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PSY20007 Developmental Psychology Assignment 1: Critical review of a social service program In the first few weeks of this unit, we have been looking at early development and the life span perspective

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PSY20007 Developmental Psychology Assignment 1: Critical review of a social service program

In the first few weeks of this unit, we have been looking at early development and the life span perspective. In this assignment, you are going to apply what you have learned, and combine it with the research skills you developed in first-year psychology. You will select a social service program aimed at children, adolescents and/or families, and then review it using your research skills and understanding of developmental psychology. You will then give a short 3–5 minute presentation in a Collaborate session about the program and what you found from your critical analysis.

There are a few purposes for this assignment—reviewing a social service program will allow you to apply what you have learned so far to a real-world context, and to explore a few aspects of development in detail. Completing the assignment will also help you understand development research and build on your research skills. If you ever enter private practice, being able to evaluate programs will also allow you to make informed decisions about where to refer clients. Many psychology graduates find work in social services where ongoing program evaluation is part of funding agreements.

This assignment supports unit learning outcomes 2, 3 and 5.

Assignment details

8/3/22, 12:10 PM Assignment 1: Critical review of a social service program

https://swinburneonline.instructure.com/courses/3838/assignments/36135 2/12

The purpose of this critical review is to develop your skills in research, evaluation and presentation of ideas. You are to draw from current peer-reviewed research and other suitable sources e.g. books, government reports, and present written material in APA format.

This assignment has two parts:

1. A 1000-word critical review of the effectiveness of a social service program and identification of the factors that influence the program’s effectiveness. This review includes a summary and a literature review/evaluation. This is worth 22.5% of your final mark.

2. A short 3–5 minute presentation in a Collaborate session about the program and what you found from your critical analysis. This is worth 2.5% of your final mark.

Step 1: Choose a social service program to review

Identify a social services program for children, adolescents and/or families to review.

The program should be psychologically based and directed toward improving the quality of life for children, adolescents and/or families. You may choose a program running in your own local area or a program that operates anywhere in Australia.

Examples of programs that have been evaluated in the past include:

a mentoring program for refugee children to assist them in adapting to school in

Australia

a home visiting program to support teenage mothers in their parenting

1-2-3 Magic & Emotion Coaching for parents to learn behavioural management of

their difficult children

Big Brothers/Big Sisters (a mentoring program for adolescents deemed as

vulnerable)

an early intervention program for children who are showing aggressive tendencies

or social withdrawal problems in preschool.

Step 2: Research the program details

You will need to look at publicly available information on the program you are

reviewing to understand the program's aims, objectives and activities. The opening

paragraph of your review (your summary) should describe the program you are

reviewing based on this information publicly available in resources such as brochures

or information on websites.

8/3/22, 12:10 PM Assignment 1: Critical review of a social service program

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If there is any empirical evidence of the program's impact, include it, but consider its

claims with a critical eye.

Note: Please do not contact staff of the program for information. You should make

use of information publicly available in resources such as brochures or information

over the internet to help you to understand the program.

Step 3: Locate relevant literature

You need to evaluate the past literature on your chosen type of program to determine

the program's effectiveness. In undertaking this review, you will be required to use

library resources such as PSYCINFO or other types of library databases to locate

relevant scholarly references from books or journal articles. You are not to rely on

populist articles about programs in newspapers or magazines for your reference

material. These sources of information, however, may alert you about programs you

might like to evaluate. You will then need to more formally seek information. You are

not required to do an exhaustive literature review, but rather to locate 4–7 relevant

references e.g. peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters.

Step 4. Write your summary and review

Service program summary (approximately 250 words). The opening paragraph of

your review should describe the program you are reviewing based on information

publicly available in resources such as brochures or information on websites. Include

the name of the program, a description of the program aims, target audience, main

components, how the program is being evaluated by the organisation, and the

implementation approach. You should cite the information provided by the

organisation that runs the program, but do not plagiarise the website—use your own

words. You can use information that is made publicly available in resources such as

brochures or information on websites in this section of your assignment.

Literature review and evaluation (approximately 750 words). A review of the

social service program. Evaluate the past literature on programs of the kind you have

chosen. You need to critically analyse the material and provide a rationale for your

claims about your chosen program's effectiveness. You will need to search more

generally as you are unlikely to find information exactly linked to the program you

review. Justify your review using 4–7 references that support your evaluation. Show

8/3/22, 12:10 PM Assignment 1: Critical review of a social service program

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comprehension of the research you reviewed and integrate the research into your

response.

Your evaluation should go beyond a simple 'good' or 'not good'. Rather, you are

evaluating the extent to which the argument is supported by the evidence, and the

extent to which the research addresses the set-up and suitability of the service

program.

We want you to do the review rather than paraphrase someone else’s review.

Questions you might like to consider:

Have researchers demonstrated using relevant theory and empirical evidence

what makes these types of program work?

Have important factors in the program’s success been identified or not?

If you were designing such a program, based on relevant theory and empirical

evidence, what would you include?

Have studies been done to carefully establish what factors make these programs

more or less successful? Note: you can suggest points in your review if this has

not been done or include what sorts of studies need to be done to establish what

the important factors are. Remember, you are meant to be operating as

scientists/practitioners.

Refer to the supporting resources for an example of the type of report you are

expected to submit. Please note that it is on a topic that is not specifically directed at

improving the functioning of children, adolescents and/or family life. Instead, this

example review is on a program to help problem gamblers control their behaviours,

whereas your report must be child, adolescent and/or family focused.

References: In-text referencing and the references list to be in APA 7th style.

Title page: Add a title page formatted in APA 7th style before submitting your

assignment.

Delivering your Collaborate presentation

You will give a short 3–5 minute presentation, in a Collaborate session, about the program

and what you found from your critical analysis. You will need to complete the following:

1. Choose a Collaborate session when the sessions are posted by the eLA.

2. Prepare four or five slides (including a title slide and reference list slide). Use your

written review as a guide. Please email your slides (no later than 48 hours after

submission of your critical review) to your eLA and ensure your name is on the title

slide.

8/3/22, 12:10 PM Assignment 1: Critical review of a social service program

https://swinburneonline.instructure.com/courses/3838/assignments/36135 5/12

3. Attend the Collaborate session, presenting a brief 3–5 minute overview of your key

findings from your literature review to your learning group.

Please see the presentation template under 'Supporting resources' for a guide on what to

include.

Supporting resources

The following resources will assist you with completing this assignment:

Assignment 1 FAQS

(https://swinburneonline.instructure.com/courses/3838/files/2744935/download?download_frd=1)

Find information in the Library (https://www.swinburne.edu.au/library/search/help/)

Referencing guides (https://studenthub.swinburneonline.edu.au/referencing)

How to use Collaborate (https://portal.swinburneonline.edu.au/study-resources/howuse-collaborate-0)

Example of SS review (PDF 87 KB)

(https://swinburneonline.instructure.com/courses/3838/files/2744677/download?download_frd=1)

Presentation template (DOCX 15 KB).

(https://swinburneonline.instructure.com/courses/3838/files/2744921/download?download_frd=1)

Answers to frequently asked questions

Be sure to include the minimum required number of resources. It is okay to use more

than the minimum.

Be sure to reference your sources in the body of your text.

The title page and reference list are not included in the word count, but in-text

citations are included.

Use double spacing, centred headings and indented paragraphs (as per APA format).

Submission details overview

This assignment will be submitted through Canvas. When you are ready to submit your

assignment, select the 'Start Assignment' button at the top of this page. You will be taken to

the 'File Upload' tab where you can choose your file or submit your URL.

Please note: When you submit your assignment through Canvas, you are also submitting

the assignment through Turnitin, which is a text-matching service that compares your work

with an international database of information sources. You will need to agree to using it.

Once you have submitted your assignment, select 'Submission Details' on the right of your

screen to view your originality report if you haven't already done so.

8/3/22, 12:10 PM Assignment 1: Critical review of a social service program

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Please allow a 24-hour turnaround for an originality report to be generated. See the 'Turnitin

originality report' area of the Academic practice

(https://studenthub.swinburneonline.edu.au/academic-practice) page in the Study Resources

section of the Student Hub for several guides to assist with the submission process.

Resubmissions after the due date without prior approval from your Unit Coordinator

may not be marked.