Select one of the four mindfulness based interventions we discussed in class (MBSR, MBCT, ACT, DBT)
Introduce and summarize the intervention:  Make sure to describe a) the theoretical underpinnings of the intervention, b) key components of the interventions including the target population, structure/delivery, c) form and extent of mindfulness based practices used in the intervention, d) additional difficulties/diagnoses this intervention may be effective for according to research.
Search the academic databases (beyond google scholar) and pick 2 research studies (including meta-analyses if these are available) that examine the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the specific intervention you chose.*  Upload a copy of the selected articles with your submission
Summarize the research findings   Make sure to describe what was studied, target population, what type of control group was used, what was the research question, the measured variable/s, findings, and your own short critique of the study
Discuss the research findings in light of the proposed mechanisms of action articles we discussed in class:  What possible mechanisms of action are relevant with the intervention? How might they related to the intervention’s effectiveness with a particular population, or it’s lack of effectiveness?  Explain the connections. If none of the proposed mechanisms seem to fit suggest why that may be and propose your own theory about the mechanism of action relevant to these studies and interventions.  Make sure to demonstrate your understanding of mindfulness practice and its proposed mechanisms of action.
*Make sure you pick research that is of good quality, i.e.:

Published in a peer reviewed journal
Publishes in the past 7 years
Includes a control group
Reasonable sample size
Has interesting results

1) According to Entwistle, describe nave realists, antirealists, and critical realists.
   
2) Describe the 3 interpretations of the imago Dei (structural, functional, and relational) according to Entwistle.

3) Describe the assumptions of the below worldviews according to Entwistle (pick four).

Animism
Syncretism
Polytheism
Pantheism
Monotheism
Modernism
Postmodernism

   
4) According to Entwistle, what is the study of the Two Books?

5) According to Johnson, what is the difference between early and late modernism?

Assignment #2: Research Article Summaries
(30 points)
Due 2/11/2020

Instructions:
    You will work with your group to find peer-reviewed scientific articles on your topic. 
    You are EACH to find 3 unique articles about your topic and then summarize them. After this assignment is completed, you will share your 3 article summaries with your group so in total you will have 12 articles/summaries to use when writing your introduction section.
o    Dont just pick any 3 articles. Choose ones that help you set-up the study you are doing. You want to adequately summarize all of the facts surrounding what we know about this topic in your introduction.
o    Attempt to locate articles since 2005 and later, but the more recent the better. Since you are studying something about college students in 2020, citing work done back in 2000 doesnt do a whole lot of good because college and society as a whole is a lot different in 2020 compared to 20 years ago!
o    These articles must be primary sources and peer-reviewed! Remember, we use science to build facts, not some weird internet site or what momma says!
    Summarize each of your 3 articles by answering the questions listed below.
o    Use the numbering and format provided below for each article separately.
o    Please write in complete sentences but you may use bullet points to help with organization. Do NOT copy word for word! You must put these answers in your own words by paraphrasing!
    Be sure to submit this assignment via the Turn-it-in portal on eCampus.
    You must each send an email to your GTA with all 3 PDFs of your articles. Failure to do so will result in 5 points being deducted from your assignment grade. Also, bring the articles with you to labs on 2/11 and 2/18 to help with writing your introduction.

Note: Do not read just the abstract. Because of the brevity, this section can be misleading. (We understand that we have not gone over methodology/results in detail yet, but try your best reading these sections.) By reading the entire article you will have a better appreciation for the research process and you will gain valuable experience for your final paper assignment.

* Do not include the above text with your assignment. We dont need to see all of these directions!

Assignment 2: Article Summaries
* Remember, do not copy word for word, this is plagiarism (submit via turn-it-in)

TOPIC:  Concisely state your groups project topic:

FOR EACH OF YOUR 3 ARTICLES, ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS separately:

Article #1
General:
1.    What is the title of the manuscript, the journal it appears in, and the date it was published?

Introduction:
2.    What is the main goal of the study?
3.    What was the main hypothesis as it relates to your study? (If there was more than one, focus on the main one or two that are directly related to your study. Pretend you are explaining this to your parentsdont copy the hypothesis listed in the paper word for word.)
4.    What was the reasoning behind the authors hypothesis? That is, why did the authors believe that their hypothesis would be true? (Hint: Think about the theory/model that the authors used to explain why their variables would be associated.)

Methods:
5.    What was the main independent variable (predictor) that is closest to the predictor you will use in your study? And how did they measure it? Be specific! (What was the question used? If it was a multi-item scale, give a few examples of some questions.) You want to figure out all the ways prior research has measured the IV because findings may be different depending on how you decide to operationalize your IV.
6.    What was the main dependent variable (outcome) that is closest to the outcome you will use in your study? And how did they measure it? Be specific! (What was the question used? If it was a multi-item scale, give a few examples of some questions). Again, you want to figure out all the ways prior research has measured the DV because findings may be different depending on how you decide to operationalize your DV.
7.    Describe the sample. (That is, give a brief description of who they studied by giving the age range, gender breakdown, races, etc.?). Also provide detail of how participants were recruited and from where? Findings may be different across studies based on the sample collected.

Results:
8.    What did the study find? In other words, explain to me the results of the study in everyday language. Be sure to explicitly state if the hypothesis was supported. (Hint: Think about how you would describe the findings to one of your grandparents in 1-2 sentences. What would you tell them? Dont be scientific at all, and be concise. Do NOT copy word for word!).

Discussion:
9.    Why do the authors say this research is important (meaning, what are the implications of the findings? How do we use these new findings?)
10.    Describe 2 strengths of the study according to the authors.
11.    What are 2 limitations the authors highlighted?
12.    What are 2 future directions the authors suggested?

Article #2
Answer questions 1-12, as above.

Article #3
Answer questions 1-12, as above.

Statement of Problem, RQ Development, and Significance of Proposed Study
This discussion has three parts. You will be asked to articulate the need for your study, known as the research problem and include a draft of your research question (RQ) as well as the potential significance of the research. As we have discussed, it is the job of the scientific investigator to identify new areas of inquiry and ways to gain new knowledge in these areas. Research questions are used by scientists to frame potential areas of inquiry.

But before developing a research question, the research problem must be identified and justified. To justify the research question, scientists will consider the implications of the problem for those who have a stake in the results of the investigation. The significance of the findings will be presented to the stakeholders and sponsors of the investigation.

Your task is to consider what you have learned as you reviewed the literature and to identify what must be learned if we are to advance the knowledge base.

Statement of Problem
Summarize the following in one or two short paragraphs:

What do we know so far about the area of the literature that you reviewed?
What do you think we need to know to advance the knowledge base?
How will this new knowledge serve the stakeholders (scientists, care providers, families, patients, institutions) that may in turn be served by implementation of new developments?
Distill your statement of the research problem to one or two sentences that describe what must be learned about the problem.

Refer to the qualitative or quantitative project guide (linked in Resources) for help placing the research problem in the context of your course project. Begin working independently on completion of the template to support your completion of the project.

Research Question (RQ) Development
Identify your research question by differentiating between qualitative and quantitative research questions. Refer to the appropriate qualitative or quantitative project guide (linked in Resources) for tips.

Characteristics of Qualitative Research Questions
Qualitative research questions ask for description and interpretation of phenomena through the identification of socially constructed themes and categories.
Qualitative questions address concepts associated with thoughts, feelings, and actions that are not necessarily accessible via empirical methods of measurement.
Qualitative data take the form of stories, narratives, and observations.
Qualitative questions identify the target population and phenomena under consideration.
Qualitative questions do not test empirically measured data.
Characteristics of Quantitative Research Questions
Quantitative research questions point to empirical methods that will test the hypothesis or hypotheses associated with the question.
Quantitative research questions have independent and dependent variables.
Quantitative research questions measure relationships or correlations and/or manipulate natural phenomena through experimentation.
Quantitative data are presented in numerical categories or quantities.
Quantitative research questions do not interpret socially constructed themes, narratives, and observations.
Significance of Proposed Study
Summarize the following in one or two short paragraphs:

Why is this proposed research important to your field of study?
If it were possible for this study to be conducted, what would it contribute to our understanding?
How would this research provide theoretical and/or practical knowledge, and why?

I will attach the literature research question as well as previous coursework related to this topic..

For this assessment, develop a written analysis integrating your findings from the previous components in Assessments 14. Write your paper from the viewpoint that you are presenting the information to an audience that is interested in your results. Include graphical representations as well as explanation of descriptive and inferential measures, relating these components to the context of your survey. Only make claims that the data you collected can support.

The goal of your analysis and interpretation is to take the data that was collected and turn it into useful and usable information. Look for lessons that you learned from your data collection and results. What did you learn about the participants? What surprised you? Did you expect any of the results? Are there issues that arose that you did not understand? These may require further, more in-depth research. Discuss any limitations of the study.

In your paper:

Interpret and communicate your results to your target audience.
Include a brief summary of your population, sampling techniques, and survey.
Communicate results, interpretation, and analysis of all assessments, including graphs (circle, bar, histogram), measures of central tendency, measures of variation, confidence intervals, and hypothesis tests.
The focus should be on interpretation and analysis, rather than a summary of results. Every survey question should be addressed in your interpretation. You will not be able to comment on every little finding, so you will have to make some judgments about what might be the most interesting or revealing results.

Formatting Instructions
Submit a 57 page, double-spaced paper that includes the following sections:

Title Page.
Brief Overview of Survey. Briefly describe the overall goal of study, population, sampling techniques, and survey.
Findings and Results. Summarize the results of the survey.
Analysis of Results. Interpret and analyze survey results.
What did you learn from your survey?
What conclusions could you reach based on the survey results?
What surprised you?
Did you expect any of the results?
Are there issues that arose that you did not understand?
What was the significance of the study related to the issue in your personal or professional life that you wanted to examine?
Limitations and Constraints of the Study.
Recommendations for Future Study. What further study would help you examine the issue of interest in this study?

After reading the lesson materials, what are your thoughts on how you would design a music area for children?  What kind of materials would you put in the area?

Expresses ideas and thoughts clearly
Answers questions thoroughly using full sentences (no short form)
Responses are understandable
Refers to the article (if used) to support responses
Provides examples from class in working with children or own experiences
Free of spelling and grammatical errors

Oftentimes, sociologists study the social world because we want to have a positive effect on it. The benefit of uncovering and understanding various social problems is that we can learn how to best intervene in what we find problematic. One purpose of this course is to have you come away with an understanding of how society and the legal system/government affect each other.  For this assignment, you will explore what can be done about a social problem weve learned about in this class. Then, you will make a law or policy recommendation.

For this assignment, you need to do the following things:

Choose a topic/problem that we have discussed this term. Briefly describe the problem, using course readings as much as possible.

Choose and clearly state a specific policy position (that is, what, specifically, do you think the law or policy should and should not do?).

Explain why this law is needed (that is, what is the problem or what is happening in society that would necessitate this law?).

Explain how this law is likely to alleviate the problem (that is, how can this law or policy impact society?).

Further you should make relevant, meaningful, direct connections to at least four course concepts, theories, and/or research, including relevant terminology, general explanations, and direct, specific applications.

REQUIREMENTS

Submission length 750-1000 words

You must use (directly reference/discuss) least four course concepts, theories, and/or research, including relevant terminology, general explanations, and direct, specific applications of course readings.

Provide a reference list for all materials cite, and you must adhere to the principles for academic integrity by carefully and responsibly citing any material you draw from in your paper (including course materials).

Provide in-text citations (with the authors last name) for material you reference. 

If you use another authors exact wording, you must put this wording in quotes and provide a page number as well.

Format your paper using the following criteria: