HPS111 Introduction to Psychology: Human Behaviour

HPS111 Introduction to Psychology: Human Behaviour

Assessment Task 2

Assessment Summary

Assignment title: Critical Analysis

Submission requirements

Due date and time: 8pm AEST Friday 24^th Jan 2025 (Week 10)

TimeZone converter: link

% of final grade: 35% of overall grade

Word limit: 1200 words maximum (no 10% leeway)

Submission location: via HPS111 CloudDeakin dropbox

Assignment format: PDF (preferred) or .docx

PDF conversion software is available here on Deakin Software Catalogue

Referencing: APA 7

*Detailed information follows ensure you read all information provided.

Assessment Task 2 Critical Analysis Document 1

The second written assignment for this unit is a 1200-word critical analysis due 8pm Friday 24th Jan 2025. The AT2 critical analysis makes up 35% of the overall mark for this unit. There are four documents to assist you to complete the assessment:

1. The Assessment Task 2 Critical Analysis Document 1 (this document) is designed to explain what the major written assessment is, how to complete it, and the resources youll need.
2. The AT2 Critical Analysis Rubric is designed to outline, and explain each criterion (including grade standards) you will be marked on.
3. The AT2 Critical Analysis Example is an example of a critical analysis on a different topic which you can use to model your own assignment.
4. The APA 7th Word template file (.dotx) is a special file type that will set up your cover page and styles for APA 7th, which will help you get your formatting You dont need to use this, but it might make your life easier than doing formatting manually. If you dont understand styles, go see this video.

Contents

1. Rationale....................................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO)........................................................................................................................ 3
3. Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLO)................................................................................................................ 3

Task Outline.......................................................................................................................................................... 3

4. Task Summary............................................................................................................................................... 3
5. Central Claims of the Article............................................................................................................................ 4
6. Stimulus article to be critiqued....................................................................................................................... 4
7. Background to stimulus article........................................................................................................................ 4
8. Scholarly journal articles................................................................................................................................. 4
9. How do I understand scholarly articles?........................................................................................................... 4
10. How do I find and use scholarly articles?.......................................................................................................... 5

12. How do I structure my critical analysis?........................................................................................................... 5

13. Referencing Style........................................................................................................................................... 5

Assignment Parameters......................................................................................................................................... 6

14. Submission.................................................................................................................................................... 6
15. What is the Marking Rubric and how do I use it?.............................................................................................. 6
16. Assignment Parameters and word count.......................................................................................................... 6
17. Getting Started.............................................................................................................................................. 6

1. Rationale

As part of your training as a student in psychology and a tertiary student in general, it is vital you develop a set of skills and competencies that will help you become an independent, critical thinker. Critical thinking is the ability to evaluate and critique the strength of claims and the validity of arguments presented on a range of issues. This applies irrespective of who is presenting the argument or where the argument is being presented, be it a social media post shared by an acquaintance, a scholarly article published in a journal article by a leading researcher, or online article written by an expert. It is important be able to not only critically analyse the claims made by others, but also be able to identify and evaluate reliable evidence and present it effectively.

By completing this assessment, you will begin to develop the ability to critically analyse the strength of evidence in support (or rejection) of claims. You will also develop the ability to find, evaluate, summarise, and present empirical evidence found in scholarly articles to support your argument.

2. Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO)

Successful completion of this assessment task will develop the following ULOs:

3. Graduate Learning Outcomes (GLO)

Successful completion of this assessment task will develop the following GLOs:

Task Outline

4. Task Summary

Your task is to critically analyse the empirical support for the central claims presented in an online article. To do this, you will be required to:

1. Develop a search strategy to identify scholarly articles that support or counter the claims made in the article.
2. Present and explain the relevance of the presented evidence in relation to the primary issue in the article, and comment on the credibility of the claims made by the author of the stimulus.
3. Adhere to scientific writing conventions to clearly articulate your This includes your ability to construct a logical, well-structured, and well-supported argument.

5. Central Claims of the Article

The central claim of the source article is that Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) can be used to effectively treat depression. The article contains minor and major claims, and we would like you to focus on the main claims that (1) TMS is an effective treatment for MDD, (2) TMS is superior to ECT for depression, (3) TMS is safe and with minimal side effects. Your task is to evaluate these claims using empirical evidence. You can evaluate these claims using direct evidence (e.g., empirical articles that have assessed TMS), or indirect evidence (e.g., theoretical/review studies, animal models), you should be critical about the evidence you choose always try and use the best evidence. You should target the 3 major claims we have outlined.

6. Stimulus article to be critiqued

The stimulus article to be critiqued is called Some health providers now treat depression with magnets instead of pharmaceuticals and can be accessed from the following URL: https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/industry-news/some-health-providers-now-treat-depression- with-magnets-instead-of-pharmace/

7. Background to stimulus article

The source article is a blog post in which the author (Sweeny, 2018) discusses whether a form of non- invasive brain stimulation called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may be a promising alternative treatment for depression. TMS is a technology which emits a magnetic pulse to temporarily and non- invasively (i.e., without requiring surgery) increase or decrease activity in specific areas of the brain. The article suggests that using TMS to emit such magnetic pulses might be used to help treat depression without the need for medication.

8. Scholarly journal articles

In addition to the stimulus article, you are required to find, summarise, integrate, and cite scholarly journal articles to support or reject the claims presented in the stimulus article. The descriptions and explanations of the scholarly articles should be integrated into a cohesive, logically structured argument which supports your major contention. The articles should not be presented as a list of article summaries; you should use the scholarly articles to provide evidence for arguments that you make. There is no minimum or maximum number of articles you must use (aside from being more than none). You need to use as many articles as you deem necessary to make your arguments persuasive. Where possible, try to use research that reflects the current understanding of the topic (i.e. not outdated due to more recent findings). The stimulus article provided above is not included as a scholarly article (but should be included in your reference list).

9. How do I understand scholarly articles?

To assist you with your ability to understand scholarly articles, we will deconstruct and analyse empirical research articles in the week 2 and 3 seminars. In both seminars, we will show you strategies to approach and understand the sections of an original research article. In general, the sections of a research article include the introduction, method, results, and discussion. Week 2 will focus on the introduction and methods sections. In week 3, the focus will be the results and discussion sections.

10. How do I find and use scholarly articles?

You will be required to generate and implement a search for relevant scholarly articles using the Deakin library scholarly article search engines. The week 2 - 4 seminars have been developed to assist you with finding scholarly articles. You will be shown how to create and implement a search using the Deakin library search engines. This will include how to identify key terms, how to use different search functions, how to retrieve articles and how to summarise/cite the articles you have found. In week 5 we talk about critical thinking and application of evidence, and weeks 7 - 9 focus on writing skills.

The following key terms can be used as a starting point for this assessment (you may need to develop more):

• TMS

• Transcranial magnetic stimulation

• Depression

• MDD

11. Starter articles

The two articles you completed your AT1 data extraction task for can be used to get you started in the area:

1. Croarkin, E., Elmaadawi, A.Z., Aaronson, S.T. et al. (2021). Left prefrontal transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression in adolescents: A double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial. Neuropsychopharmacology, 46, 462469 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-020-00829-y

1. Sonmez, A. I., Camsari, D. D., Nandakumar, A. L., Voort, J. L. V., Kung, S., Lewis, C. P., & Croarkin, E. (2019). Accelerated TMS for depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry Research, 273, 770-781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.041

12. How do I structure my critical analysis?

In the introduction, youll want to briefly introduce the article, and outline the major claims being evaluated and whether they will be supported by the literature. Following from this, youll have a series of body paragraphs where you clearly identify the major claims in the source article, and present evidence that support or reject those claims. This should be followed by a concluding paragraph outlining the major content of the critical analysis, and what this means (implications). Refer to the example critical analysis, and the rubric for further guidance.

13. Referencing Style

The referencing and formatting style for this assignment is the American Psychological Association (APA) version 7. You need to format your assignment according to APA which includes the title page, in-body information, in-text citations, page numbers, and reference list:

• The recommended referencing guide is the official APA 7 website: https://apastyle.apa.org/

Assignment Parameters

14. Submission

A Word (.docx) or Adobe PDF document created in Microsoft Word (or equivalent software) submitted to the HPS111 AT2 Critical Analysis Dropbox on the HPS111_HPY711 Cloud Deakin website.

• You can install Microsoft Office onto your personal device for free - http://software.deakin.edu.au/2017/03/27/microsoft-office-for-windows/

15. What is the Marking Rubric and how do I use it?

The marking rubric contains each criteria and grade standards that are assessed in the AT2 critical analysis. Your marker will use the same rubric and award marks based on the stipulated criteria. When you finish the AT2 Critical Analysis, compare it against the marking rubric to ensure you have covered each criterion sufficiently. The marking rubric can be accessed from the HPS111 Cloud Deakin website.

16. Assignment Parameters and word count:

• You must submit the AT2 Critical Analysis in the form of a word processing document in either Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF

• You should include:
  
  
  • A title page with:
    
    
    • A title for your assignment
    
    
    • Your first and last name
    
    
    • Student ID
    
    
    • Word count (actual, not limit)
    
    
    • Unit submitted for
    
    
    • Lecturer/tutor
    
    
    • The academic integrity statement
    
    
    
  
  
  • A running head (optional)
  
  
  • Page numbers
  
  
  • The main body of text (includes introduction, analysis and conclusion)
  
  
  • A reference list
  
  
  

• The word limit is strictly 1200 words (markers will stop reading at 1200 words):
  
  
  • Included in the word count: Main body of text, in-text references, subheadings
  
  
  • Not included in the word count: The title page, the running head, page numbers, the reference list at the end of the assignment, words in tables, figures, or graphs, graphs and page labels
  
  
  

• References must be in APA format:
  
  
  • You must reference all material that is someone elses material or ideas
  
  
  

17. Getting Started

1. Attend seminars live, or listen to seminar recordings we talk about the skills you need to develop and use in these.
2. Retrieve each of the resources in the AT2 Critical Analysis folder
3. Read through stimulus article taking note of the major claims

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