The American Psychological Association (APA) style is commonly used for research papers in various academic disciplines including social sciences, behavioral and health sciences, business, nursing, education, and others. When writing a research paper, a proposal is typically required first before the paper is developed. The purpose of a research proposal is to design the study in such a way that it can be repeated and the findings will be validated. This ensures the research is organized and addresses important questions. An APA style paper proposal must follow specific guidelines for layout, section ordering, content, in-text citations, and references. This article will discuss the key elements of writing an effective research proposal using the APA format.
Title Page
The title page is page one of the proposal but is not numbered. It should contain the following:
Running head: Use abbreviated title in all caps at the top left of the page, up to 50 characters including spaces. The running head is not included on the title page.
Title: centered in the upper half of the page and not bold or underlined. This should be a clear, descriptive title that indicates what the research will examine.
Student name: centered on the lower half of the page.
Institutional affiliation: centered on the lower quarter of the page. For example, the name of the college or university.
Abstract
The abstract is a single paragraph, usually 150-250 words, that provides a brief summary of the key aspects of the research proposal. It should describe the purpose, proposed methodology, and potential significance or implications of the research. Use clear and concise language without references or headings here. Start with an introduction sentence and then discuss purpose, methods, implications, and conclusion.
Introduction
The introduction establishes the context and rationale of the research. It typically includes the following sections:
Background/context: Discuss the relevant literature and research context to indicate the significance of the proposal topic being addressed. Explain how this field of study relates and contributes.
Problem statement: Clearly identify the specific problem or issue the proposal will address. Discuss why this problem needs attention.
Research purpose and questions: Explicitly state the main purpose and research question(s) that will guide the study. Clearly explain what the study aims to achieve.
Hypothesis: For empirical quantitative studies, include hypothesis statements when appropriate. Hypotheses should be specific, testable, and logically based on the background information.
Methods
The methods section provides details on the research design and procedures that will be undertaken to address the research questions. Key elements include:
Research design: Describe the type of research design (e.g. quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) and provide rationale for this choice.
Sample: Provide a thorough description of the population being studied and how the sample will be selected and obtained. Discuss sample size, inclusion/exclusion criteria, representativeness, and generalizability.
Materials and measures: Describe instruments and measures that will be used for data collection such as questionnaires, tests, surveys, interviews. Include reliability and validity if existing measures are used.
Procedures: Provide a clear step-by-step overview of data collection and analysis procedures that will be followed. Include the timeline.
Data analysis: Discuss methods that will be utilized for analyzing the collected data such as statistical software, analysis types, and interpretations.
Limitations: Acknowledge potential limitations of the study design and methodology to be addressed.
Expected Results
The expected results section allows discussion of possible outcomes of the study and how results may be interpreted. This is written in future tense since the study has not been conducted. State the main outcomes, effects, or findings that are hypothesized based on the literature and background provided. Explain how results may be meaningful or address the problem under investigation. No actual data should be reported here, only possibilities.
Discussion
The discussion section enables reflection on the research proposal methodology and potential impacts of the results. Key components include:
Contributions: Discuss how the anticipated results or findings could advance knowledge and understanding in the research field or problem area. What new insights may this study provide?
Applications: Describe how the results may be useful or applied in practice, policy, future research, or different contexts. Identify opportunities for knowledge mobilization.
Strengths and limitations: Address strengths and limitations of the proposed study beyond what is in methods. Consider quality, feasibility, generalizability of results.
Implications: Explore implications of the proposal. How may the results influence the field, shape future studies, or impact various groups? What recommendations could emerge?
Future directions: Suggest areas that could be expanded on or warrant further research building from this initial study. Identify new questions to be addressed.
Conclusion
The conclusion should summarize the key elements of the proposal and reiterate the significance and importance of addressing the research problem. Restate the purpose and research questions. Emphasize why this study warrants being conducted as proposed and how it is expected to contribute to the existing literature and understanding of the topic. End with a final statement communicating the proposal’s importance or impact potential.
References
Use APA Style for citing all in-text citations and references from the sources consulted to develop the proposal. Only include sources that are directly cited within the proposal text. The reference list provides full publication details of each cited work and is ordered alphabetically by author’s last name.
Andrew Stroud