Research Proposal

Research Proposal:

You will be required to complete and present a summary of a proposal for a research project. This will be an emerging project from your work and the discussions and article reviews that you do in class. This project is expected to require 8-l0 typed pages. The format of the paper will be consistent with APA 6th edition guidelines. This project will be due the week before the end of class. To be clear, this is not research you will actually carry out yourself, just an idea for a research project you are interested in. Below are the required sections and examples of what should be under each section of your paper. DO NOT PLAGARIZE! CONSEQUENCES WILL FOLLOW IF YOU PLAGARIZE!

Outline

Required Sections

I. Cover Page II. Introduction

A. State the research problem

i. Write your topic so that it is clear in your mind and communicable. Check with me for guidance on the feasibility of your topic.

ii. Be sure your topic is narrow.

B. Explain how the proposed study is grounded in the research literature

i. Make sure to describe why your topic is interesting or important ii. Include at least one citation in this part.

C. List the research hypothesis III. Literature Review

A. Find 5 journal articles with at least 2 of them reporting research findings about your question.

B. Summarize the journal articles briefly emphasizing what they found in their research. How would your research question fill in gaps or add to the research literature you have found thus far.

IV. Research design and methods

A. Create an operational definition of the terms in your problem.

i. Make sure the definition is consistent with the procedure you plan to use to measure your construct

B. Create an operational procedure - an observable way to measure data or collect the information.

1. For example shyness, this might consist of either

1. a questionnaire or self-report about daily routine

2. observation of children's behavior during free time

3. Spell out your method to make it clear that the construct is being validly measured. Do you think you will need to do a qualitative or quantitative data collection? Or do you need to do a mixed design?

C. Identify your sample

1. Describe the type of sampling you plan to use and why this type of sampling is appropriate for your study

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D. Protection of participants

i. Outline possible risks and benefits to participants for participating in your study.

ii. Address measures you will take to protect study participants.

V. Data Collection and Analysis

A. Describe the type of data you expect to collect from your research.

VI. Results

A. Draw a conclusion about what you think you discover if you actually did this project.

B. Summarize your findings your ideas to close.

VII. References

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