Critical essay

  INSTRUCTIONS: 1) Provide a brief description of the most widely-used current approaches to treatment of the principal disorder in your case study ( it will be depression for this paper) You must include: (I have already done this sections and attached the paragraph) A. The names of the treatment approaches B. What the treatment approaches involve (methodology/procedure, etc.) C. How the treatment approaches work (underlying mechanisms/theory) 2) Find 2 original empirical scholarly journal articles that examine different approaches to treating the principal disorder in your case study. For example, if the principal disorder is anorexia, you may find one article that examines the use of the Maudsley approach and a different article that examines the use of cognitive behavioural therapy. You should aim to find articles that examine 2 of the treatment approaches that you described in #1. ( I have done this too and uploaded the papers) An original, empirical journal article reports detailed information on research conducted by its authors. Such detailed information includes the purpose of the research, hypotheses tested (not applicable to exploratory empirical studies), sample(s), methods used to collect primary data/test hypotheses, data analyses, results, interpretation/discussion of results, etc. If you are unsure whether your articles are empirical, email the instructor. 3) Provide a brief summary of the 2 articles that you found. You are not to include your own interpretations/opinions of the information. Your summaries should include: A. What was the purpose of the study? B. What did the authors predict? (descriptive studies do not report hypotheses – clearly state if this is the case) C. Methodology i. Who were the participants and how many? Were there any special characteristics pertinent to the purpose of the study (e.g. diagnosed with a specific disorder)? ii. What treatment(s) was examined and how did the authors examine this treatment? iii. How did they assess the effect of the treatment(s) D. What did they find in terms of treatment effectiveness? You do not have to describe what kinds of statistical analyses were used nor report actual statistics. Simply describe the relevant results in words. You do not have to include tables or figures. If you do, you must describe what they show in words! 4) Provide a critique of the 2 articles that you just summarized. A. Your critique can address any aspect(s) of the articles, e.g. theoretical background, hypotheses, methods, analyses, results, interpretations, implications, limitations, conclusions, etc. i. A good critique: a. Points out what aspects are strengths and explains why these aspects are strengths. For example, if you believe that the use of both self and informant reports in a study is a strength, you must also explain why that is a strength (e.g. increased validity once the same results are obtained using different methods) b. Points out what are aspects are weakness and explains why these aspects are weaknesses. For example, if you believe that a small sample size is a weakness of a study you must also explain why that is a weakness (e.g. results may be due to chance, etc.). Sometimes the studies of a particular disorder may have small sample sizes because the disorder is rare. Thus, a small sample size is typical of that kind of research and not necessarily a weakness in and of itself. c. Goes beyond the strengths and weaknesses pointed out by the authors. While you can, of course, point out and describe the strengths and weaknesses mentioned by the authors of the articles (and other authors (see below)), a good assignment will include your own critique. Here is your chance to be creative and original! But remember to always give credit to the original sources by citing the source(s) of any and all ideas that are not your own. d. A good critique provides well justified/supported points. Thus, you are encouraged to use additional sources to support your arguments (i.e. why an aspect is a strength/weakness). Additional sources include additional scholarly journal articles, lectures, textbooks, etc.). You can use review articles and meta-analyses (See #2 above for descriptions of these types of articles). You cannot use dissertations, theses, or articles published in Dissertation Abstracts International. 5) Provide a brief conclusion. Your conclusion must include the following: A. Which treatment examined in your articles you would recommend for the patient in your case study. B. A brief summary of why you recommend this treatment based upon your critique of the articles. 6) Provide a reference list (APA format). Your reference list should include: i. All of your sources including (of course) your main 2 articles. FORMAL REQUIREMENTS: a. APA formatted title page (must include your name, student number, course code) b. Description of most widely-used current approaches to treatment of the principal disorder c. Brief summary of the 2 main articles d. Critique of the 2 main articles that were summarized e. Conclusion f. APA formatted reference list that includes ALL of your sources YOU WILL BE GRADED ON THE FOLLOWING MINIMUM CRITERIA: a. Format [10 points] a. Within page limits (4-5 pages DOUBLE-SPACED) b. APA format for any title page, page numbers and running header, any headings and sub- headings if used, in-text citations and reference list c. Margins (1” all sides) d. Font size (12pt Times New Roman) b. Punctuation, grammar, spelling, and writing style [20 points] a. Minimal punctuation, grammatical and spelling errors b. Clearly and concisely written c. Transitions between sentences and paragraphs d. Organization of ideas and information c. Review & Summary [30 points] a. Description of the most widely-used current approaches to treatment of the principal disorder b. Articles selected are relevant, appropriate and do not violate the restrictions specified in #2 above c. Summaries of the 2 main articles provide adequate information (see #3 above) d. Quality of Critique [30 points] a. Discussion and explanation of strengths of each article b. Discussion and explanation of weaknesses of each article e. Conclusion [10 points] a. Treatment approach recommendation b. Brief justification/explanation of recommendation based on critique