Research Proposal
Research Proposal on Psychopathy
The written research proposal will be created based on a narrowly defined aspect of PSYCHOPATHY. A research proposal is a detailed plan for a specific study to be conducted at a future time. It is the document which potential researchers typically submit to an institutional review board (IRB) for ethical review and approval, and/or to funding agencies to secure financial support for a research effort. Because it is a plan for research which has not yet been conducted, the Methods section should be written in the future tense and should not contain any hypothetical results. The paper must address all of the components required in the Methods section of a research proposal. The following actions must be completed.
. State the research question and/or hypothesis.
. Briefly compare the characteristics of the major research paradigms used in previous studies on the chosen topic. Introduce the specific approach (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods), research design, sampling strategy, data collection procedures, and data analysis techniques to be used in this study. Provide a short explanation as to why the selected procedures are more feasible than other alternatives for the research topic.
. Describe any relevant variables, measures, and statistical tests.
. Apply ethical principles and professional standards to the proposed psychological research. Provide an analysis of any ethical issues that may arise and explain how these issues will be resolved.
The following headings for the required sections and subsections must appear in the paper. In accordance with APA style, all references listed must be cited in the text of the paper.
. Introduction
o Introduce the research topic, explain why it is important, and present an appropriately and narrowly defined research question and/or hypothesis.
. Literature Review
o Evaluate the published research on the chosen topic including a minimum of three peer-reviewed articles. Summarize the current state of knowledge on the topic, making reference to the findings of previous research studies. Briefly mention the research methods that have previously been used to study the topic. State whether the proposed study is a replication of a previous study or a new approach employing methods that have not been used before. Be sure to properly cite all sources in APA style.
. Methods
o Design - Create a feasible research design that incorporates appropriate methods to address the topic. Indicate whether the approach of the proposed study is qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. Identify the specific research design, and indicate whether it is experimental or non-experimental. Evaluate the chosen design and explain why this design is feasible and appropriate for the topic and how it will provide the information needed to answer the research question. Cite sources on research methodology to support these choices. Include a minimum of two peer-reviewed sources.
o Participants - Identify and describe the sampling strategy to be used to recruit participants for the study. Estimate the number of participants needed, and explain why this sampling method is appropriate for the research design and approach.
o Procedure/Measures - Apply the scientific method by describing the steps to be taken in carrying out the study. Identify any test, questionnaire, or measurement instrument to be utilized. If an existing published instrument will be employed, briefly describe it and cite the source. If an original questionnaire, survey, or test will be created for the project, describe the types of information that will be collected with it and explain how the validity and reliability of the instrument will be established. If such an instrument will not be used, describe how the data will be collected for the study.
o Data Analysis - Describe the statistical techniques (if quantitative) or the analysis procedure (if qualitative) to be used to analyze the data. Cite at least one peer-reviewed source on the chosen analysis technique.
o Ethical Issues - Analyze the impact of ethical concerns on the proposed study, such as confidentiality, deception, informed consent, potential harm to participants, conflict of interest, IRB approval, etc. After analyzing the ethical issues that apply to the project, indicate what will be done to handle these concerns.
. Conclusion
o Briefly summarize the major points of the paper and reiterate why the proposed study is needed.
Attention Students: The Masters of Arts in Psychology program is utilizing the Pathbrite portfolio tool as a repository for student scholarly work in the form of signature assignments completed within the program. After receiving feedback for this Research Proposal, please implement any changes recommended by the instructor, go to Pathbrite, (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. and upload the revised Research Proposal to the portfolio. Use the Pathbrite Quick-Start Guide to create an account if you do not already have one. The upload of signature assignments will take place after completing each course. Be certain to upload revised signature assignments throughout the program as the portfolio and its contents will be used in other courses and may be used by individual students as a professional resource tool. See the Pathbrite (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. website for information and further instructions on using this portfolio tool.
The Research Proposal
. Must be five to seven double-spaced pages (excluding title page and references page) in length and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
. Must include a title page with the following:
o Title of paper
o Student's name
o Course name and number
o Instructor's name
o Date submitted
. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought and provide a thorough explanation of all required issues.
. Must utilize a minimum of six peer-reviewed sources from the Ashford University Library.
. Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
. Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style
Assignment 1
Introduction: According to Hesse-Biber (2010) mixed method research is an approach to conduct collect, analyse, and integrate quantitative research (e.g. experiments, surveys) and qualitative research (e.g. interviews, focus groups). Mixed method of research is employed when qualitative or quantitative alone is not capable to provide expected results. Mixed method of research is also used when researcher want to validate results obtained from any one of the method. It provides different angle views of research and clarify the findings and contradictions. Development of a theory about a particular phenomenon is also need mixed research. Generalization of quantitative research is also demands mixed method research.
Research Question: To determine the depression prevalence in women aged 20-30 in United Kingdom (UK) and the reason of depression.
As we all know depression is very common in young women across the world. As per reports one of the four young women suffers with depression across UK. The reasons of depression can various like job pressure, relationship status, financial issues, postpartum depression, and many others.
Solution: To solve this question a mixed research method is mandatory. As population of UK is quite high so it is not possible to use only qualitative research. Quantitative research will provide data of whole country and it will be able to tell the superficial reason behind depression in individual women. The data will be collected by survey and questionnaire. Sometimes the data can also be acquired from health care units like psychiatrist clinics. So we will do quantitative research first.
As depression is a mental disorder and proper understanding of the facts require personal interviews and discussion with focus groups. Qualitative methods will validate the outcomes of the quantitative research. Here qualitative research is needed to justify outcomes of the quantitative research. Qualitative research will provide deep understanding of the facts. Inspite of huge benefits of qualitative research, sometimes it is considered as unscientific because the data collectors do not have understanding and experience of such methods.
As reported by Schoonenboom & Johnson (2017) as per our requirement the mixed method research is most suitable one. Purpose of our research question is both exploration and generalization. So in this question sequential explanatory design of mixed method research will be used because it involves quantitative data collection and analysis followed by qualitative data collection and analysis. The priority is given to quantitative data as required for proposed research question. The data collected in qualitative to research to generalize the reasons of depression in whole population.
Benefits of applying mixed method: By applying this method we will be able to know number of young depressed women in UK as well as deep understanding of reasons behind depression and clarify any discrepancies observed in quantitative research. According to Bryman (2006) in finding the solution of proposed question none of the single method can provide satisfactory and justifying results so the mixed method is the best available method. This mixed method will interpret quantitative outcomes. Similar health research is conducted by Tariq & Woodman (2013) and Yardley & Bishop (2015) and they also performed the research by applying mixed method of research. This mixed research method will provide a better impact on the ongoing research on depression in UK and can provide better material which will help in the elimination of depression in young women.
References:
- Bryman, A. (2006). Integrating quantitative and qualitative research: how is it done-. Qualitative research, 6(1), 97-113.
- Hesse-Biber, S. N. (2010). Mixed methods research: Merging theory with practice. Guilford Press.
- Palinkas, L. A. (2014). Qualitative and mixed methods in mental health services and implementation research. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 43(6), 851-861.
- Schoonenboom, J., & Johnson, R. B. (2017). How to Construct a Mixed Methods Research DesignWie man ein Mixed Methods-Forschungs-Design konstruiert. KZfSS Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, 69(2), 107-131.
- Tariq, S., & Woodman, J. (2013). Using mixed methods in health research. JRSM short reports, 4(6), 2042533313479197.
- Yardley, L., & Bishop, F. L. (2015). Using mixed methods in health research: Benefits and challenges. British journal of health psychology, 20(1), 1-4.
Assignment 2
Qualitative approach to dysthymia
Dysthymia is a mood disorder that is also termed as persistent depressive disorder that affects the patient on cognitive and physical aspects. Most of the symptoms are long lasting and they vary from one person to the other. Some may face problems with concentration while few others face insomnia and low self esteem. Similarly, there are cases where the dysthymia can develop panic disorder in some patients while few others end up in substance misuse and several other personality associated disorders. In this case, the problem is specific to a patient and the treatment is based on the diagnosis of the individual.
Limitations of quantitative method
In the past, quantitative approaches have been followed to assess this health condition. There are limitations in this research.
1. Quantitative method does not happen in the natural settings. The participants do not express their concerns naturally.
2. Quantitative method does not ensure if the researcher has a good knowledge on the subject.
3. Unless the sample size is large, the results in quantitative analysis are unreliable.
The purpose of research in the psychological domain is to offer personalized assistance to the respondent. Every result offered by the psychologist is based on the behavior of the respondent. In this case, quantitative research does not encourage individuality. This is the primary reason to shift to qualitative research in dysthymia.
Qualitative over quantitative
Dysthymia is a specific case where the patients need personal counseling and the treatment has to happen in the natural settings. The advantage of observation method in qualitative research is meant to address the individual problems and offer a better solution to the chronic depression disorder.
The other advantage of qualitative over quantitative research is that dysthymia does not require generalization for treatment. When a person is diagnosed with this mental disorder, there are individual symptoms and it is impossible and inappropriate to suggest the common treatments available to the patient.
Conversation analysis is highly appropriate to analyze the data and it is a form of grounded theory (McLeod, 2017). The physician converses with the patient to observe the behavior, phenomena and these patterns are followed only when the physician is technically capable. An incapable researcher can never handle the qualitative research in the domain of psychology.
Sample selection can happen by presenting a list of behavioral and physical symptoms and allowing the patients to choose accordingly.
The ideal way of data collection is through observational method. One to one discussion between the researcher and the respondent can increase the accuracy and reliability of the data (McLeod, 2017).
The major ethical principles that will be applied to the research design include anonymity, confidentiality and informed consent. The research includes collection of personal information and it is ensured that the data is not misused and properly maintained.
The sociocultural gaps can be overcome by avoiding generalization and understanding the sociocultural impact on the behavior of the respondent. This can vary but still adds to the validity of research.
Reference
McLeod, S. (2017). Qualitative vs Quantitative.