Description
Warm-up Activity 1.1
Browse previous readings to find topics that have been of great interest to you during your course of studies.
Warm-up Activity 1.2
Consider topics that have been of great interest to you during your previous courses. Browse the website of the American Psychological Association (APA). On the horizontal navigational bar at the top of the page, click on Topics. This will lead you to a page with "tags" or topics that are of interest to psychologists today. Clicking on one of these tags will take you to a page dedicated to that topic. There you will find articles, books, and other resources, both print and electronic, which will help you brainstorm your topic.
Warm-up Activity 1.3
Enter keywords in a search engine which clusters results, such as Yippy. This search engine groups findings under topics and places the keyword in relation to other concepts. This can also help you to get an overview of the field related to your original topic.
Warm-up Activity 1.4
Read Writing a Psychology Literature Review from the University of Washington Writing Center. Pay special attention to the beginning section on how to choose a topic.
Assignment
In this assignment, submit the topic for your research review and reflect on how you made use of the resources listed above and in what way they were helpful. Gather your ideas into a visual mind map, as described in Learn How to Draw Mindmaps - MindTools. You might start developing your mind map offline with paper and pencil. When you are ready to copy it electronically you have a few choices. You can:
Use a mind mapping software package like MindGenuis referred to in the article or MindJet's MindManager.Use a mind mapping tool that has shareware application and is available for free (http://www.mind42.com or https://www.mindmup.com/) or has limited free subscription like (MindMeister).Build your mind map in Word.
If you are using mind-mapping software, export and save the mind map in a format that easily viewable by others who do not have access to that software. User friendly file formats include .jpg, .png, .pdf, .rtf or .doc.
You will also submit a mind map showing the topic you brainstormed and the key ideas related to it. Submit the mind map and a reflective paper as one document.
You will also have the opportunity to meet your faculty member before, during, or after you choose your topic. Your faculty member will give you feedback concerning the appropriateness of the topic you have chosen. This option is up to you, but you will have the opportunity to set up a meeting with your faculty member to assist you.
Remember that the topic must be one that relates to an issue in forensic psychology (examples of broad topics include court testimony, psychopathy, correctional psychology, criminal profiling, police psychology, violence, forensic assessment, sexual offenders, and juvenile offenders). It also needs to be a topic for which solutions have been proposed and researched in the literature, because you will eventually evaluate the evidence-based programs or areas of research focus to your topic.
Length: 1-page reflection paper, and 1-page mind map.
Your mind map and paper should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.