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Detailed Guide: APA Research Proposal Example
Table of Contents
As a college student, essay assignments are the norm. But a research proposal may sound strange– especially if you are a newbie. If that’s the case, an APA research proposal example comes in handy.
In this article, we’ll examine the features of a research proposal. And provide all the information you need to write your first.
What Is A Research Proposal?
A research proposal is a document that outlines the main idea of a research project . The proposal explains why the study needs to be done and how it will benefit society or improve knowledge in the field.
It delineates the methodology of the research you’ve conducted or are about to execute.
What’s The Goal Of A Research Proposal?
A research proposal helps the writer explore a topic in greater detail. It provides an opportunity to identify and analyze relevant evidence, conclude, and offer potential solutions or recommendations.
A research proposal also allows you to demonstrate knowledge of a specific field and create a well-rounded argument considering diverse perspectives.
Sometimes, the purpose of a proposal is to secure funds to support your research.
A research proposal presents a unique insight into a particular subject matter. And make a compelling case for its importance in advancing knowledge.
You should be able to prove that your work will:
- Fill a knowledge gap on this topic or add to the existing knowledge on the subject
- Emphasize existing information on the issue
It should also prove that you are capable of contributing meaningfully to the field of study. The best way to prove this is by stating your credentials and academic qualifications. Your study proposal also affirms the academic merit of your ideas.
How Long Should A Proposal Be?
Frankly, the page count of a research proposal isn’t as important as the content it should entail. A master’s or bachelor’s research proposal may be a few pages long. But for a Ph.D. dissertation, it may be more as the research is often meatier.
The purpose of a research proposal is to outline any content or element of your research. Don’t leave out details because you are targeting a word or page count.
The Structure Of A Research Proposal
An APA Research Proposal structure isn’t set in stone. But some elements are critical. They are as follows:
Research Paper Title
The research title should embody your paper’s content. While you can still change your title during the project, you must ensure your title explains the whole study in a few words.
In just about 100 words, your abstract should state the question you intend to answer.
Background Significance
This is where you’ll give a background introduction to your topic. It covers issues like why you decided to work on the research, existing debates, etc.
You should also include the relevance of the question you aim to answer and its importance.
Finally, you must state the tool you plan to use while conducting your research.
Literature Review
The literature review lists the sources you plan to rely on for your research and why you are working with those sources.
Research Methods, Design And Schedule
This aspect of your research proposal covers the following topics.
- Identify if you are doing corrective, experimental, or descriptive research.
- State the kind of research you want to do. Is it quantitative or qualitative research?
- What tools will you use to curate data? Observation? Or will you conduct a survey?
- List all the data collection options available and why they are necessary.
In addition, this aspect of the research proposal should also indicate:
- Research budget
- Any form of potential obstacles and how you will resolve them.
- The timeline of your research
Conclusions
Like the name suggests, this section wraps up the research proposal. It summarizes research proposals and restates your purpose.
Bibliography
Finally, list your sources or the works that contributed to your research. In this case, you need to follow the APA format. You can even annotate your bibliography, indicating how each source will contribute to your study.
APA Research Proposal Format
Now, we’ll briefly analyze what the APA format should look like.
- 1-inch margins
- 12-point font Times New Roman
- An APA running head (limited to 50 characters)
- Double-spaced
- References page (following APA guidelines)
- In-text citations (formatted accordingly to APA guidelines)
- A title page containing your research title (12 words maximum), your name, and your institution name
- Abstract (150-200 words)
What To Avoid In APA Research Paper
Some factors can mar your research proposals. APA research papers should be written carefully, avoiding the following mistakes:
1. Using overly technical language that can make it difficult for the reader to understand.
2. Omitting any necessary facts or data may weaken the paper’s credibility and validity.
3. Failing to cite sources accurately could result in plagiarism.
4. Making assumptions without providing evidence to back them up.
5. Overlooking potential ethical issues related to a topic.
6. Ignoring grammar and spelling mistakes.
7. Not organizing ideas logically or presenting them in an unclear manner.
8. Relying too heavily on one source of information when multiple perspectives are needed.
9. Being overly opinionated instead of using objective analysis and reasoning.
APA Research Proposal Example
Emotional well-being and mental health research proposal , introduction.
I propose undertaking a research project into the effects of emotional well-being on mental health. This study investigates how emotional well-being affects one’s ability to cope with and manage mental health. This proposal will analyze current literature, examine personal experiences, and explore various theories. It seeks to gain an understanding of how emotional well-being influences mental health.
Research Methodology
In terms of methodology, I plan to conduct both qualitative and quantitative research. Using these mediums, I will form conclusions regarding the correlation between emotional well-being and mental health.
A survey will be administered online, followed by semi-structured interviews with participants who indicate that they are struggling with their mental health. Furthermore, I will conduct interviews with healthcare professionals.
Personal stories and observations from my experience working with individuals with mental illness will also be incorporated into the data collection process. Additionally, information from relevant academic studies on this topic will be used to inform the interpretation of the results.
The proposed research has theoretical and practical implications for understanding the complex relationship between emotion and mental health.
Theoretically, it could lead to a greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying this relationship. It could also provide insight into the psychological underpinnings of mental illnesses like anxiety or depression.
Moreover, the findings could suggest new strategies for helping those with poor mental health. It will provide them with improved access to support systems and resources. Finally, further exploration of this issue could result in policies geared towards improving emotional well-being implemented at governmental levels.
I anticipate that this study will take approximately 6 months to complete, depending on the availability of interview subjects.
If allowed to conduct this research, I am confident I can produce valid and reliable results. One that will contribute to our collective knowledge about the role of emotion in mental health.
Note: This is a skeletal APA research proposal example. This should only serve as a guide. You need to be as detailed as possible while writing yours.
An APA research proposal example is a document that outlines the basic idea of a researcher’s project.
When writing a research proposal using the APA style, it’s essential to follow the formatting rules the American Psychological Association laid out. This includes providing references in the correct format, such as author name, date, and page number.
Worried about drafting an excellent research proposal? Take INK on a spin. Our proposal generator takes instructions and delivers a brilliant research proposal.
Abir Ghenaiet
Abir is a data analyst and researcher. Among her interests are artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing. As a humanitarian and educator, she actively supports women in tech and promotes diversity.
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APA Question
APA does not have a specific format for research proposal papers or outlines. For some recommendations on how to incorporate APA style into research proposals or outlines, go to http://rasmussen.libanswers.com/faq/32563 . Remember to follow all APA rules of formatting by viewing the library's APA research guide at https://guides.westcoastuniversity.edu/apa .
In general, a research paper proposal should be 1 or 2 paragraphs summarizing what your paper is going to be about, why it is important to your profession, who it affects, the effect on society or a community, and what is being done about it.
Cover these same main topic areas when writing an outline. For examples of how to format an outline, go to http://rasmussen.libanswers.com/faq/32339 .
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1. Research Proposal Format Example. Following is a general outline of the material that should be included in your project proposal. I. Title Page II. Introduction and Literature Review (Chapters 2 and 3) A. Identification of specific problem area (e.g., what is it, why it is important). B. Prevalence, scope of problem.
Sample Academic Proposals. Select the Sample Academic Proposals PDF in the Media box above to download this file and read examples of proposals for conferences, journals, and book chapters. Media File: Sample Academic Proposals This resource is enhanced by an Acrobat PDF file. Download the free Acrobat Reader.
These sample papers demonstrate APA Style formatting standards for different student paper types. Students may write the same types of papers as professional authors (e.g., quantitative studies, literature reviews) or other types of papers for course assignments (e.g., reaction or response papers, discussion posts), dissertations, and theses.
Research proposal examples. Writing a research proposal can be quite challenging, but a good starting point could be to look at some examples. We've included a few for you below. Example research proposal #1: "A Conceptual Framework for Scheduling Constraint Management".
Media Files: APA Sample Student Paper , APA Sample Professional Paper This resource is enhanced by Acrobat PDF files. Download the free Acrobat Reader. Note: The APA Publication Manual, 7 th Edition specifies different formatting conventions for student and professional papers (i.e., papers written for credit in a course and papers intended for scholarly publication).
Designing your own study and writing your research proposal takes time, often more so than conducting the study. This practical, accessible guide walks you through the entire process. You will learn to identify and narrow your research topic, develop your research question, design your study, and choose appropriate sampling and measurement ...
General Structure. APA format recommends that you type your proposal with a highly legible 12-point font, such as Times New Roman. It needs to be double-spaced. When you write a new paragraph, indent fives spaces or use the Tab key. Your paper should have a 1-inch margin on all sides. At the top of each page, insert a running head in the header.
This particular volume, by Jennifer Brown Urban and Bradley Matheus van Eeden-Moorefield, is required reading very early on. These authors focus on the earlier stages of the process—the careful planning, assembling of "ingredients," preparing, and proposing a research proj-ect. Thus, if you are ready to design your research project and ...
a. The research proposal must be typed on standard size paper in 12-pt Times Roman. Paragraphs should be indented by 0.5-inch. (Go to Format - Paragraph - choose "first line" from line special pull down, make sure 0.5-inch is in the 'left' box) b. A margin of 1-inch (2.5-cm) is required on the left, right, top, and bottom of your pages.
Place your paper title 3 or 4 lines down from your paper's top margin. The title's typeface should appear in boldface and title case. This title should also be placed at the top of your paper's first page of text. Each of the following items appear centered, double spaced, in title case and regular typeface: 2.
Research papers in the social and natural sciences often follow APA style. This article focuses on reporting quantitative research methods . In your APA methods section, you should report enough information to understand and replicate your study, including detailed information on the sample , measures, and procedures used.
APA style: Structure of a Research Report/Proposal. Title page. Near the top of the Title page, type your title and press enter once. Normally, you would type your name next, but I want to grade your paper anonymously, so please leave this information blank. If you want, you can use Jane Doe, or Jeffrey Amherst, or any other moderately amusing ...
An APA research proposal example is a document that outlines the basic idea of a researcher's project. When writing a research proposal using the APA style, it's essential to follow the formatting rules the American Psychological Association laid out. This includes providing references in the correct format, such as author name, date, and ...
An important part of the work completed in academia is sharing our scholarship with others. Such communication takes place when we present at scholarly conferences, publish in peer-reviewed journals, and publish in books. This OWL resource addresses the steps in writing for a variety of academic proposals. For samples of academic proposals ...
sample apa-7 paper for graduate students 10 demonstrates to your professor that you read and understood the published research. Citations for both paraphrased content and direct quotes name the ...
Type your abstract here within APA abstract limits (100-250 words) For a proposal, here, you will state the purpose of your study, the population you are studied, the sample you used, and your method: qualitative or quantitative, instrument (interview, survey, questionnaire, etc.) For a complete paper you would add your summarized findings.
Remember to follow all APA rules of formatting by viewing the library's APA research guide at https://guides.westcoastuniversity.edu/apa. In general, a research paper proposal should be 1 or 2 paragraphs summarizing what your paper is going to be about, why it is important to your profession, who it affects, the effect on society or a community ...
Thank you for using the APA Style annotated sample student paper for guidance when wri ng your paper or assignment. This sample paper PDF contains annota ons that draw aten on to key APA Style content and forma ng such as the tle page, headings, in-text cita ons, references, and more. Relevant sec ons of the seventh edi on of the Publication ...
Research Proposal Guidelines: APA Style - 2. Abstract. (This is your section header; centered on the page) Page two is the Abstract for the paper. It is a brief (150-200 words) comprehensive summary of the research proposal. The Running head and the number 2 are typed in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
Optional Paper Sections. Headings - APA 7 Style Guide. Accessible Use of Colors in APA 7. Figures - APA 7. The basics of figure setup, including figure components, principles of figure construction, and placement of figures in a paper. Tables - APA 7.
In this sample paper, we've put four blank lines above the title. Commented [AF3]: Authors' names are written below the title, with one double-spaced blank line between them. Names should be written as follows: First name, middle initial(s), last name. Commented [AF4]: Authors' affiliations follow immediately after their names.
Indent the first line of every paragraph of text 0.5 in. using the tab key or the paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program. Page numbers: Put a page number in the top right corner of every page, including the title page or cover page, which is page 1. Student papers do not require a running head on any page.
The Department of Justice ("DOJ") proposes to transfer marijuana from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act ("CSA") to schedule III of the CSA, consistent with the view of the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") that marijuana has a currently accepted medical use as well as HHS's views about marijuana's abuse ...
Sample One-Experiment Paper (continued) emotional detection than young adults, or older adults could show a greater facilitation than. young adults only for the detection of positive information. The results lent some support to the. first two alternatives, but no evidence was found to support the third alternative.