Signature Assignment – Research Proposal Template

You will answer the questions located in the Research Proposal Template, in a narrative, illuminating the current literature and how the literature informs your proposed study.  Then you will conclude your assignment with the implications that this study could have upon the counseling field in light of these implications.  Please follow the steps below, answering all the questions in each section.

 

Must only be 3 pages in length

 

This length does not include the title page, abstract, and reference page

 

Your section headings will include: Literature (with Research Questions as a subheading and with other subheadings as needed) and Integration (subheadings as needed).

 

Must be formatted in current APA formatting.

 

At least five citations and references must be included (include in-text citations, along with page number). Acceptable sources include peer-reviewed literature such as journal articles and books.

 

Please follow this template to write your Benchmark Research Proposal Assignment:

 

Literature Review

 

(No more than 3 pages)

 

The purpose of the literature review is to make a compelling case for the study (i.e. the research topic/question that you are proposing). Each assertion must be supported by a citation . The literature review must be no more than 3 pages and must include at least 5 citations and references from peer-reviewed literature in current APA format. 3 out of the 5 citations must be published within the last 5 years. Conclusions from peer-reviewed articles must be provided to make a compelling case for the significance of the problem . In addition, relevance to the counseling field must be established, and the literature review must include an articulation of how the proposed study fills a gap in the peer-reviewed literature. You will need to demonstrate scholarly writing skills, paraphrasing the literature with no quotations . Along with a narrative of the previous literature surrounding the topic, the literature review portion of your research proposal must also explain the following:

 

· What is the problem statement (gap identified in the literature) this research addresses? This must be stated clearly, using citations to tell the narrative.

 

· What is the purpose of the research proposal (how this study fills the gap)? This must be stated clearly.

 

Research Questions

 

· What is (are) the research question(s)?

 

· Why is this research question important?

 

· What research design will help answer your questions and why (see Heppner et al. Chapter 6)? (Descriptive lab, Descriptive field design? Experimental lab design? Experimental field design?)

 

· Will your research produce qualitative or quantitative data?

 

· If quantitative:

 

· What is the researcher’s hypothesis? What is the null hypothesis?

 

· What variables are you planning to explore?

 

· If qualitative:

 

· What strategy of inquiry fits best with this research?

 

· Considering the chosen strategy of inquiry, what is one way you can enhance trustworthiness of the data?

 

Implications

 

· How will this research investigation contribute to the field of counseling?