Research

Drawing from Positive Psychology research we discussed throughout the semester, 

(1) review and summarize Positive psychology research to answer the following three questions: (a) “what does it mean to live a  pleasant  life”? (b) “what does it mean to live an  engaged  (full) life”?, and (c) “what does it mean to live a  meaningful  life”? End this section with general purpose of your project (e.g., "The purpose of our final project was to conduct a qualitative survey study to gather information as to whether pursuit of pleasant, engaging, and meaningful life leads to high level of life satisfaction as suggested by Positive Psychology research summarized above.") T he lit. review is worth 25 pts;  must be at least two (2) FULL page long, based on at least five (5) primary sources (be sure to include APA style format in-text citations).

(2) choose, at random, three (3) people (preferably different ages, with 18 years of age minimum, and cultural backgrounds; your  Methods/Participants section) to interview them about their views of  what does it mean to live a pleasant/engaged/meaningful life and  whether (if so, how?) pursuit of all three contributes to their life satisfaction (your  Methods/Procedure section). Type up the summary of your findings in detail (who said what; your  Results section). In your  Discussion section, reflect on the activity’s  general  findings (i.e., do they support past research results summarized in your lit. review?) and share your  own  answer to the question, reflecting whether (if so, how)  your view  about pleasant, engaged, and meaningful life characteristics has changed due to the knowledge you gained through readings, presenting on Positive Psychology theory and research, and completing the HW activities (e.g., engaging in random acts of kindness, expressing gratitude, exploring and using your strengths, widening your social network, to name a few).  This part of your paper is worth 25 pts.

Paper APA 7th Edition Format and Writing Quality (worth 10 pts):

· The paper must be written in APA 7th edition style format:  double-spaced and in Times New Roman 12-point font, black ink, 1” margins on all sides. Failure to do so will result in a loss of points.

· Your references list must include  at least 5 primary sources (i.e., scholar peer-reviewed articles ONLY)  published within the past 10 years (i.e., 2013 - present).   NOTE: You CAN use your textbook or any of the videos posted on Canvas  IN ADDITION TO at least 5 PRIMARY sources to support your writing. 

· Do not copy and paste anything from your textbook, articles, or the internet; if you have over  20% plagiarism on your paper, you will receive an automatic zero (0) score for the assignment and cannot make it up.

Finally, to ensure high writing quality, always use a spell checker to avoid unnecessary typos/errors. Proofread everything you write by reading some sentences aloud to see if they flow well, or getting family or friends to read your work. In addition, FIU writing center is available if you want someone to look over your paper and give you advice.