The Graduate College requires that "g" level courses, enrolling both undergraduate and graduate students,
require additional "graduate level work" from those students earning graduate credit for the course. This graduate
assignment fulfills that requirement.

    This assignment is a combination of a critical literature review and detailed annotated bibliography of
10 recent (e.g. last 5 years) articles representing a narrow, highly focused topic of research related to drugs and
behavior. I am hoping both you and I will learn something about the state of the most research on a very specific
drug-related issue or question from your review.
    The assignment requires that you turn in the computer printouts of your search of relevant databases (e.g.
PsycInfo, ERIC or medical databases) to find the references for your review. I will look at those searches to see if
you have selected appropriate articles. Your should also turn in copies of your articles (they will be returned to you)
with your review.
    You will receive the greatest number of points if you find to-the-point, full text, primary source research
reports on your topics, fewer or no points for particular articles that are off-topic or articles geared for the general
public rather than research reports. The primary focus of your review should be how the research was done
(participants, methods, measures), the results and conclusions drawn, and most importantly, your critical analysis
of the methods and conclusions. We do not give all research results equal weight when we are trying to draw
conclusions about the current state of knowledge on a particular issue - we have to consider the quality of the
research. If two studies report conflicting results, can you hypothesize why this may have occurred? How did the
methods differ? Which is more convincing and why?
    I realize UNI's journal collection in this area leaves something to be desired. Although more and more
sources are becoming available online, you may find what look to be critical sources that are unavailable or highly
costly to get copies of. IF there are not full-text local sources available (which I can determine with a computer
search), you may use up to 3 abstracts that provide a fair amount of methodological detail.
    Review articles can be interesting and lead you to primary sources but do not typically provide the
requested detail on the methods and participants of the individual studies, so should make up a minority of your
sources. Similarly, metaanalyses can be very interesting and useful for your final overall assessment of the topic, but
won't give you the experience of considering the details of individual studies.
    Journal articles are likely to be in greater depth than what we can cover in class. You may have to learn new
vocabulary or read additional background material to understand the studies you are reading. After reviewing the 10 recent studies on a narrowly focused topic, provide your overall assessment of what this literature as a whole currently suggests about this phenomenon. What does the preponderance of the evidence support? If there seems to be no agreement, why not? What questions remain unanswered? What needs to be done differently in future research?
    Please be careful not to plagiarize. I want to know you understand and can critique the research and don't
know that if your simply lift or slightly edit sentences from your sources. A basic grading rubric follows.
 

Grading Rubric for Paper

Enough of your computer search submitted to show you have adequately searched
relevant terms related to a narrow, highly focused drug topic. This computer
search can also be your "proof" if recent articles are few in number or not
easily available. (up to 10 points) _____

10 pts each for summaries of 10 recent (~last 5 years) research reports. You will receive the greatest number of
points if you find to-the point, full text primary source research reports on your topic, fewer or no points for
particular articles that are off-topic or articles geared for the general public rather than research reports. The primary
focus of your summaries should be how the research was done (participants, methods, measures), the results and
conclusions drawn, and most important ly, your critical analysis of the methods and conclusions.

Research report 1 _____

Research report 2 _____

Research report 3 _____

Research report 4 _____

Research report 5 _____

Research report 6 _____

Research report 7 _____

Research report 8 _____

Research report 9 _____

Research report 10 _____

After reviewing the 10 recent studies on a narrowly focused topic, provide your overall assessment of what this
literature as a whole currently suggests about this phenomenon. What does the preponderance of the evidence
support? If there seems to be no agreement, why not? If two studies report conflicting results, can you hypothesize
why this may have occurred? How did the methods differ? Which is more convincing and why? What questions
remain unanswered? What needs to be done differently in future research? If your topic is covered in our text, does
Julian draw similar conclusions? (Up to 15 pts) _____