PS115 Unit 4 Library Research and APA Exercise Example

Reviewed by Romilly Dunmore, MEd Psychology Program and Profession Purdue University Global Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

One library search, one peer-reviewed article and one APA reference make up this PS115 Unit 4 library research and APA exercise on peer recovery support for substance use disorder. The search narrows thousands of results with the field's own terms, a scholarly filter and a ten-year window, landing on Eddie and colleagues' 2019 systematic review in Frontiers in Psychology. The summary reports promising findings on relapse, retention and satisfaction alongside the review's many null results and weak designs, and the reference is built element by element. Purdue Global PS 115, Psychology Program and Profession, assigns this exercise in the BS in Psychology.

CoursePS115 Psychology Program and Profession
UnitUnit 4
Paper typeLibrary research and APA exercise
LengthAbout 550 words, 5 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBS in Psychology
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for PS115 Unit 4

1

Finding and Citing One Peer-Reviewed Study: A PS115 Unit 4 Library Research and APA Exercise on Peer Recovery Support

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

PS115: Psychology Program and Profession

Unit 4 Library Research and APA Exercise

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The writer is composite; the search steps describe a typical library database search; the article summarized is real.

What this part is doingNaming the search, the source and the citation standard in the lead shows the exercise covers all three skills the unit tests.
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The Question

My research question grew out of the addictions concentration I chose in Unit 2: do peer recovery support services, in which people in recovery support others with substance use disorders, help people stay in treatment and avoid relapse? I chose it because one of the concentration's courses covers models of peer recovery (Purdue University Global, 2026), and I wanted the research picture in hand before enrolling in it.

The Search

I searched the university library's multidisciplinary database. A first search for peer support and addiction returned several thousand results, most of them about peer support in schools or workplaces. Three changes brought the list down. To start, I swapped in the general terms with the field's own phrases: "peer recovery support" OR "recovery coach" combined with "substance use disorder." Next came the scholarly, peer-reviewed filter, and last a ten-year window on publication dates. That left a manageable list, and a systematic review near the top looked most useful because it gathers many studies rather than reporting one.

A systematic review answered my question better than any single study could, because it weighs the whole body of evidence.

The Article

Eddie et al. (2019) reviewed experimental, quasi-experimental, prospective, retrospective and cross-sectional studies of peer recovery support services. The authors define these services as mentoring, education and support delivered by people who are qualified by their own experience of substance use disorder and recovery.

The review found that peer support tentatively shows promise across several treatment settings, with positive findings on reduced substance use and relapse, better relationships with treatment providers and social supports, longer retention in treatment and greater satisfaction with treatment. The authors are careful about what this means. Many studies found no effect, and the research has serious limitations: it often cannot separate the effect of peer support from other recovery activities, the people studied differ widely, definitions of peer workers and recovery coaches are inconsistent, and many studies have no comparison group. The authors call for more rigorous research on effectiveness and cost.

What this part is doingReporting the limitations alongside the positive findings shows the summary reflects the article rather than the hopeful part of it.
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What I Learned About Research

Two lessons stood out. The first is that a systematic review is a good starting point for a new topic, because it maps the evidence and its weaknesses. The second is that the honest answer to my question is "possibly, but not yet proven," which is more useful than a confident yes. I would not have learned that from a website about recovery coaching.

The APA Reference

The reference below follows the seventh edition rules for a journal article (American Psychological Association, 2020): each author's surname with initials, for as many as twenty authors; the publication year inside parentheses; only the first word and proper nouns of the title capitalized; journal and volume italicized; the article number, since this online journal does not use page numbers; and the DOI as a link. Because the review has eight authors, the in-text citation uses the first author's name followed by et al.

What this part is doingExplaining each element of the reference shows the citation was built from the rule, not copied from a generator.
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References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Eddie, D., Hoffman, L., Vilsaint, C., Abry, A., Bergman, B., Hoeppner, B., Weinstein, C., & Kelly, J. F. (2019). Lived experience in new models of care for substance use disorder: A systematic review of peer recovery support services and recovery coaching. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1052. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01052

Purdue University Global. (2026). 2026-2027 catalog. https://catalog.purdueglobal.edu/

What the PS115 Unit 4 assignment asks for

In PS115's fourth unit, the exercise usually asks you to find a peer-reviewed article in the university library, summarize it and cite it in APA style. Start with a focused question tied to your interests or your concentration. Describe the search: the database, the terms you used and how you narrowed the results, since the instructor wants to see the method as well as the result. Explain how you confirmed the source is peer reviewed. Summarize what the article found in your own words, including its limitations, without exaggerating its conclusions. Build the reference in APA seventh edition format, with the correct in-text citation, and say briefly what you learned about research. Choose a journal article unless the prompt allows other sources.

How this PS115 Unit 4 example is built

The exercise states a question about peer recovery support drawn from the addictions concentration. The search section describes broad first results, then three narrowing steps using field terms, a peer-reviewed filter and a date window, with a highlighted line on why a systematic review suits a new topic. The article summary defines peer recovery services as the authors do, reports positive findings on substance use, relapse, retention and satisfaction, and then sets out the review's cautions about null results, mixed populations and missing comparison groups. A short section on lessons learned favors a cautious answer over a confident one. The last section explains each element of the APA reference, including the article number and the et al. citation for eight authors.

PS115 Unit 4 rubric: what earns full points

Points are divided among the search, the summary and the citation. Instructors look for a search process described clearly enough to repeat, with evidence that the source is peer reviewed. Summaries earn credit for accuracy and for reporting limitations, while summaries that repeat only the hopeful findings or copy the abstract lose points. The APA reference is checked element by element: authors, year, title case, journal and volume in italics, issue or article number, and DOI, along with a correctly formatted in-text citation. A brief reflection on what the search taught shows the skill transferring. Because the rest of the major relies on these habits, PS115 instructors often grade this exercise more strictly than its length suggests.

PS115 Unit 4 help from the desk

The most common slip is choosing a source that is not peer reviewed, such as a magazine article or an organization's web page, because it appeared first in a search. Another is a summary that copies sentences from the abstract with minor changes. Students often overstate findings, writing that a review proved something its authors called tentative. APA references frequently capitalize every word of the article title, leave out the DOI or format the journal name incorrectly. In-text citations sometimes list all authors when et al. is required. Before submitting, confirm the journal is peer reviewed, rewrite the summary without looking at the abstract, and compare your reference against the APA rules for a journal article line by line.

Get a PS115 Unit 4 example written to your instructions

Share your topic and the exercise instructions with the rubric. A custom exercise models the search, the summary and the APA reference. It arrives within 24-48h; first requests are free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

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PS115 Unit 4 questions, answered

How do I know an article is peer reviewed?

Library databases let you filter for peer-reviewed journals, and the journal's website describes its review process.

What APA edition does PS115 use?

The seventh edition.

Can I use a textbook as the source?

Most prompts in this unit ask for a journal article specifically.

Where can I find a free PS115 Unit 4 sample paper?

The full PS115 Unit 4 exercise is on this page, modeling a library search, a summary of a peer-reviewed review on peer recovery support and an APA reference.

Why does the PS115 Unit 4 sample use a systematic review?

A review gathers many studies and their weaknesses, which gives a beginning researcher a clearer picture of a topic than any single study.