Research Proposal Guidelines and Possible Topics

HDE 101 & PSC 141; fall, 2016

Your 8-page research proposal will address a specific issue in a particular domain of cognitive development. The specific issues include but are not limited to children’s memory, language, concept acquisition, biological or physical understanding, problem-solving strategies or skills, mathematical or scientific reasoning.

¨ POSIBLE RESEARCH TOPICS:

Infants’ Cognitive Development:

Memory of objects, pictures, actions and events

Physical understanding

Causal understanding

Categorization of objects or pictures

Object concepts

Imitation and transfer in problem solving

Preschool and School-Aged Children:

Memory

Strategy development (e.g., organizational, rehearsal)

Children’s memory of events and stories

Effects of knowledge base on memory performance

Role of metamemory

Factors that influence children’s eyewitness testimony

Language Development

Infants’ comprehension of words

Toddlers’ strategies in learning word meanings

Children’s acquisition of new words (underextensions and overextensions)

Bilingualism

Conceptual Development

Children classification of objects (superordinate, basic or subordinate level)

Causal understanding

Biological understanding

Understanding of physical laws and rules

Symbolic understanding

Logical Reasoning

Young children logical reasoning abilities

Development of transitive reasoning ability

Development of children’s scientific reasoning (making hypothesis and testing hypothesis)

Development of scientific strategies involved experimentation

Analogical Reasoning, Learning, Problem Solving and Transfer

Children’s discovery and learning of problem solving strategies

How do children solve scientific problems?

Factors influencing analogical reasoning and transfer

Age differences in analogical problem solving

How do children transfer analogical solutions?

Effects of similarity between source and target problems on analogical problem solving

¨ THINGS TO CONSIDER IN DESIGNING AND WRITING YOUR RESEARCH PROPOSAL:

You are encouraged to use the journal articles (your additional readings) as models for organizing your research proposal. Of course, your paper should be more concise, and your design, relatively simple (two or three conditions in a single experiment), but you can follow the journal articles in structuring your proposal.

Introduction — Why?

Select an issue that is interesting to you.
A brief opening summary that describes what you want to do and why you want to do it.
Review the background literature:
Cite other work done on this topic;
Show how your study fits in with this work;
Indicate ways you are extending or replicating specific studies.
Identify the general hypothesis to be investigated.
Operationalize independent and dependent variables:
Indicate why you are using these variables;
Point out how these variables are observable and measurable.

Method — How?

Indicate what subjects you are using and why:
Identify the reason for selecting a particular age;
Justify sample size.
Summarize materials and equipment to be used:
Describe specific tasks and tests;
Justify adequacy of recording responses.

III. Expected Results — What?

Anticipate expected results (need to be specific);
Indicate how the anticipated results are connected to your major hypothesis and how they add to our knowledge about that particular area in cognitive development.

References

¨ STRUCTURE OF YOUR PROPOSAL:

Specific Aims

Background and Significance

Hypotheses

Research Design and Methods

Anticipated Results and

Possible Conclusions

References

¨ FORMAT

Your paper will be 8 pages in length, typewritten, and double-spaced with 1” margins.

Please refer to the APA manual for appropriate formats. For citation style in text and references, please also see the journal articles as examples.

APA style resources web sites: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

¨ EVALUATION CRITERIA:

Importance of the topic (issue) that you address (How does the project advance our knowledge about children’s cognition?)

Originality of ideas

Creativity of methods

Clarity of expression

Soundness of arguments

Appropriateness of format

Citations of relevant journal articles

¨ OTHER POINTS:

If you have any questions, need clarification, or want to discuss your ideas, designs, and/or other aspects of your proposal, please feel free to see the instructor or the TAs.

You are strongly encouraged to submit either a draft or an outline of your paper, and the TAs or instructor will provide feedback based on which your revisions can be made. Please submit your draft or outline between November 10 and 17 so to allow adequate time for the instructor and TAs to provide feedback. The final proposal is due on November 18 (friday) by 12:10 PM. Late research proposals will have 10 points (out of 50 points) deducted. No proposal will be accepted after November 21 by 12:10 PM.

……………..Answer Preview…………….

Over the years, mixed reactions have been raised on the effects of children’s TV viewing on the educational achievement. Despite the fact that the television is a rich source of entertainment to the children, its effects on cognitive development and academic achievement are well articulated. The study aims at identifying the positive and negative effects of children’s TV viewing on their educational achievement. Based on the fact that the television is readily available within home environments, children have an ease access to it thus raising concerns about the probable effects. Often, the aired programs are purposefully for entertainments thus associated with the violent content. On the other hand, well-mediated programs often air educational curriculum that can be beneficial to the school going children. Despite this, children have the tendency of having great desires for the entertainment…..

APA

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