Assignment Prompt: Proposed Study Essay
Overview
The Proposed Study Essay assignment is designed to assist students with conceptualizing a new research study that builds on what they’ve learned about psychological disorders and treatment and some of the newest, peer-reviewed scientific literature on the topic. In the process of your work, you will:
a. read and digest a portion of the scientific literature (2 peer-reviewed journal articles),
b. analyze the articles for their content, strengths, and limitations, and
c. design a proposed study that would extend the literature on this disorder in a meaningful way.
Learning Outcomes
By completing this assignment, you will learn how to:
· Identify and explain key terms and concepts in psychological science and research.
· Discuss the biological, physical, cognitive, emotional, and social factors that influence this specific disorder / syndrome.
· Explain research methods used in the study of this specific disorder / syndrome.
· Integrate reflective thought and scientific reasoning to develop novel and relevant research questions.
· Predict / hypothesize potential outcomes of research questions on the basis of existing knowledge from the textbook and scientific articles.
Tasks
In this written essay, you will build on the information presented in the two articles to propose a new study of the disorder that will address the limitations of past research and contribute to the scientific knowledge base. You will detail the rationale, goals, design, research questions, hypotheses, variables, and potential implications of their proposed study.
Preparation:
· Ensure that you have completed all readings and assignments in the PSY 101 course to date / prior to this assignment.
· Review APA style for reference pages, including how to use capitalization, italics, and indentation in listing each cited article in your essay.
· Review APA style for parenthetical (in-text) citations so you can effectively cite information you did not generate yourself and avoid plagiarism.
To successfully complete this assignment, you will:
1. Read the 2 peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles. The first article is about the etiology of the disorder, and the second article is about the treatment of this disorder.
2. Article 1:
Proudman et al., 2021 (
3. Article 2:
Karrouri et al., 2021
(
4. Design a proposed study in essay format.
Please use this chart to help you organize your assignment:
|
Step with Directions |
Description and Details |
|
Step 1: Read the 2 peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles. The first article is about the etiology of the disorder, and the second article is about the treatment of this disorder. |
· Article 1: Proudman et al., 2021 · Article 2: Karrouri et al., 2021 |
|
Step 2: Organize the structure and content of your essay into the following 5 sections. · It is strongly recommended that you follow this suggested structure to assist with organization and clarity of your essay. · Each paragraph / section should start with a strong topic sentence, followed by several sentences containing information to support your claims. · Each paragraph/section should include at least one citation in APA format. |
1. Description of the disorder. This section should discuss the incidence and prevalence of the disorder, its symptoms, and any important sex/gender or age differences in its presentation. 2. Risk for developing the disorder. This section should identify at least 3 evidence-based risk factors (i.e., factors that have been shown to be related to the development of the disorder in research) and explain why each is relevant in the etiology of the disorder. 3. Common treatments for the disorder. This section should briefly review and explain at least two existing treatments for the disorder. At least one of the treatments reviewed MUST be psychological (non-pharmacological) in nature. 4. Identify gaps in our understanding of treatment for this disorder. Identify at least one limitation of existing treatment research for this disorder. Explain why this gap in our understanding is important to address in future research. 5. Propose a study that would help us better understand and improve treatment for this disorder. This proposed study may directly address the gap in our understanding of the disorder’s treatment (identified in the previous section). You must include: 1. At least one research question and associated 2. The sample of people to be studied. In describing your sample of participants, include important demographic characteristics of participants (e.g., age, sex, gender, race/ethnicity, education level, 3. The research methods you would use to measure your variables. In explaining your research methods, include what type of research design (correlational/experimental), timeline (cross-sectional or longitudinal) and measures (surveys, observations, experimental tasks, etc.) you would use. 4. The importance of this study. Include the potential implications of your study results for extending the scientific literature on treatment of this disorder. |
|
Step 3: Prepare a References page that lists each of your 3 sources in APA style. Note that you will need to list your textbook as one source as well as each of your 2 peer-reviewed journal articles as the other two sources. |
The References page will be the last page of your research paper. You do not need to have more than 3 references. |
Requirements
This essay will be graded according to inclusion of specific content, but also basic use of APA style (e.g., parenthetical citations and reference page) and adequate scientific writing mechanics (e.g., strong topic sentences with accompanying evidence).
Your Proposed Study Essay should be approximately 2 pages double-spaced in length (500 words minimum), using 12-point font and 1-inch margins.
Resources
Make sure to review these helpful resources associated with this assignment:
· Assignment Rubric: Proposed Study Essay
· Example Assignment: Proposed Study Essay
