Worksheet: Topic Selection and Introduction

Review the critical elements that must be addressed in the final project. Use this worksheet to develop Milestone One. You should build on the ideas from the Module One discussion to select your final topic.

1. Identify and briefly summarize the topic related to psychology that you will study. [An example would be cognitive psychology with the specific topic being memory in emotional situations.]

I would like to focus my final paper on the social psychology of religion and the effects of religious traditions, practices, and beliefs and what role religion plays in mental health. In the specific case of social psychology, understanding the effects of religion on mental health. In many cases religion can help people in dealing with major life stressors such as natural disaster, illness, loss of loved ones, divorce and serious mental illness show that religion and spirituality are generally helpful to people in coping, on the other hand, some forms of religious and spiritual coping can be more problematic.

2. Summarize at least two articles that you might use in the literature review section of the introduction that are relevant to the topic you want to research. List the APA reference citation followed by the summary.

3. Discuss the bias and limitations present in the articles. Support your discussion with specific examples from the articles. [Bias and limitations might include things like a small sample size, research being funded by a private corporation, etc. You should use specific examples to illustrate instances of bias and limitations.]

4. Discuss other factors that might impact the credibility of those articles. You might look at how the research methods used influenced results, or you might look at the setting of the research. Anything in the article that might impact the outcome of the research could be discussed here.

a. Explain how the bias and limitations may inform or influence your research.

[Here you will discuss how the bias or limitations previously discussed would impact the results. For example, if research on a drug is sponsored by a drug company, this sponsorship might lead to a more favorable interpretation of the results or suppression of negative findings.]

b. Summarize the research design and methods described in these articles.

[Discuss the research methods used in each article. For example, was it a correlational design or a case study?]

c. Discuss the appropriateness of the research design and methods in these articles. Were they appropriate for the research questions and hypotheses? [Discuss whether or not the research method was appropriate. For example, was the correlational method the best way to answer the article's research question? Discuss why or why not based on application of different research methodologies.]

d. Discuss whether or not the research design and methods in these articles align to the expectations of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists. Support your discussion with specific examples from the articles.

[Here you should examine whether or not the research methods used were ethical based on APA standards. Use the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists to provide specific examples.]

e. Based on your evaluation of these articles, discuss which research design and methods you feel will be most appropriate for the research you want to conduct. [After reviewing the literature, this section should discuss which research method would be most appropriate for your research topic. Provide examples from your literature review to support your choice of research method.]

f. Explain the steps you will take to ensure your research aligns to the expectations of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists. [Here you should discuss different steps that need to be taken in your chosen research topic in order to adhere to APA ethical standards. For example, you might mention IRB approval or informed consent.]

The final project is meant for you to propose a hypothetical study. You are not and should not be conducting human subjects research for this project. It is not necessary for the purposes of this assignment. All human subjects research requires written approval from the SNHU COCE Institutional Review Board in order to protect the welfare and ensure ethical treatment of the subjects.

Overview: For Milestone One, you will submit the topic for your final project and a short introduction.

Submit the Milestone One Worksheet. You should build on the ideas from the Module One discussion to select your final topic. Remember to select an area of psychology that you wish to research. For example, you might look at cognitive psychology or developmental psychology. Then, within this field, you will pick a particular area that is of interest to you. For example, within the field of cognitive psychology, you might examine memory in emotional situations.

Or, within developmental psychology, you might examine the development of executive functions in kindergarteners. Your final topic submission should discuss the area of psychology that you wish to research and provide a discussion of at least two articles that you might use in the literature review section of the introduction.

You may use the article that you found to support your topic in the Module One discussion as one of your two articles, or choose two new articles. The articles should be used to support your topic choice and help you explain the different concepts that you will explore in your research.

For example, if you are interested in looking at executive functions in kindergarteners, you might find two articles that describe prior research on this topic and discuss how the articles are relevant to your topic. What do the articles examine that you might also examine? Or what might be some limitations of the articles that you could address in your research?

Specifically the following critical elements must be addressed:

I. Introduction

Identify and briefly summarize the topic related to psychology, which you will study.

Summarize articles relevant to the topic you want to research.

Discuss the bias and limitations present in the articles. Support your discussion with specific examples from the articles.

Discuss the other factors present in the articles that might impact the credibility of those articles. Support your discussion with specific examples from the articles.

Explain how the bias and limitations may inform or influence your research.

Summarize the research design and methods described in these articles.

Discuss the appropriateness of the research design and methods in these articles. Were they appropriate for the research questions and
hypotheses?

Discuss whether or not the research design and methods in these articles align to the expectations of the APA Ethical Principles of

Psychologists. Support your discussion with specific examples from the articles.

Based on your evaluation of these articles, discuss which research design and methods you feel will be most appropriate for the
research you want to conduct.

Explain the steps you will take to ensure your research aligns to the expectations of the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists.