Understanding and evaluating original research is an important skill for developmental psychologists. Understanding research methodology and the sections of a journal article is critical for doctoral-level psychologists. This assignment will help you learn to objectively evaluate research on a developmental psychology topic and to seek, understand, and integrate scholarly sources of information. This assignment will also help you gain scholarly knowledge of a topic of interest. Researching the literature on a topic and integrating it will also help you begin to clarify and discern your own research interests and will help prepare you to conduct independent research and write about your findings in a scholarly manner.
You will write a 7-8-page (not including title page, abstract, and reference page) research-based paper in current APA format that focuses on a topic of your choice related to developmental psychology. The paper must cite at least 8 scholarly journal articles (or chapters/articles from the Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, available in the LU online library, may be used for up to 3 of the articles; see reference at the end of this document). Other references, including the course text and the Bible, may be incorporated in addition to the 8 journal articles, but the majority of the content of the paper must be supported by research-based scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles.