PART I: DATA GATHERING
To serve as the basis for your paper you need to collect some data on yourself:
1. Beginning on January 13th and Ending on March 30th, Record your Sleep Schedule There are a variety of ways to gather this data. The easiest would be to simply obtain a notebook and record it manually with a pen and paper. You should record the Date, the amount you have slept, and the quality of your sleep. (i.e. (Time you first lay down, time you wake up, when you sleep and quality of sleep using a subjective scale. 1-10– 10 is the best sleep you’ve ever gotten, 1 being the worst, 5 being average sleep). Use a separate notebook or place to record this data.

If you have a “Smartphone” there are various Apps that you can use to automate this process and collect a lot of data on your sleep patterns (here are a few: http://lifehacker.com/5993005/five-best-sleep-tracking-gadgets-or-apps).
2. Beginning on January 13th and Ending on March 30th, Record your dreams. Even if you have never dreamt before, give this a try. Get a nice journal that is used only for recording your dreams. If you journal already about your day, etc., you still will want a separate journal for dreams. Find a dream journal that means something personal to you. (For example, I bought mine in Italy and it has a beautiful medieval feel to it. But you don’t have to go that far to find a nice one. Stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby or fine Stationary Stores sell nice ones, or better yet, make one!) Decorate it or put symbols on the journal that have special meaning to you. Get a nice pen that is used only for the purpose of recording your dreams. Write this statement at the beginning of your journal, “I want to learn more about myself. I want to remember and record my dreams.” Write that statement in your own words. Place the journal by your bed and write down your dreams everyday.

WHAT TO DO on Non-Dream Nights: If you do not remember a dream, write down your emotional state upon waking (i.e. sad, happy, melancholy, joyful, depressed, tired, lethargic, angry, neutral, etc.) and what you are first thinking about (i.e. I hate doing this dumb assignment, I have bills to pay, I love horses and ice cream, whatever your thoughts are write them down!).
Write your dreams from beginning to end. Date each dream and try to write a few sentences about what is going on in your life at the time of that dream.
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PART II: Research
Now that you’ve gather a lot of data on yourself, write a paper on this data. This is a single case design divided into two sections.
Section 1: First, report your sleeping data. You can present this in the form of tables, graphs, text, etc. Then do some scholarly research on sleep. Thoroughly research the topic of sleep using at least 8 scholarly Journal Articles or other relevant resources. You are highly encouraged to use the UCF Library Online Tutorial for further instruction on conducting proper research. Please use APA format. Those students who do not use scholarly resources or use less than 8 scholarly resources, will be given an automatic ZERO, “0”, on this assignment which will lower your grade at least one full letter grade. A Scholarly resource is defined as a published study or article in a peer reviewed Journal of Psychology, such as is contained in the Journal of Personality Theory published by the APA. An academic book may also be considered a scholarly source (Yes, your textbooks count). . You may use your textbooks as one scholarly source each. You may use an historic or other unique reference that is considered academic, scientific, or historically valid. If you are unsure about a particular source, email the professor the source for guidance. This section in the paper explains your sleep pattern. Why is it good? Is it disordered? Try to explain the data you’ve gathered on yourself. Talk a little about what sleep is and why humans need sleep.

Section 2: Using your Book “Inner Work” take one or two of your dreams and analyze it using the four-step method described in the book. Also, do the four step active imagination method to understand your dream and what you got out of the experience. This is a subjective exercise and mostly you are using the Inner Work book to explain your dream. You may use other sources to understand and explain your dream as well.
Your paper should be about 1000-2000 words.
Please upload your paper to the “assignment” tab on the due date.
FURTHER GUIDANCE ON YOUR PAPER:
The following Rubric will be used when grading your paper. Please review it thoroughly: Research Paper Rubric. It can also be found on the “Home” page under “Syllabus” for download.
The Paper Must be in APA Style, with APA Style References. If you haven’t ever completed a paper in APA Style here is a great link to a Tutorial: APA Style
Here is a Link to one a great student paper that I would consider an A+ effort. This is an actual student paper written for one of my classes last semester: Great Student Paper. It can also be found on the “Home” page under “Syllabus” for download.
Papers are Due, April 22nd, 2014
Take this assignment seriously! If you are suspected of “faking” the sleeping data and just making it up, you will get a zero on the assignment. This is considered cheating. This can be a wonderful assignment where you can learn a lot about yourself if you take it seriously.