For this Final Assignment option, each student will be asked to propose a psychological research study relevant to psychological science. A research proposal paper outlines a plan for conducting future research. Students will not conduct this research this semester, although this research proposal may serve as a foundation for actual research in a later course.
Although the research will not be conducted and no data will be collected (nor should any data be fabricated), the research design should A.) be based on valid and reliable methods modified from published research studies; B.) be well-controlled and account for possible confounding variables and threats to validity; and C.) meet APA ethics standards that would be approved by an IRB. However, pretend that resources (grant funding, research assistants, and lab space) are not an obstacle; the goal is to exercise your research design skills.
The proposed research should be either experimental or correlational research (meaning it should be quantitative, not qualitative research), and should have a testable hypothesis.
The research proposal paper should be written in APA style, and should contain: 1) a title page; 2) an abstract; 3) an introduction; 4) a method section (in which the design is explained); 5) a modified results section that is composed of predicted outcomes from the study in an “if… then” format, speaking directly to the variables and conditions of the study; and 6) a reference section. The main body of the report should be approximately four (4) pages long, not including the title page, abstract, or references. See below for more guidance on structure and length of sections.
At least eight (8) peer-reviewed scholarly sources should be incorporated into your proposal, although more may be used. If materials must be cited (e.g., a published scale/inventory), these do not count toward your requirement. You may use sources gathered as part of other assignments this semester (article analysis assignments, discussions, etc.), but the sources should be directly relevant to your topic (i.e., don’t just slap all of the provided sources together because it is convenient.)
The paper needs to be in APA style. You should have the American Psychological Association Publication Manual as your guide. You can also use some of the information on the APA website at www.apa.org, or the Purdue OWL APA guide: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.htmlLinks to an external site.
Students are strongly encouraged to take drafts of their reports to the Writing Tutors at Academic Services (see https://www.salemstate.edu/academics/college-arts-and-sciences/english/mary-g-walsh-writing-center). Because this is a college course, grammatically correct writing is expected.
Sections of Your Research Proposal
Title Page
Includes title, researcher name, institution, running head, and page number
Not continuous with next section (should be on its own page; use Page Break)
Abstract
Summarizes contents of research report, approximately 150-250 words (approximately 2 sentences summarizing main points of each other section)
Section title is the word “Abstract” centered, not bold
Not continuous with next section (should be on its own page; use Page Break)
Introduction
Presents background information/research (literature review), justification, and hypothesis
Should incorporate information from peer-reviewed scholarly sources (with APA-format in-text citations)
Should be approximately 2+ pages long
Section title is title of paper, centered, bold
Continuous with next section
Method
Presents detailed information about participants, materials, and procedures
Divided into subsections: Typically, “Participants”, “Materials” or “Stimuli”, and “Procedures”
Should be approximately 1/2 to 1 page long
Section title is the word “Method”, centered, bold
Should use APA-format subheaders
Continuous with next section
Results (Predicted Outcomes)
A typical Results section (in a research manuscript after a study has been conducted) is where the statistical analyses, interpretation, and graphs will be presented
In a research proposal, this is replaced with an Analysis Plan, in which you detail the statistical analyses you will use to answer your research questions. Analyses should be accurate, precise, and connected directly with the variables and conditions/factors involved
Should be approximately 1/2 page long
Section title is the word “Results”, centered, bold
Not continuous with next section (should be on its own page; use Page Break)
References
Lists sources in APA format, ordered alphabetically by first author’s last name
Hanging indent used
Each source used in the paper must be cited in-text and must have a single Reference entry
