Writing Question

The purpose of this research assignment is for you to engage in/and write-up a self-improvement intervention using validated instruments and evidence-based approaches. This is a well-being project that will require you to first assess the current state of your well-being using the screening measures you completed. You will choose one well-being goal to pursue over a period of time (up to two weeks). You may choose an evidence-based practice activity that has been or will be introduced during the course to help you achieve your goal(s). You may test the activity without altering it or you may be interested slightly altering the activity based on your discussion posts to see if it yields similar results as the original study. Finally, a post-intervention validated well-being questionnaire will be taken and a synthesis of the whole process, including results, will be submitted at the end of the course. These activities can also be found at https://ggia.berkeley.edu, see rubric. #GEA1

You will write this up as an empirical paper addressing the following.

Introduction: What did you decide to change? Why was it important for you to change what you (hopefully) changed? What variables typically facilitate and impede this change? What mechanisms may explain why the variables discussed may facilitate or impede this change? How will your research address the problem? What is your hypothesis? Use prior research to support each question.

Methods: Describe the procedure(s) you used to address the research question. What science-based activity did you use? What is the research behind the science-based activity? How did you measure change (e.g., PERMA, PANAS, etc.) and at what intervals (e.g., daily, weekly, etc.)? 

Results: What happened? Even though self-report data may suggest the intervention was effective, you must also provide corroborating evidence from other sources. Objective health indicators (e.g., fewer sick days used), and behavioral measures (noticing more good things on a daily basis; more positive social interactions) are all appropriate. Written and graphical presentation (e.g., table, chart) of results are required.

Discussion: Was your hypothesis confirmed or disconfirmed? Are your results consistent with prior research? What have you learned about change, and positive psychology? You might talk about strengths, weaknesses, and difficulties in implementing your intervention, or you might explain why some techniques seemed to be more effective than others. What would you do differently if you had the chance to do it again? Why?

Click here to access and download the Self-Improvement Paper Rubric.Download Click here to access and download the Self-Improvement Paper Rubric.

Guidelines:

The Self-Improvement Project Paper must be typed and 7 – 10 pages long (excluding title page, abstract, references, table(s), and figure(s)). It should be double-spaced and in 12-point font, 1” margins on all sides, and written following the procedures and guidelines set forth by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Failure to do so will result in a loss of points.

Unless there is a seminal article for your topic that you think must be included, please keep references as current as possible (e.g., 2015 – present). Limit your references to scholarly books and articles with an emphasis on the latter. Please cite at least 4 – 5 scholarly articles in addition to other relevant reference materials. Although we often use secondary articles in this course, for this paper you should cite the original article that the secondary article references.

If you are unsure of whether a text or an Internet site meets the “scholarly source” requirement, just bring the text and/or website address to me and I will let you know if it is acceptable. Also, if you are unsure how to cite/write anything using APA 7 format, simply make an appointment with me during my office hours and we can go over how this is done.