Preparation

As stated in the project description, research is at the core of psychology practice whether you conduct it yourself or apply evidence-based strategies and techniques in your professional practice. After developing your vision “My Personal Vision Statement—“My career as a Cognitive Behavior Counselor began in 2003 when I was promoted with the Michigan Department of Corrections. After an extensive training for the Thinking for a Change evidence-based program and Substance Abuse Counselor for adult male offenders I realized I found my calling. I re-enrolled in college where I finished my Associates Degree in Criminal Justice and from there a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. I took a job for a private provider where I was able to counsel foster children in state custody and after doing that for a couple years I found I wasn’t happy with this career move and that’s when I found my current job as a counselor for Young Adult male offenders with the Tennessee Department of Corrections. My personal vision is to use myself, life experiences, and knowledge to impact positive attitudes with those who may cross my path in life. I wish to inspire and motivate them to discover and develop their true potential and live their lives to the fullest. In order for this vision to be fulfilled, I need to finish m Master’s Degree and gain advance evidence-based training experience so I can become more experienced with my facilitation in this area.  

Creating meaningful goals you created a research question related to your goals and searched the literature for answers—My Research Question “I gathered a couple of insights about depression in my research. One is that some personalities are prone to depression more than others especially the introverts, perfectionists. Depression affects memory especially the part of the memory that deals with tasks like names and places. Depression is also linked to some diseases like heart disease, leads to faster aging and diabetes among others (Elliott, Huizinga & Menard, 2012). The research will play a very important role in my future career because it will help me keep up to date with current information about depression and other illnesses. I will be able to know the best and most modern treatments for various conditions and their public health interventions. The research will help me broaden my knowledge and skills as a Youth Offender Counselor.”  You practiced using critical thinking frameworks to evaluate the relevance and quality of research and you integrated the literature to prepare for a cohesive review.

This assignment provides an opportunity to receive feedback to help you further refine your research interests, reflect on the role of scholarship in your career vision, and practice evaluating and synthesizing evidence to apply in your profession.

Your writing in this assignment should not just be a collection of notes, lists, or questions and answers. Instead, it should be a well-organized discussion that flows logically from one idea to the next.

Instructions

Complete the following in your assignment template:

Introduction

State your research question and explain why it is important.

Evaluation of Sources

Synthesis of Literature Into a Cohesive Review

You should have identified at least three key themes, or focuses of inquiry, that are relevant to your research question and present in each article. These themes may be based on: Related      aspects of research questions. Related      or differing conclusions. Other      factors or ideas the studies have in common. Other      points of contrast between the studies.

Use concise formulations of these themes as headings for the next sections of the paper. In these sections, compare and contrast your resources’ positions relative to each theme, and then synthesize your own position relative to the theme. Support your conclusions by citing your references. However, if you find that more research would be needed to decide a question, briefly outline ideas of how that could be undertaken. Discuss      how you would apply these findings to your future professional practice in      psychology. Analyze      how these findings could help you accomplish the functions,      responsibilities, and ethics required of a psychology professional. You      are encouraged to cite information from your interview with a psychology      professional here; however, remember to critically evaluate the      information you use.  What       techniques, strategies, and best practices are indicated by your       research? What       enhanced outcomes can be expected when they are applied?

The final step in this assignment is to describe how your research fits into your future vision and goals for your career. Craft      additional professional goals related to this research. Revise      the vision statement you completed in Unit 3 to integrate research and      scholarship in your specialized field of psychology.

Your assignment should also meet the following requirements: Template:      Use the Your Research in Psychology Template to format your assignment. Length:      5–7 typed and double-spaced content pages in Times New Roman 12-point      font. The title page, abstract, and reference list are not included in      this length. References:      Include a minimum of three references. Your references may include both      scholarly literature and practitioner sources. All references need to be      cited in-text, according to current APA standards. Remember that citations      are to support your thoughts, not take the place of them! Written      communication: Must be clear, with correct spelling, grammar, and syntax      and with good organization. Writing      style: APA expectations for scholarly writing include the use of      third-person narrative, unless it is awkward to do so. However, because      you are talking about yourself in this paper, you may write in the first      person. APA      formatting: Must be formatted according to APA style and formatting and      include a title page, abstract, and reference list. Note that these three      elements are not counted toward the length of your assignment.