The submission of the research proposal is a compulsory, non-graded task. It is required to be submitted and passed for enrolment to continue in Research Project B in the following term. The proposal ensures that students and supervisors are on track and have a project that is feasible to be completed within the Honours year and meets APAC requirements. Students are expected to submit a well-written workable proposal in order to continue. In addition to the Supervisor, all proposals will be assessed by an independent assessor who will provide feedback and recommendations regarding the project.

PDF submission with APA formatting, double spaced, 12 point Times New Roman or Arial font. No more than 2000 words, including tables and to be formatted as follows:

· Project title

· Background rationale and theory, research aims and significance (500 – 800 words)

Please provide a brief description of the relevance of your proposed project to current research, a justification as to why your research should proceed and an explanation of its potential to contribute to existing knowledge/literature. Then, state the research objectives, key research questions, and significance of the project. Where relevant, state the specific hypothesis/hypotheses to be tested.

· Design and Methods (250-400 words)

Outline chronologically the proposed method/s, including data collection techniques, tasks participants will be asked to complete, estimated time commitment required of them and measures being used

o Do not include appendices, rather make sure that you have outlined broad measures and include in text citations for the measures you will be using in your proposed research

· Description of Participants and recruitment methods (100- 500 words)

o If seeking to recruit students/1st year psychology students, the details for how to do this are on the Moodle site

o If recruiting from other disciplines/Schools, contact the Thesis Coordinator, as the student and supervisor must have that School’s Dean’s permission to recruit students.

· Potential ethical issues that you are aware of/risks (a response of a sentence or 2 to a paragraph relevant to project context: 50 – 200 words). There is no such thing as a risk-free study.

· Proposed Data analysis (150 – 250 words)

Describe the main analysis for research being proposed, include a description of the main analysis in line with the proposed hypothesis and/or exploratory nature of the proposed project.

o Students are required to purchase their own data analysis software – SPSS is the primary tool used to quantitate data as grad Pack from the bookstore or other online providers - see on the hub resources also https://cqu.onthehub.com/WebStore/Welcome.aspx. NIVO is the primary tool used for qualitative data. Check with your supervisors and/or the Thesis Coordinator for arrangements.

· Reference list (not included in word count).

All aspects of the research proposal will be taken into account and scored by an independent reviewer on aspects including the background/rationale/research questions/hypotheses, the proposed design and methods, participants and recruitment, and data management and analyses. Reviewers will be asked to assess whether the proposal achieved a 'pass'/'resubmit'/''fail' and provide comments in written form which will be returned to the student so that the student may improve their thesis project into the next term project.

All students enrolled in the Research Project MUST complete an ethics application that is either submitted to the relevant ethics committee for approval, or a simulated application that is submitted to their Supervisor and the Thesis Coordinator.

If you are starting a NEW STUDY: you will need to submit your ethics application to Moodle and get approval to conduct the study from the Human Research Ethics Committee prior to starting your study.

CQUniversity’s Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) procedures require the Supervisor to be named as Chief Investigator and the student as Associate Investigator, however, the student is expected to take responsibility for the completion and submission of the application. All applications MUST be approved by the Supervisor prior to submission. All submitted applications MUST be signed by the Supervisor. Students should consult with supervisors early in the year regarding timeframes for feedback on drafts of ethics applications.

Applications for Ethics Approval for your research project must be submitted directly to the CQUniversity HREC (ethics@cqu.edu.au). Students can submit ethics applications at any time, subject to supervisor approval of submission. Students are not required to wait for the Honours Moodle Submission date to submit their ethics application form for approval. The HREC meetings occur every month, and students are permitted to submit to ethics meetings outside of these times. Additional due dates and meeting dates outside of these times can be found on the Psychology Honours Moodle site. Students are encouraged to utilise their proposal feedback before submitting their Ethics Application, however students can submit their ethics application, with their supervisors’ approval, at any time. As HREC operates outside and independently of the Psychology Program, enquiries regarding the status of an application should be directed to the Ethics Secretary rather than the Thesis Coordinator or Head of Course (Honours).

Applications to the Animal Research Ethics Committee

Students who require ethics approval for animal-based research should consult directly with their supervisor and the Thesis Coordinator in the first instance.

If you are using PRE-EXISTING DATA from a previously completed study: you will need to complete a simulated ethics application and submit it to Moodle. You are not required to obtain individual ethics approvals from the ethics committee for the completion of their Research Project. You or your supervisor will need to request permission from the Human Research Ethics Committee (ethics@cqu.edu.au) to be given access to the data for your thesis.

Students must complete a simulated application for their component of the project in consultation with their supervisor. The simulated application MUST be submitted via Moodle by the specified date on the Research Project Moodle site. The simulated application is expected to be completed to the same standard as if the student was submitting to the ethics committee.

The ethics application forms can be accessed on Moodle Site.

If students, have followed the instructions within the handbook (detailed above) and there are no ethical concerns for the study, then the mark will be 'pass'.