Formatting Requirements: USE THE TEMPLATE!! – or automatic deduction of 15 points Minimum 1000 words (not including references) – or automatic deduction of 15 points Maximum 6 pages (not including references) Double-spaced, Times New Roman Font, 1-inch Margins Citation of 5 or more peer-reviewed articles from year 2000 or later – does NOT include the textbook (see page 2 for explanations and examples) – or automatic deduction of 5 points per missing article Now that you have completed an article review for your midterm project, you are now prepared to propose your own study! For this assignment, imagine that you have been awarded a grant of $20,000 to complete an innovative study on a cutting-edge research topic related to cultural psychology. Please note that this is a research proposal, and you are not required to conduct an actual study for this assignment. An objective of this study is to practice writing an APA formatted research proposal. Please complete the following items (these are also referred to in the assignment template): • ITEM 1) Summarize existing literature. What have other scholars found on your topic of interest? Give the reader a brief summary/overview on your topic – include only relevant information that would be helpful for someone to know before reading about your proposed study. This section is where you will include most of your 5 references. (30 points) • ITEM 2) After summarizing the relevant studies for the reader, propose your own research question that would fill a “gap” in the literature. That is, describe a cultural psychology-related question you wish to investigate. What is the rationale for your study? (20 points) • ITEM 3) Based on what you have read in the literature, what do you think the outcome of your proposed study would be? (i.e., what are your study hypotheses), and why? (20 points) • ITEM 4) Study Design – be sure to address all of the following: (45 points total) (4A) Sample participants – Address each of the following in your proposal and explain your rationale: (10 points) Age range Gender Race/ethnicity Geographic location Optional – Any other significant identity or group affiliation that you choose to examine in your study (e.g., gender identity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, etc.) (4B) How would you recruit participants? For example: Would you recruit students from a university? A special population from the community? A clinical population (e.g., people with a specific clinical disorder)? Etc.? (10 points) (4C) Are there any ethical considerations with the population you are using? (e.g., incarcerated individuals, pregnant women, indigent populations)? If so, how will you address ethical Tconcerns (hint: discuss “IRB approval”) (5 points) (4D) How will you conduct your experiment (e.g., Will you use an apparatus? A computer program? Survey Questionnaires? Focus group interviews?) Describe your “experiment” in detail, including what participants will be required to do. Name any specific questionnaires you are using and give a basic description of statistical analyses. How will you use your data to test your hypotheses and answer your research question? (20 points) • ITEM 5) What is the scientific and cultural value of your study? How is your study different than the research that has been done previously on your topic? How does it address a “gap” in the literature? If you were to get your expected results, how could this be used in the real world?
