PSY 211 Research Design Worksheet

 

Citation of Literature

S.M. Watson, C. W. (2007). A Framework for Addression the Needs of Students Prenatally Exposed to Alcohol and Other Drugs. Preventing School Failure, 25-33. S.N. Mattson, K. C. (2006). Focused and Shifting Attention in Children with Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure. Neuropsychology, 361-369. Tracy Dennis, M. B. (2006). Reactivity and Regulation in Children Prenatally Exposed to Cocaine. Developmental Psychology, 688-697.

 

Gap Identification

Prenatal exposure to drugs is when a child is exposed to drugs before being born while in the mother’s womb. This happens because it can pass through the placenta from the mother to the child. Some of the drugs include alcohol and cocaine. For my research, I looked at articles that talked about the effects of drugs in kids who were exposed to drugs prenatally.

 

Research Question

In all the three articles, the authors have focused the research on children that have been exposed to drugs before birth and the consequences of the exposure in terms of learning and behavioral problems. The first two articles focused on children who had been exposed to alcohol as well as other drugs, while the last one looked at pre-schooling kids prenatally exposed to cocaine. All the researches have focused on the effects of the drugs in children and the problems the children are facing. However, the articles have not looked at how the children can be helped to cope up with these challenges and how education institutions can help them not fail in their studies. According to all the articles, the children have slow problem-solving skills as compared to healthy children. Therefore, my research question will be, ‘how can educators prevent school failure among learners that have been exposed to drugs prenatally?’

 

Research Design

The research method that I will utilize is survey and observation. The article done by Watson et al. has some areas where educators need to focus on when dealing with learners that have been exposed to drugs prenatally. In my research project, I will use a small population of educators and learners prenatally exposed to drugs as well as the mother of the child. In the survey part, the mother of the child will have to fill out a form describing the behavior of her child in terms of school and problem-solving skills. The teacher will also fill out a form on the behavior of the sample population of prenatally exposed children. The teacher will indicate the behavior of the child before the research and after the research. The focus will be given to the attention of the learner during certain activities, problem-solving skills, and class performance. The sample population of the kids that I plan to work with is four, ranging from four years to ten years.

The observation part will come in the four weeks program. In this part, the children will be involved in special learning methods with the teachers paying particular attention to the areas noted in the article by Watson et al. Then the teachers and the mothers will again fill out a survey form noting the changes in the learners. The results will be compared and therefore help in creating a curriculum that will prevent failure in learning among prenatally exposed students. I chose this research design because it will ensure that the results are quality and reliable. More so, I have chosen four weeks, which is about a month. Even though the period is short, it will prevent issues such as the sample population pulling out of the program. I also think that this research method is perfect for my project because it engages not only the learner and the educator, but also the parent of the child. This will make the mother feel involved in the growth of her child and to feel special as well. It is essential during research to ensure that the sample population feels comfortable and involved.

 

Issues of Ethics

Some of the ethical issues involved in this research is recording the students when engaging in various activities to assess their behavior. The research will be conducted ethically with consent from the mother on the child being filmed to serve as a record of analysis of the behavior of the child. More so, the mother will need to give records showing that the child was prenatally exposed to drugs and, if possible, mentioning the type of drug the child was exposed to. Also, the teacher should consent to participate in the program and agree to be recorded while educating this child. This will serve as evidence to show the areas in which the educator paid attention to. Also, I will ensure that all the participants, including the children, are informed of what is happening and have adequate knowledge of the research so as to give informed consent. The articles that I used for my research have influenced my decision to address ethical issues because, in all the articles, the participants gave an informed of consent.

To sum it all up, children prenatally exposed to drugs are affected in terms of learning and behavior. They have a problem in understanding the concepts taught in class as well as slow problem-solving skills. These, therefore, frustrate most of them. More so, the children perform poorly in class. My research is, therefore, aiming at looking at ways in which the children can be taught and understand the concept and prevent them from failing in class. The research design will be survey and observation. The learners will be observed as different, and more engaging teaching methods are used. This will lead to a suggestion based on the findings of a curriculum that will help learners that were exposed to drugs before birth to succeed not only in the classroom environment but in their behavior as well and other skills required in life.

Freudian theory continued to evolve even as Neo-Freudian theories continued to emerge. Today, Freudian ideas still provide a foundation for modern psychology and research though some appear in a significantly different form. In this assignment, you will address how modern research and empirical study may validate Freudian theory and how Freudian theory continues to influence modern psychology. You will also explore how Freudian and Neo-Freudian theories address the general problems explored in the field of psychology.General Requirements: Use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:

• This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
• Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
• Refer to Chapters 2-4 of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) for specific guidelines related to doctoral level writing. These chapters contain essential information on manuscript structure and content, clear and concise writing, and academic grammar and usage.
• This assignment requires that at least two additional scholarly research sources related to this topic, and at least one in-text citation from each source be included.
• You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.

Directions:Write a paper (1,500-1,750 words) in which you address how modern research and empirical study may validate Freudian theory and how Freudian theory continues to influence modern psychology. Include the following in your paper:

1. A discussion of how medical monitoring and empirical research have supported Freud’s drive theory.
2. A discussion of why psychoanalysis is still questioned in scientific circles.
3. A discussion of the general problems explored in the field of psychology.
4. A discussion of how Freudian and Neo-Freudian theories attempt to address these problems.
5. A discussion of what still needs to be explored in the field of psychology in order to more adequately address these problems.