The proposal paper will include an abstract, a one-page introduction, a literature review, one or more hypotheses that follow from the literature you reviewed, and a proposed methods section. No results section or discussion section is required. You will include a conclusion restating the importance of your topic and the benefits of your design.
You will write an 6-8 page mock research paper describing a proposed empirical study of an area within the psychological and sociological field. This will be a simulated research project in which you will pose a problem and methods for a study, but you will not actually collect data. You will review the relevant research literature on the topic, describe why the issue is important, and design a study to answer the question.
The project should be organized around the following sections, following the standard APA format for psychology journal articles:
Abstract
Include a summary of your paper in 150–250 words. It should describe the research problem, methods, results and conclusions of your research.
Introduction and literature review
Include a literature review and then give an overview of your proposed study and your hypotheses. Include theoretical and empirical background. Use original sources. Specifically address: What is the issue you are considering? Define it. Why is it important? What does the literature show that we already know about the problem and what do we still need to learn? What is your approach to the problem? Discuss your interpretation of theory and research and what further study is needed. What hypotheses about the issue will you propose to test in your study? This should be the bulk of your paper (approximately 4-5 pages).
Method
How do you intend to find out? What are the variables you are interested in exploring? Give the nuts and bolts of the proposed study. Describe in detail your subjects, procedures, and specific measures you will use. Use subheadings for each section (participants, measures, procedure).
Participants
In this part of the method section, you should describe the participants in your experiment, including who they will be (and any unique features that set them apart from the general population), how many there will be, and how they will be selected, meaning which type of sampling method will be used.
Materials
Describe the materials, measures, equipment, or stimuli used in the experiment. This may include testing instruments, technical equipment, or other materials used during the course of research. If you used some type of psychological assessment or special equipment during the course of your experiment, it should be noted in this part of your method section. Be specific on how each variable will be measured.
Procedure
The next part of your method section should detail the procedures used in your experiment. Explain what you had participants do, how you collected data, and the order in which steps occurred.
Be sure to mention informed consent.
Conclusion
A conclusion is the final piece of writing in a research paper, essay, or article that summarizes the entire work. The conclusion paragraph should restate your hypothesis, summarize the key supporting ideas you discussed throughout the work, and offer your final statement about the significance of your topic.
Requirements and Guidelines
You are expected to research the empirical literature related to your topic. It will be important to incorporate several (AT LEAST 10) references from the psychological literature in your paper. I am not just interested in your subjective views. Instead, I want you to demonstrate that you can support your conclusions and analyses with objective data (i.e., empirical research studies) and reasoned theory. Use databases online such as Academic Search Complete, PsychInfo and PsychArticles to search the research literature and consult up-to-date reputable peer-reviewed research journals and publications. Try to focus on articles dated 2015 and beyond.
For our purposes, websites do not count as one of your 10 required references. If you are using them in addition to the required sources, be sure to cite properly.
Use APA style to note references and in text citations, which means referring to publications in your paper by author and year of publication and listing publications under REFERENCES at the end of your paper. Use APA 7th
