PSYC 515 M1 RESEARCH DESIGN TEMPLATE 1
RESEARCH DESIGN TEMPLATE
OVERVIEW
This is the first assignment in your Research Project. Be sure you have reviewed this module’s assigned
readings and presentations before completing this assignment. Of most relevance is the Research
Project Survey Guidelines document in this week’s Learn section. The purpose is to scaffold the process
of designing and conducting a research study. In this first phase, you will submit a research proposal and
survey using this form. Your instructor will review this form and provide feedback to let you know if you
are approved to collect data using the survey submitted as part of this assignment (you should create
your survey at the end of this document). Note this study is for educational purposes only – you will not
present or publish the data, and can only collect data from friends and family. You will need to collect
data from at least 20 people after your survey has been approved.
INSTRUCTIONS
Be sure you have reviewed this module’s assigned readings and presentations before completing this
assignment. Of most relevance is the Research Project Survey Guidelines document in this week’s Learn
section. This assignment is worth 50 points: 45 points for content and 5 points for format. 1 point format
is completing answers within the assigned sections and 4 points is for proper format of the survey.
Note that until the survey is approved by your instructor you cannot move forward with the future
assignments associated with the Research Project. Turning in this assignment late, incomplete, or
inaccurately formatted may impact performance on future portions of this project.
There are two parts to this assignment:
Research Design: complete the table below by placing answers where indicated (“<ANSWER>”).
Survey: at the end of this document (where it says <Create Proposed Survey Here> create a
proposed survey. It should be formatted to be easy for a person to read and complete. You must
create the survey in its entirety within this document – you cannot copy / paste question(s) as an
image as distortion may occur (you must retype them). All questions should be the same font and
font size. Make sure there is uniformity in appearance and there are no typos.
You will submit this assignment as a single word document by the due date in Canvas.
R Design Table (2 each = 36 pts content + 1 pt format for not
this table and inserting answers only where indicated)
Demographi
c Variable
1. Name of variable: What is your Age?
2. Levels of variable you will use: Identity
3. Scale of Measurement (nominal,
ordinal, or scale):
Nominal
4. Appropriate measure of central
tendency:
Mean
5. Appropriate measure of variability
(if not appropriate, write “N/A”):
N/A
Variable of
Interest #1
6. Name of variable and/or scale
selected (including citation):
Negative subscale of the Brief Religious
Coping Scale (RCOPE)
Pargement, K., Feuille, M, & Burdzy, D.
(2011). The brief RCOPE: Current
PSYC 515 M1 RESEARCH DESIGN TEMPLATE 2
psychometric status of a short measure of
religious coping. Religions, 2(1), 51-76
7. How many questions? What are
the answer options – e.g., Likert 1 -
5?):
7 questions (Positive); 1-not at all to 4-A
great deal and 7 questions (Negative) 1-
not at all to 4- A great deal
8. How is this variable quantified?
What is the potential numerical range
and how is it interpreted? (i.e. how
do you calculate a single numerical
value from the multiple questions in
the scale)
Calculate the total scores from a range of
7 to 28, where higher values indicate a
greater degree of negative religious
coping.
9. What is its scale of measurement?
(nominal, ordinal, or scale)
Interval
Variable of
Interest #2
10. Name of variable and/or scale
selected (including citation if
appropriate):
The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R.
(1983). A Global Measure of Perceived
Stress. Journal of Health and Social
Behavior, 24(4), 385-396.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2136404
11. How many questions? What are
the answer options – e.g., Likert 1 -
5?:
14 questions, Likert of scale of 0=4 to 4=1;
1-Never to 4-Very Often
12. How is this variable quantified?
What is the potential numerical range
and how is it interpreted? (i.e. how
do you calculate a single numerical
value from the multiple questions in
the scale) Notes: if it is only one
question, the answer will be similar to
what you have as the previous answer
but you should also state it here; if your
variable is nominal, numbers are
meaningless but necessary for SPSS so
you won’t discuss the numbers in your
paper but will state them here.
The 14 items of the Perceived Stress
Scale (PSS) are presented in Appendix A.
To calculate PSS scores, you need to
reverse the scores on the seven positively
stated items; for example, a score of 0=4,
1= 3, and 2= 2. After reversing these
scores, sum the values for all 14 items.
The positively stated items are numbers 4,
5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 13. Higher total scores
indicate a greater level of perceived stress.
13. What is its scale of
measurement? (nominal, ordinal, or
scale)
Interval
Research
Design
14. Correlational, quasi-
experimental, or experimental (since
you have 2 variables it will NOT be
descriptive):
Correlational
15. Justification: Being religious affects how individuals
cope with stress, which plays a role in
overall life satisfaction as well as physical
and mental health.
16. Research / Alternate Hypothesis (note this is NOT the null hypothesis). **It is common
practice in the field to explicitly state the research hypothesis in the paper but statistically
test the null hypothesis.
Engaging in religious practices significantly impacts how individuals cope with stress. These
PSYC 515 M1 RESEARCH DESIGN TEMPLATE 3
practices often provide a sense of hope and support, fostering a more positive outlook on life. As a
result, individuals may experience enhanced mental well-being and improved physical health. The
rituals, community connections, and spiritual guidance found in religion can serve as vital tools for
resilience in the face of life's challenges.
17. Proposed Target Population (e.g., “friends” on facebook; link posted on Instagram,
email to friends, church or other group to which you belong, only women – note you will
need 20 participants from this target population, and you cannot use people you do not
know due to the educational nature of this study and our IRB exempt status constraints -
read the M2 Research Data Collection Instructions for further clarification):
Family and friends who come from various religious backgrounds, each bringing their own unique
beliefs and traditions.
18. Proposed survey distribution method (e.g., email, facebook, hand out paper surveys at
your church, et cet – note you cannot distribute these in public places due to the exempt
status of this educational assignment – read the M2 Research Data Collection Instructions
for further clarification):
Email, Hand out paper surveys to family and friends, and Facebook.
S (9 content / 4 pts format)
At the end of this document (starting on the next page), create a proposed survey that is
professionally formatted (9 content points / 4 format points). It should be formatted to be easy for a
person to read and complete. You must create the survey in its entirety within this document – you
cannot copy / paste question(s) as an image as distortion may occur (you must retype them). All
questions should be the same font and font size. Make sure there is uniformity in appearance and
there are no typos. Make sure to include the following components:
Disclaimer (1 pt)
Directions to the participant on how to answer the questions (may need directions for each
subsection) (2 pts)
Question(s) related to the Demographic Variable (2 pts)
Question(s) related to Variable 1 (2 pts)
Question(s) related to Variable 2 (2 pts)
Disclaimer: I am asking you to complete this survey as part of the requirements for my statistics project in a
graduate-level psychology course PSYC 515. Your answers will remain completely anonymous. No personal
information about you will be linked to this survey. Please do not put your name or any other identifying
PSYC 515 M1 RESEARCH DESIGN TEMPLATE 4
information on the survey. The results of this survey will be used only for educational purposes and will not be
published or released to the public. You must be 18 years old or older to complete this survey.
Directions: Please respond to each question based on your individual circumstances. Please enter a number between
"1 through 4" in the "Item" box that best represents your answer for each question.
1. What is your age?____________
Religion
1 2 3 4
Not at all A little bit Medium A great deal
Positive Religious Coping
Item
1. Looked for a stronger connection with God.
2. Sought God’s love and care.
3. Sought help from God in letting go of my anger.
4. Tried to put my plans into action together with God.
5. Tried to see how God might be trying to strengthen me in this situation.
6. Asked forgiveness for my sins.
7. Focused on religion to stop worrying about my problems
Negative Religious Coping
Item
8. Wonder where God had abandoned me.
9. Felt punished by God for my lack of devotion.
10. Wondered what I did for God to punish me.
11. Questioned God’s love for me.
12. Wondered whether my Church had abandoned me.
13. Decided the devil made this happen.
14. Questioned the power of God
Disclaimer: I am asking you to complete this survey as part of the requirements for my statistics project in a
graduate-level psychology course PSYC 515. Your answers will remain completely anonymous. No personal
PSYC 515 M1 RESEARCH DESIGN TEMPLATE 5
information about you will be linked to this survey. Please do not put your name or any other identifying
information on the survey. The results of this survey will be used only for educational purposes and will not be
published or released to the public. You must be 18 years old or older to complete this survey.
Stress
Directions: Please indicate your response by placing an "X" in the box that shows HOW OFTEN you felt or
thought in a certain way. While some of the questions may seem similar, please treat each one as a separate
question. It’s best to answer fairly quickly, so don’t spend too much time counting the number of times you felt a
particular way. Instead, choose the option that seems like a reasonable estimate of your feelings.
0=Never 1-Almost Never 2=Sometimes 3=Fairly Often 4=Very Often
Never Almost
Never
Sometimes Fairly
Often
Very Often
1. In the last month, how often have you been
upset because of something that happened
unexpectedly?
2. In the last month, how often have you felt that
you were unable to control the important things in
your life?
3. In the last month, how often have you felt
nervous and “stressed”?
4. In the last month, how often have you dealt
successfully with day-to-day problems and
annoyances?
5. In the last month, how often have you felt that
you were effectively coping with important
changes that were occurring in your life?
6. In the last month, how often have you felt
confident about your ability to handle your
personal problems?
7. In the last month, how often have you felt things
were going your way?
8. In the last month, how often have you found
that you could not cope with all the things that you
had to do?
9. In the last month, how often have you been able
to control irritations in your life?
10. In the last month, how often have you been
angered because of things that were outside your
control?
11. In the last month, how often have you found
yourself thinking about things you must
accomplish?
12. In the last month, how often have you been
able to control the way you spend your time?
13. In the last month, how often have you felt
difficulties were piling up so high that you could
not overcome them?
14. In the last month, how often have you felt that
you were on top of things?
