Applied Final Project
Over the last three decades, much of the data for various cognitive models has come from individuals suffering from different types of cognitive impairment. These studies have allowed for the development of many theories of ‘normal’ cognitive function. For example, studies of patients with prosopagnosia have informed the development of the Bruce and Young model of face recognition (see Young, 1998, https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524205.001.0001).
The written report for this course will examine one cognitive impairment/disorder of interest to you. In the report, discuss specific ways in which the impairment/disorder chosen impacts memory and cognition.
Instructions: Below are the steps you will need to take in order to create your research paper.
Choose a specific cognitive impairment/disorder.
Examples demonstrating appropriate topics: Alzheimer’s, ADD, frontotemporal dementia, Dementia with Lewy bodies disease, Parkinson’s; specific kinds of cognitive impairment such as general memory loss, amnesia, Wernicke’s aphasia, alexia, and agnosia.
Research your topic using the UMGC library.
Choose at least five (5) peer-reviewed resources to support your research.
Construct the body of the paper:
Describe in detail the specific cognitive impairment you have researched.
Explain the specific ways in which the impairment/disorder chosen impacts memory and cognition. This explanation should use, if available, comparative data from studies of cognitively ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ individuals.
Discuss any relevant limitations to what is known about the impairment/disorder.
Conclude your paper with thoughts on opportunities to grow in our understanding of the impairment/disorder.
As you write your paper, remember to illustrate/support relevant points (concepts, topics, and logic) with sound research, evident through the integration of properly cited theory and facts collected from a minimum of five peer-reviewed* journal articles (published within the last five years).
In addition to peer-reviewed articles, you may also use sources from the Web, your textbook or other books. Magazines and newspapers are generally not acceptable. For instance, Psychology Today would not be a preferred scholarly choice. If you are not sure, ask your instructor.
You may not use your course text, newspaper or magazine articles as your primary reference(s), but they are sometimes useful when they lead you to an appropriate research article. Avoid simply repeating the articles in summary form; use them within the text of your paper to illustrate important points.
Format: Your paper should be:
6-8 pages or about 1,600 words, in length – the page requirement excludes the title page and reference page(s)
Typed in 12pt font
Double-spaced with one-inch margins
Fully formatted and referenced using APA 7 format for student papers.
A paper in APA format will have these main sections:
Title page
Body – with properly formatted citations
Reference page
Due date: Please check the course schedule in this syllabus for the due date.
Late penalty: The penalty for a late project 10% of the project.
You may wish to submit a draft of your complete or near complete paper to the Effective Writing Center (EWC) for review and comment, prior to the due date of the paper. This should be submitted well in advance of the due date, in order for the EWC to respond and for you to make the necessary corrections. Once you receive feedback from the EWC, you can copy and paste it into a Word Document, then post it in your assignment folder with your project paper by the due date, for your instructor to view as necessary. The EWC can help address questions regarding format, structure, writing style, and appropriateness of references.
Evaluation Criteria: The following criteria will be considered in the evaluation of your research paper:
Accuracy—Are your stated facts or ideas correct?
Clarity—Is your research paper clear and easy to follow? You may want to read your paper out loud to yourself. This will help you catch incomplete sentences or lapses in logic.
Depth—Are the issues and implications well thought out and explored?
Originality—What is your thesis (the main point of your paper? Have you stated your own views and articulated them well? Use your own words. Do not copy material directly from your text or other sources without quotation marks. If you want to use the author’s exact words, put them in quotation marks and cite the page number from your text or other source material. Don’t forget to express your own opinion.
Supporting evidence—Are your ideas supported with empirical evidence? This is a crucial part of any well-written research paper. You may support your ideas with theories, previously conducted research, or other information you encounter in the text and other sources (journal articles and so forth).
References—Did you use appropriate references to support the main points of your paper? Be sure you have these references—that is, that you have the articles on hand if you used them, and make sure that your references relate to the point you are making or support your inferences.
Form, composition, spelling, and so forth—Is your paper neat and error-free? It helps to run spellcheck before submitting your work and to have a colleague or friend read over your work.
APA style—Did you follow the formatting rules of the American Psychological Association (APA)? You may want to visit the APA Web site, the APA Tutorial in the PSYC Learning Tools in the Course Content Area of your classroom, the UMGC Guide to Writing and Research, and/or UMGC’s library Web page.
Consult the UMGC Citing and Writing Guide, for proper form of APA Style in-text citations and references.
