Department of Psychology, Sociology & Politics

Assessment Brief

Module Title: Research Issues in Applied Developmental Psychology

Module Code: 77-707305-BF-20201

Level: 7

Credit weighting: 30 credits

Module Leader: Javier Aguado Orea & Roger Kwan

Academic year: 2020/21

Semester: 2

Task number: 2 of 2

Weighting: 50%

Sit/resit (delete as necessary): Both

Information for ALL students on submission of this coursework

· Essays, reports, portfolios and dissertations must be in Arial 11 or Times New Roman font size 12

· Please use APA referencing convention. Follow this link for further support: http://libguides.shu.ac.uk/referencing

· Please note that if your work exceeds the specified limit(s), it will be marked up to the word limit only. The number of words you have used in the assessment must be stated at the end of the main body of your answer.

· Materials listed in your bibliography or appendices will not be included in your word count

· Everything in your main text including quotations and headings will be included in your word count.

· The date and time of the submission of your work for this assessment can be found on your module BB site.

· University Regulations on academic conduct apply to all assessments. You are reminded that to represent as your own work the work of another person without acknowledgement is defined as plagiarism and is a breach of these regulations. All quotations need to be referenced appropriately. By submitting the work you are confirming that this work is your own. You are required to familiarise yourself with the University's Academic Misconduct Policy . Academic misconduct can have serious repercussions for your academic (and later, professional) career. Please note that all students' work could be subjected to plagiarism checks using text matching software.

· If you have a Learning Contract that tutors must take account of when marking your work, please include appropriate wording on your assessment submission. Contact Disabled Student Support on 0114 225 3964 for further advice if required.

· If you are experiencing problems, you should contact Student Services staff via Hallam Help on 0114 225 2222 or via email to: [email protected] .

Additional information about electronic submission

All coursework submitted electronically need to be submitted in accordance with the following guidelines:

· Submission means that a correctly formatted electronic copy has been submitted in the correct method via Blackboard, by the deadline set. Failure to do so may result in a mark of zero being awarded.

· Your work must be submitted via Blackboard - please refer to the Module Blackboard site for further details on how to upload your work.

· Blackboard will allow you to submit unlimited times up to the deadline, but only your final submission will be marked

· It is your responsibility to ensure that your work is successfully submitted. You will receive an email receipt confirming your submission. Please check this and keep it for your reference.

· For essays, reports and portfolios your work must be submitted using a Microsoft Word file format (doc or docx)

· For posters and presentations, your work should be submitted using Microsoft PowerPoint or Prezi.

· Submissions using file formats other than those listed above may affect your work being marked, and the feedback you may receive.

· The work you submit must not be password protected.

· Coursework sent by fax or by email will not be accepted.

· You must retain an electronic copy of your work. Failure to produce a copy on request will result in a mark of zero for the assessment task.

In-Module Retrieval: If you achieve a mark below pass level (40% for UG, 50% for PG) for a valid attempt, then, following feedback from your tutor, you will get an early opportunity to rework and resubmit this assessment task. This work will be capped at 40% for level 4, 5 & 6 and 50% for level 7 modules. In-Module Retrieval, where applicable, will be available on at least one SIT assessment task in the module.

This module has In-Module Retrieval on Task 1.

Extensions and Extenuating Circumstances

If you are unable to meet the assessment deadline, you can find further advice here Extenuating Circumstances Policy and Procedure . Please also be aware of the differences between Exceptional Extension Requests and a Request to Repeat an Assessment Attempt. Where possible, we strongly advise you to speak to Student Services staff (see contact details below) in such circumstances, so that the correct support and advice can be given.

Further Support

· Further assessment information can be found on the Module Blackboard site in the content area called ‘Assessment’.

· If you have any queries relating to the assessment please contact the module leader

Please note: Tutors are not allowed to comment on drafts.

If you are experiencing personal difficulties which may impact on your assessment performance and/or your ability to meet the assessment deadline, you should contact Student Services staff.

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The assessment in this module can be summarised as:

ASSESSMENT TASK 2 BRIEF

This assessment comprises a 2500-word professional report that provides guidance in relation to the application of psychological theory and research to practitioners in the area, but who are not psychologists. You should select your audience from organisations/practitioners who are working in your home country. You may think of fields and practitioners like educators, solicitors, police, other professions in relation with the legal system, language teachers, etc. (Please, note that these professions only intend to serve as possible examples, but other professions can also be selected).

As outlined in the workshops, the issues you can choose to address below have an applied focus. You need to prepare a report outlining what is currently known about the psychological literature in the topic area (You need to draw on up-to-date qualitative and quantitative psychological research to identify and explain the psychological factors that are relevant and important), detailing how this research (mentioning the methods used and the results found) can help us understand the key issues. The report needs to be written for practitioners and/or organisations who work in the topic area, clearly outlining concepts/theories/models etc. using language appropriate for a professional audience that is not necessarily familiar with classical concepts and theories expected to be known by psychologists. The support materials will include examples of similar types of texts.

· Children in the legal system – issues and challenges. Areas you could focus on include, children’s responses to interviewer questions, children’s memory for witnessed events, children’s susceptibility to misleading information.

· The assessment of early linguistic knowledge – empirical achievements and current challenges. The following areas could be explored (but not exclusively): 1) bilingualism, 2) language screening at either productive or comprehension level, 3) tools for studying vocabulary span, 4) diagnostic criteria and tests for specific language impairment, etc.

· The assessment of literacy and dyslexia – empirical achievements and current challenges. Areas like the following might be explored (not exclusively): 1) assessment of both pinyin and Chinese literacy at school, 2) development and evaluation of literacy programs in bilingual contexts, 3) diagnostic criteria and tests for dyslexia, etc.

· Acquiring a second language. Areas to explore (not exclusively): 1) Usage-based models vs. Classical grammar-based models; 2) The role of frequency; 3) Empirical methods to assess L2 comprehension and production

· Using restorative justice techniques with young offenders – the role of shame and guilt in preventing future offending.

You must include Cover page; table of contents; executive summary; conclusion; and References section.

Further report writing guidance

An executive summary is a very brief account of the report findings and content, which is written in very concise prose and can be (but need not be) in a bullet-point list. This is not an introduction (the outline of what you are going to do) or an ‘abstract’ (a broad hint at your findings). In an executive summary you are setting out all your key points at the start of your report. It should very briefly list and outline the specific report findings and/or recommendations (i.e. your conclusion). Do not hint at things or imply, but say exactly what your findings are whilst being as brief and concise as possible. You should be able to understand the full report just from reading the executive summary.

The report is not an essay but a professional-style report, and this should be reflected in the way you write, present and structure your work. It should be written so that a non-psychologist can understand the psychological information you present, but should be professional and fit for your audience.

You have been asked to give clear and explicit conclusions about the current knowledge in the research area. This means that you cannot ‘sit on the fence’ (as you may be used to doing in essays), but you must be clear as what the research suggests are the main factors and why. However, there is no single ‘correct’ piece of information. Depending on the research evidence you select, the issues you focus on and the way you build your argument, reports may come to different conclusions and produce different recommendations/conclusions.

It is important that you explicitly state throughout how the information in your report relates to the issues. Throughout your report you need to describe in detail and recapitulate relevant details about the issues where you draw on research to explain them, and make clear how and why any recommendations might be useful.

Your report needs to make use of headings and sub-headings as appropriate. You might find it helpful to sketch out the sections and sub-sections of your report before beginning to write the actual content. It is often more manageable if you work on sections and sub-sections individually, but do remember to also keep in mind the overall course of your argument.

As this is a professional-style report, presentation is important. Check that sections and sub-sections are correctly labelled and that you include page numbers that accurately refer to the table of contents (if you want to include figures or tables, these also need to be labelled correctly). As with most reports – if you refer to a table or figure, you should include it in the main body of text – however if you do not refer to it but want to include it, then it should be placed in an appendix.

Your report also needs a conclusion, to provide a logical summing-up of your findings. Having provided a good executive summary means that you may be able to keep your conclusion fairly brief, as you do not need to repeat literally what you have already said in the executive summary.

If this is a second attempt at this assessment, you can either

- choose a new question or

- attend to the feedback and rework the original submission.

PLEASE SEE BLACKBOARD SITE FOR GUIDELINES RELATING TO THE SUBMISSION OF YOUR WORK AND THE PSYCHOLOGY POSTGRADUATE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM.

THE FEEDBACK SHEETAND MARKING CRITERIA FOR THIS ASSESSMENT ARE SHOWN BELOW.

The feedback grid has been designed based upon the module learning outcomes. The additional criteria relate to qualities of your work that will further underpin achievement against the learning outcomes. Breaking it down in this way is designed to help you with writing the essay and in receiving feedback related to the learning outcomes. However, just as you are asked to produce one holistic essay, your work is read and marked as one coherent piece of work: marks are not divided between each section. The marks will be awarded in accordance with the standard Psychology post graduate classification system.

MSc PSYCHOLOGY (HONG KONG) ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK SHEET

MODULE TITLE: Research Issues in Applied Developmental Psychology

MODULE CODE: 77-7447-00N

ASSESSMENT TITLE: Task 2 Professional Report

Student's Name: Marker's Initials: