Help with the following assignment: APA Format, 12pt Times New Roman, References/cited in material; abstract page: will need it completed by 13 September 2014 at 11am Eastern time zone

Paper must be completed in the format outlined. Part 1, Part2, & Part3

This activity will enable you to:

• Analyze at least two peer-reviewed papers in psychological research that incorporate quantitative and/or qualitative methods, comparing the research design, statistical tools and results (Psychology Program outcome 2)

The purpose of this assignment is to investigate the history of social psychology, apply knowledge of methodology, gain experience using library resources, and learn the distinction between professional articles and non-professional sources.

The paper you will write in Project 1 has two parts. For the first part, choose a year that is of personal significance to you between the years 1965 and 1995; for example, the year you were born, the year you got married, the year a child was born, and so forth. After selecting a year, use library database PsychArticles to locate the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology for the selected year. Browse through all of the issues of JPSP that came out in the selected year. Skim the abstracts of some of the articles. 

Select the issue from that year that has articles you find the most interesting and examine each study in that issue. Look at the participants being used in the studies.

For the second part of your project, read the following articles online: 

• DeLeon, F.M. (1999, October 24). Rocking the cradle—And the marriage: Programs help couples prepare for parenthood.Seattle Times. November 25, 2006, Retrieved from 

  http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19991024&slug=2990888

• Shapiro, A.F., Gottman, J. M., & Carrere, S. (2000). The baby and the marriage: Identifying factors that buffer against decline in marital satisfaction after the first baby arrives. Journal of Family Psychology, 14, 59-70. Retrieved from 

  http://vlib.excelsior.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pdh&AN=fam-14-1-59&site=ehost-live

Both articles are on the same subject—parenthood. You will be asked to compare the two articles, one from a newspaper (SeattleTimes) and the other from a journal (Journal of Family Psychology).

In the first part of the project, after you have viewed the abstracts of titles of articles published in JPSP in your selected year, write briefly about any trends or patterns you noticed in that year. You should cover the following: 

• Were there some topics that seemed to be more popular than others?
• What percentage of studies used participants that were college students?
• What percentage of studies used male participants only?
• Female participants only?
• Both sexes?
• On an average, how many authors were female as opposed to male?
• How many studies were in the articles?

After studying the articles in the issue you selected from that year, write about the following:

• What methodological designs were most common?
• Were most studies correlational or experimental?
• What percentage of the studies used archival analysis or observational methods?
• Did the studies discuss the ethical aspects of their research (informed consent, deception, etc.)?
• Were there any methodology-related issues that you noticed in the article that were relevant to what you have read in Chapter 2 of the textbook? Address these issues.

For the second part of the project, answer the following questions for both the articles that you have read:

• What were the main goals of the study?
• What information was provided about how the sample and data (self-report, survey responses, observation) were collected?
• Can the data be generalized to other populations? How were the concepts of the study measured?
• What were the main findings of the study?
• Were relationships between variables presented as causal or correlational?
• How well did the author’s conclusions fit the findings?
• How strong (or weak) was the methodology of the study?
• What limitations existed in the study?
• What are the main differences between professional sources and news sources?

The first part of Project 1 will require a written response that is between 2—3 pages (500–750 words).

The second part of Project 1 will require a written response that is between 2–3 pages (500–750 words).

The entire Project 1 should be between 4 – 6 pages (minimum of 1,000 words).

Project 1 is due at the end of Module 3. Start work early on the project, so that you can submit it on time. 

 Keep the following points in mind:

• Assessment of history of psychology is based on theory and analysis of information.
• Analysis of methodological designs is logical and fact-based.