This guide is for PSYC 235 Week 7 Research Paper, start to submission. A 5-page paper synthesizing 5 peer-reviewed articles, no more than 5 years old, on a specific area of adult development.
PSYC 235 is Psychology of Adulthood, 3 credit hours, in Liberty University's BS in Psychology. Canvas and the course guide file print the code as PSYC235; it is the same course.
| Course | PSYC 235 Psychology of Adulthood |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 7 |
| Points | 200 points |
| Length | 5 pages |
| Sources | 5 articles from peer-reviewed academic journals, no more than 5 years old |
| Faith integration | Not required by the guide |
| Format | Current APA |
What PSYC 235 Week 7 Research Paper asks for
You choose a research area in adult development, locate 5 articles no more than 5 years old from peer-reviewed academic journals that examine it, and write a 5-page paper synthesizing the articles and summarizing the findings, giving a glimpse of the current state of knowledge in that subfield. It is due in Module/Week 7 with Bjorklund chapter 10. Worth 200 points, the largest assignment in the course.
Where it fits in PSYC 235
In the published schedule, Research Paper is one of 8 graded written assignments in PSYC 235. It follows Week 6 Blog 2 and comes before Week 8 Blog 3.
How PSYC 235 Week 7 Research Paper is graded
Liberty grades Research Paper with the rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas, worth 200 points in the published guide. That is about 20% of the course's 1,010 points. Read the rubric first. Each row is a criterion, and the wording of the highest column is the closest thing you have to a model answer.
Course grades in PSYC 235 use Liberty's point scale: an A is 900 to 1010 points of the course total. Missing the length or source minimum usually costs points on several rows at once, which is why the checklist below starts with them.
Timing in the published guide: Each course module/week (except Module/Week 1) begins on Tuesday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Monday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday. Check the due dates in your Canvas section, which govern.
The PSYC 235 Week 7 method, step by step
Define the scope of the search
Write down the question the review serves and the limits of the search: years, populations, study types. The scope tells the grader why these sources and not others.
Search systematically
Use the library databases with a fixed set of terms and filters, and collect more than the minimum (5 articles from peer-reviewed academic journals, no more than 5 years old).
Organize by theme, not by article
Sort the sources into themes before writing. Each paragraph should discuss a theme across several studies.
Compare and evaluate
Within each theme, say where studies agree, where they differ, and which evidence is stronger.
Identify the gap
Name the gap the sources leave open and how it connects to your question.
Format the references carefully
Apply current APA to every citation and reference; reviews are where reference errors cluster (5 pages).
Synthesize by theme rather than summarizing one article per section: what do the studies agree on, where do they differ, and what remains unknown? A table of the five studies (sample, method, findings) helps.
A structure for PSYC 235 Week 7 Research Paper
Word targets are planning numbers for about 1,500 words of body text, set by the length in the guide; the rubric decides where to spend more.
| Section | What it must do | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Topic and introduction | A specific subfield. | ~180 words |
| Synthesis | Articles compared and combined. | ~750 words |
| Summary of findings | Current state of knowledge. | ~360 words |
| APA and sources | 5 recent peer-reviewed articles. | ~210 words |
A topic angle that works
Choose a narrow area, such as resilience after widowhood, grandparents raising grandchildren or cognitive benefits of exercise in older adults, so five articles speak to each other.
Model paragraph with notes
An original paragraph written by our desk to show the register that earns full rubric credit. It is study material: learn the moves, then write your own.
All five studies found that older adults who exercised regularly showed better memory performance than sedentary peers, but they differed on the type of exercise that mattered. Two trials found aerobic exercise improved memory, while a third found benefits only from combined aerobic and strength training. Together they suggest that regular activity of either kind helps, with the strongest evidence for aerobic exercise.
- Agreement.
- Differences.
- A synthesis.
Mistakes that cost points on PSYC 235 Week 7
- One article per paragraph.
- Articles older than 5 years.
- Under 5 pages.
Checklist before you submit
- Length: 5 pages
- Sources: 5 articles from peer-reviewed academic journals, no more than 5 years old
- Sources organized by theme, not one per paragraph
- The gap is stated and tied to the question
- Each rubric row read against the section that answers it
Questions students ask
How many articles does the PSYC 235 research paper use?
Five peer-reviewed journal articles no more than five years old.
How many points is PSYC 235 Week 7 Research Paper worth?
200 points in Liberty's published course guide for PSYC 235, out of a course total of 1,010 points (about 20% of the grade). The rubric attached to the assignment in Canvas shows how those points are divided.
Is PSYC 235 Week 7 the same in every section of PSYC 235?
This guide follows Liberty's published course guide for PSYC 235. Liberty notes that course content can change from term to term, so if your Canvas section shows different instructions, a different week or different points, follow Canvas and your instructor.
Want a tutor to look at your draft?
Send the instructions and what you have so far. A Liberty tutor replies with what to fix first, usually within the hour.