APA Example



RESEARCH PROPOSAL EXAMINING [insert more info here] [Student]Park UniversityPS300: Research Methods[Instructor Name][Date]RESEARCH PROPOSAL EXAMINING [insert more info here]The first paragraph of your paper should be an introduction to your topic and provide an overview of your paper. This can be done in one to two paragraphs. Leave the details for the other sections. The Core Assessment for this class requires you to write a detailed proposal for research you could conduct. You will not actually do this research (though it might form the basis for a senior research project or some research relevant to your job), but your proposal should be a “blueprint” detailed enough that you could hand to others and guide them through its successful completion. The research proposal will consist of four sections.Literature ReviewThis section is an overview and (max. 1500 words) a critical summary of existing research your project will build upon. Typical literature reviews are composed of two sections. The first section is a high-level overview of your topic. The intent is to establish your credibility that you are aware of the literature and pertinent research. Typically, there are a lot of references provided, but very little description of them is given. This is like “name-dropping” showing that you are no stranger to the topic or literature. The following example comes from Gomez, Skiba, and Snow (2018) and contains 10 references within the first paragraph. Did you know that you can do that? References serve different roles in your paper. Some establish credibility and others are used to justify your study. If you are not gathering both types of references, you are not imitating those who are getting published.The second section of the literature review is all about building the justification for your study. Your review will evaluate at least five other relevant research projects from original sources in reputable, peer-reviewed journals. The lit review discusses previous research, as it influences the proposed project. It evaluates the methodological, theoretical, or substantive strengths or weaknesses of those studies and explains how they shape your research plans. In other words, this section of the literature review describes in details studies that are related to your proposal yet there is something incomplete or missing and this forms the basis for your proposal. Your proposal can be simply a modified replication of previous work. Building the literature is a slow-incremental process and not every study is devoid of past influences. Drawing from the previous example of Gomez, Skiba, and Snow (2018), see how they set up the rationale for their study:Study 1In this section, there is an expectation that you will present a description of at least five research studies related to your topic. Be sure that each of these can be used to justify your study. It would be helpful to set each of these studies apart by a separate heading to aid readability and organization. At the end of the section be sure to provide a transition to your study and the next section – Problem Statement.Problem StatementThis section carries over the key issues from previous research (max. 1500 words). This section you present the problem and your solution and set up a general framework for your study. Do not go into the specifics quite yet. You will do that in the Method section (Design & Procedure). Referring back to the Gomez, Skiba, and Snow (2018) study, observe how they set up their experiments. Note that they are linking their study to previous work. It is important to include a statement of the benefits of this research.Method (Design and Procedure)This section is composed of several sections (max. 2000 words) and describes and justifies your plans for measurement, sampling, design, analysis, and interpretation of results. It explains which data you would collect, when you would collect it, and what you would do with it to make sense of your topic and shed new light on your research question — and how and why. This section is a set of “how to” instructions for actually turning your “good idea” into a real plan for scientifically answering your original question.?Your research proposal is a carefully constructed argument for why your question should be answered and how a valid and reliable answer might be obtained. It should be a meticulous set of instructions for generating an answer according to the rules of scientific method, and it should make the case to interested parties for how such an answer can be achieved.The typical sections of a Method section are: Participants, Materials, Apparatus, Design (a description of your research method/ design), Procedure, and Data Analysis. Since this course is not about data analysis, you do not have to have this section. Please note that this is a typical section in a research article. Each of the sections should have a heading to set it apart and aid in readability.ParticipantsIn this section you want to describe your strategy for selecting your participants and if there are any conditions or characteristics your participants have to have.MaterialsIf you use a survey or questionnaire, you will make reference to it here and include a copy of the questions as an appendix. Similarly, if you are conducting an interview, a copy of the interview questions will be referenced here and formally presented in the appendix section (after references). If you are proposing a qualitative method, you will describe it in this section, e.g., Coding sheet, and add it as an appendix.ProcedureThis is the section that presents the exact procedure of your study in sufficient enough detail that other researchers can replicate it exactly. Ethics and Conduct of ResearchThis is the last section of your proposal (max. 1500 words) summarizes potential ethical dilemmas, political consequences, and practical challenges associated with designing, conducting, implementing, and disseminating your research. It explains where your research process might go wrong and the safeguards you will put into place to minimize those risks. It would be nice to organize this section with subsections (set apart with headings). This will help you organize your work. There should be explicit reference to IRB approval (Refer to Appendix A for Park University IRB Questions and Appendix B for guidance about who needs to fill out an IRB Approval Form).ConclusionsAll good papers have a summary and conclusion at the end. You should present the main points of your research proposal in one or two paragraphs. ReferencesGomez, M. A., Skiba, R. M., & Snow, J. C. (2018).?Graspable objects grab attention more than images do. Psychological Science, 29(2), 206-218 A: Park University IRB Submission Questions.Park IdNameInvestigator Training ID NumberDate you took the Investigator Training ClassAre you a student?For which course are you conducting the research?What is the email address of your faculty supervisor?What is the name of the faculty member supervising your research?What is the start date for your research?What is the end date for your research?Is your research funded?Are you doing international research?Will your subjects include anyone less than eighteen years of age?Will you request a waiver or alteration of the informed consent process?Will you be collecting, reviewing, or receiving Protected Health Information?Will you compensate your subjects?Will your subjects include non-English speaking individuals?Will your subjects be deceived or incompletely informed?What is the title of your research project?Summarize your research in plain EnglishWhat is the purpose/goal of your research?How will you gather your data? Explain your method.At what site/location/place will you be gathering your data?Who will be your participants?What is their age range?How will you recruit participants? Please be specific.How will you keep their identities confidential?What benefits (for the participants or society) will be created by doing this research?What are the potential risks to the participants?Appendix B: Park University IRB Submission Questions.Who Needs to Apply?All research connected with members of the Park University community must be reviewed and approved by the IRB. The Park University IRB defines "research" as a systematic investigation—including research development, testing and evaluation—involving a living individual about whom you obtain:data through intervention or interaction, INCLUDING surveys and interviews, and/or identifiable private information in a form associable with that individual. If you are a member of the Park University community (a student, faculty, or staff member at the Parkville campus, any of the campus centers, or online) and intend to conduct research that involves human participants, either on campus or elsewhere, you must have your research plans reviewed and approved by the IRB prior to the initiation of your project. Researchers who are not affiliated with Park University who intend to conduct research involving members of the Park University community as participants are also required to secure Park University IRB approval prior to beginning their research. Upon completion of the research, researchers must file a “completion form” with the IRB. If you believe your research is exempt, you must fill out an IRB application and the IRB will determine if your research is exempt. If your research involves oral histories, you too must apply. The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP, in the United States Department of Health & Human Services) exempts oral histories from IRB review, but Park University does not.If you are a professor who often conducts classroom related research, here are some suggestions for a smooth IRB review:Follow the class project guidelines.Submit related research in groups. If you have several students conducting various parts of one larger research project, submit all these parts on one application.Please note that when minors, prisoners, or any vulnerable population participates in your research, your proposal will be reviewed by the full IRB board. All researchers, including faculty and students, are now required to take an on-line training course. This training is free and is located in Canvas . Therefore, we suggest that you make this training an assignment at the beginning of the semester/term. ................
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