Expert answer:Creating a Complete Research Proposal on Eating Di
Solved by verified expert:Assessment InstructionsThe final assessment for this course is the completion of a formal APA-formatted research proposal. You must use the Research Methods Template, (attached). Your proposal should reflect revisions you made based on the feedback you received on Assessments 2 and 3 (will be provided as I receive them).Proposals should be approximately 15–20 pages in length (not including the references and title page), follow APA format, and contain the following elements in the order listed below:Title page (not included in 15–20 page requirement).Abstract (120 words or less) (Note that this is a separate page.).Introduction: a summary of your proposal and the research questions under study (1 page).Literature review (5–6 pages).Methods section (4–6 pages) that includes the following subsections:Research design selection and rationale (1 page).Participants.Instruments.Data analysis plan.Discussion of your expected findings (1–2 pages).Conclusion (1–2 paragraphs wrapping up the proposal).References (not included in 15–20 page requirement).Additional InstructionsWritten communication: Written communication should be free of errors that detract from the overall message.APA formatting: Your proposal should be formatted according to APA (6th ed.) style and formatting.Length: A typical response will be 15–20 typed and double-spaced pages, not including references and title page.Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
cf_researchmethodstemplate.docx
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Running head: YOUR ABBREVIATED TITLE OF YOUR PAPER
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Note: The running head is an abbreviated title of the paper. The running head is located at the top
of pages of a manuscript or published article to identify the article for readers. The running head
should be a maximum of 50 characters, counting letters, punctuation, and spaces between words.
The words “Running head” are on the cover page but not on the rest of the document. The
running-head title is all CAPS. Page 1 begins on the cover page. The entire document should be
double-spaced, have one-inch margins on all sides, and use 12 pt., Times New Roman font.
DELETE this NOTE from your paper.
Your Full Title of Your Paper
Learner’s Full Name
Course Title
Assessment Title
Capella University
Month, Year
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Abstract
An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of a paper. It allows readers to
quickly review the key elements of a paper without having to read the entire document. This can
be helpful for readers who are searching for specific information and may be reviewing many
documents. The abstract may be one of the most important paragraphs in a paper because readers
often decide if they will read the document based on information in the abstract. An abstract may
not be required in some academic papers, however, it can still be an effective method of gaining
the reader’s attention. The following sentences serve as an example of what could be composed
as an abstract for this paper. The basic elements of APA Style (6th ed.) will be reviewed,
including formatting of an APA-style paper, in-text citations, and a reference list. Additional
information will address the components of an introduction, how to write effective paragraphs
using the MEAL plan, and elements of a summary and conclusion section of a paper.
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Your Full Title of Your Paper
APA (American Psychological Association) Style (6th ed.) is most commonly used to cite
sources within the social sciences. APA Style (6th ed.) is used when writing papers in the
psychology programs offered at Capella University. This document serves as an APA Style (6th
ed.) template for learners to use when writing their own papers, as well as a resource containing
valuable information that can be used when writing academic papers. For more information on
APA Style (6th ed.), learners can refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association (American Psychological Association, 2010a).
In the first section of this paper, the author demonstrates how an introduction effectively
introduces the reader to the topic of the paper. In APA Style (6th ed.), an introduction never gets
a heading. For example, this section did not begin with a heading titled “introduction,” similar to
the following section, which is titled “writing an effective introduction.” The following section
will explain in greater detail a model that can be used to effectively write an introduction in an
academic paper. The remaining sections of the paper will continue to address APA Style (6th ed.)
and effective writing concepts, including section headings, organizing information, the MEAL
plan, the conclusion, and the reference list.
Writing an Effective Introduction
An effective introduction often consists of four main components, including (a) the
position statement, thesis, or hypothesis, which describes the author’s main position; (b) the
purpose, which outlines the objective of the paper; (c) the background, which is general
information that is needed to understand the content of the paper; and (d) the approach, which is
the process or methodology the author uses to achieve the purpose of the paper. This information
will help readers understand what will be discussed in the paper. It can also serve as a tool to
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grab the reader’s attention. Authors may choose to briefly reference sources that will be
identified later on in the paper as in this example (American Psychological Association, 2010a;
American Psychological Association, 2010b; Walker, 2008).
In the FP4600 Introduction section, you will conclude with a discussion of the research
questions you are planning on investigating and your proposed research methodology.
Literature Review
Include a brief introduction for the reader about what will be explored in the literature
review.
Level One Section Heading is Centered, Bold, Upper, and Lowercase
Using section headings can be an effective method of organizing an academic paper. The
section headings should not be confused with the “running head,” a different concept described
in the cover page of this document. Section headings are not required according to APA Style
(6th ed.), however, they can significantly improve the quality of a paper. This is accomplished
because section headings help both the reader and the author, as will soon be discussed.
Level Two Section Heading is Flush Left, Bold, Upper, and Lowercase
The heading style recommended by APA consists of five levels (American Psychological
Association, 2010a, p. 62). This document contains two levels to demonstrate how headings are
structured according to APA Style (6th ed.). Immediately before the previous paragraph, a Level
1 Section Heading was used. That section heading describes how a Level 1 Heading should be
written, which is centered, bold, and uses upper and lowercase letters. For another example, see
the section heading “Writing an Effective Introduction” on page 4 of this document. The heading
is centered, bold, and uses upper and lowercase letters (compared to all uppercase in the running
head at the top of each page). If used properly, section headings can significantly contribute to
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the quality of a paper by helping the reader who wants to understand the information in the
document and the author who desires to effectively describe the information in the document.
Section Headings Help the Reader
Section headings serve multiple purposes, including (a) helping the reader understand
what is being addressed in each section, (b) helping readers, who may be more likely to maintain
an interest in the paper, and (c) helping readers choose what they want to read. For example, if
the reader of this document wants to learn more about writing an effective introduction, the
previous section heading clearly states that is where information can be found. When subtopics
are needed to explain concepts in greater detail, different levels of headings are used according to
APA Style (6th ed.).
Section Headings Help the Author
Section headings do not only help the reader, but they help the author organize the
document during the writing process. Section headings can be used to arrange topics in a logical
order, and they can help an author manage the length of the paper. In addition to an effective
introduction and the use of section headings, each paragraph of an academic paper can be written
in a manner that helps the reader stay engaged. Capella University promotes the use of the
MEAL plan to serve this purpose.
The MEAL Plan
The MEAL plan is a model used by Capella University to help learners effectively
compose academic discussions and papers. Each component of the MEAL plan is critical to
writing an effective paragraph. The acronym “MEAL” is based on four components of a
paragraph (M = Main point, E = Evidence or Example, A = Analysis, and L = Link). The
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following section includes a detailed description and examples of each component of the MEAL
plan.
When writing the content sections of an academic paper (as opposed to the introduction
or conclusion sections), the MEAL plan can be an effective model for designing each paragraph.
A paragraph begins with a description of the main point, which is represented by the letter “M”
of the MEAL plan. For example, the first sentence of this paragraph clearly states the main point
is a discussion of the MEAL plan. Once the main point has been made, evidence and examples
can be provided.
The second component of a paragraph contains evidence or examples, which is
represented by the letter “E” in the MEAL plan. An example of this component of the MEAL
plan is actually (and ironically) this sentence, which provides an example of an example.
Evidence can be in the form of expert opinion examples from research. For example, evidence
shows that plagiarism can occur even when it is not intended if sources are not properly cited
(Marsh, Landau, & Hicks, 1997; Walker, 2008). The previous sentence provided evidence
supported why evidence is used in a paragraph.
Analysis, which is represented by the letter “A” of the MEAL plan, should be based on
the author’s interpretation of the evidence. An effective analysis might include a discussion of the
strengths and weaknesses of the arguments, as well as the author’s interpretations of the evidence
and examples. If a quote is used, the author will likely provide an analysis of the quote and the
specific point it makes for the author’s position. Without an analysis, the reader might not
understand why the author discussed the information that the reader just read. For example, the
previous sentence was an analysis by the author of why an analysis is performed when writing
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paragraphs in academic papers. Even with the first three elements of the MEAL plan, it would
not be complete without the final component.
The letter “L” of the MEAL plan refers to information that “links” the current and the
subsequent paragraphs. The link helps the reader understand what will be discussed in the next
paragraph. It summarizes the author’s reasoning and shows how the paragraph fits together and
leads (that is, “links”) into the next section of the paper. For example, this sentence might
explain that once the MEAL plan has been effectively used when writing the body of an
academic paper, the final section is the summary and conclusion section.
When writing the literature review for the research proposal, you will need to focus on
the following:
1) Describe the line of research of which the research project is meant to contribute—what
body of literature (research) will the proposed study contribute to—or what is the current
gap in knowledge that it plans to address.
2) Identify, describe, and evaluate the studies that support the research project’s research
problem, research question, and the significance of the study. This is the literature
review—a review of the studies that demonstrate the current state of understanding. You
should integrate these studies, as well compare and contrast. Citations must be used per
APA Style (6th ed.).
3) Identify, describe, and evaluate the studies that present the theoretical framework for the
study. Here, you will examine how and why, theoretically, your proposed study and
methodology “works.”
4) Identify, describe, and evaluate the studies supporting the research project’s methodology
and approach. This does not need to be a particularly lengthy section, but your methods
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should make sense given the research topic and the questions you want answered through
the proposed research
5) Support the appropriateness of the research project’s instruments, measures, and methods
used to collect data. Again, this is not a lengthy section, and it may be combined with the
previous section. Methods and instruments should make sense with your proposed study
question
6) Describe any limitations with your proposed design.
Summary and Conclusion
A summary and conclusion section, which can also be the discussion section of an APA
Style (6th ed.) paper, is the final opportunity for the author to make a lasting impression on the
reader. The author can begin by restating opinions or positions and summarizing the most
important points that have been presented in the paper. For example, this paper was written to
demonstrate to readers how to effectively use APA Style (6th ed.) when writing academic papers.
Various components of an APA Style (6th ed.) paper that were discussed or displayed in the form
of examples include a running head, title page, introduction section, levels of section headings
and their use, in-text citations, the MEAL plan, a conclusion, and the reference list.
Before you conclude this section of the paper, provide a brief transition statement
about the next segment of the paper (the Methods section).
Methods
[Note to author: This section details your proposed research method (that is, your “plan”).
All sections must be completed fully and in the future tense.]
Briefly indicate the general research design that will be used (quantitative, qualitative,
mixed, et cetera) and the rationale for your selection.
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Participants (Subheading, Flush Left and Bold)
In this section you will discuss the participants that you plan to have in your proposed
study. Information that should be included in this section: (a) proposed number of participants
(b) characteristics such as gender, age, defining characteristics and (c) geography (location) that
participants will be recruited from (if applicable).
Procedures (Subheading, Flush Left and Bold)
In this section you will provide details on your proposed study. For example how will
participants be recruited? How will the data be collected? What measures will be used to assess
participants (for example, surveys, interviews, testing) and how often will this take place.
Measures (Subheading, Flush left and Underlined)
In this section you can also discuss the role of the researcher in collecting data.
Name of First Measure (Flush Left and Bold)
You will likely have a few measures that will be used in your study. For example, the
first measure might be a survey. Here, you would discuss the properties of the survey and
perhaps provide a few sample questions. You would also discuss any reliability or validity
information that you have on the measure (if it has been used in other studies before).
Name of Measure No 2.
Your second measure could be a test of IQ, such as the Stanford Binet test. Again, you
would briefly describe the measure and then provide information on validity and reliability, if
available. These descriptions need not be lengthy. You do want to give your reader an indication
of what each measure is about.
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Data Analysis Plan
In this section, you will briefly describe your plan for data analysis. Before you begin
writing this section, be sure you are clear on the relationship between the variables you are
proposing. For example, are you proposing a correlation (positive, negative) between the
variables? Is this a qualitative study using a coding scheme or grounded theory approach? Are
you proposing a predictive relationship, in which case a regression might be more appropriate?
Discussion & Expected Findings
This section details what you, the researcher, expect to find out in your study. You want
to connect this section to the section above (data analysis). To do that, discuss what you expect
the data to show. You will also connect what you expect to find with the literature or research
you have reviewed previously. For example, do you expect your proposed findings will confirm
previous research? Do you expect your study will have findings contrary to what previous
research has indicated? If so, why?
Conclusion
In this section you will briefly wrap up the paper in 1–2 paragraphs.
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References
American Psychological Association. (2010a). Publication manual of the American
Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
American Psychological Association. (2010b). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of
conduct. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from
http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Marsh, R. L., Landau, J. D., & Hicks, J. L. (1997). Contributions of inadequate source
monitoring to unconscious plagiarism during idea generation. Journal of Experimental
Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 23(4), 886-897. doi:10.1037/02787393.23.4.886
Walker, A. L. (2008). Preventing unintentional plagiarism: A method for strengthening
paraphrasing skills. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 35(4), 387–395. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/213904438?accountid=27965
Always begin a reference list on a new page. Use a hanging indent after the first line of each
reference. The reference list is ordered alphabetically by the first author’s last name. A reference
list only contains sources that are cited in the body of the paper, and all sources cited in the body
of the paper must be contained in the reference list.
The reference list above contains an example of how to cite a source when two documents are
written in the same year by the same author. The year is also displayed using this method for the
corresponding in-text citations as in the next sentence. The author of the first citation (American
Psychological Association, 2010a) is also the publisher, therefore, the word “Author” is used in
place of the publisher’s name.
When a digital object identifier (DOI) is available for a journal article, it should be placed at the
end of the citation. If a DOI is not available, a uniform resource locator (URL) should be used.
The Marsh, Landau, and Hicks (1997) reference is an example of how to cite a source using a
DOI. The Walker (2008) reference is an example of how to cite a source using a URL. DELETE
this NOTE from your paper.
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