This research project explores turning points in interpersonal relationships. Sp

This research project explores turning points in interpersonal relationships. Specifically, Parent/Young
INTRODUCTION (1-2 paragraphs)
This is a relatively short part of the paper that establishes the purpose of the project. Start with an introduction to the general area of research under which the specific topic you are examining falls (but avoid being too general, such as “Communication is important in people’s lives), followed by a paragraph that explains the specific focus of your research (however, do not state the purpose as a research question; rather, explain the specific purpose in narrative form). Conclude this paragraph with a statement about the potential significance/importance of your research
II. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (1-2 pages; this may be longer depending on how much you write in each annotation
Find a few articles related to turning points in relationships and a few related to the type of relationship you’ve chosen as a topic. You may also find sources that relate to turning points in this type of relationship – so look for those as well. 
Write a single-spaced annotated bibliography for 6 references that help you organize the literature you reviewed for your final project. You must use only articles from peer-reviewed academic journals. 
A bibliography or works cited provides readers with the author, title, and publication details of a source, whereas an annotated bibliography adds a brief summary, or annotation, about each source. Placed just below the facts of the publication, the annotation describes the content of the work so that future reference to the entry by a researcher will provide essential data.
When writing the annotation, provide enough information in approximately 1 short paragraph for readers to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the source’s purpose, content, and special value. Be sure to use complete sentences and to avoid wordiness.
III. METHODS SECTION (1/2 – 1 page)
This section of the paper will be brief (3 paragraphs). You must discuss:
A. What methods were used to gather the data?
Briefly explain the survey and graph and what participants were asked to do with these.
B. Who were your participants?
Explain how many participants there were in the study (based on the surveys/graphs provided),        gender composition (how many men and how many women), age range of participants, and where/how you found these participants. (The participants were students in COMM .)
C. How did you approach the analysis of the data?
Explain the steps you took to organize and analyze data. This is not as complicated as it sounds. You are just going to give a step-by-step account of how you conducted your analysis for your findings section.
IV. FINDINGS SECTION (4-5 pages)
This findings section describes the turning points and patterns you see and the common themes, issues, et cetera that you found in the graphs and surveys (trajectories and types of turning points)
Describe what the data suggest about turning points in the relationship you are examining.
You will use the survey responses and graph information for this section. This section of the paper is a straightforward description of the results of your research questions. In other words, you asked a specific question, so how do the data you analyzed answer that question?
Research Questions: types of events that are turning points, most important turning points, trajectories of change, and unique insights
You should organize this section into a set of common themes that you can describe. After you describe each finding, you give evidence from your data to support that claim.  Consider using quotes from the graphs/surveys that are illustrative examples of your findings.
This section should be well-developed and thorough. In other words, don’t hurry through this section. It is one of the most important of the paper and demonstrates what you learned from examining the data.  This is the section where you should include any tables or graphs that you created. Please note these will not be included in the minimum 4-page section requirement.
Your goal is to address the following things as subsections within the analysis section of the paper (please use the following subheadings for each of these subsections in your paper):
Types of events that are turning points:  You want to describe what types of events that are indicated on the graphs as being turning points in relationships. You should NOT simply list all of the turning points. Your job here is to look across the data and try to describe the types of events that are in the data. You may also want to note which types increase and which decrease closeness. Explain the range of turning points and create categories of types of turning points.
Most important turning points: The surveys will provide this data. Again, you want to describe the types of events that were most important—not just list them. You should specific survey responses in this section to demonstrate why the turning points you are describing here are important (use the survey number to identify the survey and be sure to tell me what was interesting about it).
Trajectories of change: The graphs will provide this data. One goal of turning point research is to describe whether or not relationships vary in how they change across time. You want to provide some sense of the trajectories evident on the graphs. Do they primarily go up in a linear fashion? Do some of these go up and then down (an inverted U shape).  Tell me about what you learn when looking at the graphs. What is the link between the types of trajectories and the turning points?
Other, unique insights that directly address an interesting question: In this section, you should          explain something else from the data that is interesting. For instance, do you notice a difference in how men and women responded? What other comparisons seem interesting (for instance, in parent-young adult do the surveys/graphs for mothers/fathers look different?) Students wishing to earn a high grade for the project should note that this is a key section where they can demonstrate their insight about the data. This is the section that demonstrates your “unique angle” or your insight from looking at the data. It must draw from the data and show evidence for your claims.
V. DISCUSSION SECTION (1 -2 pages)
Now that you have fully explained the data in the findings section above, you need to use this discussion section to tie the data back to the annotated bibliography you did.
Provide some insights about the paper as a whole. Evaluate the data and its relation to prior research. Do your findings support or contradict previous research (refer to sources used in your annotated bibliography)– how, why, do you see any trends, and if you do, what does that mean?
What is important about this research, and what should we get out of it? What limitations are there in this type of research?
CONCLUSION (1 paragraph)
Conclude the paper with a clear and succinct paragraph that summarizes your research study and ends on a compelling and engaging point. You should also discuss the possible limitations of your research as well as directions for future research. How does your analysis offer some insight into the communication between people?
REFERENCES
On a separate page, list all sources that you cited in the annotated bibliography and throughout the paper. Do not include sources that you did not cite. References must be in APA format.