This is the first several pages of my course paper so it is crucial that all directions and requirement are met. I will be attaching a detailed run down of everything I have gathered for the paper including sources you must include and other points that need to be made. If you have any trouble accessing the sources please let me know. If you would like to use more sources that are peer-reviewed, relative, revised within last 10 years, and involving a quantitative study, feel free to do so.

1. You will need to provide background information on the topic, a brief overview of the key research on that topic, a justification for your research question and hypothesis, and then explain how you will study this particular question.

2. Identify your Independent Variable and Dependent Variable. Without this crucial information, there isn’t any basis for the development of your proposal.

3. As with any research paper, format it according to the APA format, including proper section headings and subheadings.

4. ONLY for this initial assignment, in the Introduction section of this section, bold the:

Research question

Hypothesis

Independent variable

Dependent variable

5. This paper consists of two sections:

Introduction — 2-4 pages in length and the

Method section — about 2 pages.

6. The entire submission, including your title page and references will equal between 6-8 pages. Please do not go over the page-limit. Follow APA style, including properly formatted in-text citations, a Running head, correct margins, and a cover and reference page.

7. Make sure that the Title page contains all of the required information.

8. Check ALL sample papers for the use of the APA formatted style in your paper. This below information is ONLY the strategy to be followed in gathering your information. It is NOT the APA format for the written content.

• Problem:

Describe the problem

What are you interested in studying?

Discuss the significance and purpose of your study.

• Literature Review:

Describe what you found in the research articles related to your topic. All relevant citations need to be included within your paper.

How does your literature search reinforce the study of your topic?

Don’t go into too much detail about the different articles, but just enough to justify their inclusion and how they relate to potential study.

• Theoretical considerations:

Is there a theory or theories that are relevant to this research? If so, provide a broad context for the theoretical underpinnings (foundation) and the practical reasons for conducting the study.

• Research Question and Hypothesis:

What is your specific research question and hypothesis? In other words, what specifically do you want to answer and what is your predicted finding?

• Note the above factors clearly and distinctively.

How is your research question relevant to the major focus of your research?

Describe your hypothesis and its impact on the field of psychology if your hypothesis were supported by the findings of this study, as well as what it would suggest if your hypothesis were not supported.

• Research Design:

Describe the potential research design and how it accomplishes the objectives of the study.

What are you independent and dependent variables? Repeat.

Although some of this information will become part of your Method section in the final proposal, briefly describe the research design now:

How many participants would you need for your study?

What do you anticipate that your participants would do as part of their participation in your study?

How will you conduct your experiment? Survey?

What type of measurement tool will you use to test your study?

What is the QUANTITATIVE data (not qualitative) you would collect for your dependent variable? That is, what would you measure to demonstrate a relationship between your independent and dependent variables?

For example, you can indicate:

“The hypothesis that will be investigated is whether the quantity and quality of time a father spends with his child will have an effect on his child’s school performance. The quantity and quality of time will be examined using standardized tests available in the school district.”

*** Research the type of questionnaires and test instruments other researchers have used to investigate your hypothesis from reading the articles in your literature review AND describe them in detail.

• Method:

When planning the Method section, include the following information:

• Sample: How many participants would you include and how did you arrive upon this approximate number? Who are the participants and why did you choose this group? Include age, gender, race/ethnicity etc. Who, if anyone, would you exclude from the study? Why?

• Informed consent. Clearly discuss how your participants will need to sign an informed consent form with an inclusion of a statement indicating their ability to not participate without any penalty, when they know the details of your potential study.

Be very cautious about compensating your participants. Compensation, beyond something of very minimal and nominal value/significance, is considered coercive. You may offer a gift card or a book.

• Data Collection: (If you actually were to collect data, which you are not.)
• Why is this the best method for your purposes? Think about how data collection will take place. What exactly will participants need to do? Will you have them come into a lab and will there be an experiment set up?
• Additional factors you would vary and how you would vary them. Explain how varying the factors would allow you to confirm or disconfirm your hypothesis. This means that further levels (or conditions) of your independent variable can be explained.

What other control group might you wish to put in place?

• Control of factors: (or hold constant)? This is in reference to a control group if you’re doing an experiment. If you are looking at a survey, there are disadvantages of survey only research. Address the limitations of this research or what counterbalanced methods you may put in place.

What are the participants expected to do in your study? In other words, make sure the procedures are very clear.

What analytic procedures will you use? You will only be implementing quantitative methods in this project so please do not make any reference to collecting qualitative information. Instead, rely primarily on analysis of variance (ANOVA), correlations, or regression-based analyses. These are common analytic procedures in the social sciences and will be very helpful in making your process clear.

Include a Title page and a References page that follows APA style formatting precisely. An abstract for this assignment is not necessary.