Question.2853 - SYNTHESIS PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS OVERVIEW You will demonstrate your use of current APA skills that you honed during the APA Assignment and the Case Study Assignment, and all the content you studied throughout all this course. Current APA format needs to be demonstrated in all aspects of this Synthesis Paper Assignment. Proper APA formatting is required as part of the content of this Synthesis Paper Assignment. INSTRUCTIONS The purposes of this Synthesis Paper Assignment are to: ? Demonstrate proper use of current APA format in a term paper. ? Demonstrate proper use of one of the research methods studied in this course—specifically, the case study. ? Reflect on what you have learned in this course and write about it. ? Reflect on the course content as critiqued from a biblical, Christian perspective and write about it. ? Note: Thinking and reflecting on what you have learned will take a considerable amount of time. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time for this Synthesis Paper Assignment. Using a case study report approach, write 6 - 9 pages of a research-based report using yourself as the research subject by answering these three assigned research questions: ? What did [your name] learn about research at an introductory level? ? How does he/she evaluate or critique some of that which [your name] learned about research from a biblical, Christian perspective? ? Describe the process you, the researcher, went through with this Synthesis Paper Assignment, including gathering the information, deciding what to include, and so on. Create an appropriate heading for each of these questions. Do not copy the questions above to use as the wording for your headings. Organize your document by using these three questions as appropriately written level one headings. Add additional levels of headings as appropriate throughout the document to organize your content. Your paper must include a properly formatted title page for a student paper, six to nine pages of content with correct current APA formatting throughout, including proper in-text citations and levels of headings, and a reference page. The title page and references page are in addition to the assigned six to nine pages of content. Maintain consistency between your citations and reference page. Your paper must include at least four research-related references to sufficiently support your paper. Required references include your Introduction to Research textbook and the Publication Manual, and at least two additional scholarly references. A good way to find your research related sources/references is to review the sources you used earlier in the course in previous assignments. You may also include additional content-related sources above the required minimum that you would like to include that are part of what you learned in this course this term. Remember, use current APA format and paper elements for a student paper throughout (including your title page, appropriate vocabulary and sentence structure, introductory statement, PSYC 255 in-text citations, page numbers, levels of headings throughout the document, a conclusion statement, and consistency between your in-text citations and references). In addition to the scholarly sources described above, you may use your Discussion posts and additional personal reflection. You may include the bible as a source, but this will not be included as one of the scholarly sources about research. Remember that you are writing a case study report about you; you are not merely writing personal reflections as such. Be sure to consult your Publication Manual for proper formatting for your in-text citations and references for these other sources. Think about what you have learned, reflect, synthesize, and write that synthesized reflection into a case study report about you. Do not simply copy and paste together various previous assignments from our course and combine those to create this document. Note: This Synthesis Paper Assignment is open-book/open-notes, open-Bible, open to discussion with friends, etc. Be sure to document your sources appropriately as in-text citations and as references when you use the textbook or other material from this course, personal interviews with friends, etc. This Synthesis Paper Assignment requires that you incorporate proper current APA formatting throughout the document. Formatting errors will result in point deductions. Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
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Defining research Research is a process of generating new knowledge or using existing knowledge in newer creative ways in order to derive concepts, methods and understanding existing theories in new perspective. It is the systematic inquiry of describing, explaining, predicting and controlling an observable phenomena. The field of research involves both inductive and deductive methods. Research hence is a process of systematic inquiry that involves data collection, documentation of critical information and analysis and interpretation of data or information according to methodologies as set by specific professional field and academic disciplines. Inductive and deductive method Inductive research method is employed to analyses observable events. Deductive method is used to verify the event that has been observed. Inductive research employs qualitative research methods whereas deductive approach commonly employs quantitative analysis. Salient features of research Research observes pragmatic approaches in order to accumulate accurate data. Researchers are burdened with task to conduct research by adhering to ethics and guidelines whilst collecting data and drawing conclusion for the same. Research and its analysis needs to be based on logic and must employ both inductive and deductive methods in order to attain a balanced view of issue being considered and examined. Practical data and knowledge is needed from naturalistic observations made by researchers. Researchers need to conduct an in depth analysis of the collected data that is free from any form of biasness. A quality research always evolve a path for future researchers by generating more opportunities in the near future. At the same time a good research also employs all available data in order to derive reliable and accurate inferences from analysis. The strong focus of any good research is accuracy. Accuracy lies in a critical position for all forms of information collected for the research in order to be accurate and unbiased. Tools employed in the research and the final results of the research all aid in assessing the accuracy of study involved. Psychology and Research Research is a process aimed at seeking out answers to a specific problem in hand. Psychologists conduct research with the aim of describing basic phenomenon in order to make predictions about future behaviors and the causes lying under the behavior. Research is conducted to understand human behavior and applied research is conducted to solve problems of practical nature. Research in psychology allows researchers to assess the impact of various psychological disorders and develop treatments based on the disorder to effectively treat them. Psychology induced research aims at instilling a deep understanding the effect of relationship, family, peers, society and ethics on an individual or community. At the same psychologists use scientific methods to conduct research and studies in psychology. This process of conducting psychology involves asking questions, designing a study, data collection, analysis of the results, deriving conclusions and sharing the findings. Hence the goals of psychological research are to describe, explain, predict and influence behavior and mental processes. Every research is aimed at describing a certain event and then is further explained which in turn aids to prediction of the results derived and sets the mood for influencing the behavior or process. Primary and secondary research Primary research is data obtained first hand. Primary research is a type of research that is collected by individuals. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations and ethnographic research. Primary research greatly aids in supplementing research in secondary sources like journals, magazines or books. Primary research is an excellent skill as it serves in settings that includes business, personal and academic. Primary research includes interviews, surveys, observations, analysis etc. Methods of Research There are two methods of research predominantly used in prominent spaces: Qualitative method Quantitative method Qualitative research Qualitative research can be defined as a method employed for market research which employs open ended questions and conversations to derive data from the intended audience. This methodology obtains answers to questions of what, how, when and why. Qualitative method is employed to understand people’s beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviors and interactions at a given time. This type of research explores and provides deeper insights into real world problems. The various methods employed are observation, interviews, case study, phenomenology, grounded theory and focus groups (Sofaer, 1999). Qualitative data hence received needs to be arranged, organized, classified and then analyzed for further summarizing. Qualitative research and its methods are most favored as they tend to explore the subject in depth. It aids in promoting further discussion. Open ended questions as employed in the research adds to the element of flexibility which in turn helps in effectively and efficiently capturing trends as they change. However, qualitative research can be influenced by biasness during interpretation which further affects the objectivity of the findings. Absence of any strict guidelines in the research can lead to variations in data collection and analysis. At the same time, qualitative research is a lengthy cumbersome process right from data collection to analysis which requires researchers with apt skills thereby making it wholly resource intensive compared to other quantitative methods. Data analysis in qualitative method is a complex task and it involves coding categorization and interpreting open ended responses. This does not reflect efficiently in traditional statistical tests thereby limiting the depth of statistical analysis (Crawford, 2018). Replication of the study in the method is a challenging and daunting task due to the presence of unique context and interactions involved in them. Quantitative methods of research Quantitative method emphasizes on objective measurements and the statistical, mathematical analysis of data accumulated through polls, questionnaires and surveys or by manipulating existing statistical data employing computational techniques. De3ductive approach is employed and emphasis is placed on theory testing. Hence this method is a systematic investigation of phenomena by collecting quantifiable data and performing statistical, mathematical or computational techniques (Crawford, 2018). Quantitative research employ methods like survey research, correlational research and experimental research. The research is conducted on a significant sample size that represents the target market. Quantitative research is conducted on a specific sample size that represents the target market and results derived from this research is generalized to an entire population to take appropriate actions for improvement. The biggest advantage of quantitative research is the collection of reliable and accurate data. This method eliminates bias and the results are fair in most cases. It is the most structured way of collecting and analyzing data from numerous sources. Companies that use quantitative rather than qualitative research seek to measure magnitudes and seek objective interpreted statistical results. My experience My experience with the reading over the weeks has increased my knowledge base on how research can be utilized in different scenarios. As a professional we need to be constantly in touch with topics that touch our daily life and thus segregating quality data from all sorts of data is an important skill that is needed. In today’s age and day with plethora of information available in hand it is essential to focus on data that is worth considering and removing all sorts of noise and confusion in between. The media reports and journals can also be biased in so many respects that it is important to skim through the content to segregate noise from data. While writing academic grade papers and journals it is imperative to understand the bias and make the content as specific as possible. The class and course discourses taught me the importance of being appropriately specific while acknowledging that relevant differences do exist. Being mindful of the tone, language and terminology can change how a paper is represented. While writing about personal characteristic it is important to be mindful about intersectionality. Intersectionality refers to the different ways by which individuals are shaped in terms of cultural, structural, sociobiological, economic and social contexts (Cole, 2009). And this intersects with factors like racism, genderism, heterosexism, ageism, and classism among all other variables. Intersectionality makes clear that gender, race and class affect perceptions, experiences and opportunities of people residing in a society. Intersectionality and its dimensions taught me to address them in combination. Focusing on a single dimension in isolation shall result in distortion of perceptions and end results. This also equipped me to add more nuances and context to the research in social categories that matter the most in a stratified society. Biblical perspective Bible in its verse of Roans 12:2 states that “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” World is a place full of material possessions and greed. It is often seen that people miss their way and behave in a set conformed way in order to be accepted by the peers and rest of the society. However, bible in this verse suggests that people need to draw the courage within them to unconform to the standards set by the world but tread on a path that challenges our thoughts and behavior. This requires us to carefully understand the information and data circulating in the society in order to make informed choices instead of succumbing to the peer pressure. Similarly, the bible reiterates the self-exploration theme as seen in the research by the verse of Proverbs 17:24 wherein is said, “A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.” This reminds us of keeping truth as a lighting force and gathering the spiritual understanding from within in order to gain wisdom. The people who do not follow their spiritual understanding often are found moving their focus from one material possession to other without understanding the true meaning of anything in particular. This skimming of view is what is required most in research and only then can one reach to a justifiable viewpoint about anything and everything. Conclusion Research and psychology as a multidiscipline requires a clear understanding of various concepts and its various connotations that keep on changing with different use and perspectives. Keeping this in mind it is imperative for users to understand the various terminology and methodology with an open mind. References Association, A. P. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association. Cole, E. R. (2009). Intersectionality and research in psychology. American psychologist, 64(3), 170. Crawford R, (2018). Introduction to Research : Less Fright More Insight: a Customized Version of Research Methods: Are You Equipped? Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. Sofaer, S. (1999). Qualitative methods: what are they and why use them?. Health services research, 34(5 Pt 2), 1101.More Articles From Research