Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

After reading Section 1.1 and the part of Section 1.3 about “Sources of Research Ideas” in your course text, select a topic you would be interested in researching. Choose your topic carefully and make sure it is something that will hold your interest, because you will be using it for assignments throughout the course.

In your initial post, provide some background information that shows why this is an important topic to be explored further. Apply the scientific method by identifying one or more appropriate research areas of psychology that your topic might align to that are described in Section 1.1 (for example, a study about treatment for bipolar disorder would align with clinical psychology, or a study of relationships in which one party is bipolar could come under social psychology). Does it fit into more than one? If so, which do you feel is the closest fit, and why? Remember to cite all of your sources within your explanation according to APA style (Links to an external site.) as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.).

Guided Response: Review several of your classmates’ posts. Provide a substantive response to at least two of your peers. Can you offer any additional background information on the topic they selected? Do you agree with their choice of research area? Why or why not? What other area(s) would you recommend, and why?