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Thesis: While Adderall is used for ADHD patients that activate dopamine, prolonged use of adderall, even if it were mostly consisted with prescribed dosages, does not cause a similar (albeit relatively lessened) version of the sort of neurological damage present in meth users.


Research Paper Description

In this research paper you will explore in detail one of the statistical approaches to research discussed in the course, implementing and applying it in the context of a specific application or methodological study. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of the topic of your choice, as well as to gain experience in translating these ideas into practice.

You should begin by choosing an application domain, data set, or methodological question of interest to you. This may be a topic presented in the course or simply a topic about which you are curious. You are encouraged to choose research problems relevant to your own research interests and activities.

The learner will find three (3) relevant research articles which:

support the importance of your problem,
discuss previous work on modeling/analysis in the area, and
cover technical aspects of the methods from class you will apply.
Research Paper Guide and Grade Scale
The Research Paper Guide is a systematic approach to applying problem solving skills using scientific method. This approach will facilitate problem solving/writing skills not only in academic areas, but also apply to work and personal situations.


Describe the issue, why it was selected, the perspective of the approach, and the scope of the paper. In essence, describe in this area what is being covered in the paper. Be specific and to the point. This is an important part of the paper. The introduction serves to engage the reader and defines the paper's scope.

Statement of the Problem

Describe why the issue/topic is relevant, a problem/issue. It is important to provide literature sources in support of the importance of the need/issue/topic. For example, if discussing the impact of malnutrition on the brain development of American children, cite literature quantifying the number. Discuss the impact of the problem/issue. Overall, what makes this topic/issue so important that you are spending time/energy researching it? What happens if nothing is done about the problem? The problem or topic is to be stated as either a hypothesis, "Children who watch violent television, more than four hours a day, exhibit more aggressive behavior than children who watch less than two hours a day." Or, the problem can be stated in terms of research question(s). 1) Do children who watch more than three hours a day exhibit more aggressive behavior than those who watch fewer than three hours a day? Or, 2) What is the association of aggressive behavior in children and violent media?

Literature Review

In this section, process and develop a written conceptual framework of the issue or problem that is being researched. For example, if the topic of the research is the correlation of violent video games and children's aggressive behavior, the student finds published research studies supporting their assumption or hypothesis. It is generally good to also bring in a study that refutes the position of the researcher. Then the researcher explains using appropriate literature sources, why the opposing position should not be supported. The literature review is actually the making of a case for your hypothesis or research questions. Comments as to the worth, validity and impact of the research are also found in this section. The literature review should present a comprehensive review of the historical and current literature in the topic area. In general, the literature review should:

Identify what is the topic, what has happened in the specific research of the topic (describe the study, sample, findings, important points from the discussion in the research article - describe any variables that may influence the findings of the research).
Address any key issues; political, social, legal, ethical implications the literature reports. What is projected if nothing is done; what has been tried? Support this section with relevant literatures/resource citations.
If there are pros and cons of a topic/issue, explore holistically a review of the literature reflecting alternative positions.
The presentation of this section is the students understanding and conceptualization of what was found in the literature in support of their hypothesis or research question. It is not a series of article abstracts.


In this section, summarize and present the major findings. Select, minimally, three of those, in your judgment, that are the most important from the research that was reviewed.

In this section the findings, are presented, discussion of them are found in the following section, Discussion.


This is an expansion of the findings section. It is presented in narrative format and based on the research and your critical thinking/analysis of the situation/issue. This would include:

The topic/issue. Be specific.
Analyze and synthesize the literature:
Support your perspective with relevant literature. This is an important section as it reflects your ability to analyze the problem, critique what has happened, and then to hypothesize potential solutions for the problem.
Implications of the findings from the studies.
Evaluation of the literature: quality research, bias, concerns with validity/reliability, sample size, findings.

In this section, summarize in a general way but completely, what the paper covered. Restate the research questions or hypothesis. Discuss: why the topic was selected; the problem/issue briefly stated; the approach that was used; findings; solutions and suggestions or ideas that you as the researcher may have. In this section, a reader should be able to peruse the conclusion/summary and have a good idea what the researcher did and what was found.


Here include all resources used in the development of this paper. Use American Psychology Association Style. All literature/computer/interview/resources will be annotated. This section is graded on the appropriate format for the references, the quality of the study/literature relative to the topic and the annotation.

Content and Organization of the Paper

Should be 8-10 pages in length excluding title page, reference page, and any appendices.
Cover sheet - use the APA cover sheet style
Outline - use the format listed above as the major headers - specific topic components are secondary headings (see APA Format)
Abstract of the paper - the summary and conclusion of the paper may be used for this
Body of the paper - introduction, problem statement, background of the problem, issue/ needs/solutions and conclusion/summary
Any material to be placed in an appendix (i.e., tables, maps, etc.)
References - a reference listing using APA format, with the reference material annotated


Solution Preview

One approach to help you with a lengthy research project like this one is to provide some information to help get you started. However, you will also need to do some research, or perhaps you have already researched your topic thoroughtly, and have some good articles that informed your thesis. I also attached some of the research referred to in this response and an APA sample paper, that you can refer to for your final copy.


Let's take a closer look to help get you started. This is a lengthy research project, one that usually takes weeks to research and bring together, so think of this a beginning to guide your research. I also attached some articles to consider and an APA sample paper to refer to for your final copy.


1. Introduction

In this section you need to describe the issue, why you selected it, the perspective of the approach, and the scope of the paper. You will describe what you plan to include. over.

Even though brain studies have shown that stimulant use in people with ADHD may increase the size of certain parts related to controlling focus, motivation and attention (Kish, 2008), other models show neurotoxicity from stimulant use. According to Mukda, Kaewsuk, Ebadi and Govitrapong (2009), for example, "a cascade of abnormalities in neural circuitry may result from the effects of amphetamines on the dopaminergic system" (p.1). With millions of children being prescribed long-term use of stimulants (Adderall) to control ADHD symptoms yearly, the question is: what impact is this having on our children's dopamingergic system? While Adderall is used for ADHD patients that activate dopamine, prolonged use of Adderall, even if it were mostly consisted with prescribed dosages, does not cause a similar (albeit relatively lessened) version of the sort of neurological damage present in methamphetamine users.

Specifically, this paper investigates the research on...

And so on.

2. Statement of the Problem

You can consider the following information to add to your own research. You will need to write in your words, as some of it is quotes.

Even though the effectiveness of Adderall for long-term use has not been systematically evaluated in controlled trials, an alarming large number of children and adults are still being prescribed these drugs for long-term use being treated for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (ADDERALL® (CII), 2007, attached as Adderall.pdf, which has the controlled studies for short term effects of Adderall in the testing on the drug before being apporved by FDA).

In 1997, for example, "2.0 million U.S. children (2.7 percent) were treated with stimulant drugs. In 2002, 2.2 million children were treated (2.9 percent). Rates were highest among children ages 6-12 years old. The rates were also higher for boys, whites, and children with functional impairment than for other children" ( Adderall is one of the FDA approved stimulant drugs prescribed to children in treating ADHS. While Adderall is used for ADHD patients that activate dopamine, prolonged use of adderall, even if it were mostly consisted with prescribed dosages, does cause a similar (albeit relatively lessened) version of the sort of neurological damage present in methamphetamine users.

And, because over 2 million children are being prescribed these drugs every year, this is a serious problem in our society today, and alternative interventions should be considered (Ricaurte, Mechan, Yuan, Hatzidimitriou's, et al. 2005, ( In fact, if the problem of using Adderall on children is not addressed, how many children and adults will have permanent brain damage from long term use of Adderall and other stimulant drugs?

For example, even in short term use of Adderall, there was the emergence of new psychotic or manic symptoms in the subjects e.g., hallucinations, delusional thinking, or mania in children and adolescents without prior history of psychotic illness or mania at usual doses. If such symptoms occur, consideration should be given to a possible causal role of the stimulant, and discontinuation of treatment may be appropriate. In a pooled analysis of multiple short-term, placebo-controlled studies, such symptoms occurred in about 0.1% (4 patients with events out of 3482 exposed to methylphenidate or amphetamine for several weeks at usual doses) of stimulant-treated patients compared to 0 in placebo-treated patients." (

As well, studies in monkeys have shown that amphetamines can cause neurotoxicity even at therapeutic doses. This neurotically is likely caused by the effect of amphetamines to reverse dopamine transport channels - because it was not shown to happen with Ritalin, which doesn't do that. (

And so on...

3. Literature Review

To help with your literature review, the following information can be considered. However, you will need to continue this search as I did not find too much information to support your thesis directly, although research with animals does suggest this relational ...