Describe any relevant variables, measures, and statistical tests.
Week 6 – Research Proposal
Research Proposal
The written research proposal will be created based on a narrowly defined aspect of the topic selected in Week One. A research proposal is a detailed plan for a specific study to be conducted at a future time. It is the document which potential researchers typically submit to an institutional review board (IRB) for ethical review and approval, and/or to funding agencies to secure financial support for a research effort. Because it is a plan for research which has not yet been conducted, the Methods section should be written in the future tense and should not contain any hypothetical results. The paper must address all of the components required in the Methods section of a research proposal. The following actions must be completed.
- State the research question and/or hypothesis.
- Briefly compare the characteristics of the major research paradigms used in previous studies on the chosen topic. Introduce the specific approach (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods), research design, sampling strategy, data collection procedures, and data analysis techniques to be used in this study. Provide a short explanation as to why the selected procedures are more feasible than other alternatives for the research topic.
- Describe any relevant variables, measures, and statistical tests.
- Apply ethical principles and professional standards to the proposed psychological research. Provide an analysis of any ethical issues that may arise and explain how these issues will be resolved.
The following headings for the required sections and subsections must appear in the paper. In accordance with APA style, all references listed must be cited in the text of the paper.
- Introduction
- Introduce the research topic, explain why it is important, and present an appropriately and narrowly defined research question and/or hypothesis.
- Literature Review
- Evaluate the published research on the chosen topic including a minimum of three peer-reviewed articles. Summarize the current state of knowledge on the topic, making reference to the findings of previous research studies. Briefly mention the research methods that have previously been used to study the topic. State whether the proposed study is a replication of a previous study or a new approach employing methods that have not been used before. Be sure to properly cite all sources in APA style.