Literature review parts 1 & 2
Your final paper will build on one or more of the lecture topics we cover this quarter. To ensure that you are ready to write a good final paper, we will begin on your literature review in advance of the actual final paper due date.
NOTE: You may choose a topic that we have not covered yet in class (i.e., from a future week). If you do so, you will first need to read the papers assigned for that lecture before submitting your literature review components for weeks 7 and 9.
Week 7: Topic proposal
- Draft a 2–3 paragraph proposal [max 1500 words] in which you identify (a) the general research question you are interested in, (b) the specific research question you are interested in, (c) which lectures and/or assigned readings your topic relates to, and (d) what specifically you would like to learn further about that topic. If you already are aware of empirical findings or theories that you would like to include in your paper, please mention and cite these as context for your proposal.
- Copy/submit your synopses for the assigned readings on this topic.
ADVICE: Pick a topic that is specific and directly related to something we learned about in the assigned readings (not just in lecture). Make sure the topic is thematically linked to the concept of context’s influence on psychological functions and processes. If your topic is too broad, you will struggle to create a coherent literature review.
I will give feedback on your proposal, including recommended adjustments to the scope and content of your proposed topic; this may require some back-and-forth correspondence and or recommended office hours time.
Week 9: Adding new literature
Find TWO citation-linked readings for your review:
- Start with your “key” articles (the assigned readings for your topic).
- Only include journal articles (i.e., do not include books or book chapters).
- Restrict your first-round search to papers that are cited in your key articles (i.e., backwards search) or papers that cite your key articles (i.e., forwards search).
- If you are still looking for papers for your review after this first round of looking, repeat the process again with the papers you found by searching forwards/backwards.
Find ONE keyword-related reading for your review:
- Think about keywords, authors, or publication outlets that might help you find relevant further articles on your topic
- Use those keywords and other information to search in the Psychology Library online databases for your remaining paper.
- It’s okay if your keyword paper is ultimately also citation linked to your key article
Exclude other class-assigned readings in your search for articles related to your “key” articles
Ensure that your chosen articles actually address your proposed topic, and do so with enough breadth and depth for you to describe multiple theories and empirical findings.
Submit synopses for these new THREE readings and add to each synopsis how that paper is/isn’t linked by citation to the key paper.
Submit a 2–3 paragraph [max 1500 words] summary that briefly describes each study and how the studies interrelate. Do your best to pull out the major puzzle or theory that emerges when considering the studies together. You are encouraged to build on the text you submitted in week 7 insofar as that is useful for your summary.
Note: You can add up to TWO more readings for your final paper. Those two additional readings can be selected either on the basis of the citation or keyword methods described above