Research Paper Assignment
The body of your work should be 7-8 pages in length (not including the cover and references pages), and should include relevant references from the textbook plus five additional academic sources such as a book, an article from a professional journal, or a credible web site. Sources such as Wikipedia, dictionaries, Blogs, magazines, newspapers, and web sites ending in .com or .net are not considered academically relevant. Sites ending in .edu, .gov, or .org often have credible information that students sometimes use as sources. Before using any information from the Internet, you must be able to determine who the author is in order to assess the credibility of the source. Be sure your paper includes a correctly-formatted title page and a separate References page, following APA guidelines.
An Abstract is not required. Grading considerations will include: a paper that is academically sound, demonstration of strong critical thinking skills, use of relevant personal and/or professional examples, good spelling and grammar, proper citation of credible academic sources, and honest self-reflection with depth of thinking. Be sure that you are familiar with the course policies on plagiarism and academic honesty, as explained in the Syllabus.
You have 2 choices for the final paper:
I. Design a Training Course
If you choose this assignment, you will design a detailed training course that addresses a specific population and a problem related to cross-cultural issues. Your training course can be for individuals in a corporation, school, government agency, etc. Regardless of which population you choose, you must demonstrate cross-cultural concepts.
Your training should include the following:
Introduction (the problem):
In this section, discuss the problem your training program will help solve. Tell the reader why you think this problem is important and why you are conducting the training. Identify the target population, why you chose the population, and the goals of your training program.
Literature Review:
In this section, you will provide support for your training. Discuss potential cultural differences and obstacles that could create tension or conflict. You should also provide empirical evidence that supports your training program's strategies. Integrate a minimum of 3 empirical journal articles in this section. You may also want to include book chapters and scholarly web sources as supplemental sources.
Training sessions:
In this section, detail the sessions of your program. You should have 4-6 sessions. Each session should have a topic and an exercise to help participants learn the topic. Your training sessions should be based on your literature review findings. For instance, session topics might be on understanding different communication styles, learning styles or personality styles.
Outcomes:
In this section, state the outcomes you hope to see. Explain why you expect these results. Include theories and evidence from cross-cultural psychology.
Discussion:
In this section, provide an overview of your program and how it will benefit your chosen community (population). You might also include how your program could be used with other populations to create positive social change. This is your time to shine! Be creative.
II. Cultural Comparison Research Paper
If you choose this assignment, you will submit a research paper on a cultural comparison on some aspect of psychological functioning. The paper will focus on a comparison of psychological phenomenon between 2 cultures, e.g., the experience of emotion, gender roles, infant attachment, interpersonal attraction and love, culture-specific psychological disorders, parenting styles, child-rearing styles, family structure, self-perception, moral reasoning, etc. You must discuss two distinct cultures using empirical evidence when comparing behavior and emotions.
Length:
7-8 double-spaced pages of text, not including the Title Page and Reference Page
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also Include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.