Download Research Proposal and more Study notes Psychology in PDF only on Docsity! Research Proposal Suggestions and guidelines Topic • A problem of theoretical interest to field of personality • Of interest to you! • Can be straight correlational, prefer if experimental with an individual difference parameter Proposal Requirements (continued) • Expected Results – How will the data be analyzed – What do you expect to find if your hypothesis is correct • (Include a graph of expected results) – What are alternative possible results • Discussion – What would the results mean if they turn out they way you expect Searching the Literature • Science does not occur in a vacuum – Current research reflects the contributions of previous studies – “I can see so far only because I stand on the shoulders of giants” (Newton) • Published results have been reviewed by peers and judged to make significant contributions Searching the Literature • Read current articles in reputable journals • Search for articles based upon keywords in their abstracts (PsychInfo) • Search for articles based upon the previous work they cite (Social Science Citation Index as found in Web of Science) Searching the Abstracts • Examples from Psych Info (http:// gateway.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi? T=JS&MODE=ovid&PAGE=main&D=psyh) (need to be logged in at NU) • Boolean logic allows for complex searches • A and (B or C) • Example search for terms • See the very helpful handout from the reference library at –http://www.library.northwestern.edu/reference/ instructional_services/class_pages/psych398.html Example of Psych Info Search Term Number of Hits 1 Physiological Arousal 12928 2 Personality 131460 4 1 and 2 1261 6 Cognition 4807 8 Memory 22443 9 1 and 8 288 10 9 and 2 24 Find references to personality, arousal, and cognitive performance Literature searching by articles A&R, 1996 Ti m e YD
