BEHV3009 Developmental Psychology Assignment 1: Investigative study

Individual/Team task: Individual

Word/time limit: 2000–2500 words (+/- 10%)

Weighting: 35%

Due date: 11.59pm AEST Monday 29 June 2026 (Week 7)

After you have read this information, go to the Assignment 1 Q&A discussion board to ask any questions and see what your peers are saying about this assignment.

Assignment overview

To pass this subject of study, you must achieve an aggregated grade of at least 50%. Although this assignment is not a mandatory submission, completing this assignment will give you the best chance of achieving this minimum requirement.

This assignment requires you to carry out a brief investigative study. It provides you with an opportunity to engage, observe, interact and communicate with participants in various settings. There are three topics/articles to choose from and you must choose one to complete the corresponding investigative study.

This assignment supports Subject Learning Outcomes 1, 3 and 4.

Use of generative artificial intelligence

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to brainstorm ideas, summarise reading material or to edit your submission is permitted. The content of your final submission must be your original work. Be aware that the output from generative AI tools may be incorrect, incomplete or biased. Working with another person or technology in order to gain an unfair advantage in assessment or improperly obtaining answers from a third party including generative AI to questions in an examination or other form of assessment may lead to sanctions under the Student Misconduct Rule. More information is available on the Library web page Turnitin's AI writing detector (Library Study Smart, 2023).

Please visit Studying with Integrity (Library Study Smart, 2025) to find out more.

If your studies have been adversely affected by circumstances beyond your control, you may request an extension using the following options. Note: A request for a short extension must be made within two working days and a request for special consideration must be made within five working days. Supporting documentation for applications of less than three days is optional but may be requested later.

Assignment details

Work your way through the following steps to meet the requirements of this assignment:

Step 1: Choose the topic of your investigative study

Choose one topic and read its interview questions.

Assignment 1 Investigative study topic Assignment 1 topics Interview questions

Step 2: Select the 8–12 journals

Address each of the tasks and questions in your chosen study, ensuring you relate your answer to both research and theory. In addition to the core article for your topic, critically analyse a minimum of 8–12 journal articles on the topic of your chosen study, and clearly indicate how they inform the findings of your investigative study.

You must include at least two recent (in the last five years) journal articles, and these must be included in your reference list. Thus, there should be no fewer than 9 journal articles in your references section (8 plus the core article for your topic).

Some tips include:

Complete the Successful Searching: Getting started by finding information from Western Sydney University Library (2022) to get started on finding appropriate academic readings.

Read the How to read effectively guide from Western Sydney University Library (2017) to get tips on how to read critically.

Read the Note-making for critical thinking guide from Western Sydney University Library (2017) to get take notes as you read.

Aim to complete your reading by the end of Week 3.

Step 3: Prepare for your investigative study report

Important: Read the Investigative study interview guidelines as it is important to understand the stages and requirements of your investigative study before you start.

You will be conducting your chosen study individually. Choose one study that you would like to conduct and collect data on 4 participants via individual (not group) interviews. Each participant must sign a Consent form.

Your interview questions for each topic are in the Step 1 table or under 'Key documents'. Keep a record of all your field notes/observations for each participant, and include your personal thoughts, challenges and observations. Do not audio or video record your interview or observations, as our ethics approval for this assignment does not allow for such recording. Doing so would breach the Code of Ethical Conduct for Psychologists. You may collect data via face-to-face interview, or via the phone, FaceTime, Zoom or similar.

Points to consider before collecting data:

Work and plan your investigative study early, listing what you may require to carry out your study. For example, make copies of the consent formats and data collection sheets as per your chosen study. Make observations as per your study/data collection sheet. Make your field notes whilst you conduct your interviews. These field notes and other documents, like the consent forms, must be included in your Appendices. Make a note of your learning and challenges, as this will assist you in answering your reflection questions.

Aim to complete your field notes/analyses/interviews by the end of Week 5.

Step 4: Write your report

Write your report in question-and-answer format. The questions you need to answer are on the assignment page (make sure you answer the correct questions for your topic).

The structure of your report should be as follows:

General introduction to your study (one paragraph only, defining the parameters, constructs or issue under investigation).

Detailed introduction (including a theoretical and empirical literature review of the minimum 9 articles you need to include).

Question 1 – Here you describe your findings and present your data in relevant APA formatted Tables and Figures.

Question 2 and 3 become a discussion section.

Question 4 – Conclusion.

Question 5 – Reflection questions.

Reference list – This should include 9 journal articles, including the core article.

Appendices – Your appendices should be at the end of your document and must contain: Your field notes, your data collection sheets, any questions that come to your mind whilst interviewing, and consent forms. Submitting the tables provided in the assessment protocol is not sufficient content for your appendices. You must submit typed or handwritten field notes that demonstrate your process as a researcher. Include appendices in your submission. All data collection sheets, fieldnotes, and consent forms must be included in the Appendices. This is an APA formatting requirement. Please do not include tables or graphs in your Appendices that should appear in the body of your report, as support for your argument. This will cause unnecessary loss of marks (see Assignment Criteria).

Start writing your first draft of your investigative report by the beginning of Week 5. This will give you time to edit, have a peer read your work and do a second draft.

Asking questions

You will have an opportunity to discuss concerns and observations with your OLA and peers through the Assignment 1 Q&A discussion board.

Assignment 1 Q&A Assignment tip View the marking guide under 'Assignment criteria', to see a detailed breakdown of how your work will be assessed. This is an excellent place to start your preparations for this assignment. Refer back to the marking guide frequently to make sure you are meeting the requirements.

Submission details overview

This assignment will be submitted through Canvas. When you are ready to submit your assignment, select the 'Start Assignment' button at the top of this page. You will be taken to the 'File Upload' tab, where you can choose your file or submit your URL. Please note: When you submit your assignment through Canvas, you are also submitting the assignment through Turnitin, which is a text-matching service that compares your work with an international database of information sources. You will need to agree to using it. Once you have submitted your assignment, select 'Submission Details' on the right of your screen to view your originality report if you haven't already done so. Please allow a 24-hour turnaround for an originality report to be generated.

Resubmissions after the due date without prior approval from your Subject Coordinator may not be marked.

Assignment support

In addition to your OLAs who provide discipline-specific content advice, consider using the Assignment Feedback Tool for a final review before you submit. The tool is available 24/7 to help you refine your grammar, referencing, writing style and more.

Assignment criteria

You will be assessed on the following criterion:

1. Introduction: General.

2. Introduction: Literature review.

3. Observations.

4. Current study and existing literature.

5. Developmental implications.

6. Conclusion.

7. Reflection questions.

8. Organisation, writing style and referencing.

Select 'View rubric' for more detail about this assignment's marking criteria.

References

Glaser, K., Di Gessa, G. (2025). Grandparental childcase and subjective well-being: The ro

Pedler, M. L., Willis, R., & Nieuwoudt, J. E. (2021). A sense of belonging at university: student retention, motivation and enjoyment. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 46 (3) 397-408 doi: 10.1080/0309877X.2021.195584446

Western Sydney University Library. (2020). American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style guide. https://library.westernsydney.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/1943487/cite_APA.pdf

Western Sydney University Library. (2017). Note-making for critical thinking. https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/1251681/Note-making_for_critical_thinking.pdf

Western Sydney University Library. (2021). Library study smart. https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/studysmart/home/self-help_resources/assignment_help

Wright, C. A., Pasek, J., Lee, J. Y., Masters, A. S., Golinkoff, R. M., Thomsen, B. S., Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2023). U.S parents’ attitudes toward playful learning. Frontiers in Developmental Psychology, 1, doi: 10.3389/fdpys.2023.1267169