Description
-Identify your research question (what are you studying?).
Keep this within the psychological realm. What is something you would be interested in
looking at?
-State your hypothesis.
You won’t be testing this hypothesis, but you can make an educated guess regarding the
outcome.
-Identify whether this will be a correlational or experimental design.
Review the differences. It’s important that you accurately identify what kind of study you
are proposing.
-Name the materials and measures you will use.
Do a little research. Look up what psychological measures we have to study different
topics. Don’t just say, “measure of anxiety.” Show me that you took the time to find a
measure, such as the Anxiety Symptoms Questionnaire.
-Discuss how you will collect data.
Include details: How will you choose your sample? How will you assure it is random?
Will you send out a survey online? Will you have participants come into a lab?
-Discuss potential strengths and weaknesses with your study.
Think about ways your study could be stronger, such as adding more measures. Think
about what you’ve done to ensure it will be valid. Highlight those strengths.
