Carefully go over the instructions below and the sample proposals posted on Canvas.You can use the sample proposals and the examples posted in this document to guide you. However, write your study/pro

• Carefully go over the instructions below and the sample proposals posted on Canvas.
  • You can use the sample proposals and the examples posted in this document to guide you. However, write your study/proposal in your own words; do not plagiarize, or do not simply copy and paste from other people’s work (e.g., samples/examples, articles).
  • The same instructions listed on this page are also shown in this PDF: Proposal Abstract, Intro, & Method.pdf download  
• Check out the Common Writing Issues and Questions page while you write as well as before you finalize and submit your proposal.  

Instructions:

Title Page (see the sample proposals posted on Canvas.)

Abstract (starts on a separate page) 

• Begin with a statement or two that introduce your topic. This brief introduction should lead into your one-sentence statement of the problem, research question, or purpose of the study.  
• Then, provide a brief description of the research method and procedure. 
• List 3 to 5 keywords at the end of the abstract. 
• As this is an abstract for a research proposal (typically written before data collection or analysis), use future tense when describing the method. 

Introduction (starts on a separate page; begins with the title of your study)

• Insert the title of your study on the top of the page that begins your Introduction section. 
• Begin with a general introduction to the topic of the paper and describe the issue investigated and why this problem is important. In the first paragraph (typically at the end of the paragraph), state the purpose of the study and what you are examining (e.g., “In the present study, the researcher will examine…”). 
• Next, review the relevant literature. You do not have to report all articles in the area. Include the ones that are directly relevant to your research topic or question(s). Your literature review should provide a rationale for your study.
  • For this project, you need to include at least five different peer-reviewed research articles related to your topic. At least three of them must be no older than 2009 (published in 2009 or more recent). 
• Then, provide a brief description of what you are planning to do in this study.
•  
  • Typically, here is where you briefly outline the method you will use for the study. Simply provide a snapshot of how the study will be conducted, so the reader is prepared for the upcoming details. Do not overwhelm your readers with too much information regarding the procedure. Save the details for your Method section.
  • This project utilizes online survey. Therefore, briefly state that self-reported measures will be used and that data were collected via online questionnaires. 
• Finally, state your hypotheses at the end of the Introduction section. This can be in the same paragraph as the “brief description of method” listed above.
  • If the instructor and/or TA asked you to revise the hypotheses you wrote in your Information and Hypotheses Worksheet, include the revised version in this assignment. 
• The page limit for the Introduction section is 1.5-2 full pages. This limit does not include the title page, Abstract, Method, References, or Appendices. 
• See the sample proposals posted on Canvas. 

Method (immediately follows your Introduction section; this section does not start on a separate page)

• Your Method section (of a research proposal) must contains the following subsections:
  • Participants
  • Measures
    • Questionnaire 1 (Use the name of the questionnaire as your heading)
    • Questionnaire 2 (Use the name of the questionnaire as your heading)
    • Demographic questionnaire
  • Procedure
  • Data Analysis 
• For the Participants subsection: 
  • Provide a brief description of how you will recruit the participants for this study.
  • When the data collection is done (soon after Thursday, 6/17), the instructor will analyze the demographic information of the entire sample and send it out to the class. You will then use that information for your final research paper (not this proposal).
  • See the sample proposals posted on Canvas and the sample method starting on page 8 of this instructions PDF download . 
• For the Measures subsection:
  • Based on the variables you chose, you need to include the description of the corresponding questionnaires in this subsection. For each of the questionnaires (except the demographic questionnaire):
•  
  •  
    • Describe what construct (i.e., self-esteem, optimism, resilience, sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety, or stress) the questionnaire aims to measure.
    • Let the readers know how many items/questions were on the questionnaire and what kind of scale was used (e.g., 4-point Likert-type scale ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree”).
    • Provide at least one example of the items/questions.
    • Have in-text citation(s) for the questionnaire using APA-style.
    • You will include the questionnaire in your appendices, so mention it in your paper (e.g., “see Appendix B for the questionnaire”).
    • Also, provide the reliability measures. All the questionnaires used in this project have good reliability and validity. This information should be included in your proposal. I will provide you with the reliability measures (most of them were reported using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients) and the article(s) for the questionnaires.
      • See the section "Project Variables, Questionnaires, and Reliability" below.
      • Note that the citations and articles I have provided for the questionnaires cannot be counted toward your five peer-reviewed articles for your project proposal, unless you discuss the study (or studies) in your Introduction section. 
•  
  • For the Demographic questionnaire:
    • Describe what variables were included in the demographic questionnaire (e.g., age, gender, ethnicity).  
  • See the sample proposals posted on Canvas and the sample method starting on page 8 of this instructions PDF download . 
• For the Procedure subsection: 
• Mention the names of the questionnaires again. Let the readers know that data were collected online via Qualtrics. Include the estimated time (10-15 min) for the participants to complete the survey.
• See the sample proposals posted on Canvas and the sample method starting on page 8 of this instructions PDF download . 
• For the Data Analysis subsection:
  • Describe how you will analyze the data.
  • For this project, you will examine the relationships using Pearson correlations and/or a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
    • If you picked age as the demographic variable to be examined, then all you will need is Pearson correlations.
    • If you picked gender or smoking as the demographic variable to be examined, then you will need both a Pearson correlation and a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).
•  
  • See the sample proposals posted on Canvas and the sample method starting on page 8 of this instructions PDF download . 

References (starts on a separate page)

• The References section starts on a separate page. It does not immediately follow your last paragraph in the proposal; your References section should start on a new (separate) page.
• Provide a list of the articles you have cited in your Introduction and Method sections. Your in-text citations and references should be consistent. If a source/reference is not discussed in text (i.e., in the paper), do not cite it in the References.
• You must use the latest version (7th edition) of American Psychological Association (APA) style for your citations.
  • Review the APA, APA Everywhere page on Canvas.
  • The textbooks break down each section/element of a research proposal and paper nicely.  However, keep in mind that the current edition (of both textbooks) does not have the latest APA style updates. Therefore, when it comes to formatting your paper and citations, use the information in the APA, APA Everywhere page on Canvas.
  • You can also use the Purdue OWL website to help you check your citations:
    • https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html (Links to an external site.)
    • https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_author_authors.html (Links to an external site.) 
• For this project, you need to include at least five different peer-reviewed research articles related to your topic. At least three of them must be no older than 2009 (published in 2009 or more recent).
• Reminder: the citations and articles I have provided for the questionnaires cannot be counted toward your five peer-reviewed articles for your project proposal, unless you discuss the study (or studies) in your Introduction section 

Appendices 

• Include the questionnaires used to measure the variables you chose and the demographic questionnaire.
• You can copy them from the Project Questionnaires download word document or the files that can be downloaded in the "Project Variables, Questionnaires, and Reliability" section below.  
• Start each appendix on a separate page.
• Label the Appendices before the title of the questionnaire (i.e., Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C).
• See the sample proposals posted on Canvas and the sample method on pages 8-13 of this instructions PDF download . 

Required Format and Style 

• As this is a research proposal (which is typically written before data collection or analysis), use future tense when describing the method.
• You can use the sample proposals and other examples to guide you. However, you should write your study/proposal in your own words; do NOT plagiarize, or do NOT simply copy and paste from other people’s work (e.g., samples/examples, articles).
• Your proposal must be typed, double-spaced with 1-inch margins and typed using 12-point Times New Roman font.
• All articles/references that you include in your proposal must be properly cited (both in text and in the References section) using the latest version (7th edition) of APA style.
• The page limit for the Introduction section is 1.5-2 full pages. This limit does not include he title page, Abstract, Method, References, or Appendices.
• There is no page limit for the Method section; however, be comprehensive yet concise.
• Use complete sentences and check your grammar, punctuation, spelling, and word usage.
• Instead of look at or see, use conduct, examine, study, assess, observe, measure, count, etc.
• Use because or as instead of since. Use since only when referring to time (meaning “after”).
• Limit the use of while to its temporal meaning (i.e., events that occur simultaneously). Consider using although, even though, whereas, etc.
• Points will be deducted if your paper does not adhere to the required format/style. 

Submit Your Proposal 

• Save your proposal file regularly. When you are done, upload your saved word document (.doc or .docx) here on Canvas. 
  • The document you submit must be one of these file types: docx or doc.
  • Please make sure that the file you upload is the final draft. Only one submission is allowed, so you may not revise the document again after you upload and submit the proposal.

This assignment must be completed and submitted individually as indicated in the course syllabus. Let the instructor know if you have any questions or concerns about this assignment.

Project Variables, Questionnaires, and Reliability

Self-esteem:

• Questionnaire: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale download (RSES; Rosenberg, 1989). It is also on page 1 of the Project Questionnaires word doc.
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha ranges from .88 to .90 (Gray-Little, Williams, & Hancock, 1997 download ; Robins, Hendin, & Trzesniewski, 2001 download ).
• Citations:
  • Gray-Little, B., Williams, V. L., & Hancock, T. D. (1997). An item response theory analysis of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(5), 443-451. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167297235001
  • Robins, R. W., Hendin, H. M., & Trzesniewski, K. H. (2001). Measuring global self-esteem: Construct validation of a single-item measure and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27(2), 151-161. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167201272002
  • Rosenberg, M. (1989). Society and the adolescent self-image (rev. ed.). Wesleyan University Press. 

Optimism:

• Questionnaire: Revised Life Orientation Test download (LOT-R; Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994). It is also on page 2 of the Project Questionnaires word doc.
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha ranges from .78 to .84 (Crewell et al., 2005 download ; Scheier et al., 1994 download ).
• Citations:
  • Creswell, J. D., Welch, W. T., Taylor, S. E., Sherman, D. K., Gruenewald, T. L., & Mann, T. (2005). Affirmation of Personal Values Buffers Neuroendocrine and Psychological Stress Responses. Psychological Science, 16(11), 846-851. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01624.x
  • Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem): A reevaluation of the Life Orientation Test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(6), 1063-1078. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1063 

Resilience (ability to recover from stress):

• Questionnaire: Brief Resilience Scale download (BRS; Smith et al., 2008). It is also on page 3 of the Project Questionnaires word doc.
• Reliability: Cronbach’s alpha ranges from .80 to .91 (Breslow et al., 2015 download ; Smith et al., 2008 download ).
• Citations:
  • Breslow, A. S., Brewster, M. E., Velez, B. L., Wong, S., Geiger, E., & Soderstrom, B. (2015). Resilience and collective action: Exploring buffers against minority stress for transgender individuals. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 2(3), 253-265. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000117
  • Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard, J. (2008). The Brief Resilience Scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15(3), 194-200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972 

Sleep Disturbance:

• Questionnaire: Sleep Disturbance Short Form 8b download (SD-8b; PROMIS, 2016). It is also on page 4 of the Project Questionnaires word doc.
• Reliability: Measured using the ratio between the true score and observed score; this reliability ratio for SD-8b is .90 (Yu et al., 2011 download ).
• Citations:
  • PROMIS (2016, May 3). PROMIS short form v1.0 - Sleep Disturbance 8b. Retrieved from http://www.healthmeasures.net/explore-measurement-systems/promis
  • Yu, L., Buysse, D. J., Germain, A., Moul, D. E., Stover, A., Dodds, N. E., . . . Pilkonis, P. A. (2011). Development of short forms from the PROMIS sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment item banks. Behavioral Sleep Medicine, 10(1), 6-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15402002.2012.636266 

Depression, Anxiety, and Stress:

• Questionnaire: These three variables are subscales of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 download (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). It is also on pages 5-6 of the Project Questionnaires word doc.
• Reliability (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995 download ):
• Depression: Cronbach’s alpha = .91
• Anxiety: Cronbach’s alpha =.81
• Distress: Cronbach’s alpha =.89
• Citation:
  • Lovibond, P. F., & Lovibond, S. H. (1995). The structure of negative emotional states: Comparison of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) with the Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(3), 335-343. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(94)00075-U 

Demographic Questionnaire (Smoking Status, Age, Gender, and Ethnicity):

• A basic demographic questionnaire was used to collect information on participants' smoking status, age, gender, and ethnicity. It is on page 7 of the Project Questionnaires word doc.
• You don't need to report the reliability for the demographic questionnaire.