Description
Throughout the program, you should be thinking of a research topic you would like to explore. In
the capstone course (PSY-693), you will create a research proposal. To assist you in the creation
of that proposal, you will decide on a research topic and begin collecting empirical studies to
support the need for research. Your topic must relate to a basic social psychological principle;
however it can fall into one of the applied subfields (forensic psychology, psychology of
religion, industrial organization, health psychology, etc.).
For this assignment you will create your research question and at least five scholarly, peer
reviewed, empirical studies, all from the past 5 to 7 years. Your articles must support the need
for your research.
The following information will assist in the formation of your research question and the
beginning collection of literature:
1. Use the empirical checklist (located in course materials) to assure your article is an
empirical article.
2. Explore the Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching (cirt.gcu.edu) for
information on research topics and literature reviews. From the main page, under
Research Development – click on Research Ready. Each section has several bits of
information to help formulate your research. Additionally on the right hand side under
Development Resources, explore Research Tutorials. This section will assist you in
creating your research questions and further information on literature reviews.
Prepare a document that includes your research question(s), including how your research will
add to the current research in your chosen field. Your document will include five scholarly, peer
reviewed, empirical studies from the past 5 to 7 years. This section should include APA
formatted citations for each article, including permalink; additionally a short annotation for each
article stating how the literature shows your research is needed.
While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is
expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines,
which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a scoring guide. Please review the scoring guide prior to beginning the
assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the
Student Success Center.