PROJECT 4808: ECOSYSTEMIC PSYCHOLOGY

Project title Exploring the understanding of mental health and mental

illness from a South African perspective
Project For this project, you are required to do an exploratory qualitative
description study, with ecosystemic theory as your guiding theoretical
framework and social constructionism as your paradigmatic
framework. The topic you must research is:
Topic: Exploring the understanding of mental health and mental
illness from a South African perspective

It is important that you are familiar with the ecosystemic theory, as

you will be required to use this as a guiding theory in your research.
You are required to include a description of your epistemology and
worldview as well as a section on ethics in both the research
proposal as well as the research report.
Contact Name E-mail
person Dr Malebo Mashaba mashame@unisa.ac.za
Due dates Due dates for assignments are available on the myUnisa site for
this module.

ASSIGNMENT This is a multiple-choice assignment. Information about this

35 assignment will be available on the landing page of myUnisa for this
module.
ASSIGNMENT For this assignment, you are required to write a research proposal
36 about the topic you will be researching (please refer to the project
description above). Your research must be done from a social
constructionist paradigm, using ecosystemic theory as the guiding
framework for your proposal. First, you must read extensively on
the topic before you begin to write up your proposal; recommended
resources can be found in the Additional Resources on myUnisa.
We also strongly recommend that you attend the Library Training
which will teach you how to use the electronic databases relevant
for psychological research (e.g., PsycINFO, PsychArticle etc.). You
might also consult Google Scholar to identify psychological
publications related to the themes identified in your research
project. The following information must be included in your
proposal:
Title The title should reflect the main idea of the project and
should be concisely formulated. We have provided a
topic for you; however, you must decide on a title that
best reflects your research project and the aims you
have identified. A title must be concise, to the point
and reflect exactly what your research is about.
Introductio Provide a succinct introduction to the problem

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n statement about your intended research, the literature
review, and the research objectives/aims.
Problem Your problem statement should indicate what it is you
Statement are interested in researching, and why this topic is
relevant to you. You should draw on some literature to
substantiate your study. Your research
problem/statement should lead you to develop your
research questions. As this is a qualitative study, you
will need to formulate one or two main research
questions that must be answered at the end of the
study in the final research report. This section must be
coherently aligned with your paradigm, research aims
and research questions.
Literature Your literature review should summarise the theory
Review and research findings relating to your topic. In order to
do this, you need to read books, academic articles
and relevant information about your topic. Then you
need to succinctly integrate and summarise the
important elements and include them in your literature
review. This section should not be overly complicated
and should be logically structured. Remember to
reference your work! A list of prescribed and
recommended resources is available.
Research Research objectives/aims
Design Conclude your introduction with the
purpose/aims/objectives of your study. Provide the
rationale for the fit of design used to investigate this
purpose/goal (e.g., theory building, explanatory,
developing understanding, social action, description,
highlighting social practices). Describe the approach
to enquiry (e.g., constructivist approach). This section
details how you intend on approaching your research.
In your discussion, you should make it clear as to your
paradigm, your research approach and the guiding
theory you have chosen to use. Also, ensure your
research aims and objectives are clear and fit
coherently with your problem statement.
Research This section includes a discussion of your population
Methods group and sample group, data collection methods,
data analysis, measures to ensure the trustworthiness
of your study, and ethical considerations. Please
note: the participants you interview must be older
than 18, and must not be considered a ‘vulnerable’
population (in other words, participants must not be
under the age of 18, have a mental illness or other
condition that will impair their ability to provide
consent). For further information, please consult

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 Tutorial Letter 104 under Method.
Reference Do not forget to reference your work, both in-text and
s in a reference list. We encourage you to become
familiar with the latest American Psychological
Association (APA) referencing style. Consult Tutorial
Letter 104 for further information. Plagiarism is a
serious offence, and all work that has been sourced
and cited must be correctly referenced. You will be
penalised for work that is not referenced correctly.
Remember, plagiarism is an offence. No references
will result in a mark of 0 and may lead to disciplinary
action. Ensure that you use no fewer than 10
references in your project.
Layout Please ensure that the layout of your proposal is
structured logically. Include a table of contents, a copy
of your consent form, as well as a plagiarism
declaration (please see below for the plagiarism
declaration). Informed consent is a very important
aspect of your research. Please make sure you read
up on this and ensure you understand what it entails.
Please refer to the Additional Resources on myUnisa
for templates.
Additional Please also note the additional information:
information  Your research proposal must be between 15 and
30 pages in length.
 As an annexure, attach a draft of your information
brochure and informed consent documents.
Templates of these can be found in the Additional
Resource tabs on myUnisa.
 As an annexure, attach a signed plagiarism
declaration. This declaration confirms that the work
you have done is your own work, has not been
copied from another source, and that you have
referenced the work of others.
Plagiarism Plagiarism is the act of taking words, ideas and
thoughts of others and passing them off as your own.
It is a form of theft that involves a number of dishonest
academic activities. This requires that all work
submitted must be referenced appropriately both in-
text as well as in a reference list. Remember,
plagiarism is not only copying the work of others
verbatim but also using their ideas, opinions and
research findings as your own.
The Disciplinary Code for Students is provided to all
students at registration. Students are advised to study
the Code. Kindly read the University’s Policy and the

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 Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism Policy as well.
Students who commit plagiarism will be penalised.
Assignments that are incorrectly referenced or partially
referenced will be penalised. Assignments that are not
referenced AT ALL will receive a mark of 0 (zero) and
can further lead to disciplinary action.
Plagiarism
declaration 1. I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is using
another’s work and pretending that it is one’s own work
2. I have used the American Psychological Association
(APA) as the convention for citation and referencing.
Each significant contribution to, and quotation in, this
assignment from work, or works of other people has
been attributed and has been cited and referenced
3. This assignment is my own work
4. I have not allowed and will not allow anyone to copy my
work with the intention of passing it off as his or her own
work
5. I acknowledge that copying someone else's assignment
or part thereof is wrong and declare that this
assignment is my own work.

NAME: ……………………………………….

SIGNATURE: ………………………… DATE:

…………………

ASSIGNMENT This assignment requires you to conduct the research as described

37 in your research proposal and write a research report in which you
describe the study, provide the results and discuss the findings.
The feedback you would have received from the research proposal
will provide good guidelines as to where to improve your study. It is
important that prior to embarking on your data collection, you
explain the research to your participants. Introduce yourself as an
honours student in the Department of Psychology at Unisa who is
doing research on the above topic as part of your honours degree.
Please inform them that the interview will be audio-recorded, that
no identifiable information will be included in your report and that
their personal details will be kept confidential. Also, inform them
that they are free to withdraw from the interview at any time. If they
are willing to be interviewed and agree to the conditions, please ask
them to sign the informed consent form before you start your
interview. Please refer to De Vos, A.S. (ed), Strydom, H., Fouche,
C.B., & Delport, C.S.L. (2011). Research at grass roots: For the

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social sciences and human services professions (4th ed.). Pretoria:
Van Schaik Publishers for interviewing principles. Remember your
questions should be open-ended as this is a qualitative study.
Include a copy of your consent form, as well as the list of questions
you used to collect your data (include these as appendices).
Remember – a lecturer can at any time request your audio
recorded interviews and transcripts in order to verify your data.
Remember to use the ecosystemic theory as your guiding theory for
the project. Before you start writing your research report, read
Tutorial Letter 104. The following relevant information must be
included in your research report.
Title The title should reflect the main idea of the project and
should be concisely formulated. We have provided a
topic for you; however, you must decide on a title that
best reflects your research project and the aims you
have identified. A title must be concise, to the point
and reflect exactly what your research is about.
Introductio Provide a succinct introduction to the problem
n statement about your intended research, literature
review, and research objectives/aims.
Problem Statement
State your research problem and frame its importance.
Literature Your literature review should summarise the theory
Survey and research findings relating to your topic. In order to
do this, you need to read books, academic articles
and relevant information about your topic. Then you
need to summarise the important elements and
include them in your literature review. This section
should not be over complicated and should be
logically structured. Remember to reference your
work.
Research This section needs to clearly illuminate exactly what it
Questions is you are trying to answer. As this is a qualitative
study, you will need to formulate one or two main
research questions that must be answered at the end
of the study.
Research This section must include your research epistemology
Design and the research approach, as well as the guiding
theory you have employed in your study. This is,
again, dependent on the nature of your research.
HOW do you think about your topic, and what
approach are you going to use? You also need to
explicitly describe the research aims and objectives of
the project. In view of the above, you should use a
social constructionist paradigm and ecosystemic

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 theoretical framework.
Research This section includes a discussion of the population
Method group and the participant group of your study, data
collection, data analysis, the measures to ensure the
trustworthiness of your study and the ethical
considerations.
Results Here you need to discuss the results/findings of your
study. This must be written in a way that is consistent
with your research design and the research
question(s). In other words, you have done qualitative
research; one would not expect to have statistical data
as your findings.
Discussion This section ties in your findings with the literature you
have read. Summarise the findings/results of your
study and link it to some of the literature you have
read. In qualitative studies, it is acceptable to discuss
the results and discussion section simultaneously.
Reference A list of references is necessary. Make sure all the
s references you have made throughout your text are
reflected in your reference list. Also, include all in-text
referencing. No references will result in a mark of 0
and may lead to disciplinary action. Your references
should be in line with the American Psychological
Association 7th edition. See Tutorial Letter 104.
Layout Again, include a plagiarism declaration as well as a
table of contents and reference list for your research
report.
List of Please make use of the Unisa library to obtain
references relevant information on your topic of choice, your
research methods and ecosystemic psychology.
Ensure that you use no fewer than 10 references in
your project. The following are useful resources that
you could use:
Becvar, S. R., & Becvar, R. J. (2013). Family therapy:
A systemic integration (pp.321-337) (7th ed.). New
York: Pearson. (Please pay particular attention to
chapter 17, Research in Family therapy).
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic
analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in
Psychology, 3, 77-101.
Griffith, J., Griffith, M., & Slovik, I. S. (1992). Owning
one’s epistemological stance in therapy. Dulwich
Centre Newsletter, 1, 5-11.
Terre Blanche, M.,Durrheim, K., & Painter, D. (2006)

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 Research in Practice: Applied methods for the
social sciences (2nd ed.). Cape Town: UCT Press.
Auerswald, E. H. (1985). Thinking about thinking in
family therapy. Family process, 24(1), 1-12.
Plagiarism Plagiarism is the act of taking words, ideas and
thoughts of others and passing them off as your own.
It is a form of theft that involves a number of dishonest
academic activities.
The Disciplinary Code for Students is provided to all
students at registration. Students are advised to study
the Code. Kindly read the University’s Policy and the
Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism Policy as well.
Plagiarism After you have read the disciplinary Code for
declaration Students, and are certain that you have not committed
plagiarism, please include a plagiarism declaration at
the beginning of your research report. This must be
signed and dated by yourself.

1. I know that plagiarism is wrong. Plagiarism is using another’s work and pretending
that it is one’s own work
2. I have used the American Psychological Association (APA) as the convention for
citation and referencing. Each significant contribution to, and quotation in, this
assignment from work, or works of other people has been attributed and has been
cited and referenced
6. This assignment is my own work
7. I have not allowed and will not allow anyone to copy my work with the intention of
passing it off as his or her own work
8. I acknowledge that copying someone else's assignment or part thereof is wrong
and declare that this assignment is my own work.

NAME: ……………………………………….

SIGNATURE: ………………………… DATE: …………………