Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

INTRODUCTION:

An annotated bibliography is a list of referenced articles. Each reference is followed by a descriptive and evaluative paragraph or two. The purpose of the paragraphs, known as the annotation, is to inform the reader about the relevance, accuracy, and quality of the source. At the professional level, annotated bibliographies let you see what is current in the literature and where your own research or scholarship can fit.

OVERVIEW:

In this assessment, you will develop an annotated bibliography, comprising research articles that are related to interventions in learning. In the fields of sports psychology, clinical psychology, educational psychology, industrial/organizational (I/O) psychology, counseling psychology, applied behavior analysis (ABA), and so on, we are asked to demonstrate the merit of our ideas. It is important for you to be competent in offering that support, as it will help with professional challenges such as securing grants, conducting effective treatment sessions, gaining parent cooperation, challenging school boards, or suggesting changes to existing policies.

PREPARATION:

Using the Capella library, locate four research studies related to the learning or psychological intervention of your choice. This intervention could be connected with your field in some way or could be related to a case selected for Assessment 2 and should be intended to result in a change in behavior (learning). You can preview the case options under Assessment 2 to make a selection now. The range of possible interventions is endless, so if you have questions about the suitability of your choice of intervention, contact your instructor.

Be sure that the intervention you are choosing is related to a learning or psychological issue in which the goal is to address learning something new or to adjust previous learning.

There are different types of articles you will encounter while locating studies:

• Research articles present original research. This is the type that you will need for the assessment.
• Review articles discuss research already presented elsewhere. While you may use these for your next assessment, they will not work for this assessment where you are required to review research studies.
• Survey articles are comprehensive review articles that discuss an entire field or area of research, and may include meta-analyses. You can use a meta-analysis as one of your four articles as long as the methods of the analysis are clear.
• Theoretical articles explain an emerging theory. You may find one that is relevant for your next assessment on theory, but these will not work for this assessment unless it is testing aspects of the theory in research format and the design and methods are clear.

For this assessment, you are required to use research articles (empirical). Do not use online articles from popular media, such as Psychology Today, Simply Psychology, Verywell Mind, et cetera. These are not scholarly sources and will not fulfill the requirements for this assessment. Please use only scholarly journals. If you encounter an article you would like to review, but are not able to identify the features noted below, you probably do not have the right type of article and should keep searching.

Use the Sample Annotated Bibliography [PDF] document as a guide to structuring your APA-formatted annotated bibliography.

Use RefWorks to organize the articles that you find. You'll show evidence that you have or created a RefWorks account as part of this assessment.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Write an annotated bibliography that addresses the following:

• Analyze theoretical orientation in research across multiple studies.
  • Locate the theoretical position or framework within each article.
  • Explain which learning theory is being used as a framework for the research.
  • Consider the current status of the learning theory in your analysis.
• Analyze the research methodology used to study psychological and educational interventions.
  • Provide a complete analysis of the research methodologies common to the study of learning theory.
  • Include subjects, hypotheses, methods, and instruments, if any. Look at the strengths and limitations of the study.
• Evaluate the results of the research.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of the use of the intervention in practice.
  • What did the research reveal about this intervention?
  • How did the results of this research influence the field?
• Upload a screenshot that displays a log of four scholarly articles in RefWorks.
• Use paraphrasing and summarization to represent ideas from external sources.
  • Interpret and synthesize credible sources.
• Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing.
  • Exhibit adherence to stylistic conventions, document structure, and source attributions.

Develop an annotated bibliography of each article that includes:

• The APA reference for the study being reviewed. This will be at the top of the page. Because the reference leads your annotation, you do not need to use in-text citations to the reference. The annotation that follows is indented in its entirety under the reference line.
• An analysis of the article:
  • The strengths and limitations of the study.
  • An evaluation of the effectiveness of use of the intervention in practice.
  • How the findings influenced the standing of the learning theory.
  • What was discovered (results)?
  • How it was studied (methodology), what instruments were used?
  • What hypotheses were involved?
  • Who or what were the subjects in the study?
  • What was the theoretical position or framework of the researchers?

REQUIREMENTS:

Your assessment should also meet the following requirements:

• Written communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
• Tone: Write in the third person, adhering to conventions of academic tone.
• References: At least four scholarly research (empirical) articles (from peer-reviewed journals).
• APA format: References should be formatted according to current APA style. See the Writing Center for APA resources specific to your degree level.
• Length of paper: 5–7 pages of content, in addition to a title page.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

Note: This annotated bibliography is partially an assessment of your ability to interpret and summarize research. Thus, paraphrasing and summarizing are needed. Keep direct quotes to a minimum number and length.

SOURCES:

• Schunk, D. H. (2020). Learning theories: An educational perspective (8th ed.). Pearson. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link. Watch this VitalSource video for further information.
  • Chapter 1, "Introduction to the Study of Learning."
• Theories of Learning.
  • This activity is a knowledge check to see what you have learned about different learning theories.
• Introduction to Learning Theories reading list.
• Working With Theory reading list.
• TEDTalks: Sir Ken Robinson—Do Schools Kill Creativity? [Video].
  • In this famous TED Talk, Sir Ken Robinson points out all the things he believes schools have been getting wrong. As you consider what could have been done to improve your own learning experiences or ways you might assist with the future of learning, ponder what he says in this talk and why it might have resonated with so many people. Keep these thoughts in mind as we move through the course on understanding learning theories and how they apply. Can we use learning theories to help combat what Sir Ken Robinson describes as "squandering children's creativity" and to "educate their whole being?"

In this course, you will be working with a variety of learning theories. Use a graphic organizer like the Theoretical Comparisons [DOCX] template to help you sort out the assumptions, strengths, and limitations of each theory and to aid in your ability to clearly compare them. Taking the time to organize the theories will help you learn similarities and distinctions between them, which can in turn, help you to keep them in mind as you learn to apply them to what you observe in your professional and personal life.

There are different types of articles you will encounter while locating studies:

• Research articles present original research. This is the type that you will need for the assessment.
• Review articles discuss research already presented elsewhere. While you may use these for your next assessment, they will not work for this assessment where you are required to review research studies.
• Survey articles are comprehensive review articles that discuss an entire field or area of research, and may include meta-analyses. You can use a meta-analysis as one of your four articles as long as the methods of the analysis are clear.
• Theoretical articles explain an emerging theory. You may find one that is relevant for your next assessment on theory, but these will not work for this assessment unless it is testing aspects of the theory in research format and the design and methods are clear.

For this assessment, you are required to use research articles (empirical). If you encounter an article you would like to review, but are not able to identify the features noted below, you probably do not have the right type of article and should keep searching.

As you search for articles to include in your annotated bibliography, you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid. The Master's in Psychology Library Research Guide will help with this.

The articles will need to be those that contain original research. The author researchers will present the following:

1. A research design.
2. A theoretical orientation or principles as the basis of the research.
3. Research methods.
4. Data collection methods.
5. Analysis.
6. Research findings and conclusion or discussion.

If the article you have found doesn't contain these items, then it will not work for this assessment. Move on in your search until you have found four research articles.

View the Sample Annotated Bibliography [PDF] for an example of what to include. Note that the sample is an annotation of just one article. For your bibliography, include a title page and annotations of four scholarly research articles.

The following resources may be helpful for you in finding appropriate scholarly articles for your later assessments, and in understanding how to break down the sections of empirical studies for understanding.

• Finding Empirical / Non-Empirical Articles in Capella Library.
• Finding Learning Theory Articles at Capella Library.
• Understanding Research Articles.
• How to Read a Research Article.
• Annotated Bibliography.

GRADING COMPETENCIES:

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Apply learning theories, principles, and concepts to educational practices.
  • Analyze theoretical orientation in research across multiple studies.
• Competency 2: Analyze the relationships between learning theories and research.
  • Evaluate the results of the research in relationship to the effectiveness of an intervention.
• Competency 3: Analyze research methodology and findings in psychological and educational interventions.
  • Describe the research methodology used to study psychological and educational interventions, including the strengths and limitations of the research.
• Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly and consistent with expectations for professionals in the field of psychology.
  • Create a RefWorks account that displays a log of two to three scholarly articles.
  • Use paraphrasing and summarization with correct spelling and grammar to represent ideas from external sources.
  • Apply APA style and formatting to scholarly writing with few errors.