Reference no: EM133190866

Research Proposal

Themes for research proposals: The research proposals need to be within the domain of sensation and perception, and also relate to one or more of the following themes:

(1) perception and aging--How perception changes with age, including multiple perceptual systems. For example, what happens when a person who already has vision loss ages and begins to lose their hearing as well...?

(2) perception on the go--driving, cycling, in-vehicle displays, infotainment, motion sickness, mobile phone displays, sports (viewing or participating), etc.;

(3) perception and technology--how does some aspect of sensation or perception intersect with some aspect of technology use?

(4) atypical perception--sensory or perceptual disabilities; perception in unusual circumstances; persons with unique abilities, etc.

4041/6014: Sensation & Perception – Final Proposal Paper

Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is to get students thinking about application of the topics on human perception that we are discussing throughout this course. By reading and evaluating current research in this area, as well as designing a proposal for their own potential study, students will be able to exhibit their comprehension of the topics while also displaying their ability to apply this knowledge on their own

Format:

This document will be completed based on the current standards for APA format, which includes 12pt font, Times New Roman, 1” margins, and single-spaced.

All in-text citations [and there should be citations] will be in APA format, as should the references section at the end. Failure to cite is seen as plagiarism. The paper should be between 10-15 pages, but no more than 20 pages maximum. This page count does not include the cover page, but the reference section does count as part of the document.

Outline:

Your proposal should include the following sections or subsections:

Title Page – Following APA format.

Abstract – Brief introduction of what your paper is about. It works like a preview and should be 150 – 250 words.

Introduction – Explain why your topic is a relevant topic that the reader should care about. This is where you can relate the topic you found to the concepts from the course. It is important that you show an understanding of why the topic specifically relates to some aspect of Human Sensation & Perception as well as that you show an understanding of why the topic itself is something we should spend resources to do research on.

Literature Review – This is where you begin to integrate and discuss the work of other researchers. This is part of your introduction section as it helps to introduce what it is you will be proposing to do yourself. A good literature review section will not only discuss what past research has done and found, but also attempt to integrate the findings and importance of different studies. Do their findings support one another or does one contradict the other? How will these past studies influence your hypothesis and proposed method? Identify any holes that exist in literature about that topic.

Hypothesis – In this subsection you will clearly state your hypothesis (its common to have multiple hypotheses related to one study, so its ok to discuss more than one). This will be stated in terms of the cause and effect relationship you believe to exist between variables. Define what variables you would alter (Independent Variables) and what variables you will measure (Dependent Variables). Also define anything you will hold constant to control for.

Method – Now tell what you are proposing to do. This is the section that acts as the outline for your plan of research. The method section in a proposal paper is just like the method section of an other research article, the main difference being that your proposal paper will be written in future tense. This is to highlight the fact that you are proposing something that you will do and not something that has already been done.

Participants – Explain who your participants will be. Are there specific qualities you will us to select participants (i.e., age, ability, previous training, addictions, impairment)? Also explain how you would recruit participants and how you would potentially reimburse them.

Materials / Apparatus – Use this section to talk about what materials or devices you would be using to run your study. If you will use any questionnaires you would talk about survey items here.

Procedure – What procedure will you follow? Discuss the order in which events will take place. “First participants will be instructed to… next they will be given…”

Planned analyses – Appropriate statistical analyses should be described in this section. Make sure that they evaluate the hypotheses that you provide.

Expected results – Based on your hypotheses and planned analyses you should discuss the expected outcome of your study. This usually is described something like, “Hypothesis 1 will be confirmed by…” You could also provide graphs in this section if you would like.

Discussion – While you will not have run a study so you will have no results to conclude about, this section is a way to summarize everything you've discussed thus far.Use this as a final way to remind your reader about how this topic fits in with the course and talk about the broader impact that the findings of a study like the one you are proposing could have on the world.

References – You should finish your paper with a reference section. References should be in APA format. The reference section does not need to start on its own page; it is part of the document.