PS 202: Intro to Research Methods, Maj. Stuart

This course guide has been designed to assist you in finding resources for your research in Psychology 202 with MAJ Stuart.

Assignment: Write an APA style research proposal on a preapproved psychological topic.  A research proposal is a proposal of research that you, the author, plan to do; however, in this case, you will not actually be carrying out the proposed study (at least in this class).  Your research question should address a gap in the literature, extend existing research, or explore something further.  In other words, propose a study that would add to the literature on your topic (i.e., something that hasn’t been done before).  You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, but more than a replication of an existing study.  Keep in mind that when proposing your study, you will need to convince the reader that the study is worth doing. In other words, why would it be worthwhile to conduct this study? 

Length: 5-8 pages roughly (probably around 10-11 with title page and references) – basically an intro and method section of an APA style paper 

Due Dates: 

• Topic idea: 2/12
• Annotated reference section: 2/28
• Draft of introduction: 3/22
• Draft of method: 4/17
• Presentation: 4/29 and 5/1
• Final paper:  5/3

Type and number of sources: at least 5 empirical sources.

• What is empirical?
  • The APA defines an empirical study as a "Study based on facts, systematic observation, or experiment, rather than theory or general philosophical principle." An empirical research article reports on the results of research that uses data collected from observation or experiment. Empirical research articles are primary research articles.
• How do I know if a source is empirical?
  • ​​​​​​​Typically, an empirical article will list the authors and their credentials, begin with an abstract, and include the following sections:
    • Introduction with many in-text citations (literature review)
    • Methodology
    • Results (lots of tables and graphs)
    • Discussion
    • Conclusion
    • References

Citation Style: APA