Children's Mental Health Problems Literature Review
(Due 28 May PST)Topic： Children's mental health problems can lead to safety issues such as self-harm and suicide which is an important part of ignoring child safety. Therefore, it is very important to discuss the children’ safety problems caused by neglecting children’s mental health.Length: 4-5 pagesFormat: APA formatTitle: Include an informative, interesting, provocative and/or creative titleThe Literature Review consists of an introduction, summary of scholarly sources, a discussionand evaluation of the sources (including disputes and disagreements), and a conclusion in whichyou put forth your own potential original research questions that will contribute something newto the conversation.A minimum of five scholarly sources (not the same ones you used in the Background Essay) are required for this essay. These can be either academic peer-reviewed journal articles from a database such as Academic Search Premier or a chapter from a scholarly book.The Literature Review in the Research ProcessA literature review is a section of a final research report, and can also be a stand-alone essay;both are required for your topic in this class. "Literature" refers to the scholarly writing,published (original) research study results, and other important analyses on a particular aspect ofa topic.A scholarly literature review is part of any final research study or report since it demonstratesthat you are familiar with what other scholars have already studied and published on yoursubject, and allows you then to map out what new arena or question you would like to pursue.There is, after all, no point in reinventing the wheel, i.e., undertaking a study that someone elsehas already done or trying to answer a question that has already been adequately explored.There's also no point in reaching your own interpretive conclusions without taking into accountwhat others have already studied and argued. You would lack credibility and appear naive anduninformed if your analysis has already been convincingly put forth or refuted.The purpose of a literature review is fourfold:The first is to summarize and assess the state of existing knowledge on your narrowed topic. What knowledge exists and is generally accepted with regard to your topic? Are there important differences or disagreements among scholars? Are there significant problems or limitations with any of the research studies? Which research methods were employed in the various research studies, which were not, and with what consequences? What questions remain unanswered? What aspects or approaches seem relatively unexplored?Through the process of reviewing existing knowledge you will also develop a more nuanced understanding of your topic, the second reason for conducting a literature review.This new understanding leads to the third reason, to raise questions for further research. In other words, what are you left wondering? What questions or aspects of the issue do you find have been unanswered, underexplored or overlooked? How would our understanding be improved by pursuing those questions or angles? At the end of this process, you will hopefully find that you can identify several potential research questions.The final purpose of the literature review, based on the sources that have been assessed and the new questions that have been raised, is to identify one specific and significant research question. This research question will drive your research from this point forward as you build towards the Final Research Article, in which you present an argument that attempts to answer your own research question.Required Elements of the Literature ReviewRequired Sources:At least five scholarly articles (must be different from those you used in the BE). Use an electronic database such as Academic Search Premier (select "peer-reviewed" from the search screens of these databases) or Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) or find a chapter in an edited scholarly book.At least two of the sources must be no older than three years. The sources should be diverse; you should not have more than two (of the five) articles from the same author or journal; if you do have more than two from the same author or journal, then you should have more than the minimum five sources. Ideally, your collection of scholarly sources should include a variety of research methods as well.Introduction: (1-2 paragraphs)The introduction presents your narrowed topic or area of inquiry, whether fromthe conclusion of your Background Essay or based on a later formulation, its significance, and anoverview statement of how researchers have studied this narrowed area (covering the topicsentences of your summary paragraphs). Also include a thesis statement that provides yourevaluation of the state of current knowledge and of what needs further study, which shouldanticipate the specific research question you will arrive at in the end. Here is an example from aformer student’s research project on domestic violence in the case of mail-order brides in theU.S.:"Although there have been many studies of domestic violence against women and programs adopted to reduce it, there are virtually no statistics documenting instances of abuse in the immigrant bride population. Beyond the normal range of factors that abused women who are citizens face, there are other factors of culture, class, racism, and sexism that further expose immigrant women who have chosen to become mail-order brides."Summary (include section heading): (2-3 pages)This section has no opinion – you are explaining the content of the literature. The summary-of-sources section presents the research, knowledge, and analysis that the literature offers concerning your narrowed research topic. This section should be organized according to the issues or aspects studied, the accepted interpretations or theories, the disputed claims, and any unanswered questions. Do not simply summarize each source in separate paragraphs. The paragraphs in your summary should focus on specific issues, not necessarily on individual authors.For example, if you were studying prison reform, one paragraph might present what three scholars have reported regarding education programs in prison, even though one or more of those authors might show up again in another paragraph on visitation rights. If a paragraph happens to focus on only one author or article, make sure this is for a good reason, for example, the article represents the authoritative discussion of a particular issue; in such a case, the content of that paragraph should be limited to the issue and not turn into a general summary of the article.Discussion and Evaluation (include section heading): (2-3 pages)This section is your discussion and evaluation of the articles from your summary section and not your discussion of the issues themselves. Instead, you are interpreting and evaluating the knowledge presented in the summary section in order to raise questions for further research. You may discuss and evaluate the significance of various conclusions and arguments, the completeness of individual studies, the research methods used, substantial areas of disagreement, debates over definitions of terms, and/or the consistency of the results with each other. As you present your evaluation, do so cautiously with thorough analysis and explanation. Challenging the results of a professional study with nothing but one isolated observation or opinion will reveal your naiveté more than any real weakness in the study. Share your evaluation without using the first person (I, me, my, mine); doing so will shift the reader’s focus away from the subject and onto you, the writer. As you discuss and evaluate the knowledge and issues with regard to your narrowed topic, raise questions for further study along the way. Do not introduce new articles in this section that you haven't already covered in the Summary section.Please note that even though you may take issue with aspects of the research and findings in yoursources, it is very rare for the discussion to include a complete dismissal of any one source. Ifyou read a source and find that it has nothing or little of value to offer on your topic and researchquestion, then do not include it in the literature review in the first place. By choosing to includesources in your literature review, you imply that you have already judged them to offersomething that is worth consideration.Conclusion: Proposed Research Question and Significance (include section heading): Theconclusion synthesizes the knowledge confirmed through the discussion and evaluation sectionwhile identifying areas for further research. After reviewing the literature, what do we know?What don’t we know? There should be an apparent connection between the new areas of inquiryand the summary of existing knowledge. Bring your conclusion to a close by identifying anddiscussing the significance of a specific research question that will drive the rest of your researchproject.Note: The specific research question you present in your conclusion should be somewhatoriginal. It should NOT be a yes/no, good/bad, for/against, pro/con, either/or, right/wrong, ormoral/immoral kind of question. Rather the research question should attempt to advance thealready-existing knowledge and understanding around your narrowed topic. This can include aninquiry into causes and effects; the evaluation of already-existing policies, programs orproposals; unforeseen or non-obvious connections and consequences; etc. Hint: Try coming upwith a single sentence answer (hypothesis) to your own research question in order to assess itsviability and originality. Note that your Final Research Article will ask you to present yourfurther investigation of your research question, and will ask you to develop an academicargument based on your best possible answer to it (the hypothesis).References and In-text Citations: An APA-style References page, with all of the sourcesreferred to in your literature review, must be included at the end of your essay. All quoting,paraphrasing, and summarizing must also follow APA guidelines. In your presentation andanalysis of sources, avoid heavy reliance on quotations to present the ideas of others. Excessivequoting can turn your literature review into a cacophony of different voices that frustrates thereader’s ability to find cohesion between the distinct ideas. In most cases, you are better offparaphrasing or summarizing, which you must do carefully to avoid plagiarism. Quote otherauthors sparingly and with purpose: to convey an idea that cannot be paraphrased without losingmeaning or to convey the power of the original language.Outline requirement (Due 27 May noon PST)1. Define your organization structure with each subsection you will be using. For example, if you your using a Geographical structure, list that plus the areas you'll be using, like this:Geographical StructureWashington State (subtopic 1)Oregon State (subtopic 2)California (subtopic 3)2. Place each of your sources under each section you believe you will be using it. Make it very clear which sources you will be using, at least at this point, under each section, like this:Geographical StructureWashington State (subtopic 1)Sources I'll be using: Source 1, Source 2, Source 3Oregon State (subtopic 2)Sources I'll be using: Source 1, Source 5, Source 6California (subtopic 3)Sources I'll be using: Source 2, Source 3, Source 43. When taken all together, what do the sources say about the subsection you put them under? Write a short paragraph, or summary, of what the sources say, AS A WHOLE, under each subtopic.Geographical StructureWashington State (subtopic 1)Sources I'll be using: Source 1, Source 2, Source 3Summary of sources as a whole: Bla bla bla (This should be a nice solid paragraph of what the sources say as a whole about this topic)Oregon State (subtopic 2)Sources I'll be using: Source 1, Source 5, Source 6Summary of sources as a whole: Bla bla bla (This should be a nice solid paragraph of what the sources say as a whole about this topic)California (subtopic 3)Sources I'll be using: Source 2, Source 3, Source 4Summary of sources as a whole: Bla bla bla (This should be a nice solid paragraph of what the sources say as a whole about this topic)4. When taken all together, what is the analysis of this subtopic? What does this summary actually MEAN - what, when you take all of the above themes and sources, does thismean? It will look like this:Geographical StructureWashington State (subtopic 1)Sources I'll be using: Source 1, Source 2, Source 3Summary of sources as a whole: Bla bla bla (This should be a nice solid paragraph of what the sources say as a whole about this topic)What does this summary actually MEAN - what, when you take all of the above themes and sources,does thismean? What are the contributions of this literature to the field? What are the overall strengths? What are the overall weaknesses?What might be missing? Is there bias? How should the audience take this summary and move forward?Oregon State (subtopic 2)Sources I'll be using: Source 1, Source 5, Source 6Summary of sources as a whole: Bla bla bla (This should be a nice solid paragraph of what the sources say as a whole about this topic)What does this summary actually MEAN - what, when you take all of the above themes and sources,does thismean? What are the contributions of this literature to the field? What are the overall strengths? What are the overall weaknesses?What might be missing? Is there bias? How should the audience take this summary and move forward?California (subtopic 3)Sources I'll be using: Source 2, Source 3, Source 4Summary of sources as a whole: Bla bla bla (This should be a nice solid paragraph of what the sources say as a whole about this topic)What does this summary actually MEAN - what, when you take all of the above themes andsources, does thismean? What are the contributions of this literature to the field? What are the overall strengths? What are the overall weaknesses?What might be missing? Is there bias? How should the audience take this summary and move forward?
