Designing a Proposal for a Psychological Study

Instructions:

For this term paper, you will be designing a proposal for a psychological study that addresses a question that applies to your personal life or career goals. You will not be doing the study, but you will be writing a proposal as if you were going to do the study.

For this assignment, you must choose a topic, do some background research, develop one or more hypotheses, and design a study to test those hypotheses. The research proposal must meet the following criteria:

(1) The topic may concern anything in psychology that uses human subjects.

(2) It must be based on ideas (i.e., concepts, principles, and research findings), from one chapter in the textbook. a) You must identify the chapter, including page numbers from the chapter, and explain how they apply to your study.

(3) The study can be a correlational study or an experiment. a) You must explain why you chose the particular method.

(4) It must be an original study. It cannot be a replication of previous studies. This is where you need to be creative.

(5) The proposed study must be ethical.

(6) At least three scientific references must be cited. These references must be from a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal. These references should address what research has already been done that is related to your topic. a) I must be able to access the complete article if it is included in your references. b) You cannot cite an abstract for an article, it must be a complete article.

(7) In addition, you must include information from the appropriate chapter from the textbook.

The chapter from the textbook cannot be Chapter You need to start considering this paper early in the semester. Your term paper should be written in APA format and should address or answer the relevant questions below each heading.

The final paper must be: 4-5 pages (NOT including the title page and reference page(s). Double-spaced 12-point font 1-inch margins Numbered pages Your paper should include the sections I outline below.

In addition, you need to include a title page, and a reference page (s). You must include at least four references (three peer-reviewed, scholarly articles and your textbook. Wikipedia is not an acceptable reference.

You must also provide proper in-text (parenthetical)citations for all information you get from your sources. You will be submitting your paper through a plagiarism checker to ensure that the term paper is your own work and not copied or excessively “cut and pasted” from outside sources.

Criteria for the Research Proposal

Do not attempt to submit a research proposal that has already been done by someone else. You will not “learn” anything by doing this and the plagiarism checker will find the original source, and you will receive a zero for the assignment.

You may not submit a paper that you have submitted, or will submit, for a different class.

The headings below are general. Before you start working on your paper, make sure you read the grading rubric, so you know how I will be evaluating your paper.

Section I: Introduction Background/literature search. Hypothesis

Section II: Method In this section, you should discuss how you are going to meet the goals discussed in the introduction. This portion of the proposal is broken down further into questions you should answer within each subsection. Design Participants Measures/materials Procedure

Section III: Implications Why are the results important, and how would they be used? What will be the implications of the results if your hypotheses are confirmed? What will be the implications of the results if your hypotheses are not confirmed?

References:

This is your reference list of literature or resources cited in the proposal. Minimum of four references, including the textbook. Again, remember the title page and reference page is not included in the 4-5 page requirement.

This page requirement means your paper must be at least 4 pages long and must not exceed 5 pages. A professional journal is also known as a peer reviewed or scholarly journal. A professional journal publishes research articles by professionals in a particular field. Research articles are often lengthy and may contain tables and graphs.

What is not a professional journal? A newspaper article, an entry in a dictionary or encyclopedia, an article from a magazine (Time, Newsweek, Psychology Today, etc.) or an article you got from a website. (To access professional articles on websites, you usually have to have a subscription to the institution that publishes the journal. Some may be accessed for free, but usually it is the older back issues.)

Research Design Term Paper Grading Rubric Criteria Ratings Introduction and Background 20 to >18 pts A to A-

Introduction clearly reviews psychological background for proposed research. 18 to >16 pts B+ to B- 16 to >14 pts C+ to C- Introduction adequately reviews psychological background for proposed research. 14 to >12 pts D+ to D- 12 to >0 pts F Introduction poorly reviews psychological background for proposed research.

Section I: Introduction

Research Question 10 to >8.95 pts A to A- Clearly states research question and how it relates to the chapter. Clear and appropriate hypothesis is stated 8.95 to >7.95 pts B+ to B- 7.95 to >7.25 pts C+ to C- Adequately implies research question and how it relates to the chapter.

A hypothesis is stated but needs more development. 7.25 to >5.95 pts D+ to D- 5.95 to >0 pts F Poorly implies research question and how it relates to the chapter. No hypothesis is stated.

Variables and Operational Definitions 20 to >18 pts A to A- Precise statement of variables and operational definitions. 18 to >16 pts B 16 to >14 pts C+ to C- The variables are defined and/or operational definitions are defined but are vague. 14 to >12 pts D+ to D- 12 to >0 pts F Statement of variables is not clearly defined and/or the operational definitions need further development.

Participants 10 to >8.95 pts A to A- Excellent description and thought into selecting proposed subjects 8.95 to >7.95 pts B+ to B- 7.95 to >7.25 pts C+ to C- Adequate description and thought into selecting proposed participants.

7.25 to >5.95 pts D+ to D- 5.95 to >0 pts F Unclear/no description of proposed subjects and thought used in selection Materials 10 to >8.95 pts A to A- Excellent description of materials.

Materials are appropriate for the hypothesis 8.95 to >7.95 pts B+ to B- 7.95 to >7.25 pts C+ to C- Adequate description of materials and/or somewhat appropriate materials 7.25 to >5.95 pts D+ to D- 5.95 to >0 pts F Unclear and/or incomplete description on materials.

Procedure 10 to >8.95 pts A to A- Excellent description of procedures .

Procedures are appropriate for study. 8.95 to >7.95 pts B+ to B- 7.95 to >7.25 pts C+ to C- Adequate description of, and/or appropriate procedures in proposed study. 7.25 to >5.95 pts D+ to D- 5.95 to >0 pts F Poor description of and/or inappropriate procedures in proposed study. Implications 10 to >8.95 pts A to A- Excellent analysis of the implications of the research.

Impressive depth of insight 8.95 to >7.95 pts B+ to B- 7.95 to >7.25 pts C+ to C- Adequate analysis of the implications of the research. Adequate depth of insight. 7.25 to >5.95 pts D+ to D- 5.95 to >0 pts F Unclear and/or incomplete analysis of the implications of the research. Unexceptional insight.

Format and Style 10 to >8.95 pts A to A- Excellent organization. Smooth transitions between paragraphs Correct grammar and/or spelling. Correct references or in-text citations. 8.95 to >7.95 pts B+ to B- 7.95 to >7.25 pts C+ to C- Adequate organization.

Some awkward transitions between paragraphs. Some incorrect grammar and/or spelling. Some incorrect references or in-text citations. 7.25 to >5.95 pts D+ to D- 5.95 to >0 pts F Poor organization.

Awkward transitions between paragraphs. Incorrect grammar and/or spelling. Incorrect references or in-text citations.