between interviewees' experiences
• Reflect upon the relevance to you
• What did you gain from this assignment?
• Was anything surprising? What? Why
• Was anything disheartening? What? Why?
• How can you use the information in your current and future endeavors

You will get paper as well as the questionnaire used to conduct interview.

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PSYC503 Week 7 Abstract and Introduction

Instructions

This week's assignment is a culmination of work completed in Week 4 and Week 6. More specifically, you will be creating an abstract and introduction for this research.

Introduction: What is it?

As with any type of writing, the introduction has a number of responsibilities. Initially and globally, it needs to capture the attention of your reader so that the reader feels invested in taking the time to read what you have compiled. More specifically, the introduction must sufficiently "set up" the paper. Further suggestions for the introduction are noted below:

• Provide background information so that your reader has enough "knowledge" to understand what will be discussed in the paper.
• Provide a general overview of what will be discussed in the paper.
• Provide information on how your paper will advance new knowledge, new insights, etc.
• Provide a clear and complete purpose statement or hypothesis. The determination between purpose statement and hypothesis is dependent upon the type of research you are doing. When actually conducting a research investigation, as you will likely do later in your program, you would include your hypothesis/hypotheses. For the purpose of this assignment, either will be acceptable (i.e., as long as it has been appropriately introduced).

Abstract: What is it?

Unlike the introduction that provides a preview of what will be discussed, the abstract summarizes the key points that are discussed within the paper narrative. As such, the abstract is typically the last thing you would construct. It is necessary to include summative information on the key points regarding purpose, methods, scope, results, conclusions, and recommendations.

Requirements

Drawing upon the research you completed in Week 4 and Week 6, you are to write an introduction and an abstract. There is no need to obtain new research.

When crafting the introduction, take the position that you would be writing the actual research paper. In this way, the introduction will adequately prepare the reader for what would be discussed if you were also completing the entire research paper.

The abstract and introduction should be submitted as a Word document and include the following: (a) title page, (b) abstract (1-page, 150-250 words), (c) introduction (2-3 pages), and (c) reference list. 

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PSYC503 Week 6 Assignment - Literature Review

Week 6: Literature Review

Instructions

This week's Literature Review draws upon Week 4's Annotated Bibliography assignment. It will also feed into the Week 7 Abstract/Introduction assignment.

What is it?

A literature review provides an overview of the relevant findings, constructs, theories, etc. associated with any given topic. A solid literature review will identify patterns, themes, conflicts, gaps, etc. in the available scholarship by analyzing and synthesizing the research.

Requirements

For this specific assignment, you are to synthesize the research you found for the Week 4 Annotated Bibliography assignment. Do not simply copy the annotations you did for the Week 4 assignment; that is not a literature review. Rather, you are to review and synthesize the research you have found into a cohesive discussion on your selected topic.

The literature review should be submitted as a Word document and include the following:

(a) title page, (b) literature review, and (c) reference list.

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PSYC503 Week 5 Discussion - Peer Review

For this week's discussion, we will work on editing. More specifically, you are to post one paragraph of your own writing. This paragraph should be something that has already been submitted in our class (i.e., in that way, you have already had one set of revision suggestions presented to you). After posting your own paragraph, you will need to give substantive critique to classmates' postings.

While I know it can be somewhat uncomfortable not only sharing personal research writing but also providing critique to others, this is a valuable learning strategy. Often, we are not able to see issues with our own writing because we know what it is supposed to say. Thus, when we review other's work, we get in the habit of engaging with the writing in a different way: that is, we can remove the emotion out of the process and just consider the written word. Additionally, you bolster your reading, which in turn can be applied to your own writing. You also gain perspective about yourself, your classmates, and the writing process. Thus, as you critique the submitted paragraphs, please keep the following in mind:

* Be considerate and respectful. ~ It is ok to say, "This sentence is unclear" or "I am not sure of this sentence," but it is not appropriate to say, "This makes no sense" or "What are you talking about here?"

** Critique content first. ~ Ultimately, the goal of writing is the same as speaking: we are trying to communicate. Thus, the most important piece of writing is ensuring you have effectively conveyed information. Be sure to tell your classmates what you understood about what was shared (i.e., what was done well). Also, be sure to post questions to suggest areas of content improvement and expansion (i.e., suggestions for development).

*** Critique written structure. ~ This where you would note any issues with mechanics and APA.

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PSYC503 Week 4 Discussion - Library Resources

W4: Library Resources

For this week's discussion, you are to explore our library. More specifically, you are to focus on the "Research" and "Resources" sections.  It is also recommended to explore the Psychology Research Strategies Guide.  What did you find that could prove beneficial to your academic research? How might you utilize these resources?

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PSYC503 Week 4 - Annotated Bibliography

Week 4: Annotated Bibliography

Instructions

This week's Annotated Bibliography will feed into the Week 6 Literature Review assignment and the Week 7 Abstract/Introduction assignment.

What is it?

Simply, an annotated bibliography is an article summary. However, annotated bibliographies provide you with a wealth of information.

As you continue in your program, you will continue to conduct research. By doing annotations, you can easily group the research by topic/theme/etc.

By doing annotations, you can quickly find research that you may need for an assignment throughout your entire graduate program.

By doing annotations, you can begin to identify areas of interest, as well as lack of interest, to focus on for your final thesis paper.

By doing annotations, you can also begin to identify areas that are missing (i.e., gaps in the research) or under-researched.

 

An annotated bibliography is like a reference list "with benefits." That is, you will format the resource reference in proper APA style. Then, below the reference you will write a summary of the resource. It is important to note that a reference list is ONLY needed with an annotated bibliography if you use resources in your summary that are different from the article being summarized.

 

The summary should draw upon the points used in the Week 2 Article Analysis assignment:

    What did the author(s) hope to find (e.g., goals, objective, purpose, hypothesis, research questions)? What did the author(s) actually find (e.g., results, discoveries)?

    What investigative method(s) (e.g., qualitative research study, quantitative research study, review of research) did the author(s) use?

    How were data compiled, analyzed, and interpreted (e.g., methodology)?

    As presented by the author(s) (e.g., discussion, conclusion), what do the results mean? What are the implications of the results?

    What limitations were identified?

 

In short, the summary should be comprehensive enough that anyone should be able to read it and understand the "point" of the research.

 

Requirements

You are to identify a topic of choice that is germane to your graduate program. Having identified one topic, you are then to find 5 scholarly research articles; these research articles should be current (i.e., within the past 5 years). You will write annotations for these 5 articles.

 

The annotated bibliography should be submitted as a Word document and include the following: (a) title page, (b) annotations, and (c) reference list (IF needed).

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PSYC503 Week 3 Discussion

W3: Purpose of Writing Types

Last week, you saw the relevance of audience with regards to writing and tone. This week, we will expand upon this by exploring the importance and relevance of overall purpose. As we have seen, purpose is as closely connected to audience, as audience is connected with tone and style.

For this week's discussion, you will need to find a blog, a writing on an organization's website, and a research article that all address the topic of your choice. After reviewing these different resources, you are to analyze the correlation between the tone, style, and purpose. What differences did you notice across the three resources? What did these differences signify? Were there any similarities across the resources? What were these similarities? Why would there be similarities across the resources?

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PSYC503 Week 2 Article Analysis and Summary

Week 2 Article Analysis and Summary

Instructions

This week's assignment has 3 different pieces, each designed to help you develop skill and confidence in dissecting and analyzing relevant scholarly research. You are to select an article that would contribute to an understanding of your particular topic of interest. This article must be current (i.e., within the past 5 years).

Part I: Global Article Analysis

1. What research gap is the article addressing?
2. How does the article intend to address this gap?
3. What are the specific research questions that this article will address?
4. What strands of previous and current research does this article use to create a rationale for its research questions?
5. What kind of data did the authors collect to answer their research questions and exactly how did they collect them?
6. How did the authors analyze their results?
7. How do the authors interpret their results? According to the authors, what do the results mean with regard to the research questions?
8. What do the authors see as limitations in their study?
9. What do the authors see as the implications of this research in terms of either application to real-life or directions for future research?
10. What are the authors' overall conclusions?

Part II. Style: Article Structure and "Hierarchy" Analysis

1. Analyze the macro-level structure (i.e., titles and organization of sections and subsections).
1. What evidence, if any, do you see of hierarchical, classification, or cause-effect organization patterns?
2. What evidence, if any, do you see of parallelism?
2. Look at the literature review or a subsection of the literature review. If it is a subsection, you are looking for one with more than one paragraph. Analyze the meso-level structure (i.e., order of the paragraphs).
1. What evidence, if any, do you see of hierarchical, classification, or cause-effect organizational patterns in the order of the paragraphs?
3. Write a brief summary (e.g., 1-2 paragraphs) of your analysis.

Part III: Summary

Write a summary of the article that includes your own suggestions for future research based on the gap you have identified. APA 7th edition formatting (i.e., title page, pagination, headings, in-text citations, reference page) is required. Your essay should be 4 - 5 pages not counting title and reference pages

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PSYC503 Week1 Discussion

Introductions and Academic Writing Reflection

Our Week 1 discussion has two parts. In Part I, you will introduce yourself to the class. In Part II, you will reflect upon academic writing. Of note, per University policy, students who do not complete the Week 1 discussion work by its deadlines are automatically dropped from the course. Instructors do not have authority to re-enroll automatically dropped students. Thus, it is critical that you satisfy the minimal requirement by posting by Sunday 11:59 pm ET. Your first post in this discussion must be 250 words.

PART I

Please introduce yourself to the class by sharing some of your story with us: Who are you? Where are you from? Where are you currently residing? What are your interests/hobbies? What are some learning goals you have for the course? 

PART I NOT ANSWERED

PART II

What is your experience with academic writing? What are some of the most common challenges you encounter with academic writing process? What are some of your strengths with academic writing? How much do you believe in your ability to do academic writing?

Please remember that you must also respond substantively to at least 3 of your classmates' original discussion threads. While not required, it is also beneficial to respond to and engage with the posts shared by your instructor.

 Singh, A. A., & Lukkarila, L. (2017). Successful academic writing: A complete guide for social and behavioral scientists. New York: Guilford Publications Inc.

May, T., Williams, M., Wiggins, R., & Bryman, A. (1996). An introduction to the philosophy of social research. Routledge.

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