Career Review Paper (adapted from Dr. Drew Appleby at UIPUI, used with permission)
You will write an APA-style review paper whose topic is the particular area of specialization in psychology that is of most relevance to the occupation you would like to eventually enter (e.g., industrial/organizational psychology if you want to become a human resources director, counseling if you wish to become a school counselor, and developmental psychology if you would like to own and operate a daycare center).  You may choose a career that is not directly related to the field of psychology.  

Please format you paper using the sample paper located in the Content section of the classroom under “Writing Resources” as guidance.   Remember to use the sections of the paper as headings (i.e. History, Psychological Theories etc.).  The body of this paper—not including the title page and reference section—will be at least four pages long, and will be organized into the following sections:

1. A title page that includes a running head, the title of your paper, your name, and your institutional affiliation
2. A discussion of the following:
   • The history of this area including its relationship to other areas of psychology and/or other academic disciplines
   • Two of this area’s psychological theories that are relevant to the work. 
   • Two of the research methods that researchers in this area commonly use to gather data and test hypotheses
   • A description of two empirical studies from the professional literature of this area and an explanation how the results of each of these studies can or have been used to promote human welfare. The studies must come from a peer-reviewed journal.
   • A specific occupation in this area that you plan to eventually enter; an accurate description of this occupation, the tasks a person in this occupation is required to perform; and a list of the specific types of knowledge, skills, and characteristics (i.e., work styles) a person needs in order to be successful in this occupation. The information for this section must be gathered from O*NET (http://online.onetcenter.org/)or a similarly credible source that has been approved by the instructor
   • An explanation of how you have used specific curricular (e.g., classes) and extracurricular (e.g., internships) opportunities during your undergraduate education to accomplish the knowledge, skills, and characteristics you identified in the previous section.

        3. A reference section containing at least five scholarly references (Do not use generic dictionaries/encyclopedias and use only Web sites ending in .edu, .org, or .gov.) Textbooks should not be used as part of the required sources.

Students often lose points for not including 2 theories, 2 research methods, and 2 empirical studies.  Points are also lost for not using ONET (or an approved alternative) for section 7.  Be sure to use headings.    

Please also follow the guidelines of the APA Sample Paper located in the Content section of the classroom (Click on Course Resources then Writing Resources).