For your final project you will write a proposal for your own experiment in order to put into practice what you have learned throughout the course. You will not collect any data. Your written proposal will include the following steps:

Step 1 – In week 1 you will choose the research question that you are going to use to develop your experiment. You may choose from one of the below questions or submit your own for approval. This will be submitted as part of your Week 1 assignment.

• What is the relationship between color and mood?
• What is the relationship of music and mood?
• What is the impact of smelling one food while tasting another food on a person’s ability to detect what the food really is?
• How does packaging affect consumer buying choices?
• How do people respond differently to the same questions asked by people wearing different clothes?
• Which memory techniques are most useful?
• Who are more superstitious, men or women?
• How do violent video games affect your blood pressure?

Step 2 – You will need to develop the hypothesis for your research question, which would be tested through the collection and analysis of your data.

Step 3 – Develop an annotated bibliography to gain a deeper understanding of your overall research topic. For this assignment you will need to find 4 peer-reviewed journal articles through Keiser’s online library for your annotated bibliography. You will submit this portion of your project in Week 2. Please see Annotated Bibliography under week 2 for further direction on how to write an annotated bibliography.

Step 4 – Write the methodology section of your project. This section will guide the collection and analysis of your data. For this part of your project you will be provided an outline to help guide the development of your methods section. Your methodology will be due by Wednesday of week 3 so please start working on this assignment in week 2.

Step 5 – Your finalized project will be “>due Wednesday of week 4. Please follow the following outline in putting together your finalized paper. It is highly recommended that you use the following sections of the outline as you headings throughout your proposal.

Final Project Outline:

I. Title page

II. Abstract

III. Introduction/Literature Review – 2-3 pages introducing your topic and providing an overview of
the key variables in your experiment as discovered through the analysis of your articles from your
annotated bibliography.

IV. Methodology:

a. Participants – what are the characteristics of your participants?

b. Setting – where will you conduct your study?

c. Instruments – what instrument or tool will you use to collect your data (i.e. survey,
observation, interview)?

d. Procedures – step by step how will you conduct your study?

e. Ethical issues – what possible ethical issues need to be considered? Here you will need to
specifically discuss the informed consent.

V. Reference page– presented in APA format

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER

• In your abstract be sure to summarize key points from your introduction and methodology, hypothesis, independent and dependent variables, and treatment conditions. State your research design (within-subjects or between-subjects design). Mention volunteers, random assignment, and informed consent with debriefing.
• In your introduction, include a literature review that relates to your procedures. Introduce your research question, hypothesis, independent and dependent variables, and treatment conditions.
• In methodology, restate hypothesis, independent and dependent variables, and treatment conditions. Describe your setting and tools or instruments and procedures so that anyone may replicate it.
• In your participants section, state your research design (within-subjects or between-subjects design). Mention volunteers (if used), and informed consent with debriefing. If this is a between-subjects design,mention that random assignment will be used to assign participants to their treatment groups. If within-subjects, explain why this was the best choice. Explain all materials and procedures.
• In your ethics section, remember to state that informed consent described the procedures (but not the hypothesis), allowed them to leave at any time, and that participants were debriefed after the study.
• APA formatting: Remember that references must match citations.

It will be beneficial for you to read all of the pointers below:

Parenthetical (In-Text) Citations

• A parenthetical (in-text) citation is when you place the source in parenthesis ( ) right after the sentence you cited instead of waiting until the end of the paper. It helps the reader to know exactly what sentences and paragraphs are taken from particular sources.
• Place the author’s name and the source’s date of publication in parentheses immediately after the end of the cited material. If it is a direct quote, include the page number as well. For example:
  • “Psychology is defined as the science of behavior and mental processes” (Coon, 2012 p. 12).
  • If you have paraphrased the information then you do not need to include the page number. For example: Psychology is a scientific field that specifically studies both mental processes and the associated behaviors (Coon, 2012).