Final Project: Early Methods Section

In your final paper for this course, you will need to write a Methods section that is about 3 pages long where you will assess and evaluate the methods of research. 

In preparation for this particular section, answer the following questions thoroughly and provide justification/support. The more complete and detailed your answers for these questions, the better prepared you are to successfully write your final paper.

Please submit your answers as a single 3 - 5 page document as a numbered list; this will ensure you do not inadvertently miss a question.

Additionally, please submit a title page and a reference page in proper APA format.

What is your research question?

What is your hypothesis or hypotheses? What is the null hypothesis?

How many participants would you like to use and why? What are the inclusion characteristics, i.e., what must they have in order to be included in your study (for example, gender, diagnosis, age, personality traits, etc.)? Are there any exclusion characteristics, i.e. are there certain characteristics that would exclude them from being in your study? Does the sample need to be diverse? Why or why not?

What sampling technique will be used to collect your sample? What population does your sample generalize to?

What are the variables in your study? HINT: Refer back to your hypothesis or hypotheses.

Provide operational definitions for each variable.

How will you measure each variable? Discuss the reliability and validity of these measures in general terms.

What technique will be used for data collection (e.g., observation, survey, interview, archival, etc.)?

What type of research design is being used?

Briefly discuss the procedure that would be followed when conducting the research.

What are some POTENTIAL ethical issues? How might they be addressed?