Introduction:

The discussion forum topic is an assignment to be submitted for a grade.  This is the third of ten discussion forum topics to be submitted during the semester.  Read the directions carefully and read the Grading Rubric, which can be viewed by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric, then compose your response and submit your response by clicking Reply.     

Directions: 

Developmental psychologist typically pick one age range, and focus their research efforts on that one age range, specializing in one period of development, for example, adolescence, or middle adulthood, or late adulthood.  

You have learned about the periods of the lifespan in a previous chapter, and now, you have learned about the classic developmental research designs in Chapter 2.  Focusing on the research aspects of the material, complete the following Tasks.  Here is information you can use to complete the following Tasks.   

Here are the Periods of the Life span:

Prenatal

Infancy and Toddlerhood

Early Childhood

Middle Childhood

Adolescence

Emerging and Young Adulthood

Middle Adulthood

Late Adulthood

Here are the Classic Developmental Research Designs:

Cross-sectional

Longitudinal

Sequential

Tasks: 

1. State which age range, or period of development you would be interested in focusing on, to conduct research, if you were a developmental psychologist.      
2. State who you would have as participants in a study that you would like to conduct.     
3. Choose a classic developmental research design that you would use to conduct research.  
4. State what you would be interested in discovering in the age range you selected.      
5. Reply to two classmates’ responses by asking a question, answering a question, offering a suggestion, giving praise, agreeing, politely disagreeing, providing encouragement, sharing a story, or offering a comment.     

How to Complete the Assignment: 

Read the five task items, and then compose a response to each of the five task items in the order in which they appear.  Be as specific as possible.  The responses should show that you have an understanding of the concepts being addressed. 

How the Assignment will be Scored: 

The assignment will be scored using the Grading Rubric for the assignment, which can be viewed by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric.  The Grading Rubric is based on the Task items, which are aligned with the Learning Objectives of the chapter, which are aligned with the Course Objectives that are on the Syllabus, and which are aligned with the Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for the course that are on the Syllabus.  If a response meets the criterion set forth in the Grading Rubric, then the response will earn 1 point.  If a response does not meet the criterion set forth in the Grading Rubric, then the response will not earn 1 point.  Each assignment is scored independently from previous assignments and each assignment is scored independently from future assignments.  

Where to Access the Score:  

The score for the assignment will be visible in the Grades area.  To view how the score was derived, you can view the points earned on the Grading Rubric by clicking the word Show Rubric in upper right hand of the page in the Grades area for this specific assignment.  If there is individual feedback on the assignment, then there will be individual feedback in the Assignment Comments area, which is right hand side of the page. 

Student Success Tip: 

Two Samples of Good Work are provided for students to use as a guide for how to gear their responses.  One sample is in a paragraph format and the other sample is in a numbered format.  Either format is acceptable to use when submitting your response.    

Samples of Good Work: 

Sample 1

If I were a developmental psychologist, then the age range of my choice, in which to conduct research, would be late adulthood.  The participants in my study would be 200 individuals who are age 90, 200 individuals who are age 100, and 200 individuals who are age 110, who live in a large facility for older adults.  The classic developmental research design of my choice would be the cross-sectional design, where the participants would be seen once, and fill out a questionnaire that would take 30 minutes to complete.  I would be interested in discovering if there are differences in the reasons that individuals in late adulthood give for their longevity.      

Sample 2

1. Middle adulthood would be a period of development that would be of interest to me, to conduct research on, if I were a developmental psychologist.      
2. My study would be comprised of 500 individuals in the early part of middle adulthood, who would serve as participants.     
3. Using a longitudinal research design, the participants would fill out a questionnaire that would take about one hour, and then they would be contacted again, every two years to fill out the same questionnaire, until they reach late adulthood.  
4. It would be interesting to find out if participants who were optimistic at the beginning of the study would still rate themselves as optimistic at the end of the study, indicating if there were changes over time, or if the trait remained stable over time. 

Alignment of Assignment to the Course:

This discussion forum topic ties into Student Learning Outcome (SLO) 1:

Student Learning Outcomes 2. Students will be able to differentiate among classic developmental research designs.

This discussion forum topic ties into Course Objective 2: 

Course Objective 2. Differentiate among the various methods utilized to conduct developmental research.

This discussion forum topic ties into Learning Objectives 2 and 3 for Chapter 2: 

Learning Objective 2. Differentiate between a cross sectional, longitudinal, and sequential research design.

Learning Objective 3.  Differentiate between data collection methods and research designs used to conduct developmental research.

Rationale for the Assignment:

The purpose of the discussion forum topic is to apply the course material to the real world and to your own life by giving examples that are from evidence-based research and that are meaningful to you, and to show an understanding and mastery of the material.  This is due by Sunday night at 11:59 p.m.  Please see the Grading Rubric for the Discussion Forum Topic, by clicking the three vertical dots in the upper right hand corner of the assignment, and then by clicking the words Show Rubric.