Formatting Requirements: USE THE TEMPLATE!! – or automatic deduction of 15 points
Minimum 1000 words (not including references) – or automatic deduction of 15 points
Maximum 6 pages (not including references)
Double-spaced, Times New Roman Font, 1-inch Margins
Citation of 5 or more peer-reviewed articles from year 2000 or later – does NOT include the textbook (see page 2 for explanations and examples) – or automatic deduction of 5 points per missing article
Now that you have completed an article review for your midterm project, you are now prepared to propose your own study! For this assignment, imagine that you have been awarded a grant of $20,000 to complete an innovative study on a cutting-edge research topic related to cultural psychology. Please note that this is a research proposal, and you are not required to conduct an actual study for this assignment. An objective of this study is to practice writing an APA formatted research proposal.
Please complete the following items (these are also referred to in the assignment template):
- ITEM 1) Summarize existing literature. What have other scholars found on your topic of interest? Give the reader a brief summary/overview on your topic – include only relevant information that would be helpful for someone to know before reading about your proposed study. This section is where you will include most of your 5 references. (30 points)
- ITEM 2) After summarizing the relevant studies for the reader, propose your own research question that would fill a “gap” in the literature. That is, describe a cultural psychology-related question you wish to investigate. What is the rationale for your study? (20 points)
- ITEM 3) Based on what you have read in the literature, what do you think the outcome of your proposed study would be? (i.e., what are your study hypotheses), and why? (20 points)
- ITEM 4) Study Design – be sure to address all of the following: (45 points total)
(4A) Sample participants – Address each of the following in your proposal and explain your rationale: (10 points)
- Age range
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Geographic location
- Optional – Any other significant identity or group affiliation that you choose to examine in your study (e.g., gender identity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, etc.)
(4B) How would you recruit participants? For example: Would you recruit students from a university? A special population from the community? A clinical population (e.g., people with a specific clinical disorder)? Etc.? (10 points)
(4C) Are there any ethical considerations with the population you are using? (e.g., incarcerated individuals, pregnant women, indigent populations)? If so, how will you address ethical Tconcerns (hint: discuss “IRB approval”) (5 points)
(4D) How will you conduct your experiment (e.g., Will you use an apparatus? A computer program? Survey Questionnaires? Focus group interviews?) Describe your “experiment” in detail, including what participants will be required to do. (20 points)
- ITEM 5) What is the scientific and cultural value of your proposed study? How does it add to the existing literature (that is, how is your study different than the research that has been done previously on your topic? How does it address a “gap” in the literature?) (15 points)
Additional Points
- Grammar, spelling, APA formatting, Use of template (10 points)
- Scientific writing quality; at least 10 APA references (10 points)
Total = 150 points
(REVIEW ADDITIONAL HINTS BELOW)
ADDITIONAL TIPS:
- DEFINING A RESEARCH QUESTION: Please note that you are not required to conduct an actual study for this assignment. The purpose of reviewing the existing literature is to develop a new research question based on “gaps,” or unanswered questions, in the existing literature. A clever way to find ideas for a new research study is to review the “limitations and future research” section that is typically included at the end of peer-reviewed articles. Please remember that the research proposal must be related to a cultural psychology topic! Ideas may be derived from key concepts in the textbook, though the textbook cannot be your primary citation source (this means that you will have to conduct further research online for any ideas developed from the textbook).
- ARTICLE SEARCHES: Peer-reviewed articles are published in academic journals, which means that they must be approved by a board of reviewers. You can access peer reviewed articles and academic journals by logging onto the UH Libraries website (https://libraries.uh.edu/)and conducting an article search. Extra Hint: Log-in with your cougarnet ID to access articles for free. You should also be able to do this when using other search engines like Google Scholar. In some cases, you might find an article or book chapter that is particularly interesting or relevant to your study, but it is not available for free. In those cases, you can attempt to request the text via Interlibrary Loan (https://libraries.uh.edu/services/interlibrary-loan/), but note that this may take up to several weeks. My primary suggestion would be to find a different article. It is not necessary to pay for articles or book chapters for this assignment.
- PLAGIARISM: Please note that including large or several portions of copied text (even with quotes and citations) does not reflect independent work and counts as plagiarism. Instead, you must paraphrase or summarize text in your own words and provide proper citation of your source. Please review the resources posted on Blackboard or contact me with any questions if you are unsure if your writing may count as plagiarism. Plagiarism will result in disciplinary action and can go on your permanent academic record (please review the syllabus).
