Assessment Task 3 Details and Instructions:
Applying the knowledge and skills of psychological research methods that you have developed during your psychological studies so far, write a research proposal in response to a call from a hypothetical philanthropic organisation who wishes to provide grants addressing the topic: Enhancing well being of diverse Australian communities. You should identify a specific research question addressing the wellbeing needs of a specific minority group and prepare a research proposal using a suitable methodological approach with the following sections:
PSYC3102: Psychology An Evidence Based Assignment-University of Queensland Australia.
1. Project title (max 12 words)
2.Lay description (max 75 words): Provide a brief description of the study suitable for a lay reader.
3. Context & rationale (max 300 words): Provide a summary of the psychological literature that provides the context and rationale for the study.
4.Why is this a priority for psychological research? (max 200 words): Provide an overview of the significance of the study in terms of potential benefit or impact.
5.Research question (max 100 words): Describe the question that you are planning to research.
6.Methodology (max 500 words): Describe the method you are planning to use to address the research question, including a brief outline of the intended analysis.
7.Ethical issues (max 400 words): Identify any potential ethical issues and how you propose to manage them.
PSYC3102: Psychology – An Evidence Based Approach 3 (Advanced) Research Proposal FAQs
Q: This unit has primarily focussed on qualitative methods, but I quite like the positivist paradigm – can I write a quantitative research proposal?
A: Yes of course you can! This is the space for you to come into your own as a blossoming researcher where you can choose to do any type of research proposal you want (with the scope of enhancing wellness for diverse Australian communities)! You can go quantitative or qualitative. Just make sure that your P-O-E-M aligns throughout the proposal so that you can be confident that what you propose is going to produce methodological sound findings. Given the word limit for this assessment I would suggest you do not attempt a mixed methods design (although that may be the best way of investigating your research question of interest). You just do not have the time or word count available to unpack a mixed method design at this stage.
PSYC3102: Psychology An Evidence Based Assignment-University of Queensland Australia.
Q: I know I must write a research proposal. But I’m lost. How do I start this assessment?
A: Another opportunity to develop and start to master a new skill – terrifying and exciting!
Step 1 – read the UO! Step 2 – have a look at the various content and skills we’ve developed so far to start to feel a bit more confident knowing that while you may have never written a research proposal before, you have certainly addressed various aspects of this assessment at different stages of your academic career. Then, step 3 – have a look at the tutorial slides from Week 9 to see the step-by-step process you should follow when putting together your proposal. If you are working on this assessment by reading as much as you can in the area of enhancing wellness in Australia, then you have done most of the legwork needed to then just go ahead and type up your proposal after the tutorial in Week 9.
Q: I am completely lost with how to set out the assessment. We have never had to write a research proposal before.
A: Indeed, but as above, you know how to address the various sections of the proposal. You do not need to write an introduction or conclusion for this assessment. All you need to do,
PSYC3102: Psychology An Evidence Based Assignment-University of Queensland Australia.
following APA 7th edition guidelines, is present the following:
1.A Project title (max 12 words if quant, longer if qual proposal)
2.A Lay description (max 75 words): Provide a brief description of the study suitable for a lay reader.
3.The context & rationale (max 300 words): Provide a summary of the psychological literature that provides the context and rationale for the study.
4.Address why is this a priority for psychological research? (max 200 words): Provide an overview of the significance of the study in terms of potential benefit or impact.
5.A research question (max 100 words): Describe the question that you are planning to research.
6.A methodology section (max 500 words): Describe the method you are planning to use to address the research question, including a brief outline of the intended analysis.
7.An ethical issues section (max 400 words): Identify any potential ethical issues and how you propose to manage them.
And although this is not mentioned in the UO, by now you will know the importance of being able to determine the validity of your P-O-E-M by way of a reflexive statement, which you will include as an appendix. More on this below. Week 9’s tutorial talks you through this assessment step-by-step. Additionally, there are several resources (textbook chapters, articles, and video clips) that you may find useful. Finally, please refer to the marking rubric provided in your Unit Outline under Assessment 3, which sets out the expectations for how to perform well on this assessment.
Q: How many references do I need?
A: You need as many references as you need to adequately support the claims you make in your assessment. At this level of study, you are not directed by a set number of references but rather the acquired skill of knowing what should be written with evidential support in the form of a citation. You should be including primary and secondary references that are from reputable academic sources and should be recently published (i.e., within the past five years except when citing original theorists’ work). You want to show off to your marker that you have evidence to support that your proposed project is the best way to go about answering the research question you pose and that the proposed study is going to be ethical, culturally responsive, and methodologically sound. Including evidence (which you have read and critiqued – think about the skills you applied to Assessment 1 in this unit!) will and back up to what you propose.
Q: Can I use all of the references you have given us?
A: You are welcome to use as many or as few of the references provided to you, however;you will need to find additional references to support your assessment because your research question will be specific to your interest in the area of enhancing wellness in Australia, for diverse communities
PSYC3102: Psychology An Evidence Based Assignment-University of Queensland Australia.
Q: Why should I include a reflexive statement if I am doing a quantitative research proposal? Does that not go against the paradigmatic assumptions of this method?
A: You will need to write a reflexive statement if you are doing a quantitative or a qualitative research proposal. Based on everything you have learnt so far in this unit you will recall that quantitative researchers may indeed be biased (week 4, week 8, week 9 content) and so while you may claim to be a neutral observer of an objective truth, showcase how you are upholding these philosophical positions through your reflexivity statement. A quantitative researcher is still reflexive and culturally responsive and needs to show how this is honoured through the design of a quantitative design. If you are writing a qualitative proposal, based on the reflexive statement you constructed for Assessment 2, you should be feeling pretty confident on why this reflexivity statement is so important for your proposal. Regardless of your chosen method, you will be required to write a reflexive statement that will overtly address how your role as the researcher upholds the philosophies of that method. In Week 2, we addressed reflexivity and standpoint in the pre-tutorial activity and unpacked this further in the tutorial and post-tutorial activities. Likewise, exemplars have been provided to you in Week 2 post-tutorial section. These examples give you a good idea of the sorts of issues that are covered in a reflexive statement. It is difficult to give a specific example, as what is included depends on the researcher, the participant(s), the topic under investigation, and the researcher’s investment in that topic.
Q: I can’t fit everything I want to into my proposal. Is the word limit strict?
A: Yes. You must stop writing at or before 1500 words. Anything exceeding this amount will not be read. The word count also excludes the title, reference List, and your reflexive statement.
PSYC3102: Psychology An Evidence Based Assignment-University of Queensland Australia.
Q: Can I use the first person to write my proposal?
A: If you are doing a qualitative proposal, absolutely write in the first person as it is important for researchers to write themselves into the research and own how they have been important in the co-construction of knowledge. Therefore, it is traditional for researchers who do qualitative research to use the first person. If you are doing a quantitative research proposal, I would suggest that you write in a way that is true to the P-O-E-M of positivism i.e., a neutral detached observer and reporter, so write in the third person as you have so used to doing over your academic career.