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Case Study Paper
General requirements
write clearly, accurately, fluently, and on topic
integrate knowledge from class and relevant readings
end with a conclusion to wrap up your ideas
include references to the textbook and other sources you have used
use Times New Roman 12 or Arial 11-point font, and 1-inch margins
double-spaced: 4-6 pages
Specific Requirements
This paper should be a case study on a question of your choice, related to development in the prenatal period, infancy, and early childhood (0 to 5 years old). It must include an interview about or observation of an infant or young child (or you can choose to do it about yourself as a infant or young child).
The organization must include the following sections and you need to include these headings in your paper:
1. Introduction
a) Clearly define the question or problem you are going to address, so that an uninformed reader can understand. What question are you trying to answer in this paper? Examples include:
What was my attachment pattern as an infant and how has this affected my development?
Is temperament stable from early infancy on or does it change?
How do self-regulation skills develop?
If you are uncertain about a topic, please contact me!
b) Describe what is already known about this topic.
Include information from
at least two scientific, peer-reviewed research articles
about this topic. You can find such articles by going to the www.utah.edu (Links to an external site.) homepage, then to Students and to Marriott Library. Then click on “Databases” and go to P and PsycInfo (Ebsco). (Or see the tutorial Links to an external site.on Canvas). Let me know if you have any trouble finding articles.
Include
information from the textbook
and other relevant class materials.
It is optional to use information from other sources, such as popular media, websites, but always make clear what source of information you are referring to.
2. Method
In your
method
section, describe how you obtained information about your question. You will be required to do a ‘case study’ on this topic, by
doing an interview
(e.g., with your own parent(s) and/or siblings; with a parent of a young child, with a pregnant woman)
and/or an observation
. You do not need to describe your literature search, but do describe clearly how you did the interview and/or the observation.
Important:
Explain to any participants that you are working on a class assignment, that their information will be treated confidentially, and that you cannot make any assessments or recommendations based on your observations/interview. You may also write the paper about yourself when you were an infant or young child. An interview with your parents or others who knew you then would need to be included in this case.
Include the following information in your Method section:
Be sure to include information on who you did the interview with (no names, but: gender, age, relation to you), and where and when you did the interview.
Also describe how you used this method. Include the
questions you asked
or the
behaviors you observed
– either in the Method section (if it is a short list), or at the very end of the paper in an Appendix.
3. Findings
Describe
the findings from your interview/observation. Be clear, so that a reader with no knowledge of the subject can follow what you found. Describe clearly what the person did or said in response to your questions (or as you observed them).
4. Conclusions
In this section,
integrate
the findings from the interview or observation with what you learned from the literature (articles, textbook). Describe critically which answers you found to your original research question, which questions remain open, and which implications your findings have (e.g., for parents of infants or for whomever this could be relevant).
5. References
Include a list of references to all materials used,
in APA format
(Links to an external site.). Mention authors (last names first, followed by the initials of their first names), year of publication, title of the publication, and source of publication (if it is a book, include the publisher; if it is a journal article, include the journal title and page numbers). Examples:
Gelfand, D.M., & Drew, C.J. (2003).
Understanding Child Behavior Disorders
(4th
Ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Thompson Learning.
Barth, J.M., & Parke, R.D. (1993). Parent-child relationship influences on children’s transition to school.
Mer­rill-Palmer Quarterly, 39
, 173-195.
Baxter, L.A. (1988). A dialectical perspective on communication strategies in relationship development. In S.W. Duck (Ed.), A Handbook of Personal Relationships (pp. 257-273). NY: Wiley and sons.
Grading distribution
Title (does not need to be on a separate page) (3%)
Introduction (30%)
Clear formulation of your question (5%)
Appropriate selection of research articles (10%)
Overall quality of the introduction, incl. description of the literature and citation in APA style (15%)
Method (15%)
Adequate description of your method (description is clear for someone who was not there)
Findings (15%)
Adequate description of your findings (description is clear for someone who was not there)
Appendix (in the back of the paper): 1-page sample of interview or observation (3%)
Conclusions (30%)
Answering the question you set out to answer in the introduction & linking this to previous research (the articles you read) (25%)
Description of the questions that remain open and the implications of your findings (5%)
References in APA style (do not need to be on a separate page) (3%)
Grammar and style (4%)
Write clearly and use correct grammar and spelling so that I can understand what you are saying. Unclear or incorrect spelling, grammar, or style will also affect grading for sections 1-5 (since I may not understand what you mean)
Important notes:
The goal of this assignment is to research a topic in depth and to combine scientific and personal perspectives on this topic.