Overview
Write a Research Proposal (2,000-2,500 words) on a topic relevant to the course. To complete the Research Proposal, do the following:
Topic:The Impact of Defendant Race on Perceptions of Mental Illness in Court
Review the attached document “Research Proposal Guidelines” and the “Setting Up the Results and Discussion Sections in the Research Proposal” section in the Topic 7 Resource document, located in the Topic 7 Resources for a brief overview on how to complete the assignment.
- Introductory section: Include hypothesis and a review of the literature.
- Method section: Include subsections on Participants, Apparatus/Materials/Instruments, Procedure, and Design.
- Results section: Include statistic, critical values, degrees of freedom, and alpha level.
- Discussion section: Include interpretation of results, ethical concerns, limitations of study, and suggestions for future research.
- Figures and Tables section: Include a minimum of two (either two figures, two tables, or a figure and a table).
- Include at least 8-10 scholarly references.
Topic 7 Research Proposal Guidelines
Here are the requirements for the Research Proposal:
•
Include a Title Page, Abstract page, and References page in APA format, 7
th
edition.
•
Introduction: This is the longest section of your paper. Begin with an introductory
paragraph that states the purpose of the paper. Then, go into detail on your literature
review. Begin with a general review of your topic and move to specific studies that are
similar to your proposal. Show how your proposal is different from what has been done
before. Build to a paragraph that includes your hypothesis (-ses).
•
Method: This part has four sections (each of which is a subheading):
•
Participants: Describe who they will be, how many, how would they be
recruited, what characteristics they would have, etc.
•
Apparatus/ Materials and/ or Instruments: What ingredients will you need to
run your study (tests, gadgets, paper/ pencils, etc.)?
•
Procedure: Outline the steps of your study in chronological order. Write in the
conditional tense if the study is not going to be carried out.
•
Design: Include what type of design you’re using (e.g., correlational
nonexperimental design, between-subjects, within-subjects, or mixed
experimental design).
•
Results: This section may be combined with the Discussion section. Include a paragraph
describing what statistic was used (e.g.,
t
-test, ANOVA, correlation, chi-square), how
many degrees of freedom, alpha level (choose .05), and critical value.
•
Discussion (20%): Include at least four paragraphs.
•
Describe what it would mean if you obtained significant results. Then describe
what it would mean to obtain nonsignificant results.
•
Discuss how your study followed APA ethical guidelines, by discussing the
use of an informed consent form, debriefing statement, deception, and
obtaining IRB permission.
•
Discuss any limitations in your study (e.g., possible confounding, lack of
random assignment, or random sampling).
•
Conclude with a discussion of future studies that could arise from your study.
•
Include two figures, OR two tables, OR a table and a figure (10%). A table is columns of
numbers, and a figure is anything else (chart, map, graph, etc.). You can include your
Informed Consent form and your Debriefing form as two figures.