Methodology, Design, & Stimulus Materials Assignment
NOTE: Please only submit a word document. No PDFs or txt files, please.
For this assignment, you will submit your Method section of the research proposal along with any materials you intend to use with participants or for data analysis. For example, surveys, scripts, case vignettes, websites or sources where secondary data will be obtained, etc.
Here is what is required in this assignment:
- Your Method section must be in APA format.
- How long does the assignment have to be? A minimum of 2-3 double-spaced pages.
- You must have a header and page number on every page.
Your Method section MUST contain the following subsections:
- Participants: Clearly describe the sample population and the sampling techniques you intend to use including the unit of analysis, the anticipated sample size, and how you intend to obtain data from the sample.
- Materials: In this subsection you will include information about the materials that you will create and/or use for your study including, case vignettes, questionnaires, surveys, interview items, secondary data you intend to acquire and from where, etc. Be sure to explain exactly how you will be measuring your independent variable(s) and dependent variable(s). What specific items or questions, secondary data, crime indexes, etc. will you use to measure the variables.
- Procedure: Describe the procedure you intend to use to collect and analyze data for the study. Be sure to include your research plan step-by-step. In this subsection you will walk the reader through the process by which you will obtain data from or about the sample population. If using human subjects, explain exactly what participation will entail from the beginning till the end of the study, including how long participation will take, what will be asked of them, the nature of the questions/cases studies they will be viewing, etc.
- Design: In this subsection you should describe the design for your study. For example, “this correlational study will evaluate the relationship between red light cameras (independent variable) and speeding infractions (dependent variable).”
- Appendix: Within the Appendix section (started on a separate page) you will include your study materials, such as surveys, scripts, case vignettes, websites or sources where secondary data will be obtained (e.g., websites, organizations).
Assessment and Evaluation:
- Participants subsection (20 points)
- Materials subsection (20 points)
- Procedure subsection (20 points)
- Design subsection (10 points)
- Appendix (15 points)
- Overall assessment of methodology to answer research question (5 points)
- Proper use of APA formatting and adherence to manuscript requirements (5 points)
- Organization, clarity & grammar (5 points)
Manuscript Requirements:
- Double spaced, one inch margins
- 12 point Times New Roman font
- Insert page numbers
- Left alignment; no justified