Assignment One: Thesis and Literature Review. Statement Examples

Assignment One: Thesis and Literature Review
Due Session 8 (40%)
Thesis Statement: Once you have selected which of the six interviews you will use for your paper, read through the interview carefully (multiple times) to identify the following:
The intrapersonal and environmental forces in this person’s life ACROSS the life course
The risk and protective factors identified in the interviews
The historical timing, timing of key events, turning points, linked lives, etc.
Then, select the specific concepts/factors/variables/themes/take home points that will be developed in the final paper and develop a half to full page thesis that articulates the argument you plan to make about this person’s developmental trajectory. Also identify which conceptual framework you will draw upon (DLCP or Ecological theory) in analyzing the individual’s life course.
Thesis Statement Examples:
Example 1: In 1935, the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression and only six years away from entering World War 2. In the midst of these historical events, AK suffered the death of her mother at the critical age of 12, an event that would immediately change her environment and greatly influence the rest of her life. Considering aspects of developmental life course theory (Elder & Shanahan, 2006) and attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969), the content of this interview will be used to show that protective factors including familial, social, educational, and financial support, provided her with the opportunity to survive and thrive after this devastating event and the death of her first husband. Her resilience is evident in positive “possiblist” outlook on life.
Example 2: The content of this interview will be used to illustrate how the Great Migration (1910-1930), and the move toward desegregation in the United States, shaped the educational opportunities and employment outcomes of the Smith family. Despite the many hardships Elizabeth Smith faced (i.e. parental unemployment and the death of her brother), her education, her strong faith and her close-knit social support network provide her with enough protective factors to weather these events with grace and dignity. This paper will utilize Ecological theory to examine the microsystem of family and the macrosystem of racial expectations of US culture (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Because Elizabeth was able to have a good outcome in spite of serious threats to adaptation and development, this paper will demonstrate that her life course is one of high resilience (Maston, 2001).
Literature Review: After the thesis statement, provide annotations of 10 scholarly articles and/or book chapters (that were not assigned for class) that will help support the argument you present in your thesis. Nest these annotations in meaningful subheadings that provide an outline for your final paper. You will need to explore resources related to the risk and protective factors referred to during your interview. For example, research on the impact of historical events, geographical characteristics (e.g., geographic is defined environment, country, region, or neighborhood) and social forces (e.g., changes in technology, gender roles, divorce rates, experiences of discrimination) may all be used to help you interpret the narrative and support your thesis in your final paper.
For example, if you wish to write about the impact of drug use in early adolescence on the life course, you might want to examine the following questions in literature: Do teenage substance abusers have a different life trajectory than individuals whose substance abuse onsets as adults? How are the educational, occupational outcomes for teenagers who abuse substances impacted in adulthood? What is the relationship between teenage substance use and poverty, race, gender? What are some of the predictors of teenage substance abuse?
An annotation is a brief (no more than one page, double spaces, 1” margins, 12 point font) description of a book or journal article. Its purpose is to summarize a work for your reader, who may then wish to consult that work. An annotation describes the work’s emphasis, its level of detail, and any pertinent subtopics that relate to your paper topic. Each annotation should include:
The purpose of the work and it’s major thesis;
A summary of its’ content (method, results and implications and interpretations) but should be IN YOUR OWN WORDS. A summary of the methods should include the sample size and demographics and the variables measured and the measurement strategy (interviews, scales).
Things to consider:
Remember to include 10 annotations. All of the chapters from the same book will count as one source. You can include relevant and important pieces published more than 10 years ago but the majority of your selections should be recent.
Include a reference page in APA style that includes all the sources you included in your review, including articles and book chapters, websites.
Conventional rules for good writing should be followed: (1) be brief and clear; (2) avoid abbreviations and use full sentences; (3) Be careful about plagiarism – do NOT lift abstracts of articles. All papers are subject to turn-it-in analysis.
Try to include literature that focuses on the longitudinal effects on the life COURSE not just the “state” of the phenomenon at a single point in time. Or, choose pieces that address the phenomenon of interest at different points across the life span, so that you are able to make an argument about the implications across the life course.
Both risk and protective factors should be considered in the types of articles selected in the review.
Since HBSE is focused on explanations and etiologies of social/behavioral/psychological phenomena and not on treatment, focus on basic research studies and NOT treatment/intervention studies. Only use them to the extent to which they provide a review or help you understand risk and protection across development.
Avoid literature that is highly intrapersonally focused (e.g. identity, self-esteem, personality). Remember this course is about the impact of the social environment on developmental trajectories. This is not a clinical assessment.
Do not try to write about all the aspects of the person’s life story. You are providing a deep analysis of just a few concepts/variables/risk and protective factors.
Grading of this assignment will be based on the following criteria:
Identifies a clear thesis and specific themes that will be developed in the paper,
Identifies specific theoretical models and how they will frame the paper,
Identifies multiple historical, geographical and/or social risk and protective factors and how they impacted the life trajectory,
Selects 10 recent articles and chapters from a variety of sources that address the chosen topic,
Provides annotations that include purpose, methods, major results and implications,
Writing is focused, concise and clear.