Question:

The topic for this assignment is

Cognitive PsychologyAttention in a distracting world. For this project, you will examine whether distractions toattention (e.g., technology such as email, texts, etc.) has an effect on a domain of your choice(e.g., work or school). You may choose to examine distractions to attention as predictors of someoutcome (e.g., task performance, quality of work product, final grade on an assignment) or youmay choose to examine the frequency of distractions encountered within an environment andtheir effect on attention. Be sure to read the literature on attention and what we know about theways in which the factor you wish to test (e.g., technology) has changed over time. Like theMemory option in this section, only choose one factor to test. Testing too many factors at oncecan lead to problems in the research design and make your paper unnecessarily complicated

OVERVIEW OF ASSIGNMENT

You will write an APA-formatted manuscript proposing a study on one of the given topics. This paper will focus on your ability to apply APA format, as well as your ability to design a study that tests your hypothesis. In addition, you should select appropriate background information and have a coherent discussion about the importance of your research. You are to gather at least six references for the final proposal. Please write your final proposal strictly in APA format.

This project involves developing an original research hypothesis and then designing a study that tests your hypothesis. The project is broken down into the following tasks:

Develop a Research Topic (what are the problems that bring this topic to your attention) & write your tentative Hypothesis (research question)

Develop an Introduction that incorporates your research question and rationale for your study along with a literature review

Develop a Method section

Develop a Results section

Develop a Discussion section

Final Research Proposal

Designing a Research Proposal will be completed in steps. Each assignment will contribute to the completion of a final proposal. This project is hypothetical in that you are not required to collect or analyze data; however you are expected to proceed as if this is an actual proposal to procure grant funds.
Key Points to Remember:

Begin with a question about a topic or concern in the psychological sciences that you want answered.

Think of it as a valuable question that would benefit your school, company, organization and society.

Develop a research proposal that details exactly the steps that you will take to answer your question.

Consider all aspects of your study and explicitly explain this process; thereby demonstrating your ability to do this research.

Start with your topic from which you will develop a research question, and then investigate the existing literature about this topic and your research question.

Literature review is a very valuable tool for you - it notes previously gathered information acquired through empirical research about your topic and methods used to research the topic.

Your proposal will be like these research articles, minus the actual data collection and statistical analysis. However you will need to discuss how you are going to collect your data, the ethical considerations, and explain why you are collecting the data in this manner.

Discuss what kind of statistical analysis you would use and why this analysis is right for your data.

Discuss your expected findings.

The following information will guide you through this process.

APA Formatting

All parts of your proposal need to be formatted according to APA style.

Use standard essay format in APA style, including an introduction, conclusion, and cover page which includes: Title of the Paper, Your name, Name of School, PSY 290, Faculty's name, and Date.

An abstract is required only for your Final Proposal.

Cite in-text references with the Author's last name and year of the citation.

All assignments must be typed using 12" Times New Roman font, 1" margins all around the paper, and double-spaced. PROOFREAD your paper(s) for any sentence structure, grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors.

Parts of a research paper: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Reference page.

Final Proposal

Title Page

Does it have the appropriate elements (running head, title, author, etc)? Is it in APA format?

Abstract (150 - 250 words)

Does it appropriately summarize the study? APA format?

Introduction & Literature Review

Does it give appropriate background info? Does it contain at least six citations?

Does it have a good description of the referenced studies?

Is it coherent?

Do you clearly state your hypothesis or research question?

Does your hypothesis logically follow from the introduction (i.e., after reading your intro, it should be clear why you have chosen your hypothesis).

Do your research articles provide a good foundation for your research?

Method

Does your methodology adequately test your hypothesis?

Is it clear that your study possesses internal, external and construct validity? Do you specify what sort of design is used (factorial, quasi-experimental, 4x2, etc)?

Is the design proper?

Are all of the subsections properly organized (participants, materials, procedure)? Is it in APA format?

Is it clear and easy to understand?

Could someone who has never seen the study be able to read your method section and replicate the study?

Expected Results

Discuss your study expectation, assuming your hypothesis is correct. For example "I would run an ANOVA on my three groups. I would expect group A to have the highest score, group C to have the lowest, and Group B to be in the middle." (with more detail)

Discussion

For the discussion, assume that you find the results that you expect. Do you describe the results in terms of your hypothesis?

Do you describe potential problems/limitations of the study? Do you talk about future directions?

Is it coherent? Does it adequately sum up the paper?

References

Is your reference list in APA format?

Did you cite the appropriate number of articles?

*****SCHOLASTIC DISHONESTY*****

Scholastic dishonesty of any kind is dealt with harshly by the University, and can lead to a student's expulsion. Plagiarism of others' work (whether another student, a family member, or a published article), or your own work (i.e., a paper from another class) is the same as cheating on a test.