PSYC 465 (Dolins): Experimental Psychology

Sections

1. Title Page : title of your research project

• concise and descriptive
• state the topic in terms of a functional relationship, that clearly indicates your topic and independent and dependent variables

2. Abstract: a summary of your project proposal, including:

• the overall purpose of the study and research problem(s) you will investigate
• the basic design and methods of the study

3. Introduction & Theoretical Framework (Literature Review, Research Questions, and Statement of Hypothesis)

• a review of the literature that you used to build your research questions and study hypothesis
• should be more than a summary of the articles you read
• start broad with the general research question
• bring together theories and results from a number of studies to provide background for your project and demonstrate how your research study hypothesis fits into this current research area (its context)
• provide a compelling narrative about how the articles you've read have built up to your research questions and study and provide the rationale for why your research questions and study are important
• end with an explicit statement about your research hypothesis

4. Methods: provides detailed information about your experimental study design. Your Methods section should include:

• the study populations, including:
  • the number/sex/gender/age group of participants 
  • subject recruitment procedures
• Your independent and dependent variables
• the experimental design of your study, i.e. within or between groups design, and why it's appropriate for your research area
• the procedures your research design will follow
• Experimental design: refer to each material  item that will be used in the study, and where they can be found in appendices

5. Statistical Analyses: describe and explain the statistical analyses you will use

• explanations for what statistical tests you used and justification for why they're appropriate for your research area

6. Expected Outcomes (Predictions & Limitations): report the expected findings of your research study and interpret and describe the significance of your expected findings in light of what is already known about the research area you're investigating. 

• use evidence and findings from research articles to build expected study findings
• use evidence and findings from research articles to build arguments about what your expected study findings would mean 
• use evidence and findings from research articles to build arguments about how your expected study findings would contribute to the research area
• discuss limitations of the reliability and applicability of your expected study results and provide alternative solutions

7. References List: a list of the sources you cited in your research proposal in APA Style

• Cite your sources in APA Style 
  • follow the Quick Reference Guide and Journal Articles links for guidelines and templates 
• Format your References list in APA Style
  • follow the Create an APA References List link and use the References list at the end of the Sample Student Paper

8. Appendices:

• all research/presentation/testing materials to be presented to participants
• Consent and Debriefing forms
• list in the order that they were presented in the Methods section

9. IRB Section 

• Costs to participants and costs to society
• Benefits to participants and benefits to society
• Overall cost-benefit analysis; refer to Consent and Briefing forms in Appendices
• See Human Subjects Research & The IRB Application Process for more information

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