Guidelines for Writing a Project Proposal

Ethical Approval and Data Collection

Your tutor will provide feedback on both parts of the assignment and will award a grade for your Project proposal. Your tutor may also require you to make changes to one or both parts of the document before giving approval for you to proceed with your project.

Please note that you must obtain your tutor’s approval and signature on the Ethical approval form before you approach participants and/or begin any data collection. Any data collected without approval will be inadmissible and may lead to you. If you make changes to your procedure or sample after obtaining approval, you must consult your tutor, or you will risk losing marks.

You must not collect any data until your tutor has approved your project design.

When you submit your project report as TMA05, you must attach the marked Project proposal and Ethical approval form, approved and signed by your tutor.

Note that while it is essential that you complete your Ethical approval form, it is not graded for assessment purposes.

1. State the proposed title of your project:

2. State your research question or main experimental hypothesis

3. Provide a brief outline of your proposed experiment and the data you plan to collect.

4. Explain which psychological theories/ models your project relates to.

Please explain how you will conduct your project (using the questions below for guidance).

State your hypotheses. How have you operationalised your research question to form your main hypothesis?

What experimental design is most appropriate, and why? For example, if you are proposing a repeated-measures design, why might that be more appropriate than an independent-samples design; and vice versa?

State your independent variables. Explain what they are, how many you have, how many levels there are for each and how they will be manipulated.

State your dependent variable(s). Explain what they are and precisely how they will be measured.

What other design issues may be pertinent to your potential study (e.g. counterbalancing in a repeated-measures design)?

Outline your proposed procedure. What are participants required to do during the experiment?

Describe the materials you plan to use (e.g. word lists, video material). Where/how will you obtain them? Note that your tutor will need to approve your materials before you begin testing.

Outline your participant recruitment plan. Describe your potential participants (number, demographic information). Describe how you plan to recruit them (e.g. work colleagues, friends, neighbours, from the Experimental Participation Website (EPW)).

Project Title and Research Question/Hypothesis

If you are planning to recruit a group of participants with a particular demographic or characteristic, how will you do this? Are there any participants whom you would exclude, and why?

Outline your plan for data collection and analysis. What type of data will you have? What statistical tests will you use, and why?

Outline your proposed research timetable indicating approximate dates and durations of the stages of your project.

The following procedural/ design issues must be addressed before you begin to collect data:

The following materials must be submitted for approval before you begin to collect data:

Important: please note the following. Your project must be approved by your tutor before you begin participant recruitment and data collection. Your tutor should electronically sign and date the final version of the Project proposal and Ethical approval form; final copies must be included with your Project report as part of your TMA05 These forms are evidence that you have gained ethical approval for your project and that your tutor has approved your design. If you do not include the forms with your report, you will risk failing the project report assignment and DE300

In order to complete this section, you must study the ethics materials in the Week 14 website resources. In particular you should ensure that you have read pages 1–26 of the BPS’s Code of Human Research Ethics. Topics you should consider include:

·informed consent – you should include a copy of your draft consent form with TMA03

·participant instructions – again, a draft of your instruction sheet should be submitted with this assignment

·materials (including draft questions, descriptions of video/audio material, draft word lists, etc.)

·participant safety

·researcher safety

·researcher distress – investigating a sensitive topic, can be upsetting to the investigator

·confidentiality and anonymity

·debriefing participants

·how participants can obtain further information or discuss the research

·possible need for additional support/disclosure issues

·right to withdraw from the study

·storage of participant information and data

·disposal of participant information and data.

Now complete the following two questions:

1. What are the ethical considerations that may have an impact on your study? (Word limit: 200 words)

2. How does your study demonstrate respect for people (participants)? (Word limit: 200 words)

I have read the BPS guidance and confirm that to the best of my knowledge my study and project adhere to these principles.

Ethical approval by tutor

(a)If your tutor approves and signs this Ethical approval form, and has approved your design and materials you can start your project.

(b)If your tutor has requested changes to your study, make those changes, and post the amended Ethical approval form in your project forum to allow your tutor to scrutinise it; you must not start the project until your tutor has approved it and signed it off.

(c)If your tutor has serious concerns about your study, you must not begin it until you have contacted your tutor, changed your form, posted the amended Ethical approval form in your project forum for further scrutiny, and gained your tutor’s approval. This is very important and you will risk failing your project if you do not comply with this instruction.