1. Title Page
  2. Introduction
  3. Start by defining your dependent variable[DAF1]

a) Define your dependent variable

b) Describe how psychologists typically operationalize and measure this construct[DAF2]

  1. Build an argument for why it is important to study this topic (dependent variable)

a) Describe why this topic is important?[DAF3]

1) Briefly describe the research that supports these assertions[DAF4]

b) Tell your reader the purpose of your study (e.g., “The purpose of this study is to examine how…”). The purpose should be related to the discussed theory or theories.

  1. Literature review and argument formulation

a) Review 5 empirical research articles on the independent and dependent variable[WOU5]

1) Provide a summary statement of the results of the research you will review [e.g., “Previous research has provided (strong support, mixed support, or no support) for the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.”]

  1. Review (in some detail) the 5 studies that form the foundation for your summary statement (See study summary guidelines posted on the web for more information).

2) Again, summarize the results of these studies for the reader

  1. Describe why further research is necessary on this topic.[DAF6]

a) Describe how your study logically follows from the research you just reviewed.

1) Tell the reader what we don’t know about the topic

  1. State the specific purpose of your study.

a) Describe how your study will inform us about that which we don’t yet know.

  1. State your hypotheses[WOU7]
  1. Method (for proposal)
  2. Participants[WOU8]

a) How will participants be sampled from the population?

b) How will they be recruited for the study? Address any incentives (e.g., extra-credit) that may influence their decision.

c) How will they be assigned to experimental groups? Randomly? Using counterbalancing? Don’t describe specific procedures in great detail.

d) Describe any inclusion or exclusion criteria (e.g., if you only plan to use females for your experiment.)

1) Provide a reasonable rationale for any exclusion criteria.

  1. Apparatus/Materials[WOU9][DAF10]

a) For each measure you use provide the following information

1) If you are using an existing scale[DAF11].

  1. Name of the measure
  2. What the measure assesses and who developed it.
  3. How many items it contains and examples of items.
  4. The response scale for the items.
  5. How reliable the scale is.

2) If you will be using a measure you develop yourself describe the process you used to develop it as well as provide the information from i to v above.

3) If you are using any kind of equipment (e.g., video monitor,[DAF12] game system, software) describe it adequately enough so that another researcher would know how to obtain and use the same thing.

  1. Procedure

a) Describe where the setting where the research will be conducted (e.g., how will the room be set up?).[DAF13]

b) Describe the anticipated chronological sequence of events (e.g., obtained informed consent, randomly assigned to group, exposed to independent variable, measured dependent variable, debriefed)[WOU14]

  1. References
  2. Your paper should have at least 8 different references from either book chapters or empirical research articles

a) You have at least 1 reference defining the dependent variable and stating how it is operationalized.

b) You should have at least 2 references for describing the nature and seriousness of the problem you are discussing (2nd paragraph in Introduction section)

c) You should review 5 empirical research articles for the Literature Review section of the introduction.

[DAF1]Your definition should come from an encyclopedia of psychology and be properly cited and referenced in your paper.

[DAF2]This information should also come from an encyclopedia of psychology and be properly cited and referenced in your paper.

[DAF3]Support your arguments with research. For example, if you say “eating disorders are a serious problem” – support this statement with facts (this means research you can cite). Tell the reader how many people suffer from eating disorders. Describe the negative consequences of having an eating disorder etc.

[DAF4]You should cite and reference at least 2 sources the provide information about the prevalence, consequences, or importance of your topic.

[WOU5]Next, review the relevant research on your topic in more detail. You should only reference work directly related to your topic. Avoid citing tangential or only slightly related work. Provide the following information in each summary:

a) the problem being studied, the participants (and their characteristics),

b) the hypothesis being tested,

c) how the study was conducted (e.g., apparatus, data collection procedures, test names),

d) the results (including statistical significance levels),

e) and the conclusions and implications.

Clearly demonstrate how the previous work relates to your study and hypothesis. This section should be written so that a professional audience can understand it.

[DAF6]In the previous section of the introduction, you told the reader what we know about the topic. In this section of the paper, you will tell the reader what we don’t know about the topic. What we don’t know is a gap in our knowledge. The goal of your study is to fill that gap.

[WOU7]Your hypothesis(es) should be based on the literature you just reviewed. For example, “Based on the previous research, it is hypothesized that … Specifically, it is predicted that…”

[WOU8]For the proposal, this section should address the following and only the following:

[WOU9]This section should describe in great detail how you plan to operationalize and measure your variables. For each variable you plan to measure, you should provide the following information:

[DAF10]Don’t forget to include a demographics measure in your paper (e.g., e.g., age, gender, ethnicity, major, year in school, etc.

[DAF11]FOR EXAMPLE: Individual Self-Esteem. Individual group member self-esteem was measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). Participants responded to 10 items on a four-point Likert response scale ranging from 1 = “Strongly Agree” to 4 = “Strongly Disagree”. Sample items include: “I feel that I have a number of good qualities.” and “I certainly feel useless at times.” The scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha of .90.

[DAF12]This means brand name, model number, etc.

[DAF13]Describe the experimental procedure in great enough detail so I know you are protecting against threats to internal validity. Also, describe the procedures you will use to follow the APA ethical guidelines.

f) [WOU14]There should be enough detail so that if you were unable to conduct the study yourself, someone else could read this and do it for you.