Research Assignment 1: Topic Proposal
FCST 304
Research Assignment 1: Topic Proposal
For this assignment, you will propose a topic that will be the focus of your upcoming “Summary and Reaction Papers” (Research Assignments 2 and 3) as well as your final research proposal paper for this class. This topic can be ANYTHING that pertains to human development or family science at any point in the lifespan (from conception to death).
This topic should be fairly specific, so that later in the semester you will be able to propose a specific new study on the topic. For example, the topic of “Divorce” is too broad. Instead, you might select “Children’s Emotional Adjustment after Divorce.” As another example, the topic of, “Violent Media” is too broad, but the topic of “Violent Video Game Playing and Children’s Adjustment” would be better. As a final example, “Gender” is too broad, but “Gender Differences in Aggressive Behavior” or “The Role of Gender in Children’s Adjustment to Parental Remarriage” would be better.
Based on your first attempt at a literature search (described below), you will probably have to modify your topic a bit before you decide. That is okay!
After you decide on your topic, please use Psyc-Info to find FIVE peer-reviewed research articles that present research related to the topic that you have selected. Please make sure that these papers present new, original research. They should each have a “participants” section; this is one important way to tell if the article presents new empirical research.
After you find the articles, download and save the entire article (and/or print it out). We will go over in class how to ensure that your articles are available online through the MSU library.
Specifics about how to turn in the assignment:
Page 1) APA style title page. Don’t forget about the running head and the page numbers! Make sure to use 12-point Times Font, double spaced consistently (no extra spaces). Your book has an example cover page on page 349. Please use this as a model.
Page 2) Paragraph describing your topic. You can explain why it is important, or why you want to learn more about it, or why you think more research should be conducted on the topic. Don’t forget the running head and the page numbers (keep it consistent with APA style – see the example APA paper that starts on page 349 of your text. The running head looks different on page 1 compared to the other pages in an APA style document)!
Page 3) APA style reference section where you will list each of the articles that you found on your time spent with Psyc-Info. You should have FIVE at this time (however if you would like to include more, feel free to…but not necessary). Again, don’t forget the running head and page numbers!
Page 4) Appendix. Treat this as an APA-Style Appendix Section and keep the running heads and page numbers. You will present the following information for each article that is included in your reference section (will be easiest if you make a table to present the information). It is very basic at this point, don’t worry, we’ll get much more detailed in later assignments!!
· Title of the article
· Authors of the article
· How many participants were studied in the research? Basic age/gender/racial composition/socioeconomic status/occupational/school information?
· Where was the research conducted? (a laboratory? Classrooms? Families’ homes?)
· Name of the Journal where the research was published – be sure to spell out the whole name, not using abbreviations (APA style does not use abbreviations for journal titles)
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Title |
Middle school transition stress: Links with academic performance, motivation, and school experiences |
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Authors |
Goldstein, Boxer, and Rudolph |
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Participants |
774 students from a public middle school in Northeastern USA (grade 7 and 8); 47.8% male; Racial composition: 28.4 % Latino/ a, 23.5 % European American/White, 19.3 % mixed or multiracial/ethnic background, 14.9 % African American/ Black, 6.3 % Asian American/Asian, and 7.7 % “other.” The authors reported that the students came from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. |
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Setting of research |
School-based data collection, in classrooms during school time. |
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Journal |
Contemporary School Psychology |