What Is the Psychological Impact of Social Ostracism on University Students? PSY2034

Below you will find a list of the different sections and subsections that you need to include in your research proposal (Part 2). Under each heading we have provided some guidance on what should be included. You are encouraged to use this document as an outline, or template, for your proposal.

Title

• Remember to give your proposal an informative title rather than calling it Part 2 or Proposal

Study Background (300 words)

• Introduce the topic that you are investigating


• Explain why this topic is interesting/important


• Next, give a concise overview of what is known about the topic


• Make reference to past research and relevant theory


• Aim to cite three up-to-date sources


• Remember, dont just list the sources. The aim is to integrate/synthesise!

Rationale (100 words)

• Begin with a very brief summary or restatement of the key background points


• Highlight any limitations or flaws of the existing research and theory


• In light of these, what will the current study do differently?


• How will the current study add to our understanding?

Research question (mostly qualitative)/Hypotheses (quantitative only) (50 words)

• For qualitative projects: State a single research question


• This should be justified by the existing literature


• Ensure the question is suitable for the type of data you plan to collect


• Ensure the question is suitable for the type of analysis that you plan to conduct (e.g., discourse analysis if your question is focused on how people talk about a phenomena). Refer to the qualitative lecture materials.

• For quantitative projects: State a maximum of three hypotheses


• They should be justified by the existing literature


• May be directional or non-directional


• Be specific and think about your analyses, e.g., are you testing for relationships or differences?

Methods (350 words)

• For qualitative projects involving primary data: Study design, methods of data collection, target sample size and participant recruitment methods, details of your interview schedule (i.e. what type of interview are you conducting, what topics will be covered?). In addition, what type of qualitative analysis will you use and how do you plan to conduct this (including philosophical approach)? For example, will you follow specific guidelines such as Braun and Clarke (2006)? How will your coding and transcription be conducted?
  
  


• For qualitative projects involving secondary data: Your intended philosophical approach and chosen method of data analysis, plus relevant procedural details (e.g., what type of transcription will you use and where were interviews sourced?).
  
  


• Subheadings: Design, Participants and Data Collection, Data Analysis

• For quantitative projects: Identify your study design (e.g., it might be a simple design (although avoid only having 2 groups/conditions), factorial design, or correlational design (aim to ensure you do regressions rather than simple correlations). Also, if you are comparing groups, is the design within- or between-participants?), name the IVs/predictors and DVs/outcomes and any control variables, state your target sample size and sampling techniques, describe any experimental stimuli, tasks, questionnaires or other materials, plus details of your procedure (e.g., will participants be randomly allocated to groups, what instructions will participants receive, will there be time limits placed on any tasks, what order will different tasks be completed in?). In addition, what statistical tests will you use? What assumptions lie behind these tests (including contingency plans for dealing with outliers and data that violate these assumptions)? For factorial tests, what mixed, between or repeated measures factors will there be? Which hypothesis is each test addressing? Note. This is not to confuse the fact that assumption/hypothesis testing is usually presented towards the start of the Results section.

• Subheadings: Design, Participants, Materials, Procedure, Data Analysis

Very important you should also ensure that within your procedure you are detailing the ethics considerations (e.g., standard ethics protocol such as information sheet, consent form, debriefing etc.; and any other relevant considerations given the sensitivity of the topic and/or the population).