Homework answers / question archive / January 2021 Optimising Performance 2020/21 Guidelines for Assignments Assignment Brief The assignment for the Optimising Performance research elective is a self-directed project, to be negotiated with the tutor, focused on a practical case-study related to one of the topics covered

January 2021 Optimising Performance 2020/21 Guidelines for Assignments Assignment Brief The assignment for the Optimising Performance research elective is a self-directed project, to be negotiated with the tutor, focused on a practical case-study related to one of the topics covered

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January 2021 Optimising Performance 2020/21 Guidelines for Assignments Assignment Brief The assignment for the Optimising Performance research elective is a self-directed project, to be negotiated with the tutor, focused on a practical case-study related to one of the topics covered. It consists of a literature review, an analysis of a real-life case-study and suggestions for further research in the topic. There are 3 format options: Option 1: Research essay (2000 words) Option 2: 20-minute recorded video presentation Option 3: 15-minute film or animation Assignment Elements There are four components that need to be present in your assignment (this applies to all format options: essay, presentation or film/animation): 1) A review of literature on the topic you have chosen. This will demonstrate your ability to select the materials that are most relevant to your topic and to reflect critically about them. These sources should be published scientific sources (i.e. research-based books, peer-reviewed articles and research reports), not general public websites or blogs. Critiquing means that you highlight the specific contribution of a piece of research in your argument, not just ‘criticising’ it. It could also mean that you contrast and compare the research you are presenting with other research. You should focus on citing research that you have read and thought about, rather than citing authors when they are themselves citing and interpreting the work of others. 2) The second element of the assignment consists of a case-study where you describe a real-life case that is relevant for the topic you chose and you analyse it in the light of the research you have reviewed. For example, if your essay is about strategies to combat performance anxiety, a possible case-study could be a description of someone who struggles with it and who has experienced a few of the strategies that you would have covered in your literature review. You would analyse that person’s experience integrating the research findings you just reviewed, and reflecting critically. 3) The final part of the assignment is a comment on your suggestions for further research in your chosen topic. What are the questions that remain unanswered? 1 How would you go about developing research in this area? 4) Finally, you need to present a “References” section. This is a list of all the sources you cited in the body of the text of your essay or in your slides during your presentation. This section is not a bibliography (i.e. everything you’ve read on the topic to prepare the assignment). If you have read a paper as background reading but have not made direct reference to it in any way in your essay or presentation, you should not list it in the References. There are two types of sources which you will use to prepare your assignment: ? ? Primary sources are those you have actually read yourself. These include: textbooks, journal articles, book chapters, etc. Secondary sources, which you have not actually read but are mentioned or summarised in the books or articles you did read. At a research elective assignment at this level, you are expected to cite mainly primary references. Secondary sources are useful as a starting point, to lead you to primary references. The referencing format for psychology is different to other systems that you may have used in the past (e.g. Harvard). Performance psychology uses the American Psychological Association’s (APA) style of referencing, and it is this style that you should adopt for your essay. Examples of the most common forms of references using the APA style are outlined below. Please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for all other extra forms of referencing you might need. Citing primary references (in the body of the text) If you refer to an idea presented in an article, book, or book chapter, you give the surname of the author(s) and the date of publication (both within brackets) in the body of your essay not as a footnote. For example: Community drumming features in recent studies as particularly useful for wellbeing promotion with vulnerable groups such as older populations (Perkins & Williamon, 2014) 2 If you are citing the author as part of the narrative, only the date of the publication should be in brackets. For example: Accounts by Sternbach (1995) have shed light into specific job-related stressors for musicians that may help explain the negative picture these studies have provided, namely: disruption in family life; employment insecurity and difficulties in career development; the roller-coaster of underload/overload of work already highlighted by Cooper and Wills (1989) and problematic aspects of person-environment fit. Note also that an ampersand (&) is used when the whole reference is given within brackets but the word (and) is used when only the date is given within brackets. When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time you cite the source, e.g. Brown and Green (2009) or (Brown & Green, 2009). When a work has three or more authors, you need to provide all their names the first time you refer to the source. In all subsequent citations give only the name of the first author, followed by” et al.” (this means “and others” in latin). Note the full stop after “al”. For example: As a result, an outpouring of research on wellbeing and efforts to define, assess and plan interventions focusing on empowerment of strengths has emerged (Bolier et al., 2013). Direct quotes Only quote directly when it is unavoidable that you use the actual words written by an important author (or for example you need to include a key technical definition) and you are going to critique that quotation. A good rule-of-thumb is to quote no more than once every 1000 words. A direct quote must appear in inverted commas (quotation marks) so that it is clear when it begins and ends and with a reference to the page, in the case of books. For example: Music psychology can now be described as “a proper sub-discipline with a programme” (Sloboda, 2005, p. 163). 3 Reference section at the end of the essay/presentation Journal Articles by one author: DeNora, T. (1999). Music as a technology of the self. Poetics, 27, 31–56. by two authors: North, A. C., & Hargreaves, D. J. (1999). Music and adolescent identity. Music Education Research, 1(1), 75–92. by three or more authors: Sloboda, J., O'Neill, S. A., & Ivaldi, A. (2001). Functions of music in everyday life: An exploratory study using the Experience Sampling Method. Musicae Scientiae, 5(1), 9–32. Note that with journal articles, the title of the journal is in italics and not the title of the article (note capitalisation of first word). The volume number of the journal also appears in italics after the journal title, and if the journal has an issue number, this is not italicized but placed in brackets. Finally, make sure that the page numbers of the article are included. Books by one author: Hargreaves, D. J. (1986). The developmental psychology of music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. By more than one author: use the same procedure as for journal articles. Note that the title of the book is italicised, and the first letter of the first word is capitalised but not the other words. Make sure you include the place of publication followed by the publisher. 4 Edited books and book chapters Chapter by one author in a book by two editors: O'Neill, S. A. (1997). Gender and music. In D. J. Hargreaves & A. C. North (Eds.), The social psychology of music (pp. 46–63). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter by three authors in a book by one editor: Hargreaves, D. J., North, A. C., & Tarrant, M. (2006). Musical preference and taste in childhood and adolescence. In G. E. McPherson (Ed.), The child as musician (pp. 135–54). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Note that the author of the chapter is in the form surname, initials, while the editor of the book is in the form initials, surname. Whole edited book: McPherson, G. E. (Ed.) (2006). The child as musician. Oxford: Oxford University Press If your references include more than one chapter from the same book, these should appear as separate references under the author of the chapter. Websites If the article is from an Internet-only journal, use the following format: Rogers, H. (2006, June). Beethoven’s Myth Sympathy: Hollywood’s ReConstruction. British PG Musicology, 8. Retrieved January 12, 2017, from http://www.bpmonline.org.uk/bpm8/Rogers.html Secondary references It is strongly recommended that you do not use secondary sources (a paper/book that you have read about but have not read yourself). Students often use another author’s interpretation or analysis of primary material rather than accessing and reading the original paper/book themselves. This is inadvisable as secondary sources do not present the material in full – primary sources are often presented in a limited way, in relation to the context of the secondary material. In addition, you are assuming that the author’s own interpretation of the primary material is correct. 5 However, there may be the rare occasion when you need to include a secondary source. This is usually when a book/article is very difficult to get hold of. If this should apply to you, please reference your secondary source in the following way: In the text write: Lisboa (cited in North & Hargreaves, 1997). Here, Lisboa is the primary source and North and Hargreaves the secondary source. In your reference list: only cite the secondary source i.e. North and Hargreaves (1997). Your references should be presented alphabetically, in the order of the surname of the first author, and not divided into sections for books, journal articles, websites etc.