literature review, and research question plus research design summarized

PSY 215 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
Overview
Abnormal psychology is in some ways what many people think of when they think of psychology—the role of the therapist counseling a patient, often with some
psychological disorder. While this is true, abnormal psychology is also much more than that, as a professional in the field must balance the clinical- and research
oriented aspects of the field in order to best understand psychological disorders and abnormal behavior. You will be exposed to evidence in this class that will
support or challenge commonly held beliefs about psychopathology, so that you may develop a great appreciation of how psychologists study abnormal
behavior. You will also develop a historical- and research-oriented background in the field, essential to understanding abnormal psychology and crucial in
pursuing further work in abnormal psychology, either from a clinical perspective or an experimental perspective.
The final project is meant for you to propose a hypothetical study. You are not and should not be conducting human subjects research for this project. It is
not necessary for the purposes of this assignment. All human subjects research requires written approval from the SNHU COCE Institutional Review Board in
order to protect the welfare and ensure ethical treatment of the subjects.
For the final project in this course, you will examine research presented in the course for how abnormal psychology has changed, and investigate a potential gap
in the research that has not been addressed. This project will allow you to foster and improve your skills at reading, interpreting, and writing psychological
works. It will also help you to learn your place within the field and how to combine both your personal perspective and opinions with established, empirical
research to make original claims.
Final Project is supported by two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final
submissions. These milestones will take place in Modules Three and Five. The final research investigation is due in Module Seven.
This assessment addresses the following course outcomes:
• Describe foundational research regarding psychopathology by examining the historical evolution of the field of abnormal psychology
• Determine appropriate research designs used in abnormal psychology for application in the study of aspects of psychopathology
• Examine issues of ethics in foundational research in abnormal psychology for informing appropriate conclusions
• Interpret claims made by foundational research in abnormal psychology for conveying appropriate conclusions that are supported by peer-reviewed
evidence
• Develop basic research questions supported by peer-reviewed evidence by identifying gaps in the research of abnormal psychology
Prompt
For your final project, you will conduct an investigation of the foundational research in abnormal psychology. You will need to conduct a literature review of the
research presented in the course. This research will include both classic and current, foundational research from the field. You will analyze the research
presented in the course for how what we know about psychopathology has changed over time as well as how researchers have approached the study of
psychopathology. You will also consider the issues of ethics that are or are not addressed in the research. Following your review of the research, you will identify
a gap (or unexplored topic within the research) and develop a research question designed to further explore your identified gap. This will include how the
research supports your research question and how you would approach addressing your research question. Specifically, the following critical elements must be
addressed:
I. Literature Review: In this part of the project, you will analyze foundational research presented in the course for how the field of abnormal psychology
has changed over time, how researchers have designed research to study psychopathology, and how issues of ethics have been addressed historically
in the field.
A. Summarize the claims made by the authors of the foundational research presented in the course regarding how diagnoses and treatments for
psychological disorders have developed. In other words, what claims are made by the research about how psychological disorders are diagnosed
in individuals? About how individuals with psychological disorders are treated?
B. Summarize the claims made by the authors of the foundational research presented in the course regarding how biological, psychological, and
sociocultural factors contribute to the development of psychological disorders.
C. Explain how the view of psychopathology has evolved over the history of abnormal psychology. Be sure to support your analysis with examples
from research to support your claim.
D. Explain the conclusions you can reach about research in abnormal psychology. In other words, explain what we know about psychopathology,
based on your review of the research presented in the course. Be sure to support your analysis with examples from research to support your
claim.
E. Describe the specific research designs used in the foundational research presented in the course used to address research questions. For
example, what were the specific methods used to address the research question? What type of research design was used?
F. Explain how research designs were used by authors to conduct research in abnormal psychology. In other words, how did the research designs
used by researchers help in conducting research regarding abnormal psychology?
G. Discuss how issues of ethics have been addressed in the foundational research presented in the course. For example, how did the authors
inform the participants of what the experiment would entail? How did the authors account for any potential risks to participants associated with
the study?
H. Discuss how issues of ethics in abnormal psychology have been viewed historically. In other words, how have issues of ethics in the field been
viewed over time? Has this view changed as the field has progressed? Be sure to support your response with examples from research to support
your claims.
II. Research Design: In this part of the project, use your previous analysis of the research presented in the course to develop your research design. You
will identify a gap in the research you have reviewed, explain how the research supports further exploration of that aspect of abnormal psychology,
and develop a research question addressing the gap. You will then determine an appropriate research design and explain how it could be implemented
and how you will account for issues of ethics in your proposed research question.
A. Identify a gap in abnormal psychology research presented in the course that is unexplored or underdeveloped. For example, is there an
unexplored aspect of abnormal psychology you believe could be further explored?
B. Develop a basic research question addressing the identified gap. In other words, create a question that you could answer in potential research
further investigating your identified gap. Be sure to support your developed research question with examples from research to support your
claims.
C. Determine an appropriate research design that addresses your research question regarding abnormal psychology, and explain why it was
chosen. Be sure to support your response with examples from your analysis and the research presented in the course that supports the
determined research design.
D. Explain how you will account for issues of ethics associated with your proposed research. In other words, how will you ensure that issues of
ethics associated with your proposed research have been managed appropriately? Be sure to support your analysis with examples from research
to support your claims.
E. Explain how your approach to accounting for issues of ethics was informed by your review of the research presented in the course. In other
words, what did you learn from the research presented in the course in terms of how to address issues of ethics that you were able to
incorporate in your own design?
Milestones
Final Project Milestone One: Literature Review Draft
For this milestone, due in Module Three, you will submit a draft of the literature review due as part of your final research investigation using the three articles
that were provided for your track in Module Two and two additional articles that you locate on your own. Rather than following the format of a typical lengthier
APA literature review, you will instead prepare five shorter, adapted, individual literature reviews (one for each article). Each literature review should be 2-4
pages in length. (These literature reviews will lead up to the final literature review submission.) The final version of the literature review will be submitted in
Module Seven as part of Final Project Part I. This milestone is graded with the Final Project Milestone One Rubric.
Final Project Milestone Two: Research Design
In Module Five, you will participate in a discussion in which you develop a research study design in preparation for your final research investigation and also
assist your classmates in refining their own proposed studies. This milestone is graded with the Final Project Milestone Two Rubric.
Final Project Submission: Research Investigation
In Module Seven, you will submit a document containing a polished literature review and research design. The full adapted literature review will include a
review of the five articles. Combined with the research design, the final document should be 4–6 pages in length. Both the literature review component and the
research design component should incorporate the feedback received in the milestones and should reflect all the critical elements in the Final Project Part I
Rubric. This document should be formatted in APA style. As a reminder, please refer to the Online Tutoring Service tutorials to assist you in your writing as well
as to the Research & Citations page on the SNHU Online Writing Center website for proper APA formatting of sources. This final submission will be graded using
the Final Project Rubric.
Final Project Rubric
Guidelines for Submission: Your research investigation should be 4–6 pages, typed in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and following
appropriate APA format.
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Literature Review:
Diagnoses and
Treatments
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
analysis demonstrates an
astute ability to interpret
claims made in psychological
research
Summarizes the evidence
presented in the foundational
research presented in the
course regarding how
diagnoses and treatments for
psychological disorders have
developed
Summarizes the evidence
presented in the foundational
research presented in the
course regarding how
diagnoses and treatments for
psychological disorders have
developed, but summary is
cursory or contains
inaccuracies
Does not summarize the
evidence presented in the
foundational research
presented in the course
regarding how diagnoses and
treatments for psychological
disorders have developed
5.1
Literature Review:
Biological,
Psychological, and
Sociocultural Factors
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
analysis demonstrates an
astute ability to interpret
claims made in psychological
research
Summarizes the evidence
presented in the foundational
research presented in the
course regarding how
biological, psychological, and
sociocultural factors contribute
to the development of
psychological disorders
Summarizes the evidence
presented in the foundational
research presented in the
course regarding how
biological, psychological, and
sociocultural factors contribute
to the development of
psychological disorders, but
summary is cursory or contains
inaccuracies
Does not summarize the
evidence presented in the
foundational research
presented in the course
regarding how biological,
psychological, and sociocultural
factors contribute to the
development of psychological
disorders
5.1
Literature Review:
History
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
explanation demonstrates keen
insight into how the view of
psychopathology has evolved
over the history of the field
Explains how the view of
psychopathology has evolved
over the history of the field
using examples from the
research
Explains how the view of
psychopathology has evolved
over the history of the field,
but explanation is cursory, or
lacks examples from research
Does not explain how the view
of psychopathology has
evolved over the history of the
field
5.1
Literature Review:
Abnormal Psychology
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
response demonstrates an
astute ability to interpret
claims made in psychological
research
Explains the conclusions that
can be reached about
abnormal psychology, based on
analysis of the research
presented in the course, using
examples from the research
Explains the conclusions that
can be drawn about abnormal
psychology presented in the
course, but explanation is
cursory, contains inaccuracies,
or lacks examples from
research
Does not explain the
conclusions that can be drawn
about abnormal psychology
6.2
Literature Review:
Research Designs
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
response demonstrates an
astute ability to interpret
psychological research
Describes the specific research
designs used in the
foundational research
presented in the course used to
address research questions
Describes the research designs
used in the foundational
research presented in the
course used to address
research questions, but
description is cursory or
contains inaccuracies, or
response does not reference
specific research designs from
the research
Does not describe the research
designs used in the
foundational research
presented in the course used to
address research questions
5.1
Literature Review:
Conduct Research
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
explanation demonstrates keen
insight into how researchers
use research designs to better
conduct research
Explains how research designs
were used by authors in the
research presented in the
course to conduct research
Explains how research designs
were used by authors in the
research presented in the
course to conduct research,
but explanation is cursory or
contains inaccuracies
Does not explain how research
designs were used by authors
in the research presented in
the course to conduct research
5.1
Literature Review:
Issues of Ethics
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
discussion demonstrates keen
insight into how the authors of
the research presented in the
course addressed issues of
ethics
Discusses how issues of ethics
have been addressed in the
foundational research
presented in the course, using
examples from the research
Discusses how issues of ethics
have been addressed in the
foundational research
presented in the course but
discussion is cursory, contains
inaccuracies, or lacks examples
from research
Does not discuss how issues of
ethics have been addressed in
the foundational research
presented in the course
6.2
Literature Review:
Viewed
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
discussion demonstrates a
nuanced understanding of how
the views and approaches to
ethical issues in the field have
changed over time
Discusses how issues of ethics
in abnormal psychology have
been viewed historically, using
examples from the research
Discusses how issues of ethics
in abnormal psychology have
been viewed historically, but
discussion is cursory, contains
inaccuracies, or lacks examples
from research
Does not discuss how issues of
ethics in abnormal psychology
have been viewed historically
6.2
Research Plan: Gap Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
response demonstrates keen
insight into an unexplored or
underdeveloped area of
abnormal psychology based on
the research presented in the
course
Identifies a gap in the abnormal
psychology research presented
in the course that is unexplored
or underdeveloped
Identifies a gap in the abnormal
psychology research presented
in the course that is unexplored
or underdeveloped, but
identification contains
inaccuracies
Does not identify a gap in the
abnormal psychology research
presented in the course that is
unexplored or underdeveloped
15.5
Research Plan:
Research Question
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
developed research question
demonstrates a keen insight
into how to develop research
questions that address the
identified gap
Develops a basic research
question addressing the
identified gap that is supported
by examples from the research
Develops a basic research
question addressing the
identified gap, but developed
research question is cursory,
contains inaccuracies, or lacks
examples from the research
Does not develop a basic
research question addressing
the identified gap
15.5
Research Design:
Research Design
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
response demonstrates a
sophisticated awareness of the
research design that would be
most appropriate in addressing
the research question
Determines an appropriate
research design that addresses
the research question and
explains why it was chosen,
using examples from the
analysis and the research
Determines a research design
that addresses the research
question, and explains why it
was chosen, but determination
contains inaccuracies, or
explanation is cursory or lacks
examples from previous
analysis or research
Does not determine a research
design that addresses the
research question
5.1
Research Design:
Issues of Ethics
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
explanation demonstrates an
astute ability to interpret
psychological research
Explains how issues of ethics
would be accounted for with
the proposed research, using
examples from the research
Explains how issues of ethics
would be accounted for with
the proposed research, but
explanation is cursory, contains
inaccuracies, or lacks examples
from the research
Does not explain how issues of
ethics would be accounted for
with the proposed research
6.2
Research Design:
Informed
Meets “Proficient” criteria, and
explanation demonstrates keen
insight into how your personal
approach to accounting for
issues of ethics was influenced
by the research presented in
the course
Explains how your approach to
accounting for issues of ethics
was informed by your review of
the research presented in the
course, using personal
thoughts and examples from
the research
Explains how your approach to
accounting for issues of ethics
was informed by your review of
the research presented in the
course, but explanation is
cursory or contains
inaccuracies, or response is not
supported by personal
thoughts and examples from
research
Does not explain how your
approach to accounting for
issues of ethics was informed
by your review of the research
presented in the course
6.2
Articulation of
Response
Submission is free of errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, and
organization and is presented
in a professional and easy-to
read format
Submission has no major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
Submission has major errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that negatively impact
readability and articulation of
main ideas
Submission has critical errors
related to citations, grammar,
spelling, syntax, or organization
that prevent understanding of
ideas
7.4
Total 100%PSY 215 Literature Review Template

Please note: Keep in mind that the following questions are practice and preparation for the more detailed literature review elements to come. When you complete your literature review, you will be addressing more specific elements. These questions are the first thing to think about when beginning a literature review.

Track and Topic: Track One- Biological influences of abnormal behavior.

Article #1 (Preassigned #1)

1. What is the title of the article? Provide a reference for the article in APA format.
Howes, O. D., McCutcheon, R., Owen, M. J., & Murray, R. M. (2017). The role of genes, stress, and dopamine in the development of schizophrenia. Dopamine and the prodrome, 20. http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://resolver.ebscohost.com/openurl?sid=EBSCO%3apsyh&genre=article&issn=00063223&ISBN=&volume=81&issue=1&date=20170101&spage=9&pages=9-20&title=Biological+Psychiatry&atitle=The+role+of+genes%2c+stress%2c+and+dopamine+in+the+development+of+schizophrenia.&aulast=Howes%2c+Oliver+D.&id=DOI%3a10.1016%2fj.biopsych.2016.07.014&site=ftf-live
2. What is the purpose of the article?
The article reviews latest evidence on the role of dopamine at the onset of a disorder. Also, it analyzes the model by which environmental factors and genes sensitize psychosis. Finally, the article reflects on outcomes of rational development of drugs; particularly, regionally specific dopaminergic modulation and the stratification ability of genetic factors on patient (Howes, et al. Pg.1).
3. What is the hypothesis of the study? In other words, what claims do the authors make in the article? What are the outcomes of the study, that is, the conclusions that the authors made as a result of the study
The authors argue that schizophrenia manifests altered striatal dopamine release and synthesis. Moreover, they argue that environmental and genetic factors impair the cortical regulation of dopamine neurons in the midbrain due to dysregulation of the striatal dopamine (Howes, et al. Pg.1). The authors conclude that schizophrenia manifestation in release and synthesis of striatal dopamine causes hyperactivity in patients with symptoms of prodromal; this contributes to dysregulation of the corticostrial. Secondly, environmental and genetic factors impair the cortical regulation of dopamine neurons in the midbrain due to dysregulation of the striatal dopamine but molecular mechanisms are not altered (Howes, et al. Pg.16)
4. What variables (factors) are being looked at as an influence on abnormal behavior?
The article examines how psychosis, dopamine, and psychosocial stress are linked with abnormal behavior. Also, genes involves in upstream regulation of synthesis of dopaminergic and gene encoding (Howes, et al. Pg.1).
5. If these variables or the relationship between these variables have been studied before, what have other studies found? This shows historical significance.
Previous studies indicate that functioning of dopamine is dysregulated in prodromal patients resulting to abnormal behavior (Howes, et al. Pg.11). Also, psychosocial stress reduces anchorage ability of PDE4A resulting to abnormal behavior (Howes, et al. Pg.13). Lastly, genetic variations during psychosis result to abnormal behavior (Howes, et al. Pg.14).

6. Describe the research design (e.g., descriptive, correlational, experimental) that was used in the study.
The study uses correlational research design to understand how psychosis, dopamine, and psychosocial stress are linked with abnormal behavior. The paper provides possible nature of relationships between these variables and their outcomes.
7. Do you think the research in this article was conducted in an ethical manner? Why or why not? *Review the APA Guidelines for Research (http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx – see Standard 8) and Ethical Guidelines from Chapter 15 of your textbook to support your answer.
The research was conducted in an ethically. First, the research safeguards the welfare of people with schizophrenia; the findings are instrumental in treatment (Howes, et al. Pg.15) and prevention of the condition (Howes, et al. Pg.16). Secondly, it adheres to principle of fidelity and responsibility to those they professionally deal with; the article addresses schizophrenia cases. Thirdly, the research is developed on high level of integrity; the researchers have acknowledged previous studies and used peer reviewed sources in its research process. Fourth, the paper manifests justice through its publication; people will benefit from their research findings. Lastly, the paper bestows respect to people’s dignity and rights by providing unbiased findings without sharing private information regarding people with schizophrenia.

References
Howes, O. D., McCutcheon, R., Owen, M. J., & Murray, R. M. (2017). The role of genes, stress, and dopamine in the development of schizophrenia. Dopamine and the prodrome, 20. http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://resolver.ebscohost.com/openurl?sid=EBSCO%3apsyh&genre=article&issn=00063223&ISBN=&volume=81&issue=1&date=20170101&spage=9&pages=9-20&title=Biological+Psychiatry&atitle=The+role+of+genes%2c+stress%2c+and+dopamine+in+the+development+of+schizophrenia.&aulast=Howes%2c+Oliver+D.&id=DOI%3a10.1016%2fj.biopsych.2016.07.014&site=ftf-live