Assignment 1: Formulating a Research Question
Research investigators often encounter the following saying: “A problem that goes unnoticed or ignored is a problem without a resolution.”
Discuss a problem from the field of forensic psychology that you would like to have resolved through investigative research methods.
Use the following questions as guidelines for formulating the actual quantitative research question with respect to the problem that you identify:
What is the specific problem?
What is the evidence of the problem?
What do you suspect is causing the problem?
Is the research question clearly expressed without being too general or too narrow?
Does the question relate to the identified problem?
Is the research, based on the research question, feasible?
Will the research, based on the research question, add to the body of knowledge in the forensic psychology field?
After you submit your research question, read the responses of your classmates and critique the research question of at least two of them. To ensure each of your
classmates receives feedback, please first respond to those who have not received any from your peers. Use these same questions as critique criteria in your response
to other classmates:
Is the question clearly expressed without being too general or too narrow?
Does the question relate to the identified problem?
Are there any barriers to the research?
Will the research, based on the research question, add to the content body of knowledge?
Were these questions fully addressed?
What is the specific problem you are encountering?
What evidence do you have that there is a problem?
What do you suspect is causing the problem?
Post your response in a minimum of 300 words.
All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.
Submission Details: By Saturday, March 11, 2017
Assignment 2: Course Project Task 1
I will have to send you the feedback from assignment 1 when I get it for this assignment.
Research Question and Hypothesis
After reading the feedback on your proposed quantitative research question in M1 Assignment 2, provide your revised quantitative research question. Next, develop a
hypothesis for the research question (Include a null and an alternative hypothesis for your question.).
Keep in mind that a hypothesis is a specific statement of prediction. A hypothesis describes in concrete (rather than theoretical) terms what you expect will happen in
your study. It should be testable and often mirrors the research question in the way that it is written.
For example, there is a positive correlation between having an alcoholic parent and alcoholism in adulthood.
Once you have clearly stated your research question and hypothesis, discuss the following (in 1–2 pages):
Why is a null hypothesis required in research? How is the null hypothesis used when drawing conclusions from the collected data?
What is the relationship of your hypothesis to the identified problem?
How is your hypothesis feasible?
How is your hypothesis measurable and testable?
Submission Details: By Monday, March 13, 2017
Assignment 3: Review of the Literature
In Module 1, you learned about the literature review process, which you will employ as part of your final research proposal in M5 Assignment 2 RA 2. In preparation for
writing this literature review, in M3 Assignment 2 RA 1, you will submit an annotated bibliography of 6 peer-reviewed articles from the Argosy University online
library resources and locate articles related to the topic of your research in the following categories:
2 quantitative studies
2 qualitative studies
1 mixed-methods study
1 theoretical or research design of your choice
As you work toward your discussion in this module, start searching the library databases for articles that may be a good fit for your M3 Assignment 2 RA 1 and M5
Assignment 2 RA 2.
Then, in this module’s discussion, consider the following:
A strong literature review not only plays a foundational role for setting up a research proposal and/or dissertation but also plays an important role in the results
and discussion section that is presented after the data has been collected and analyzed.
Why is the literature review a needed piece of a research proposal? How can a weak literature review diminish a research proposal?
Once the data has been collected and you are moving into the completion of the research report, how will you continue to pull from your literature review in the
results and discussion section of your report?
What search strategies did you use to locate articles from the Argosy University online library resources for your upcoming RAs?
Review the points of others and add additional examples, challenging a response or drawing conclusions from the response.
Post your response in a minimum of 300 words.
All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.
Submission Details: By Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Assignment 4: Evaluating Quantitative Design
A researcher must be knowledgeable of the different quantitative research designs and be able to effectively apply the best design as dictated by the research
question. For this assignment, you will create a 3- to 4-page document following the directions below.
Part I
Compare Methods
Compare and contrast two research methods. Give an example of a situation (related to forensic counseling) in which each of the two chosen methods can be applied.
Experimental
Quasi-experimental
Correlational
Survey
Developmental
Part II
Answer Questions
In reference to one of the two example research scenarios that you discussed above in Part I, further explore by answering the following questions (apply these
questions to your own research project):
Determine a suitable research goal.
Discuss what type of sampling could be used for this study.
Identify which types of research designs above (from Part I) would be most appropriate to use.
State your hypothesis of the expected results for this proposed study.
Your final product will be in a Microsoft Word document and be approximately 3–4 pages in length and utilize 2–3 scholarly sources in your research. Your paper should
be written in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources; and display accurate
spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Submission Details: By Saturday, March 18, 2017
Assignment 5: Quantitative vs. Qualitative Research
The qualitative approach to research involves the collection of extensive amounts of narrative and written data in order to gain insight into an event, occurrence,
strategy, or phenomenon. Quantitative research involves the collection of numerical measurement data in order to explain, predict, or control the interest area of
research.
Under what conditions would a person choose the qualitative approach over the quantitative or vice versa when investigating a forensic behavioral science situation?
When would a mixed-methods design be the best option? Through your research provide examples and support for the points you are making.
Review the points of others and add additional examples, challenging a response or drawing conclusions from the response.
Post your responses in a minimum of 300 words.
All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.
Submission Details: By Tuesday, March 21, 2017
Assignment 6: RA: Annotated Bibliography
The foundation of a research study comes from an understanding of the theory and from knowledge that is set forth by the literature in the field. Before a researcher
can develop a sound and needed research design, he or she must first determine what is already known, how the topic has previously been studied, and where there are
gaps in the knowledge and/or techniques that have been used to study the research problem.
In this module, you will further explore the research topic that you chose in M1 Assignment 2. Additionally, this will be the time to make any needed changes to your
research question before you submit your proposal in M5 Assignment 2 RA 2. For this assignment, you will create a 3- to 4-page document following the directions given
below.
Using the Argosy University online library resources and the Internet, locate 6 peer-reviewed articles that could be used for the literature review portion of the
research proposal in M5 Assignment 2 RA 2. The articles should fall into the following categories:
2 quantitative studies
2 qualitative studies
1 mixed-methods study
1 theoretical or research design of your choice
For each article, cover the following points in 250–350 words:
The problem to be studied
The rationale for the study
The type of research that was conducted (qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods)
The data collection strategy
The data analysis tools that were used
A summary of the findings
A statement of how this article will support your proposed study
Present your work in a 3- to 5-page Microsoft Word document that follows the following format:
Reference the source in APA format.
Follow the reference with a single block paragraph of 250–350 words comprising your annotation (summary, evaluation, and reflection).
The whole block should be double-spaced and indented.
Repeat for the next article—don’t forget that your articles should be listed in alphabetical order just as you would on a standard APA reference page.
All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.
Submission Details: By Friday, March 24, 2017
Assignment 7: Descriptive Statistical Processes
Can descriptive statistical processes be used in determining relationships, differences, or effects in your research question and testable null hypothesis? Why or why
not? Also, address the value of descriptive statistics for the forensic psychology research problem that you have identified for your course project.
Click here to read an article for additional information on descriptive statistics and pictorial data presentations.
Post your response in a minimum of 300 words.
All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.
While responding to classmates, offer suggestions, ideas, and evaluative comments.
Submission Details: By Monday March 27, 2017
Assignment 8: Methodology
In your final paper for this course, you will need to write a Methods section that is about 3–4 pages long where you will assess and evaluate the methods and analysis
of your proposed research.
In preparation for this particular section, answer the following questions thoroughly and provide justification/support. The more complete and detailed your answers
for these questions, the better prepared you are to successfully write your final paper:
What is the problem being addressed by your research study?
State the refined research question and hypothesis (null and alternative).
What are your independent and dependent variables? What are their operational definitions?
Who will be included in your sample (i.e., inclusion and exclusion characteristics)?
How many participants will you have in your sample?
How will you recruit your sample?
Identify the type of measurement instrument to be used to collect the raw numeric data to be statistically analyzed and the type of measurement data the instrument
produces.
What issues will you cover in the informed consent?
If there is potential risk or harm, how will you ensure the safety of all participants?
Name any possible threats to validity and steps that can be taken to minimize these threats.
What type of parametric or nonparametric inferential statistical process (correlation, difference, or effect) will you use in your proposed research? Why is this
statistical test the best fit?
State an acceptable behavioral research alpha level you would use to fail to accept or fail to reject the stated null hypothesis and explain your choice.
This paper may be written in question-and-answer format rather than a flowing paper. Write your response in a 3- to 4-page Microsoft Word document.
All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.
Submission Details: By Thursday March 30, 2017
Assignment 9: A Methodical Review
Using the Argosy University online library resources, locate a research study related to forensic psychology. Present an analysis of the article by addressing the
following points:
Provide a brief overview of the problem being studied, the research design, and the participants being used for the study and the general findings of the study.
Identify the research question, independent variable, and dependent variable.
If you were the researcher conducting this study and found that you were not familiar with the particular research population, what steps would you take to prepare
yourself to conduct the research with this population?
Was any deception used in this study? If so, why was this deception necessary? If not, do you think that the study would have benefited from any kind of deception?
What steps did the researcher take to protect his or her participants?
What are the limitations of the study’s design and/or implementation?
If you were the researcher, would you have conducted this study the same way in relation to ethics and protection of the participants? If not, what changes would you
make?
Post your response in a minimum of 300 words.
All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.
While responding to classmates, offer suggestions, ideas, and evaluative comments.
Submission Details: By Monday, April 3, 2017
Assignment 10: LASA: Research Proposal
Submit your final research paper to the M5 Assignment 2 LASA Dropbox by Wednesday, April 12, 2017. It should include a cover page, an abstract, an introduction, a
literature review, a methodology, and a reference page.
Your final paper should be double-spaced, 8–10 pages in length, and properly edited.
Please use the following outline:
Introduction (2–3 pages)
Introduction (including the statement of the problem)
Purpose of the study
Research question and hypotheses
Theoretical framework
Operational definitions
Literature review (3 pages)
Introduction
Review of research topic (as covered by the literature)
Conclusion
Methodology (3–4 pages)
Introduction
Research design
Participants
Instruments
Procedures
Data analysis
Limitations of the study (i.e., threats to validity)
Ethical issues
Dissemination strategy
Summary
Reference page
All written assignments and responses should follow APA rules for attributing sources.
Submission Details: By Friday, April 7, 2017
