PYB100 Foundation Psychology Semester 2, 2020
-Critical Literature Review (Essay) Task Sheet-
| Weighting: | 40% |
| Word length: | 1500 words: Includes everything except title page and reference list |
| Due date: | Tuesday, 8th September (by 11:59pm)
Please upload your assignment via the Turnitin electronic upload on the PYB100 Blackboard page (PYB100 Blackboard/Assessment Information & Assignment Upload/Critical Literature Review (Essay)). |
| Topic: | You are required to submit a critical literature review essay based on ONE of the following topics:
TOPIC 1: Is targeting fear or punishment a good way to persuade behaviour change for public health? Develop a position statement and support your argument with relevant research evidence. OR TOPIC 2: Is playing videogames good for our wellbeing? Develop a position statement and support your argument with relevant research evidence. |
PURPOSE: This assessment task is designed to develop your skills in distinguishing theory from evidence, evaluating research, and utilising empirical evidence to support a written argument.
TASK: Write an evidence-based, scholarly essay that takes a position on one of the topics above. You will need to select, understand, and synthesise relevant empirical articles to support a clear, logical argument. You should read broadly (more than 10 articles) to familiarise yourself with the research and decide what argument you will make, decide what your thesis/position statement will be, and decide which articles you will use as your 2-3 key pieces of evidence. The critical literature review planner in this document can be used as a guide to structure your thinking for the essay.
TUTORIAL CLASSES TO GUIDE YOU: Full details as to how to complete the critical literature review will be given in the tutorials in Weeks 2-6. It is critical that you attend these tutorials to develop the skills needed to complete this assignment well and optimise your mark on this assessment piece, which is worth 40% of your grade for this Unit. You should participate in all of these classes, and work progressively on your assignment from Week 3.
FORMAT AND STYLE: The formatting and referencing of your essay should conform to American Psychological Association (APA) style. Your essay should include a cover page, in APA style (see example in this document) and a reference section. You are not required to write an Abstract (a summary) for this assignment.
- APA 7th edition is the new referencing and formatting style from the American Psychological Association and was introduced this year to replace the 6th
- The following resources can be used as a guide:
- Shakespeare-Finch, J. (2020). A Guide to Formatting in Psychology (3rd). Pearson Education.
- American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
- Both guides are available in the bookshop and the QUT library. You are not required to purchase both guides. We encourage you to look at both and decide which source suits you best.
- You can find some online resources here: https://apastyle.apa.org/, including sample papers: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/sample-papers
STARTER REFERENCES: One starter reference for each topic is available on Blackboard. We have provided these review article references to give you a place to start your reading on the topic and orient you to some of the field. However, for your essay you will need to search, identify, read and use original empirical articles (i.e., individual research studies that collect and analyse data from their own samples), rather than relying on review articles or meta-analyses. We also expect you to locate and use research articles beyond those cited in this starter review article. Guidelines about how to find appropriate references and report them in your assignment are included in tutorials.
Ruiter, R. A., Kessels, L. T., Peters, G. J., & Kok, G. (2014). Sixty years of fear appeal research: current state of the evidence. International journal of psychology, 49(2), 63–70. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12042
Halbrook, Y. J., O’Donnell, A. T., & Msetfi, R. M. (2019). When and How Video Games Can Be Good: A Review of the Positive Effects of Video Games on Well-Being. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(6), 1096-1104. Sephttps://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619863807
SUBMISSION: The PYB100 assignment must be submitted online through Turnitin on the PYB100 Blackboard page. You are NOT REQUIRED to submit a hard copy. It is your responsibility to check that the uploaded assignment is correctly lodged by the due date and time (including that it is the correct and final version).
Please read the University’s Late Assignments and Extensions information carefully: http://www.student.qut.edu.au/studying/assessment/late-assignments-and-extensions.
If you do not submit your work by the due date, or the revised authorised extension date, you will be awarded a fail grade of 1 (0%).
Reading an article cheat sheet
| Section | Contents |
| Title | The title. Hopefully descriptive and informative. |
| Abstract | A brief summary of the study. Tells you what the researchers did and found. A good way to quickly assess whether an article is relevant to you and worth investigating further. |
| Introduction | Gives you background on the research area. Particularly good to read if you are unfamiliar with the research area and just getting started. The final few sentences in the introduction generally tell you what the purpose/aim of the article was, as well as what the researchers predicted would happen (i.e. what question were they asking, and what did they expect?). |
| Method | Tells you the nitty gritty of how the research was conducted. Who were the participants, how many were there? What did the researchers measure? How did they measure it? This is important for comparing different studies and understanding potential strengths and weaknesses. |
| Results | Describes the data, including statistical analyses. Many results sections will be beyond you at this point but look for things that you might be able to get your head around. (e.g. Did they report average scores for two different groups on a particular measure? Which group scored higher, lower? Is there a correlation reported? (denoted by r = …). What differences or relationships did the authors test? |
| Discussion | Usually starts with a summary of the findings (a great place to look if the results section is looking really scary). Discusses the findings in relation to other studies in the area. Usually identifies some strengths and weaknesses in the study, as well as future research ideas. |
| References | A list of all the articles that were referenced in the text of the article – a good place to look for more relevant empirical research studies that you might like to find and read. |
PYB100 Critical Literature Review Planner
Introduction
| Introduce the topic | |
| Define any key terms | |
| Thesis statement | |
| Outline structure |
Body Section 1
| Topic sentence | |
| Article to describe in detail | Article:
Key details:
|
| Other articles to summarise | |
| Interpretation/Critical Analysis | |
| Concluding sentence | |
| Transition sentence |
Body Section 2
| Topic sentence | |
| Article to describe in detail | Article:
Key details:
|
| Other articles to summarise | |
| Interpretation/Critical Analysis | |
| Concluding sentence | |
| Transition sentence |
Body Section 3 (if needed)
| Topic sentence | |
| Article to describe in detail | Article:
Key details:
|
| Other articles to summarise | |
| Interpretation/Critical Analysis | |
| Concluding sentence | |
| Transition sentence |
Conclusion
| Re-‐state thesis statement | |
| Summarise the evidence and main arguments | |
| Concluding comments |
Essay Title
Name: Peta Kays
Student No.: 1234567
Subject: PYB100 Foundation Psychology
Unit Coordinator: Dr Melanie White
Due Date: Tuesday 8th September 2020
Word Count: xxxx
| PYB100 FOUNDATION PSYCHOLOGY
Critical Literature Review Marking Criteria (1500 words, 40% weighting in final grade) NAME: |
||||||
| Grade | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 1 |
| Introduction and Thesis Statement (15%) | Has described the scope of the essay clearly, in a concise and focussed manner.
Thesis statement clear and succinct. |
Has described the scope of the essay in a concise manner with only a minor omission/ lack of focus/clarity.
Thesis statement clear. |
Has described the scope of the essay in a fairly concise manner but may lack some focus/ clarity or omit some detail.
Thesis statement lacking clarity. |
Has described the scope of the essay; however, some irrelevant material presented, or key information omitted.
Thesis statement difficult to identify. |
Some of the work addresses the scope of the essay, but there is a significant lack of focus.
Thesis statement omitted. |
Fails to address the task set or clearly define scope of essay.
No thesis statement. |
| Evidence- Selection and reporting of research (20%) | Relevant and appropriate research evidence has been described with accuracy and detail.
The essay demonstrates excellent knowledge and understanding of the topic. |
Relevant and appropriate research evidence has been described but may lack some detail.
The essay demonstrates very good knowledge and understanding of the topic. |
Appropriate research evidence has been described but some important details may be missing. Over-reliance on summarised research.
The essay demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the topic, but with only minor omissions or inaccuracies. |
Some evidence presented but lacks sufficient detail. Over-reliance on summarised research or theory.
The essay demonstrates some understanding of the topic, but with omissions or inaccuracies. |
A very limited range or inappropriate/irrelevant sources have been described.
The essay demonstrates very limited understanding of the topic. |
Few or no appropriate or relevant sources have been reviewed.
The essay does not demonstrate an understanding of the topic. |
| Interpretation- Critical analysis of research (20%) | Outstanding critical discussion of research evidence, acknowledging both the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence and how this impacts the argument. | Very strong critical discussion of research evidence, acknowledging both the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence. | Some critical discussion of research evidence, acknowledging both the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence, but with some errors or
omissions. |
Some critical discussion of research evidence used, but key points missed or misinterpreted, or discussion largely descriptive. | Limited or superficial discussion of research evidence relevant to the topic with little evidence of critical evaluation. | Very limited discussion of research evidence relevant to the topic with no evidence of critical evaluation. |
| Logical argument (15%) | The essay presents a sophisticated, well-structured and well-reasoned argument in relation to the essay topic. | The essay succeeds in developing a well-structured, reasoned and convincing argument in relation to the essay topic. | A reasoned argument is developed in relation to the essay topic, but with some weaknesses of logical flow. | The logic and coherence of the argument needs further development. | There is limited or superficial attempt to present ideas in a logical and coherent manner and
to develop a reasoned argument in relation to the essay topic. |
The ideas are not presented in a logical and coherent manner and a reasoned argument in relation to the essay topic has not been developed. |
| Conclusion (10%) | A strong and effective conclusion is presented that is relevant to the topic, grounded in the evidence and clearly flows from the argument presented in the essay. | An effective conclusion is presented that is relevant to the topic and clearly flows from the argument presented in the essay. | A conclusion is presented that is relevant to the topic but may not entirely capture the argument presented in the essay. | A conclusion is presented that is relevant to the topic but does not capture the argument presented in the essay. | A conclusion that is not clearly relevant to the topic and does not capture the argument is presented. | Unsubstantiated/invalid conclusions based on anecdote/ generalisation only, or no conclusion at all. |
| Clarity of expression
(10%) |
Outstanding writing style, with no inaccuracies in grammar and spelling. | Very fluent writing style, and grammar and spelling accurate. | Language fluent, grammar and spelling accurate. | Language mainly fluent, grammar and spelling mainly accurate. | Language is not always fluent, grammar and/or spelling contain errors. | Language poor, meaning unclear and/or grammar and/or spelling contain frequent errors. |
| APA formatting and referencing (10%) | Assignment is formatted appropriately (APA 7th ed). Referencing is consistently accurate. | Minor inaccuracies in formatting and/or referencing. | Assignment is generally formatted appropriately.
Referencing is mainly accurate. |
Errors in the formatting of the assignment.
Referencing is somewhat accurate. |
Some substantial errors in the format of the assignment.
Poor attempt at referencing. |
Minimal attempt to format the assignment appropriately.
Referencing is poor/ unsystematic/absent. |
