PSY 265 Research Project Proposal

Part 1: Topic Selection: 3 points

1. Select a topic for your research study. A topic should be in any area of psychology that you are interested in. Psychological research usually focuses on the relationship between two or more variables. Thus, when you think about the topic, you should think about the variables that you will explore in your research study.
2. Once you determine your topic and variables, operationally define each of your variables, and state a hypothesis for your study.
3. A necessary step in selecting a topic for research is finding previous studies that were previously done on your topic of interest. In order to research the background literature, please use one of the psychological databases (e.g. PsycINFO or PsycARTICLES). Select at least two previous research studies that were published in peer-reviewed journals, and incorporate their summaries into your topic proposal.
4. General instructions: your topic proposal should be 1-2 pages long, double-spaced, using a standard 12-point font (Times New Roman) and include the title of your proposed research, topic description, a list of variables, operational definitions for each variable, a hypothesis, and a summary of two related previous research studies. Upload an editable file below by the due date one the Course Map.

Part 2: Introduction: Background Literature Review and Hypothesis Statement: 5 points

1. The second step in the research process after selecting a topic is reviewing the background literature. This is a very important step because reading existing research on your topic will help you understand it better and make sure that your idea is original and adds something new and useful to the existing body of research. Finally, by reading other studies you may discover the best and the worst ways of designing your research. You may decide to conduct a replication of an existing study or find the evidence that would demonstrate that the previous findings were inaccurate.
2. In this assignment you are asked to find four peer-reviewed articles describing original research related to your topic (including the two that you found and read for your topic proposal). Please use the psychological databases you learned about in class.
3. Carefully read each article. Take notes as you are reading, summarizing the information in your own words – the notes will help you put together your literature review.

4. Write a summary of the background literature on your in APA style, using the

information in Part 2 of the course. 5.

6. Add the references formatted in APA style. Please cite your sources in-text, making sure all these sources are listed in your references section.
7. General instructions: The literature review should be 3-4 pages long, double-spaced, using a standard 12-point font (Times New Roman). Upload an editable file below by the due date one the Course Map.

Part 3: Method: participants, materials, project design, informed consent, flyer: 4 points 1.

2. Include the following parts:
   1. Participants: who will take part in your research and how you are planning to

      select participants

   2. Materials: describe what materials (measures) you will use to measure your

      variables

   3. Procedure: describe step-by-step how you will collect the data
3. Appendix: the information that would go into appendices might include a consent form, a flyer for recruiting participants, actual measures, a background questionnaire

Part 4: Results and Discussion: 3 points

1. Results: Describe how you would you analyze the data. Is it qualitative or quantitative research? Is your research observational, correlational or experimental? Depending on the research methods you used, propose a statistical analysis
2. Discussion: a paragraph mentioning potential findings, limitations, and future research directions

Part 5: Full Research Proposal: 5 points

In this part you are asked to put all parts together into a single document.

Please include the following sections:
1. Cover page
2. Abstract on a separate page according to APA guidelines
3. Introduction the title, first paragraph introducing the topic followed by the literature

review, and the paragraph with the study goals/questions/hypotheses
4. Method section with the following subparts: Participants, Materials, Procedure

The introduction section of a research proposal usually ends with a hypothesis, research

statement or question. Depending on your topic, you may choose to formulate a

directional or a nondirectional hypothesis, a research statement or a research

question.

Your research study could be an experiment, a correlational study, a naturalistic

observation or a case study. There is no page limit but a properly written method

section will be at least a page long.

5. Results describe how would you analyze the data. Is it qualitative or quantitative research? Is your research observational, correlational or experimental? Depending on the research methods you used, propose a statistical analysis
6. Discussion a paragraph mentioning potential findings, limitations, and future research directions
7. References formatted using APA style. Make sure to cross-check in-text references with those listed in this section – the two have to match