Reference no: EM133191939

Wk 6

Analyze the Issues and Debates in Your Topic Area

Being an expert in a topic means that you recognize and possess a reasoned, informed point of view on the discussions in your field. You eventually will demonstrate this knowledge in the literature reviews of your Dissertation Proposal, and, of course, your final dissertation.

To do this well, you need to be able to understand, define, and recognize an issue. Of course, this is easy to do if you can determine what an issue is not. Something is not an issue if it is a theoretical claim (keeping in mind the broad understanding of theory with which you work at Northcentral) that researchers and theorists regard as settled and you cannot think of any good reason to challenge (i.e., your critical reading of the literature does not suggest a challenge to the consensus in the field).

The guiding question for analyzing issues and debates in your topic area is:

What are the issues related to what we know and what we do not know about the topic?

For example, use the topic of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT).

What are the issues related to what we know and do not know about how mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) works? In the case of MBCT, it is regarded as settled that MBCT does work, that the theory-based claim that the treatment produces a benefit is, in general, true. There may be questions about with whom and what problems it works with, if so, these are issues. You can see that issues are the unknowns, controversies, and questions in a topic area.

To help you identify possible issues and debates in the topic area, here are few tips to guide your analysis.

1. Are key terms defined or used in the same way in the two articles?

2. Are key findings tied to specific measures, populations, or assumptions about the phenomenon?

3. Does the use of "may," "it is assumed," "putative" and similar words that indicate something thought to be true for which there is no evidence tell you something?

Be sure to review this week's resources carefully. You are expected to apply the information from these resources when you prepare your assignments.

Resource Materials

Ridley, D. The literature review: A step-by-step guide for students. Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage.

Review Chapter 4 and Chapter 8

Week 6 - Assignment: Discuss Issues and Debates in Your Topic Area

Please remember my topic area is The Psychology of Music in Positive Psychology Pertaining to the Mindset in Praise and Worship.

(The Psychology of Music and the Role of Praise and Worship in Well-being)

Positive psychology is still needed. What is the Mindset pertaining to praise and worship.

Instructions

Using the entries in your Annotated Bibliography assignment, write a paper in which you discuss and (if appropriate) take positions on the following in your topic area:

1.  Current theories, explanations, proposed relationships among constructs, and absence of theories about meaningful phenomena in your topic area.

2.  Contradictions, inconsistencies, and ambiguities regarding findings related to theories in your topic area.

Be sure to support your position with at least five references from the research you have gathered.

Length: 5-7 pages