Parents and Tots Together: An Approach to Childhood Obesity Program

Literature reviews are useful tools when approaching social problems. The intent of a literature review is to provide information from past and current publications about a particular topic to inform the reader on the current state of knowledge and in some cases to inform a course of action based on the best evidence available. Your task as writer of the literature review is to provide a critical assessment of the literature in the relation to one of the proposed topics and the models we have been learning in class.
For this assignments students are expected to write a critical literature review which goes beyond a typical literature review. Jesson and Lacey (2006) describe a critical literature review as one that provides a narrative of current information but goes further as the writer adds an original and analytical assessment of the literature reviewed. This means students are not to only describe the articles selected but critically engage with the articles and the scenario chosen to advance an understanding of the issue at hand. Once students have examined the literature against the scenario chosen they will conclude with a section on how they would apply their learnings to ‘help’ the person(s) in the scenario.
Students will identify a social problem (using the definition of social problem discussed in lecture) and will write a 5-6 page critical literature review highlighting available information related to their social problem. Students will use at minimum 6 sources, 3 of which must be from academic journals related to one specific social problem – there is no maximum number of sources.
Students should be aware of the connection between the strength of their papers and the strength of their sources chosen. Weak sources typically make for a weaker paper while strong sources support a stronger analysis so choose wisely!
Students are welcome to choose any social issue that spikes their interest, as long as it meets the definition of social problem taken up during the lecture. Students are welcome to connect with their TA to discuss their social problem. It’s important to note that a strong paper for this assignment will address a specific social issue, so students will need to be clear and specific in their identified social problem.
Papers should at minimum include:
✓ An introduction to identify the purpose of the review as well as some rationale around the decision making for the articles included.
✓ A thesis statement that clearly outlines the argument contained within the paper.
✓ A main body which is a review and critical analysis of what the literature says, how it relates to your scenario and most importantly how the literature advances understanding of the scenario.
✓ A portion of analysis must include discussion of the models of help, and how the models are represented through the research to the social problem.
✓ 6 sources, 3 of which must be academic references from peer reviewed scholarly journals
✓ A concluding section with insights gained from the literature review and possible ways to apply this information to provide help.
This paper will be graded out of 30. Grades will be allocated as follows:
Thesis Statement (specific focus clearly stated) /3
Critical Analysis (strength of critical perspective, integration of own perspective ) /8
Literature Review (clearly and concisely summarize literature) /7
Writing Style (Grammar, sentence structure, spelling, diction) /3
Conclusion/Self Reflection (concluding paragraph/section, quality of self reflection) /3
APA /3
Sources /3
Additional Instructions
• Paper must be in APA format. This includes a title page and reference page (not included in the 2-3 pages). Please see resources on Avenue for assistance with APA.
• Title page must include: Title, course name and number, Student Name, Student ID, Date of submission, Professor’s name, TA’s name, and indication if you want feedback on your assignment (Feedback Yes or Feedback No). If you do not indicate feedback, none will be provided.
• Paper must meet other requirements of APA including running head, appropriate page numbering, font size and style, double spacing, margins, correct references and in text citations.
• Paper must be submitted in .doc or .docx format. PDF and pages formats will not be accepted.
• A late penalty of 2% per day will be deduced from late papers. Late papers (without approved extensions) will not be accepted after November 28th at 11:59pm.
• Turnitin will be used to evaluate paper originality. If you would not like your paper submitted through Turnitin please connect with Lauren.
• Use of personal pronouns is acceptable, though not required.