Literature Review Paper- Forensic Psychology- Child Sexual Abuse

Literaturereview Paper in Forensic Psychology (Psychology and The Law).

What is a literature review?

“All reviews involve analyzing and synthesizing multiple studies for the purpose of demonstrating their
collective relevance for solving some problem, for understanding some issue, for explaining some relationship,
and so on. Reviewing is an interpretive undertaking insofar as it is an effort to make sense of these studies and
to establish their meaning. A widely held view is that reviews are a means of collecting and organizing the
results of previous studies so as to produce a composite of what we have already learned about a particular
topic. This approach assumes that knowledge accumulates within a field, and hence understanding of some
phenomenon can be built up piece by piece, brick by brick, eventually yielding something like a more complete,
thorough, and, hence, trustworthy understanding, which, in turn, can be more confidently applied to solving a
problem of a particular kind.”

The Two Purposes of a Literature Review
Your review has two purposes: (1) to describe and compare studies in a specific area of research and (2) to
evaluate those studies. Both purposes are vital: a thorough summary and comparison of the current research is
necessary before you can build a strong evaluative argument about the theories tested.

Getting Started
(1) Select a research topic and identify relevant articles.
(2) Read the articles until you understand what about them is relevant to your review.
(3) Digest the articles: Understand the main points well enough to talk about them.
(4) Write the review, keeping in mind your two purposes: to describe and compare, and to evaluate.

Main Goal
Your goal is to evaluate a body of literature; i.e., to “identify relations, contradictions, gaps, and
inconsistencies” and “suggest next steps to solve the research problem” (APA Publication Manual 2010, p. 10).
Begin writing when you have decided on your story and how to organize your research to support that story.

Organization
Organize the literature review to highlight the theme that you want to emphasize – the story that you want to
tell.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Introduction:
(1) Introduce the research topic (what it is, why does it matter)
(2) Frame the story: narrow the research topic to the studies you will discuss
(3) Briefly outline how you have organized the review

Body:

(1) Headings. Use theme headings to organize your argument.
– Use headings to identify major sections that show the organization of the paper. (Headings also help

you to identify organizational problems while you’re writing.) Avoid the standard headings of
research articles (Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion). Use specific, conceptual headings. If
you are reviewing whether facial expressions are universally understood, headings might include
Studies in Western Cultures and Studies in Non-Western Cultures. Organize your argument into
topics that fit under each heading (one or more per heading).

(2) Describe, compare, and evaluate studies for each section of your argument under your headings:

– (a) Describe the relevant parts of each study and explain why it is relevant to the subtopic at hand.
Describe. For each section or subtopic, briefly describe each article or line of research. Avoid sudden
jumps between broader and narrower ideas. Keep your story in mind to help keep your thoughts connected.

– (b) Compare the studies if need be, to discuss their implications (i.e., your interpretation of what the
studies show and whether there are important differences or similarities)
Compare. For each section or topic, compare related studies, if this is relevant to you story.
Comparisons may involve the research question, hypotheses, methods, data analysis, results, or conclusions.
However, you don’t want to compare everything. That wouldn’t be a story! Which parts are relevant? What
evidence supports your arguments? Identifying strengths and weaknesses of each study will help you make
meaningful comparisons.

– (c) Evaluate the importance of each study or group of studies, as well as the implications for the
subtopic, and where research should go from here (on the level of the subtopic)
Evaluate. Descriptions/comparisons alone are not illuminating. For each section or topic, evaluate the
studies you have reviewed based on your comparisons. Tell your reader what you conclude, and why.
Evaluating research is the most subjective part of your paper. Even so, always support your claims with
evidence. Evaluation requires much thought and takes on some risk, but without it, your paper is just a book
report.

Conclusion: Final evaluation, summation and conclusion

Final evaluation and summation. On a broader scale, relating to your main theme, tell your reader what you
conclude and why. Reiterate your main claims and outline the evidence that supports them.
Conclusion. How does your evaluation change or add to current knowledge in the field? What future studies are
implied by your analysis? How would such studies add to current knowledge of the topic?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Broad Topic: Forensic Psychology- Child Sexual Abuse

1. First, need to base on the broad topic and think about the topic on it.

(Focus in Broad) Final Topic: __________________________________________________

2. Second, follow the instruction.

i. APA style

– Cover page (pg. 1)

– Abstract (pg. 2)

– Introduction (1-2 pages)

– Body: Heading (1-2 pages)

– Body: Describe (1-2 pages)

– Body: Compare (2-3 pages)

– Body: Evaluate (2-3 pages)

– Final evaluation and summation (1 page)

– Conclusion (1 page)

– 10 References (2 pages) (9 primary source research published in peer reviewed journals and

1 book source)

– ANYTHING ELSE SOURCES WILL DISQUALIFY PAPER.

ii. The peer reviewed journals NEED to find in PsycINFO.

iii. The work product should be 10-12 pages, add the cover, abstract and references page

(4pages)

= total: 14-16 pages

This is not an essay – hence, it is not a paper featuring your opinion. The work product is to be no less

than 10 pages, APA style and references throughout, and explore the topic or if a comparison is used,

both sides of the issue, with a firm grounding in psychology.

Paper is graded as follows:

50% Content;

15% APA format;

15% Appropriate References (10 & fulfilling above requirements);

10% Appropriateness of title to length of paper

10% Writing / Ability to clearly communicate the ideas in the written form.