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.

To prepare for this discussion, read the instructor guidance and watch the videos Creating Your Research Proposal (Links to an external site.) and How to Write a Research Proposal? 11 Things to Include in a Thesis Proposal (Links to an external site.). Your initial post should be 250 to 300 words. Utilize a minimum of two peer-reviewed sources that were published within the last 10 years and are documented in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.

The purpose of this discussion assignment is to familiarize you with the purpose and components of a research proposal, and to allow an opportunity for you to get some feedback on your ideas for the Final Paper.

In your initial post,

• Briefly describe the purpose of a research proposal and its components.
• Present your research question and/or hypothesis.
• Give some background information on the topic, including citing one or two previous related studies with their references.
• Name the research design you would like to use.
• Defend why you feel it is the most appropriate way to study your research question.
• Discuss potential ethical issues that might arise and what you would do to address them.

Document your sources in APA style (Links to an external site.), with in-text citations and references listed at the end of the post. For additional guidance see the Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.) and Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resources from the Ashford Writing Center.

Guided Response: Read several classmates’ posts and respond to at least two of them. Do you agree with your colleague’s choice of research design for investigating the proposed research question? Why or why not? Can you suggest another approach or provide additional background information on the topic that could be useful in your colleague’s final proposal? Can you see any ethical concerns that were not mentioned by your colleague? Check your own thread for replies and respond to suggestions from others.