Final Project

For your Final Project, you will create a website that showcases the skills you have gained throughout your psychology program.  Your website will consist of the following elements: a homepage, a literature review, expert opinions, résumés, a case study, and a list of pertinent websites.  Each of these sections will be its own tab on the website.  When complete, you may choose to use this website after graduation as a means to showcase your abilities to potential employers and/or graduate schools.   

To begin, review the elements required for each section of your website below.  

Next, visit the Wix.com website to familiarize yourself with this technology.  Scroll down on the webpage and click the pink arrow to view a quick tour video of the website platform.  Note: This site is best viewed using either the Chrome or Firefox web browsers.  Refer to the Wix.com Quick-Start Guide for step-by-step instructions on setting up your website. 

If you experience any technical difficulties, please visit the Wix Support Center. The technical support offered through your Student Portal will not be able to assist you with the Wix website.  When you are ready to create your website, click the Start Now button to register and begin building.  If you are unable to utilize the Wix platform to complete this assignment and you have already watched the tutorial, read through the Wix.com Quick-Start Guide, and contacted the Wix Support Center, please contact your instructor. 

It is highly recommended that you complete any and all written work in a separate document first and then cut and paste the required content into your webpage. This will allow you to edit and save your work separate from the website, should anything occur which causes the website to fail.  Additionally, you will be able to work on your content without having to remain connected to the internet and it may be easier to develop and edit your content in Word, prior to publishing it on your website.   

Sections of the Final Project will be completed within the course weeks and will be revised for inclusion in this project. Carefully review all suggestions and comments from the instructor and/or your classmates before including that work within the content of your website.

Clearly label the website as your course project. Although it will not be searchable to the general public, it will be publicly available and anyone who is given your specific site link will be able to view it.

Copy and paste the URL to your website into a Word document for submission. Once you have received your final grade for this course, you have the option of deleting this website through your account with Wix.com.

Creating the Website

The website:

• Must be named with the following convention: your last name + PSY496 Final Project. Example: Smith PSY496 Final Project. 
• Must include six tabs with the following headings and information. Watch the screencast video below to assist you with setting up your required tabs.

1. Home Page
   • Briefly introduce yourself and provide information regarding your professional background. Summarize your experiences within the Psychology program at Ashford University and what you hope to do upon graduation. You may include a professional photograph as well.

1. Literature Review
   • Create a brief literature review that presents a fair and comprehensive analysis of relevant literature pertaining to the topic you chose in Week One. This page must include the following:
     • A brief introduction of the topic and its relevance (300 to 500 words).
     • Three to five peer-reviewed articles based on applied psychological research. Each of the articles must directly relate to your chosen topic.
     • A one- to two-paragraph (500 to750 words total) analysis and summary for each article.
     • A reference list at the bottom of the page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
2. Expert Opinions
   • Begin with the work you completed for the Mental Health Disciplines discussion in Week Three. In this section, you will demonstrate your awareness of the psychological career alternatives in a community setting and take on the role of two experts in different fields of psychology.  You will also evaluate contributions of psychological research in the applied context of these experts and discuss methodological issues unique to their areas of psychological research.   
   • Take into consideration the comments your classmates and your instructor made on your discussion post.
   • Include information from at least two peer-reviewed articles of your choosing that were published within the last five years to substantiate your experts’ claims.  The sources may not be any of those that are listed within this course.  For information on how to generate search terms for specific resources, visit the Ashford University Library website.
   • Make any necessary changes to your presentation and create a new screencast using Screenr.com. Using the link information from Screenr and the instructions on the Wix.com platform, embed the video of your screencast presentation in the Expert Opinions page of your website.
3. Résumés
   • Begin with the work you completed for the Develop Professional Résumés assignment in Week Three. Based on the feedback from your instructor, make the recommended changes to the résumés you created for the two experts from the Presentation by Experts discussion in Week Three and the Expert Opinions web page you created.
     Next, create your own professional résumé, that includes brief descriptions of the major duties associated with any relevant work experience you have.
     Your résumé should appear first on the page followed by the résumés you created for the experts.
4. Case Study
   • Begin with the work you completed for the Case Study: Evaluating Ashford University Institutional & Program Outcomes assignment in Week One.
   • Review the feedback you received from your instructor and then create a case study that takes on the role you did not pursue.
   • If you used your own story or that of a willing volunteer for the original assignment, then you will create a case study for a fictitious character.
   • If you created a character for the case study in the original assignment, then you will use your own story or that of a willing adult volunteer.
   • In this section, you will:
     • Create a 750- to 1000-word case study of a real (either yourself or a willing adult volunteer) or fictitious person who has developed the competencies of their academic program at Ashford University.  
     • Evaluate your real or fictitious person’s learning within the program as it contributes to the overall attainment of the institutional outcomes.
     • Include at least one personal life example and one career example of applying the competencies to resolve personal challenges and an ethical dilemma (e.g., a client or research subject reveals compromising information about a friend or family member who also happens to be someone you know in a personal/social context).
     • Create or describe a scenario in which the person wrestles with an issue related to the assigned research topic in her or his personal and/or professional life. Be specific in your discussion of the scenario and provide details demonstrating professional problem solving on the part of the person in your case study.
     • Include a section wherein your fictitious person or you articulate a personal point of view, evaluate evidence, determine options for responding and evaluate the pros and cons of the options prior to making a decision about a course of action within the scenario.
     • Conclude with how the problem was resolved and what the person learned while at Ashford University that assisted in an effective resolution.
5. Websites
   • Create an annotated list of 10 to 12 reputable, scholarly websites that are relevant to psychological research and practice.
   • Consider the merits of each website.  Based on your knowledge of scholarly applications of psychological research, evaluate the use of scholarly applied psychological research and analyze the interpretations that are presented on each site.  For information on how to evaluate web resources, visit the Ashford University Library website.  
   • The list should be in alphabetical order with each website cited according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
   • The annotations should be four to five sentences long and reflect the relevance and usefulness of each website in terms of your topics of psychological research and your professional needs.

In addition, your website must:

• Include a footer with the date submitted (in Copyright section).
• Address the topics of each page with critical thought.
• Use the number of peer-reviewed sources listed with the instructions for each web page.
• Document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.  
• Include a separate reference section at the bottom of each web page, for the sources used on that page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.