Student Research Proposal Form

The Student Research Proposal Form is used to ensure that a research investigation is appropriate in terms of scope and ethics. It is important to read the guidelines and policy before submitting the form. The form includes details about the student, programme, proposed research, aim and justification, study design, hypotheses, materials, and declaration. If the investigation involves human participants, additional information is required. The form also includes a research ethics checklist and details of external organizations if applicable.

Student Research Proposal Form
The purpose of this form is to ensure that the investigation you are commencing is
appropriate in terms of scope and ethics. Before submitting please ensure that you have read
Arden University Ethics Policy and the Guidelines for Completing the Student Research
Proposal Form.
Under no circumstances should the recruitment of participants begin until written
approval (usually by email) is received. Failure to obtain ethical approval will result in
your work be voided.
By submitting this form you are confirming that
(a) You have read University’s Policy on Ethics
(b) You have read the Guidelines for Completing the Student Research Proposal Form
(c) You have completed this form fully and appropriately
(d) You have the necessary skills and competencies to carry out the investigation
(e) You have the necessary consent from any relevant organisation or agency (e.g., their
employer) to carry out this investigation
Your name on this form and subsequent submission will be regarded as your electronic
signature.
If your investigation involves the use of human participants, you MUST append at the end of
this file:
(a) Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form
(b) Any materials used (see later section)
(c) Debrief Sheet
In most cases this proposal is not assessed OR it is assessed on a Pass/Fail basis. If this
applies then please first submit your completed proposal to your supervisor or tutor for
formative feedback. Once you have prepared a final version, please submit to MSc Cognitive
Psychology module tutor(s). If your proposal form is graded please submit via iLearn.
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RESEARCH ETHICS CHECKLIST
1. Student’s Details
Full Name
(family name last)
Student Number
Email address
Contact address
Telephone number
2. Programme Details
Level of Study
Programme
Module Name and Code
Supervisor or Module Leader’s Name
Supervisor or Module Leader’s Email Address
3. Proposed Research (ALL questions need to be answered)
What is the title of the research?
(can be a provisional title; up to
12 words)
Analysis of reasons because of which a person can suffer
from psychological issues
Research Question What are the main reasons because of which a person can
suffer from psychological issues?
What are the most common ways that can help in curing
psychological issues?
Literature (journal articles)
relevant to your study
Karbasi, A., 2018. Treatment Adherence and Psychological
Issues.
Galvez-Lara, M., and et. al., 2018. Psychological treatments
for mental disorders in children and adolescents: a review of
the evidence of leading international organizations. Clinical
child and family psychology review. 21(3). pp.366-387.
Aim and justification of your study: using the literature reviewed?
Aim: Main aim of this study is to analyse reasons because of which a person can suffer from
psychological issues in children.
Justification: there are various reasons because of which psychological health of people can
be impacted. It is important to focus upon those reasons as those reasons can play a vital role
in treatment of psychological issues or mental disorder especially within children.
Design of your study: It needs to
be a 2x2 design (between-
subjects; within-subjects; mixed
design)
Study design used in this is casual research design
This design has been chosen because only with the help of
experiments researcher will be able to reach to a conclusion
Independent Variable (IV1) Therapies provided to patients
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Independent Variable (IV2) Doses provided to the patients
Dependent Variable (DV;
measurement, e.g. reaction time,
percent correct; error etc.)
Reaction time of doses and therapies.
Hypotheses H0: There is no significant difference between therapies of
psychological issues
H1: There is significant difference between therapies of
psychological issues
Materials/Apparatus
Stimuli Stimuli in this case will be the experimental results that will
be used for analysing results and hypothesis
Experimental Conditions Condition 1:
Condition 2:
Condition 3:
Condition 4:
Task/Procedure: The procedure of conducting this research is primary quantitative research.
Inferential statistical test
Start date of the investigation
End date of the investigation
Date on which this proposal was
completed
4. Declaration: Please type the word YES in ONE of the following
A. This investigation will involve the collection of data from human participants Yes A
B. This investigation will NOT involve the collection of data from human
participants but will require permission from an external organisation
B
C. This investigation will NOT involve the collection of data from human
participants, though it may collect data about individuals from published
matter (e.g., previously published interviews or behavioural data)
C
IMPORTANT:
If you typed YES in Box A then please complete all sections of this form
If you typed YES in Box B then answer question 4b and submit the form, do NOT complete any
other sections
If you typed YES in Box C then submit the form as it is and do NOT complete any other sections
4b. Details of External Organisation
You indicated that you require permission from an external organisation. Please indicate the
name of the organisation, the nature of the permission you require, and the expected date at
which you will obtain this. Please note that you will need to submit a letter on headed note
paper or a formal email trail from the relevant parties.
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Parents of children suffering from psychological issues
Permission required is to investigate parents to gain information about medicines and
therapies provided to their children suffering from psychological issues.
5. Human Participants
What are the main demographics of the sample?
(e.g., age, gender, and so on)
Parents of children suffering from
psychological issues of age group 10 to 15
years
How will participants be recruited
(e.g., from where and how will they be asked or
invited)?
They will be asked though emails to participate
within the study where main purpose of the
study will be explained
What will be the target sample size?
(Indicate the numbers in any subgroups, such as
number of males, number of females, etc.)
20
How was the sample size determined? Simple random sampling method
6. Key Question Checks: Type the word YES or NO
6.1 Is there any reason why you cannot provide an information sheet? No
6.2 Is there any reason why participants will not be able to sign a consent form? No
6.3 Will participation be mandatory (and not voluntary)? Yes
6.4 Is there any reason why participants will not be able to withdraw at any time if they
wish? No
6.5 Is there any reason why participants will not be able to omit any question that they
don’t want to answer or any part of the task that they do not wish to do? Yes
6.6 Is there any reason why the participants’ data cannot be kept completely confidential? No
6.7 Is your research dependent upon ethical approval or other form of consent from
another organisation? Yes
6.8 Will the investigation involve ANY of the following:
 Children under 18 No
 Adults who are unable to give consent for themselves No
 Prisoners No
 Young offenders No
 Anyone in a subordinate role to that of the researcher No
 Anyone who has a dependent relationship with the researcher (e.g., those in care
homes, etc) No
 Other vulnerable groups No
6.9 Will the investigation require the co-operation of a gatekeeper to access participants
(e.g., teacher, self-help group leader, nursing home director, parent or guardian)? Yes
6.10 Will deception be necessary (i.e., deliberate withholding of information that could No
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have caused participants to decline to participate had they been given the information
beforehand)?
6.11 Will the investigation involve discussion or presentation of images or information of
a sensitive nature (e.g., sexual activity, illegal activity, drug use, disturbing images, and
so on)?
No
6.12 Will drugs, placebos, food, alcohol, nicotine, vitamins, or other substances be
administered to participants? No
6.13 Will the investigation involve invasive, intrusive, or potentially physically harmful
procedures? No
6.14 Will blood or tissue samples be obtained from participants? No
6.15 Will pain or any discomfort for the participants be likely to result from the
investigation? No
6.16 Will the researcher be exposed to any conditions that may be distressing or harmful
or present any conceivable personal risk? No
6.17 Will participants face any risk (e.g., physical, psychological, social, legal, or
economic) in taking part in this research? No
For each question where you have answered YES to, please provide a justification and details
below. You must address all questions to which you answered YES to and ONLY those.
7. Details of Answers to Key Questions
Question number Your justification and details
6.3
Yes, participation will be mandatory as sample population taken is very
small so due to this it becomes important to make it mandatory for all the
participants to participate within the study if they are selected and they
agree to participate
6.5
The main reason for this is that all the questions will be inter- related to
each other. Even if single question will be left out then it would be difficult
to answer next questions
6.7
Ethical approval is important because parents of children with psychological
issue or disorder are included because of which ethical consult and
permission becomes important
FOR TUTOR USE ONLY
Reviewer 1 Name
Reviewer 2 Name
Recommendation (Reject/ Approve / Go to Panel)
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Action
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