Write a literature review
paper on a topic in cognitive developmental psychology. You should formulate your
topic as a question and then review relevant literature in trying to answer that question.
Your paper should present a comprehensive account of what we know about your chosen
topic. Although student will work in groups, each student is required to write their
own paper. Your paper should review 10 to 12 studies (with at least half being from
2000 to now) and be 10 pages in length. The paper should be in the format of the APA
Publication Manual (6th Ed.).
When writing the introduction, start off with a research question (e.g., cognitive abilities of infants),
progressively narrow it (category formation in infants), and finally state the specific lines of research you
will be discussing (eight recent articles on infant discrimination of basic-level categories for concrete
objects). You want to establish a brisk but even pace when moving from a broad topic to a specific topic,
avoiding sudden jumps that will lose your reader.
3. Describe each article (or each line of research, depending on what makes sense), then compare them.
Comparisons are essential; descriptions alone are not illuminating. What do you compare? The possibilities
include: research assumptions, research theories tested, hypotheses stated, research designs used, variables
selected (independent and dependent), equipment used, instructions given, results obtained, interpretation of
results, researcher speculations about future studies. Your job is to determine which factors are relevant. All
studies have strengths and weaknesses. Finding them will help you make meaningful comparisons.
Main Goal
Your goal is to evaluate a body of literature; i.e., to “identify relations, contradictions, gaps, and inconsistencies” and
“suggest next steps to solve the research problem” (APA Publication Manual 2010, p. 10). Begin writing when you
have decided on your story and how to organize your research to support that story.
Organization
Organize the literature review to highlight the theme that you want to emphasize – the story that you want to tell.
Literature reviews tend to be organized something like this:
Introduction:
(1) Introduce the research topic (what it is, why does it matter)
(2) Frame the story: narrow the research topic to the studies you will discuss
(3) Briefly outline how you have organized the review
Body:
(1) Headings. Use theme headings to organize your argument (see below)
(2) Describe, compare, and evaluate studies for each section of your argument under your headings
(a) Describe the relevant parts of each study and explain why it is relevant to the subtopic at hand.
(b) Compare the studies if need be, to discuss their implications (i.e., your interpretation of what the
studies show and whether there are important differences or similarities)
(c) Evaluate the importance of each study or group of studies, as well as the implications for the
subtopic, and where research should go from here (on the level of the subtopic)
Conclusion: Final evaluation, summation and conclusion
Headings. Use headings to identify major sections that show the organization of the paper. (Headings also help you to
identify organizational problems while you’re writing.) Avoid the standard headings of research articles (Introduction,
Method, Results, Discussion). Use specific, conceptual headings. If you are reviewing whether facial expressions are
universally understood, headings might include Studies in Western Cultures and Studies in Non-Western Cultures.
Organize your argument into topics that fit under each heading (one or more per heading).
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