Psy 330
Final Proposal
Construct the Abstract
Double-check the Method and Results

All three sections must use future tense.

Abstract should convey:

• What is the purpose or problem  under investigation?

• What will participants do (depending on the condition)?

• What pattern is predicted?

Use descriptive names for groups (not control and experimental) and use the descriptive names consistently throughout the entire proposal.

Method section should include four subsections in this order:

Participants--Estimate approximately 30 per condition for between subjects manipulation. 
How recruited?
Any required characteristics? 
Last sentence should be: "All participants will be treated according to the ethical principles of the American Psychological Association (APA)."

Design--Name and describe the IV(s) and DV(s). 
Be sure to specify between-subjects or within-subjects for each IV. 
Provide the name of the design (not analysis).

Materials--Describe each material in detail and in the order participants will encounter them. Describe the things used, not the actions (procedure). 
Adapted from a source (provide reference) or experimenter constructed?
How/why was the material chosen?  Describe important controls.
After each description, refer the reader to a copy attached in Appendix ___.  Use Appendix A, Appendix B, etc. in the order of mention.

Procedure--Describe the chronological play-by-play of the data collection session.
In person or online?
Very brief mention of consent at beginning and debriefing at end.  Do NOT refer to consent and debriefing in an appendix in procedure or materials.
Use descriptive names for the groups. 
Last sentence should be: "The session should last approximately __ minutes."

Results section will lay out the analysis plan.  You will not have data, yet.  It is tempting to use past tense, but use future tense. 

• First Paragraph: Quickly mention the design of your experiment again (e.g., single factor between-subjects design). Describe what will be done with the data to get it ready for the analyses (scoring, computing means, etc.).

• Second Paragraph: Describe how you will use descriptive statistics to summarize the data (e.g., will compute means and standard deviations for each treatment condition). Name the inferential statistical analyses you will conduct in order to address your hypothesis(es).