Packet of materials

Your final project in this class will be to assemble a packet of materials for submission (as if you would submit it to the Institutional Review Board: Main proposal + References + Appendix A + Appendix B in one single file). The following is the details:

• 1) consent forms (agreement from subjects to participate in your proposed research, As Appendix A),
• 2) most of all a research ‘protocol’ or description of your research design, the contribution you hope to make to social knowledge (in other words, the main body of your research proposal). This part includes your references.
• 3) the protections for research with human subjects appropriate to your proposed project as Appendix B (An IRB form is attached above and you should complete and upload it to a separate folder).  The overall package is to demonstrate your capability to complete the proposed research project.
• 4) A PowerPoint slide file is not required.

As a researcher, a proposal is to be evaluated as if the real research is “worthy” and “able” to be done correctly.

To search the journal article you may follow the direction below:

1. Go to  http://library.lamar.edu/
2. Please click the Cardinal OneSearch tab in the top central box. Mark “keywords,” “Full Text” and “Peer Reviewed” before you type in your keyword search in the box.  If your research topic is about Causes of Homicide, then you may type “causes homicide” in the search keywords box.  There should be many articles filtered that have those two words indicated in those articles. You may read their abstract first to choose a few of them as the knowledge foundations for building up your research design (what variables are important to be included in your research, for example).

• Please read the document: Research Proposal Writing Direction in this topic’s folder.  You will write your proposal as suggested in the BLACK PRINT. The blueprint is to introduce you if you go beyond a research proposal with some real data analysis is done (for example, a thesis).
• A consent form is usually one or two paragraphs of writing to introduce your research project to subjects and ask for their agreement before they are interviewed (or fill out a questionnaire).
• IRB is a form to send to the university research office to ask for their permission for conducting your research. In the IRB form, you are to ensure your research should not jeopardize your subjects into any possible hurtful situations (physically and/or psychologically). If there is possible harm, there should be some treatments provided to the harmed subjects so there are no long-term negative impacts on their life.
• Use APA format(please see related information in the Resources) in all parts of your research proposal.  Font should be 12 point Times New Roman, the 1-inch margin on all sides.  The length of the major research proposal text (NOT including abstract, references, appendices) should range between 8 – 20 pages.   The lengthier of your proposal is not necessarily make it a better proposal, but the more comprehensive of your concerned issues discussed in the paper, the proposal is considered a better-structured proposal.
• The final written version of this work is due on the last day of Topic 6. You are strongly recommended submitting a draft of your materials to another class participant for comments ahead of time so you can refine it before submitting it to the class site. This is your opportunity to present your own proposal and demonstrate that you have met the appropriate learning goals.
• Your submission will be examined by SafeAssign for plagiarized content. If you find the examination report showing the copied content more than 10%, you may consider reviewing your draft and make sure they are your original writing and submit it again.
• You may submit your research proposal up to 3 attempts and only the last one will be graded.