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Methods of Social Research
SOWK/SOC 391
Literature Review Paper
The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a review of the literature that currently exists on your topic. A literature review is a collection of the most relevant and significant publications regarding a topic in order to provide a comprehensive look at what has been said on the topic and by whom.
Your literature review must include a minimum of five empirical journal articles from peer-reviewed journals that pertain to your topic. You will likely need to supplement your literature review with additional materials (e.g., other journal articles, book chapters, gray literature) on your topic.
Journal articles that are systematic reviews and meta-analyses can provide useful background information on your topic, but should not be included as your required five empirical journal articles.
This assignment also provides you an opportunity to continue working on your use of the American Psychological Association (APA) publication guidelines for proper citation of sources.
Only use journal articles for this assignment that have been recently published (within the last five years and never more than 10 years old). Research studies should always be referred to in the past tense as they have already been completed.