Applied Psychology - From Theory to Practice

Running head: SHORT TITLE OF PAPER (<= 50 CHARACTERS)

Case Study (put number here) Final Paper

Student name

Ashford University Online

Date

Case Study Introduction

This template is formatted according to APA Style guidelines, with one inch top, bottom, left, and right margins; Times New Roman font in 12 point; double-spaced; aligned flush left; and paragraphs indented 5 spaces. That means you can just delete this text and type your own and not worry about correct formatting :)

You are going to use this template for three different assignments: for Week 1 you will be completing certain sections, for Week 3 you will have some comments under each heading (does not have to be perfect outline format) and include an annotated bibliography at the end (see the end of the document for notes), and for Week 5 you will have deleted all the extra help comments like this and reviewed my feedback from your papers in WayPoint and changed your few comments into well-developed paragraphs. Good luck! Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Begin your paper with the introduction. The active voice, rather than passive voice, should be used in your writing – in third person professional writing – not first person informal. This means not to use “I”, “my”, “you” (check out this site for help with this -- https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/980/03/ ). Briefly introduce your selected person from your case study. Explain the reason for the focus on this topic and the importance of this subject. Here you could present research on the prevalence of depression or stress (for example) in society or in the workplace. Use professional sources such as National Institute of Mental Health (for example -- http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/major-depression-among-adults.shtml )

Your thesis statement is put here at the end of your introduction. Don’t miss the pointers and links in the class directions to help you. Thesis statement help can be found here --

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml and here

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/

Applied Behavioral Science

Briefly provide an overview here explaining applied behavioral science and the area of psychology from which the case study is explored. Here is where you would discuss the psychology specialty; either clinical psychology (case #1), health psychology (case #2), forensic psychology (case #3), educational psychology (case #4), or industrial/organizational psychology (case #5), etc… Explain here why this area of psychology is important and how it applies to the case study. Remember this is an applied behavioral science class – not a counseling class – you are focusing on the applied behavioral science not the case study. The case study is just a tool to help you show you understand and can apply one of these applied behavioral sciences.

Potential Etiology

Identify and describe the potential source(s) and/or cause(s) of the issue that is/are relevant to the selected case study (e.g., genetic, environmental, social, cultural, organizational) through the frame of your psychology specialty; either clinical psychology (case #1), health psychology (case #2), forensic psychology (case #3), educational psychology (case #4), or industrial/organizational psychology (case #5).

Psychological Theory

Here examine the case study by applying one psychological theory of your choice that fits in your applied behavioral science. So you are explaining the person’s struggles through the lens of this theory. For example, if I were writing my paper on Clinical Psychology, I might choose Cognitive Theory, then I would explain things like the thought processes that are faulty and how that is causing the problem.

Scientific Research

Describe scientific research that is relevant to your selected case study through the frame of your psychology specialty; either clinical psychology (case #1), health psychology (case #2), forensic psychology (case #3), educational psychology (case #4), or industrial/organizational psychology (case #5). Include past and current findings and note any key changes. You have to have research articles from our library here.

Trends in the Field

Identify and describe any relevant trends in working with your intended population through the frame of your psychology specialty; either clinical psychology (case #1), health psychology (case #2), forensic psychology (case #3), educational psychology (case #4), or industrial/organizational psychology (case #5).

Plan of Action

Detail a suggested plan of action for moving forward including advantages and disadvantages. This means you need to discuss thing to do, like interventions, which would help your client given your psychology specialty; either clinical psychology (case #1), health psychology (case #2), forensic psychology (case #3), educational psychology (case #4), or industrial/organizational psychology (case #5).

Building Rapport

Specify what you would do to build rapport with the client in the selected case study through the frame of your psychology specialty; either clinical psychology (case #1), health psychology (case #2), forensic psychology (case #3), educational psychology (case #4), or industrial/organizational psychology (case #5).

Ethical Considerations

State ethical considerations that are relevant to this case. Be sure to use professional ethical boards like the APA -- http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/

You may use other ethical codes as appropriate for your applied behavioral science.

Conclusion

Summarize the main points in each of these sections regarding applied psychology and your particular case study. Remember the entire paper is supposed to be about your applied behavioral science with the case study as supporting information.

References

Smith, M. R., & Tony, B. A. (2001). Writing a successful paper. The Trey Research Monthly, 53, 149-150. doi:10/abgige2040

(This is just one example – you need 6 -- and the rest of this information below is just to help you with your APA citations and references – review them, and delete them when you submit your drafts and final paper. Check out this site to further help with APA, click on the tabs to the left –

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/)

Entries are organized alphabetically by surnames of first authors and are formatted with a hanging indent. Most reference entries have three components:

1. Authors: Authors are listed in the same order as specified in the source, using surnames and initials. Commas separate all authors. When there are seven or more authors, list the first six and then use “et al.” for remaining authors. If no author is identified, the title of the document begins the reference.

2. Year of Publication: In parenthesis following authors, with a period following the closing parenthesis. If no publication date is identified, use “n.d.” in parenthesis following the authors.

3. Source Reference: Includes title, journal, volume, pages (for journal article) or title, city of publication, publisher (for book).

4. Don’t forget you need 6 professional sources.

Citations

Source material must be documented in the body of the paper by citing the authors and dates of the sources. The full source citation will appear in the list of references that follows the body of the paper. When the names of the authors of a source are part of the formal structure of the sentence, the year of the publication appears in parenthesis following the identification of the authors, for example, Smith (2001). When the authors of a source are not part of the formal structure of the sentence, both the authors and years of publication appear in parentheses, separated by semicolons, for example (Smith & Jones, 2001; Anderson, Charles, & Johnson, 2003). When a source that has three, four, or five authors is cited, all authors are included the first time the source is cited. When that source is cited again, the first author’s surname and “et al.” are used. See the example in the following paragraph.

Use of this standard APA style “will result in a favorable impression on your instructor” (Smith, 2001, p. 4). This was affirmed again in 2003 by Professor Anderson (Anderson, Charles & Johnson, 2003).

When a source that has two authors is cited, both authors are cited every time. If there are six or more authors to be cited, use the first author’s surname and “et al.” the first and each subsequent time it is cited. When a direct quotation is used, always include the author, year, and page number as part of the citation. A quotation of fewer than 40 words should be enclosed in double quotation marks and should be incorporated into the formal structure of the sentence. A longer quote of 40 or more words should appear (without quotes) in block format with each line indented five spaces from the left margin.

**** Don’t miss this section for Week 3’s annotated bibliography****

See the sample annotation below. You will need 6 of these and they go in alphabetical order; be sure most of yours are research articles from our library or professional organizations.

Annotated Bibliography

Ehrenreich, B. (2001). Nickel and dimed: On (not) getting by in America. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

In this book of nonfiction based on the journalist's experiential research, Ehrenreich attempts to ascertain whether it is currently possible for an individual to live on a minimum-wage in America. Taking jobs as a waitress, a maid in a cleaning service, and a Wal-Mart sales employee, the author summarizes and reflects on her work, her relationships with fellow workers, and her financial struggles in each situation.

An experienced journalist, Ehrenreich is aware of the limitations of her experiment and the ethical implications of her experiential research tactics and reflects on these issues in the text. The author is forthcoming about her methods and supplements her experiences with scholarly research on her places of employment, the economy, and the rising cost of living in America. Ehrenreich’s project is timely, descriptive, and well-researched.

Read and delete -- (The annotation above both summarizes and assesses the book in the citation. The first paragraph provides a brief summary of the author's project in the book, covering the main points of the work. The second paragraph points out the project’s strengths and evaluates its methods and presentation. This particular annotation does not reflect on the source’s potential importance or usefulness for this person’s own research which should be included for research articles.) (Above copied from -- http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/03/ )