GUIDELINES FOR WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Second edition 2004 (including a summary of the conventions for citing and listing references that apply to all assignments, reports and theses in the Department of Psychology)

David Edwards
Department of Psychology Rhodes University

Preface
The first edition of Guidelines for writing a research proposal appeared in 1997. It has inevitably been widely read, not because of its inherent fascination, but because, over its eight year life, numerous postgraduate students in the Psychology Department have had to consult it in order to survive (and in most cases master) the arduous process of writing a research proposal. Several changes have been made for this new edition. A number of sections which led to regular misunderstandings on the part of readers have been clarified. There have also been minor administrative changes within the Department and the University which have required that some of the content be updated. However the main change is that the conventions for citing and listing references have been extensively revised to bring them into line with the 5th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2001). In addition, the examples covered are more extensive and reflect a wider range of the kinds of references likely to be cited not only in research proposals but also in the thesis itself. This means that this booklet provides a useful source for all postgraduates in the Department of Psychology who want a quick guide to the conventions for citing and listing references for any work to be presented to staff in the Department. David Edwards, February 2004

1. What is a research proposal and what is it for?

Whether you are planning a small honours research project or a major research project at PhD level, the process of research proposal preparation will help you to think carefully about many aspects of your proposed research. If you embark on a research project without adequate preparation, you run the risk of discovering as you go along that what you have taken on is too large, too small, impossible, or full of contradictions! The guidelines set out in this document are designed to prevent this from happening. By following them, in close consultation with your supervisor, the planning of your research project will be orderly, thorough and well conceptualized. This will ensure that you have an appropriate focus for the research project and that, once you begin the research, you will be able to follow a series of methodological steps which are likely to succeed in answering your research questions. The finished research proposal is a formal, highly focused document which summarizes your plans for setting about a research project. The format requirements are set out below. It is important to follow these carefully because they reflect the criteria which are used by the committee(s) that will evaluate your proposal (see Appendix 1 for a detailed set of such criteria). At Honours level, proposals are usually reviewed by an Honours research proposals review committee. Masters proposals in Clinical and Counselling Psychology are reviewed by the Psychology Departments Research Projects Review Committee (RPRC). All other Masters and PhD proposals are first reviewed by the RPRC, and, once they have been passed by that committee, go on to the Humanities Higher Degrees Committee (HHDC). Information about the dates on which the RPRC and HHDC meet (and the deadlines for submission of proposals for their agendas) is available in an information document which is obtainable from the Administrative Assistant and usually posted on the Departments website (Research Projects Review Committee information, 2003).

2. The basic format

Whatever degree your research is for, you will need to follow the same basic principles with regard to the format and structure of the research proposal. Section 3 below provides detailed guidelines as to how you should organize and structure it into various sections. Section 5 describes the conventions to be followed for citing and listing reference material. In addition, please note the following formal requirements for the proposal: Use 1 spacing between lines and a 12 point Arial or Times New Roman font (or one of similar size). For proposals which do not go on to the HHDC, the title and other information should be displayed at the top of the proposal (see Figure 1); for proposals which will go to the HHDC they should be on a separate header page (see Figure 2). The proposal may not exceed five pages (not including the header page where this applies) and should not include appendices. Note: if your proposal is shorter than this, it will probably contain inadequate information. Number the pages (not the header page where this applies).

Figure 1 Heading format for proposals which do not go to the HHDC

Rhodes University Department of Psychology Honours 20031 An evaluation of an affirmative action programme in a small organization2 Research proposal submitted by3 __________________ _______4 Supervisor 5 __________________________________________ Begin the text of your research proposal here ... .

Figure 2 Format for title page of proposals which go to the HHDC

A programme evaluation of a training programme for HIV/AIDS counsellors2

Research proposal submitted by Melissa Appollis3 g03c1263 4 For a thesis in fulfilment6 of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology1 Supervisor: Professor T. Mkhize5

Key for Figures 4 Name of degree Student number 2 5 Title of project Supervisor 3 6 Student name ... fulfilment or ... partial fulfilment
1

3. The structure of the proposal

The research proposal needs to have a title, a context section, statement of the research question or aims and a method section. Below are guidelines for writing each of these. Pay close attention to the kind of information that should be included in each part. Following these guidelines will help you to make best use of the limited space available and to avoid the inclusion of irrelevant or inappropriate material.

3.1 Title
The title should give the reader a succinct indication of what the research is about. This must include reference to the field of research and an indication of what the research question is. It is often best not to write the title until you have finished writing the rest of the research proposal. You may change the title when you write the actual research project either to reflect new emphases that emerge as the project unfolds, for example, in response to unexpected findings from your data analysis, or to add an artistic or personal touch to give your title a human quality or some personal distinctiveness. Important note: For those theses which go through the HHDC, the title is recorded in the Faculty record. This means that it cannot be changed without formally notifying the Dean and getting the permission of the Faculty. A request to change the title must be made in writing to the Faculty Office, preferably well before the thesis is actually handed in.

3.2 Context
The function of this section is to prepare the reader for the research question(s) that will be found in the following section. In order to do this thoroughly, you will need to cover the following points: You must show that your question is situated in an existing literature which provides a background and context for your own research. You may draw on a particular research tradition or discourse within psychology (for example, attribution theory, radical feminism, object relations theory, a particular personality theory, career development theory). Or you may describe the literature in a particular applied area, such as HIV/AIDS counselling, affirmative action in South African organizations, psychotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, attitudes to socio-political transformation, or the effects of cumulative mild brain injuries in sport. Sometimes there may be two or more areas of the research literature which are relevant to your research. In this case you need to introduce the relevant concepts and issues from each one. You need to write about these concepts and research findings in such a way that you demonstrate that there is a substantial existing literature which you will be drawing on, and that you have a working knowledge and understanding of that literature. Introduce and define the most important psychological concepts, distinctions, principles and theories which will form the basis of the conceptual framework within which your research question makes sense (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001). In participatory and/or action research projects, conducted in partnership with a community, an organization, or a particular group of people, give a brief account of the nature of the partner community, organization or group. You should also describe the organizational or community context within which the research will take place. In addition, provide details of the history of your involvement with the community, organization or

partners and of the implicit or explicit contract that you have with them. When writing up a case study of a therapy or counselling process that has already taken place, give a brief account of the nature of the therapy/counselling process and argue why the material lends itself to theoretical exploration in a research thesis. It is often appropriate to give a historical perspective to research in the area. Over the past 100 years who have been the major players in investigating the area? Has the focus of research shifted? What have been the important historical milestones in opening new perspectives or research approaches? How does the approach you will use fit into this (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Seidman, 1998)?

If you have collected a large amount of background material for this section, you do not need to refer to or describe everything that may be relevant or which you intend to include in the thesis. You only need to provide sufficient material to take care of each of the points just described. Furthermore, the degree of thoroughness with which the contextual background must be presented depends on the level of the degree you are studying for. When doing a PhD you need to show that you are familiar with everything important that has been written in the area. At Honours level, you will not, of course, have the time and resources to do that, but, you do need to take account of all the above requirements on a smaller scale. There are two steps to take to ensure that you have a sufficient background knowledge: Choose a supervisor who is working in the area and who knows what the core research writing in the area is. Conduct a literature search using an online database such as PsycInfo which you can access through the University Librarys

electronic resources web page. Identify the items which you want and check to see if they are in the Library or available in full text on one of the other online databases such as PsycArticles or ScienceDirect. If they are not, you can use the Librarys interlibrary loan facility to order them. Students who are working on a research area which a staff member is investigating, may be able to obtain financial assistance towards the cost of this from the staff members research grant. You can expect to rework the context section again and again. It is not something you can expect to write out in an organized and systematic fashion at one sitting! This is because, as you think about your topic and refine your research question, you will come to recognize what material has a direct bearing on it, and what material is of limited relevance. For example, as you clarify your thinking, you are likely to discover that you have omitted to define clearly certain concepts which are essential if your research question is to be understood. You are also likely to realize that some of the material which you initially thought was important is only of marginal relevance to the research question and needs to be omitted. You should organize this section carefully, so that you communicate to your reader that you have a clear sense of purpose in setting about your research project (Neuman, 2000, p. 101-103). A mistake that many students make is that they approach this section as if they were writing a discursive essay on the topic. Doing a research project is not a good vehicle for conducting your own personal enquiry into an area that you have not read about and have no conceptual understanding of. In Honours and some directed Masters and PhD courses, opportunities to write discursive essays are provided during the specialized papers you will be studying for. If you approach a research proposal like a seminar you will convey this message: I am interested in {depression, eating disorders, racism, art therapy, affirmative action etc.}. I do not know much about it and have not yet read much that has been written by psychologists on the issue. However here are a few

preliminary thoughts I have about the topic. I hope that somehow during the course of doing this research my ideas will get more organized and I will be able to make some sense of this topic This, of course, is not a message which will impress the people who will evaluate your finished proposal! Rather you should actively promote your research idea as something important and worthwhile. You should aim to communicate to your reader: I have identified something of interest and importance within the discipline which is worth investigating. I have a good basic knowledge of the literature in this area and understand the central concepts and theories. I have sufficient conceptual understanding to provide a basis for a clear research question and for a systematic research investigation. When I complete the research it will be something which will contribute to knowledge, have practical value and be worth reading

3.3 Research question

The research question is the key to the whole proposal. The nature of the research question determines what material will be included in the context section 2 discussed above. It also provides the basis for decisions about what methodology you will use. This is because the methodology will be an account of a series of systematic steps which are designed to provide an answer to your research question. This does not mean that you must begin with a clear research question. At the start the questions in your mind may be quite broad or vague. They will, however, provide a basis for your literature search. Then, as you read the literature and get to grips with the relevant concepts and theories you will be able to refine your questions. This

process takes place in several stages. You are advised to read one or more of the following: Barker, Pistrang and Elliot (1994, pp.31-37); Leedy and Ormrod (2001); Miles and Huberman (1994, chapter 2 section B); Neuman (2000, p.119-124). Smith and Osborn (2003) provide examples of the kinds of broad research questions used in phenomenological research. The research question can take the form of one or more questions or it can be a statement of one or more goals for the research. Whatever form it takes, by the time you write the final proposal it needs to be stated clearly and succinctly. One of the functions of the context section is to prepare the reader for the research question. You can do this by selecting material which shows how your question grows out of the explorations and investigations of an existing body of research and is well-defined and clearly situated within existing psychological theory. Avoid selecting a question that has already been clearly answered by existing research. During the last one hundred years psychologists have discovered many things and some of the things you would like to find out have already been extensively explored. For example, you might start with the question: What are the experiences of depressed people? This could be a good starting question to direct you into doing a project on depression. However a large amount of research has already been done describing the experiences of depressed people. You will need to read quite a bit of it so that you can refine your question. Living in South Africa, you have the opportunity to do original research quite easily. Much of the published research is done in Europe and North America and we can expect to find many differences if we repeat it in the multicultural context of South Africa. In addition, there are many fertile research questions which relate to the specific socioeconomic, political and cultural conditions of our society. The best way to solve many of these problems is to design your project round a research area that is current in the literature. It is even better if you can join an established research project being carried out

by a staff member. In such cases much of the basic conceptual work will have been done and you will be able to identify a focused question which can contribute to a larger ongoing research project. At Honours level you are not expected to do original research. You should aim to find a research question which lends itself to investigation with a small project, since, of necessity, an Honours level research project will be on a small scale. At Masters and PhD level, however, you should undertake research which is likely to make a contribution to the existing literature and which you could envisage appearing in published form.

3.4 Method
Although, at this stage, your research question is framed in fairly general terms, it will probably be translated into one or more quite specific questions when you describe your method. 3.4.1 The method must provide a means of answering the research question Be careful to choose a method that will provide an answer your research question. Dont choose a method just because it is convenient or you are interested in using it! As you write this section, keep asking yourself, Will the reader of this proposal be able to see how this sequence of steps will result in my being able to answer the research question? Because you observe people behind a one-way mirror, conduct interviews, distribute questionnaires, conduct experiments, perform statistical tests or do any of the other things that researchers do, this does not necessarily mean that you are doing meaningful research. It is quite possible to do these things and fail to obtain any information that is of much psychological value at all, let alone actually answer your question!

Remember that the method is in the service of the research question it is not the other way round (i.e. the research question should not be a way of rationalizing your choice of method!). At this stage, your research question may well become operationalized and be translated into something more precise. Suppose your research question is: Does attending a traditional healing ceremony relieve depression?. Your research may attempt to answer this by translating it into the more specific question: Are scores on the Beck Depression Inventory reduced after an individual participates in a defined set of activities laid down by the healer? Make sure that your reader can follow how you are operationalizing your research question in this way. Do not simply plunge into an account of psychological tests and scales, without making it clear how they relate to your research question.

3.4.2 Work closely with your supervisor in designing the method Although you may have done courses on research methodology and even conducted other research projects, it is likely that you will be using the method you have chosen for the first time. Methods involve a series of skilled activities which can only be learned with practice and most students will only acquire these skills as they do their research! It is your supervisors job to guide and train you. So it is important to use a method that your supervisor understands and is familiar with. Ideally your supervisor should have had experience of using the methodology several times with his or her own research or with other students. So you are advised to ask your supervisor what methods he/she knows how to use and can give you close supervision on. Do not ask supervisors to supervise a methodology they have never used before. For example, grounded theory methodology is highly complex and technical (Charmaz, 2003) and although it is possible to summarize

the steps in a few sentences these will not be comprehensible to someone who has not themselves been trained in them and had experience of using them.

3.4.3 The method is a systematic series of technical steps A research design should provide an explicit plan of action (Durrheim, 1999, p. 44). It is the purpose of the method section to tell the reader what that plan is. In order to achieve this it must describe a series of technical steps which will make up the overall research process. These steps need to be described completely and fully in a systematic order. In writing this section, you need to think through your method and offer a step by step description of everything that you will do. This is more difficult than it looks and students frequently have difficulty describing their methodology in detail, even though they think they know what they are going to do. For example, a supervisor read a students proposal and asked, Arent you going to conduct individual interviews with the participants after they have taken part in the focus group? The student had planned to do this and had discussed it with the supervisor previously, but still omitted to mention it in the methodology section of the proposal! General terms describing a methodological approach are not enough. For example, it is not sufficient to say that you will be doing participant observation (Taylor & Bogdan, 1998, chapters 2 and 3; Terre Blanche & Kelly, 1999) or conducting a case study (Bromley, 1986; Stake, 1995). When using these methods, data collection can take a variety of forms. Similarly, it is not enough to say that you will be conducting behavioural observations. For example, if you are observing a group from behind a one way mirror, you will need to explain what aspects of their behaviour you will be monitoring, and how these aspects will be coded and recorded (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 2000, chapter 9). Similarly it is not enough to say that you will conduct interviews. The literature describes many different factors relevant to the conduct of

interviews (Kvale, 1996; Seidman, 1998; Smith & Osborn, 2003, pp. 55-64; Taylor & Bogdan, 1998, chapter 4; Terre Blanche & Kelly, 1999) and as a researcher you will need to make several decisions about the details of your interview approach and procedure. Many interviews are based on interview guides (Taylor & Bogdan, 1998, chapter 4) or schedules (Smith & Osborn, 2003, pp. 55-64) and you should provide information about how these will be written in terms of content and style. If you are following a specific interview procedure set out in the literature, refer to the place where it is described. However, in order to show that the procedure is suited to your research question, you will need to elaborate or explain some of the details. For example, Seidmans (1998) three interview series method provides a general structure which can be applied to many research areas which call for in-depth interviewing. But the details of putting it into practice need to be worked out carefully in relation to the nature of particular research questions. In the same way, if you plan to use a questionnaire, you must specify the detailed procedures which will be used in designing the questionnaire. Where you are using an existing questionnaire describe it and provide a reference to where it is published. Constructing your own questionnaire is a highly technical matter (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 2000, Chapter 11; Khanjee, 1999) and if you plan to do this, you will need to describe your methodology in detail. You should provide one or more references to articles of chapters in the literature where the method is described. You should do this even if you are adapting an existing method. Providing a reference can simplify your account of your method, as you will not need to describe in fine detail procedures which are already described in the existing literature. The method section needs to be organized into subsections which need to be chosen in terms of what is relevant to your particular research approach. As explained below, the first subsections should

deal with data collection and the later ones with data analysis and interpretation. 3.4.4 Data collection Although, traditionally the data collection section includes subsections on subjects and apparatus, these terms are not always appropriate. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (American Psychological Association, 2001) makes the following recommendation: Replace the impersonal term subjects with a more descriptive term when possible and appropriate participants, individuals, college students, children, or respondents, for example. Subjects and sample our appropriate when discussing statistics and subjects may also be appropriate when there has been no direct consent by the individual involved in the study (e.g. infants or some individuals with severe brain damage or dementia) (p. 65). Information about your participants should normally include: Inclusion/exclusion criteria: Not all people will be suitable for your study. How does an individual get to qualify for inclusion in your study? Usually there are limitations set on such aspects as age, gender, ethnic group. For example, a study may be limited to: < < < BA students at a particular University; students who approach the student adviser for counselling; people suffering from a particular condition (depression, HIV infection, hypertension).

In some studies, specific categories of individuals may be excluded from participation. For example, in studying a psychotherapy

treatment for depression, you may exclude individuals who have a history of substance abuse. You must explain how you will ensure that your participants meet the set criteria. Number of participants: You will probably not be studying all the people who meet your inclusion criteria. How many participants will there be? How was this number determined? Sampling: Whether you are doing a small qualitative study or a quantitative study with a large number of participants you need to examine how you are going to select your participants from all the suitable individuals who are available. You want to ensure that you obtain a sufficient range of material to enable you to draw some useful conclusions, and you must also take care that the process of selection will not bias or invalidate your findings (Kelly, 1999b; Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Miles & Huberman, 1994, pp. 27-34; Neuman, 2000, chapter 9; Seidman, 1998; Smith & Osborn, 2003, pp. 53-55).

Data collection methods vary considerably and include such activities as administering questionnaires and psychological tests, interviewing, running focus groups (Kelly, 1999b; Wilkinson, 2003), asking for a written description, observing behaviour live or on videotape, and collecting articles from newspapers or magazines. In many studies several data collection methods are used together. In describing them, ensure that you describe all the methods you will be using and how they will be implemented, and that you describe the procedures involved in collecting your data. For example, if you use tests, you will need to describe the conditions under which they will be administered (group, individual, by mail, etc.).

3.4.5 Data processing Methods of data processing are fairly formal and do not involve any interpretation of the material. You need to describe them, in such a

way that the reader can see how they contribute to answering your research question. In this section you will refer to such processes as the following: In the case of quantified data: scoring of tests, calculating means and standard deviations, making cross-tabulations (what will be tabulated against what?), performing statistical tests (which) to test specific hypotheses (which?), calculation of correlations or correlation matrices. You must show how the specific quantitative techniques you refer to are relevant to your research. In the case of qualitative data: transcription and summarizing of tape-recorded interviews, looking for emergent themes, coding of various sorts, constructing a case narrative or life history (Charmaz, 2003; Kelly 1999c; Taylor & Bogdan, 1998, pp.150156 & 161-163; Terre Blanche & Kelly, 1999).

Make sure that your procedures are described in sufficient detail so that another person could carry them out. For quantitative analysis, it is not enough to say Statistical procedures from the Statistica programme will be employed. In practice, the particular computer software you will be using is usually irrelevant; it is far more important to mention the specific procedures to be used. Similarly, for qualitative research, it is not adequate to say analyses will be performed based on a grounded theory approach since there are a range of different procedures within this approach and debates among exponents of it with regard to the detailed procedures to be followed (Charmaz, 2003; Kelly, 1999c). However, where you will be using standard scoring, coding, or data processing methods, you can be brief so long as you cite a reference which describes the procedures which you are following. If you are going to develop your own methods, then you need to explain in some detail how you will go about this.

3.4.6 Data interpretation

The stage of data interpretation has different forms depending on your overall methodology. In some cases, especially where quantitative methods are being used, interpretation simply involves evaluating hypotheses in terms of the results of statistical tests and working out the implications for the research question and for the concepts and principles of the literature. In these cases, the proposal simply needs a sentence or two to point this out. In some qualitative research methods, interpretation involves the use of an existing conceptual framework or specific interpretive questions which are used to read the material. Here it may be helpful to refer to the reading guide method (Brown, Tappan, Gilligan, Miller & Argyris, 1989; Edwards, 1998; Kvale, 1996) and summarize the main interpretive themes that you expect to use to interrogate your data.

3.4.7 Reliability and validity In designing your research you need to think carefully about factors that affect reliability and validity, and the ways in which you address this need to be reflected in your proposal. For comprehensive coverage of reliability and validity in quantitative research see Tredoux (1999). Miles and Huberman (1994, chapter 10) provide a thorough account of methods to ensure the validity of conclusions in qualitative research, and Kvale (1996, chapter 13) examines validity in qualitative research in the context of different contemporary perspectives on the philosophy of science. Note: This should not form a separate section of the proposal; the relevant information should be incorporated in appropriate places within the methodology section. At the phase of data collection, you need to address the question as to whether your procedures will yield valid data. Are these well tried and

tested methods with a proven record of validity? Or are you going to develop new methods for the purposes of this study? In this case, you will need to explain in some detail how you plan to develop them. When using quantified measuring instruments, briefly report on the results of research on their reliability and validity (Barker, Pistrang & Elliot, 1994, pp. 61-71; Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 2000, pp. 149-154; Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Neuman, 2000, pp.138-146). In particular you may need to comment on whether instruments developed in Europe or North America are likely to be valid and reliable with a South African sample. In the case of qualitative data, you also need to address the question of validity. For example, if you are using interviews, what steps will be taken to ensure that you accurately understand the personal meanings of which participants speak and that the information obtained is not distorted or biased (Kelly, 1999c; Seidman, 1998)? For data reduction and interpretation, you also need to address issues of validity. How will you ensure that your conclusions are valid? It is just as important to address these questions when using qualitative methods as it is when using quantitative ones (Kelly, 1999a; Seidman, 1998; Smith, 2003). Whatever your question and method, you will probably need to pay attention to aspects of internal and external validity. Internal validity refers to whether conclusions you draw about causal relationships are valid. External validity refers to whether the conclusions you draw from your study can be expected to apply in real life situations other than the one you researched (Barker, Pistrang, & Elliot, 1994; Tredoux, 1999; Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 2000; Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Neuman, 2000).

3.5 How strictly must I follow this structure?

You are advised to follow the above structure closely. If you do not, it is likely that the proposal will fail to demonstrate to readers that you are adequately prepared to go ahead with your research project. However, you should use your judgement with regard to the subheadings that will be needed in the Method section. Methods vary so widely that a general prescription cannot cater for all the methods that may be used. So select subheadings which reflect the structure of your own method. Of course, research proposals could be written in other ways. They could be longer or shorter. They could be more sketchy or more detailed. They could follow different conventions. However, the guidelines greatly simplify the task of the staff who will read your proposal and give them a basis for evaluating it objectively. They provide the criteria against which your proposal will be evaluated, so, by studying them, you know what is expected by the members of the committees who will review your proposal. In Appendix 1 you will find the evaluation form used by the Psychology Department for the assessment of honours students proposals in 1997. These provide a good example of the kind of criteria that are routinely used in the Department of Psychology. Furthermore, in most areas of professional work you have to follow guidelines set out by the organization you are working for. If you submit something for publication, for example, you will have to follow strict guidelines provided by editors and publishers. Preparing a research proposal according to these guidelines will be a valuable exercise in following a set structure. It will also help the staff to evaluate whether you can do it. If you cannot follow a clearly laid out set of guidelines, then you probably will not be able to engage reliably in a range of academic and professional activities (scoring a complex psychological test, writing a professional report, and, most important, executing and reporting on a research project).

4. Ethical standards research protocol

The planning and conduct of your research must meet the standards of ethical practice which are recognized and adhered to internationally by researchers employing human (or animal) participants. The Universitys Ethical Standards Committee is a committee of Senate and has issued guidelines on ethical standards (Ethical Standards Committee, 1997) which must be closely followed by all staff and students who carry out research projects under the auspices of Rhodes University. It is the role of the Ethical Standards Committee to ensure that ethical standards are maintained and to rule on matters where there is a dispute over an ethical question. In the Psychology Department the task of ensuring that all research proposals are evaluated in terms of ethical principles is delegated to the RPRC and the committee which reviews Honours research proposals. Any matter on which unanimous agreement cannot be reached by committee members will be referred on the Ethical Standards Committee. You should discuss the ethical issues pertinent to your research with your supervisor. In addition, you must complete the Psychology Departments Ethical Standards Research Protocol. This is a requirement of the Universitys Ethical Standards Committee. The Ethical Standards Research Protocol must be signed by you and your supervisor and handed in with your proposal. You may need to append additional material such as consent forms, as indicated on the protocol form. Except where there are special ethical considerations, only brief mention of ethical aspects need be made in the proposal itself and this does not require a separate section. For example, a sentence may be included in the section on participants You should be familiar with the Universitys ethical policies and procedures (Ethical Standards Committee, 1997). However, you are also advised to read wider discussions of ethical issues and principles

as they relate to social research in general and to research in psychology in particular (e.g. Barker, Pistrang & Elliot, 1994, pp.185194; Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 2000, chapter 4; Kvale, 1996, chapter 6; Leedy & Ormrod, 2001; Miles & Huberman, 1994, chapter 11; Neuman, 2000, chapter 17; Seidman, 1998, chapter 5; Taylor & Bogdan, 1998, pp. 36-40). These discussions address some issues not covered in the University document. In quite a comprehensive overview of the range of ethical questions of which researchers need to be aware, Miles and Huberman (1994) discuss the following points: Worthiness of the project: If you do not feel what you are doing is worthwhile you are likely to approach it in a shallow way, without integrity. Competence of the researcher: Incompetence can result in harm to participants. It can also result in lowering the dignity of the research enterprise as incompetent research lowers the credibility of the discipline. Informed consent: Do the participants freely engage in the project understanding what are the likely consequences for them? Are the participants legally able to consent to participate in the project (there are special factors regarding consent for minors, prisoners and hospital patients)? It is valuable, and sometimes essential to have participants sign a consent form (see Seidman, 1998, for detailed and helpful guidelines). Benefits and costs to the participants: Do the participants derive any benefit from the study in exchange for the time and effort they put in? Risk of doing harm: What harm could accrue to research participants: to self-esteem, emotional well-being (e.g. when studying post-traumatic stress), legality (e.g. when studying illegal drug taking), job security and promotion (e.g. when studying organizations).

Honesty and trust: Am I acting with integrity in relation to participants? Am I deceiving them, misleading them, making promises I cannot keep? If I join a group (religious, deviant, community, organization) in order to study it from the inside, am I in an honest relationship with the members of that group? Confidentiality: What agreements must be negotiated about who will have access to the information collected? Privacy: Will privacy be invaded by asking questions which respondents may later regret answering? Anonymity: To protect respondents, do I need to remove or disguise identifying information in the report?

Responsibility to intervene: Should I intervene if I witness illegal activity? Or if I uncover information related to planned illegal activity? Or if an interviewee is suicidal? Advocacy: When we are doing action research what are our responsibilities in terms of using our findings as part as a campaign of advocacy? Does that prejudice our objectivity? Research integrity and quality: The worst case is fraudulent research: deliberately faking results either because we could not get enough data or because the data did not support our theories. More common is sloppy work poor recording of data or slapdash use of methods of analysis which will result in results which at best will be useless but which at worst will be misleading. Use and misuse of results: Some research findings are likely to be used for political ends. Are researchers neutral parties? Or do they have responsibility for seeing that their results are not misused for political ends?

Ownership of data: Who owns the data after it has been used in the report? Does it belong to the funder of the research? or the researcher? Should it be made widely available in a computerised data base... On the internet.. ? This will inevitably result in the breaking of contracts about confidentiality and anonymity.

5. Citing references and writing the reference list

For the citing of references in your proposal or thesis and for the preparation of your reference list, the Department of Psychology uses the basic formatting conventions set out in the fifth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2001). The sections below provide a summary of the main principles you need to know. There are also a few areas where the Psychology Department recommends that you do not follow the conventions of the APA manual. These are described here too. The conventions can get quite complex at times, and if you need further information that is not covered by the points summarized here, you are advised to consult the APA manual yourself.

5.1 What references to include

In the thesis itself, the reference list will be quite long. However, in the proposal, because it is so short, you cannot afford to cite all the references you have used in planning your research. Instead, between 5 and 15 references should be carefully selected on the basis that they demonstrate that there is an existing body of psychological discourse in the area you are researching; identify the most important contributors to the literature in terms of principles, concepts and methods; identify studies of direct relevance to your own planned study.

show that you are up to date with the literature: < < in a typical proposal most of the references will be less than five years old; avoid relying on research methodology text that are ten or even twenty years old, and do not cite outdated editions of research methodology texts; for example, texts cited in this booklet include two second editions (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Seidman, 1998), a third edition (Taylor & Bogdan, 1998), a fourth edition (Neuman, 2000), a sixth edition (Frankfort-Nachmias & Nachmias, 2000), and a seventh edition (Leedy & Ormrod, 2001); it creates a bad impression to cite earlier editions of these texts.

5.2 Citing references in the text

Detailed conventions for citing references in the text are given in the APA Publication Manual (2001) on pages 207-214. Here are some examples of the most common forms of citation: One of Freuds famous case studies, that of Elizabeth von R., is re-examined by Billig (1999) from the perspective of conversation analysis. Quite subtle nuances of verbal or non-verbal expression can serve to give the message to others that certain topics are not to be talked about in any depth (Billig, 1999). In this next one, note the and before the last author in a list, and the comma before the and: Hutchings, Appleton, Smith, Lane, and Nash (2002) review several studies that show that children whose mothers are

depressed are more likely than other children to exhibit disruptive behaviours. Where the list of authors is in brackets, & is used in place of and: There are numerous studies that show that children whose mothers are depressed are more likely than other children to exhibit disruptive behaviours (Hutchings, Appleton, Smith, Lane, & Nash, 2002). When there are more than two authors, the citation is abbreviated to et al. on the second and subsequent occasions: Hutchings et al. (2002) showed that an intensive parent training programmed both improved the disruptive behaviour of the children and reduced levels of depression in their mothers. If there are six or more authors, the abbreviated form of citation is used on the first occasion also. The reference cited here has eight authors (see section 5.3.4 below): Shabalala et al. (2002) found that although most primary health care centres were adequately resourced, there was often poor service delivery because of problems in the encounter between health workers and patients. However, if there are two different sources, each with a different group of authors, but both with Shabalala as the first author, then it is necessary to give as many of the authors as will prevent confusion for the reader. If the same author(s) is(are) repeated a second time in the same paragraph, the date is not required on the second occasions, as long as this does not give rise to confusion. E.g.,

Kerig, Federowicz, Brown, and Warren (2000) describe treatment approaches to PTSD that are suitable for use with children ... Kerig et al. regard play techniques as particularly valuable for promoting emotional processing of the traumatic memories ... In the case of manuals like the DSM-IV or the APA Publication Manual, the first time you cite them, give the name of the Association that published it as well as the full title of the manual. When citing them again, you can use the abbreviated form: According to the American Psychiatric Associations (2000) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition, text revision, Somatization Disorder is rare among American men, although more frequent among those from Greek or Puerto Rican backgrounds. ... The DSM-IV-TR (2000) also mentions that up to 20% of female relatives of individuals with Somatization Disorder also have Somatization Disorder, while male relatives are more prone to Antisocial Personality Disorder and Substance-related disorders. For a newsletter or newspaper article with no author, use the first few words of the reference that will appear in the reference list, followed by the year: Rhodes University has been making consistent progress in adapting its equity policy to developments in government legislation (Revised equity policy approved, 2003). Alcohol plays a significant role in many of the murders and assaults seen by the police in the Eastern Cape (Four die, one shot, 2003). Where you cite several references together, in brackets, place them in alphabetical order (by first author) and separate them by a semi-colon:

In recent years an intense controversy has been raging about whether memories of childhood sexual abuse recovered through psychotherapy or hypnosis are accurate or not (Brewin & Andrews, 1998; Masson, 1985; Terr, 1994; Toon, Fraise, McFetridge, & Alwin, 1996). Where there are two references from the same author with the same date, mark them a and b, and where you cite several references by the same author, separate the dates by commas: Psychology needs do be a human science which has its own methods and principles which are suited to its special subject matter: the life of a human being (Giorgi, 1971, 1986a, 1986b, 1994). Use n. d. when citing undated items: Riverside Manor, nestled in the foothills of the Drakensburg, offers a comprehensive approach to treating eating disorders and depression in adolescents (Therapeutic programme, n. d.). For older works which have been reprinted, put the date of the recent publication as well as the original date of publication: Adler (1912/1921) provided numerous examples of how a compensatory structure forms to conceal an underlying low self-esteem. The multiplicity that is so much a part of unconscious personality functioning was clearly recognized by Ferenczi (1933/1980). Next is an example of how to refer to a source which you have not read yourself but which you read about in another article or book:

A study by Loeber (as cited in Hutchings, Appleton, Smith, Lane, & Nash, 2002) found that depressed mothers tend to behave towards their children in ways which increase the risk of the development of disruptive behaviours. In this case, do not include the date of the Loeber study and only put the reference for Hutchings, Appleton, Smith, Lane, and Nash (2002) in the reference list. For personal communications, provide the name, and full date of the communication in the text; they are not cited in the reference list: According to P. Gobodo (personal communication, April 18, 2003), the reason for this . When you quote directly from a source, you must include page number(s). For example: Barrows (1998, p. 11) was told by a child who had a remarkable degree of this ecological awareness, I thought of the world like it had feelings, like the streets and the grass and the little creek were happier after I had cleaned them up. This has been a time of soul-searching for many environmentalists. The environmental movement is going through its own internal crisis as activists and ecologists rethink the role of humans in nature (Nelson, 1998, p. 39). According to Whyte (1962), Several factors forced this development ..., but the most important ... was the recognition which even Descartes could not avoid that the facts do not support the assumption of the autonomy of consciousness (pp. 63-64). Note that three full stops are used when some of the original material being quoted has been omitted.

Even when not quoting, you may, if you choose, refer to a specific paragraph (), page (p.), chapter (chap.) or other section of a work, although this is not required: A useful discussion of the difference between emotions and needs is offered by Freshwater and Robertson (2002, chap. 2). The DSM-IV-TR (2000, Appendix H)) provides a useful table for converting psychiatric diagnoses into the categories of the ICD-10 (1993).

5.3 The reference list

References should be listed by first author names in alphabetical order. It is important that there is full agreement between the references in the text and in the Reference List. Make sure that all references in the text are listed, and that no additional references (possibly from an earlier version of the document) have found their way into your Reference List.

5.3.1 Basic format for a listed reference Detailed guidelines for the format of the references in the reference list can be found on pages 215-281 of the APA Publication Manual (2001). This booklet provides examples of how to handle the most commonly used kinds of references. However, you will need to consult the APA manual yourself if you wish to list specialized kinds of reference not catered for in the examples below. Here are two examples which illustrate some of the basic features of the format:

Phaswana, M. G., & Peltzer, K. (2003). An analysis of coverage of HIV/AIDS in popular South African newspapers. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 13, 55-69. White, B.(2000). Lessons from the careers of successful women. In M. J. Davidson, & R. J. Burke (Eds.), Women in management: Current research issues, Vol. 2 (pp.164-176). London: Sage. Note the following features: Hanging paragraph: After the first line, subsequent lines should be indented by three characters. In Microscoft Word, go to the Format menu, select Paragraph and, under Indentation, select Hanging in the box labelled Special. In WordPerfect, type F7 [Indent] followed by [Shift + Tab] at the beginning of each reference. When you use Reveal codes, you will see the codes: [Hd Left Ind][Hd Back Tab]. You can set the three character indent by going to View/Ruler and setting a tab in the appropriate place. Line spacing: In respect of line spacing, you should depart from the requirements of the APA publication manual which specifies double spacing throughout. In your proposal (as well as in the thesis itself), you should single space within references and use double spacing between (as illustrated in the examples in this section).

When an author has more than one initial, leave a space between initials. In a list of several authors, each is followed by a comma, except the last. The publication date is placed in brackets followed by a full stop. Book and journal titles are italicized; chapter and article titles are not italicized. A journal volume number is italicized but the issue number appears in brackets and is not italicized. In the case of journal titles, all important words (e.g. not and, the, of etc.) begin with capital letters, but, in the case of book titles, all words begin with a lower case letter except the first word and proper names. Terms such as "Limited", "Incorporated", "Publishers" and Press are omitted from the publisher's details. Order of references: References are listed alphabetically in terms of authors names. Where there are several works by the same author, they are ordered in terms of dates (earliest first). Where there are two or more works by the same author(s) with the same date, these are listed in alphabetical order of the titles and markeda, b etc.

In the following sections, the conventions for specific kinds of references are described in more detail. 5.3.2 Books

You are not required to follow the APA manual which states that the country must be added for places of publication outside the USA. In particular, there is no need to specify South Africa after South African towns or cities. In the next example, there is no ambiguity

because South Africa is part of the publishers name. If the location is not likely to be well known, you can add the province. Pistorius, M. (2002). Strangers in the street: Serial homicide in South Africa. Sandton: Penguin (South Africa). Thomas, A., & Robertshaw, D. (1999). Achieving employment equity: A guide to effective strategies. Randburg: Knowledge Resources. Scholz, R. W., & Tietje, O. (2002). Embedded case study methods: integrating quantitative and qualitative knowledge. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
(States within the USA are abbreviated: there is a full table of these abbreviations in the APA Manual on p. 218).

Rinken, S. (2000). The AIDS crisis and the modern self: biographical self_construction in the awareness of finitude. Boston: Kluwer Academic.
(The state is not included for major cities in the USA).

Boxall, P., & Purcell, J. (2003). Strategy and human resource management. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Rowan, J., & Jacobs, M. D. (2002). The therapist's use of self. Buckingham: Open University Press.
(It is a judgement call whether UK should be added after Buckingham or after Basingstoke in the above two references. You need to consider what is required from a South African perspective. Ask yourself whether a reasonably wellinformed South African reader will recognize the country of publication without additional information.)

American Psychological Association. (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
(1: Note that 5th ed. is not italicized and ed. is not capitalized. 2: Where the publisher is the same as the author, then Author is put in place of the name of the publisher. There is another example below.)

American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author. Young, J. E. (1994). Cognitive therapy for personality disorders: A schema-focused approach. (Rev. ed.). Newbury Park: Sage. (Rev. ed. stands for Revised edition). The next example shows you how to handle a translation as well as the date of an old book that has been republished: Adler, A. (1921). The neurotic constitution (B. Glueck & J. Lind, Trans.). London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co. (Original work published 1912). Many reference books have no editor or author, and the reference begins with the title of the book: IMD world competitiveness yearbook. (2003). Lausanne, Switzerland: IMD.
(It is a judgement call whether you add Switzerland here or leave it out).

Amnesty International report. (2002). London: Amnesty International. McGregors Who owns whom in South Africa (22nd ed.). (2002). Westgate, Roodepoort: Carla Soares.
(In this book the place of publication is simply given as Westgate. There are three Westgates in South Africa, so this needs to be clarified by adding the province or nearest town).

5.3.3

Chapters in books

In the following examples of references for chapters in books, note the following additional conventions: The author is the author of the chapter you are referencing.

The chapter title is not in italics. In is used to indicate the book in which the chapter is to be found. The initials of the editor(s) of the book come before, not after, the surname. There is a comma, not a full stop after the editor(s) name(s). The page numbers of the chapter must be placed in brackets after the book title. Foster, D. (1986). The development of racial orientation in children. In S. Burman, & P. Reynolds (Eds.), Growing up in a divided society (pp. 158_183). Johannesburg: Ravan. Kerig, P. K., Federowicz, A. E., Brown, C. A., & Warren, M. (2000). Assessment and intervention for PTSD in children exposed to violence. In R. A. Geffer, P. G. Jaffe, & M. Suderman (Eds.), Children exposed to domestic violence: Current issues in research, intervention, prevention, and policy development (pp. 161-184). New York: Halworth Maltreatment and Trauma Press.

Louw, D. A., & Pretorius, E. (1995). The traditional healer in a multicultural society. In L. L. Adler & B. R. Mukherji (Eds.), Spirit versus scalpel: Traditional healing and modern psychotherapy (pp. 41-57). Westport, CT : Bergin & Garvey. Here is another example of how to handle a reprint and translation of an older work: Ferenczi, S. (1980). Confusion of tongues between adults and the child. In M. Balint (Ed.), Final contributions to the problems and methods of psycho-analysis (E. Mosbacher and others, Trans.; reprint of 1955 edition) (pp. 156-167). New York: Brunner/Mazel (Original work published 1933).

5.3.4 Journal articles Journal titles and volume numbers are italicized. Most journals come out as a number of parts during the year (e.g. four for quarterly or twelve for monthly journals) each of which contribute to a single volume. On the journal you will see Volume 17, number 3", for example. In most cases, the pages start numbering from part 1 and continue through all the parts. For example the reference below is from part 3 of the journal which begins numbering at page 249. In such cases do not include the part number: Hutchings, J., Appleton, P., Smith, M., Lane, E., & Nash, S. (2002). Evaluation of two treatments for children with severe behaviour problems: Child behaviour and maternal mental health outcomes. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 30, 279-295. Rosselli, M., & Ardila, A. (2003). The impact of culture and education on non-verbal neuropsychological measurements: A critical review. Brain and Cognition, 52, 326-333. Mageo, J. M. (2002). Intertextual interpretation, fantasy and Samoan dreams. Culture and Psychology, 8, 417448. However, some journals start numbering each part from page 1. In these cases the part number is included in brackets (without italics): Bews, N., & Uys, T. (2002). The impact of organizational restructuring on perceptions of trustworthiness. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 28(4), 19-28. Senekal, M., Steyn, N. P., Mashego, T., & Nel, J. H. (2001). Evaluation of body shape, eating disorders and weight management related parameters in black female students of rural and urban origins. South African Journal of Psychology, 31(1), 46-53.

The next examples show the use of a and b where two references have the same author and year. Articles are placed in alphabetical order by title: Warda, G., & Bryant, R. A. (1998a). Cognitive bias in acute stress disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 1177-1183. Warda, G., & Bryant, R. A. (1998b). Thought control strategies in acute stress disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 1171-1175. The next example shows how to deal with multiple authors. This article has seven authors. The convention is that only six names are included and all the others are replaced by et al.. In this example, there are actually eight authors: Shabalala, N., Strebel, A., Shefer, T., Simbayi, L., Wilson, T., Ratele, K., et al. (2002). Evaluation of the quality of care for sexually transmitted infections in primary health care centres in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology, 32(4), 33-40.

5.3.5 Magazine, newsletter or newspaper articles For magazines or newsletters that have a volume number, follow the year of publication with the month (monthly magazines, newsletters, and newspapers; also for meetings) or month and day of the month (daily or weekly magazines, newsletters, and newspapers). Hirst, M. (1995, August). Catha edulis. Imvubu: Kaffrarian Museum Newsletter, 7, 4-5.
(Note: Catha edulis is the article title but it is in italics because it is a botanical name in Latin).

Stein, J. (2003, October 27). Just say Om. Time, 162, 38-45.

Power, M. (2000, December). Freud and the unconscious. The Psychologist, 13 (12), 73-77. For newspapers, put the date of publication with the year and use p for page. LeVay, S. (1996, December 13-19). The queer gene unleashed. Mail & Guardian, p. 23. Rogers, G. (2003, November 5). Farm worker to go on trial for butchering pet cat. The Herald, p. 8. Where a newspaper or newsletter article or report has no author, use the title of the item: Revised equity policy approved. (2003, November). Rhodos, 15(15), p. 1.
(This article appears in part number 15 of volume 15).

Four die, one shot in weekend of killings at E. Cape taverns. (2003, November 3). The Herald, p. 3.

5.3.6

Unpublished conference papers, posters and contributions to symposia

When referring to Universities or conference venues, include the town or city. Include the country only where it is outside South Africa, and may not be easily recognized. When listing conference presentations, include the month, if available. Conference paper: Lyddon, W. J., & Alford, D. J. (2000, June) Metaphor and change in cognitive and constructive psychotherapies. Paper presented at the World Congress of Cognitive Therapy, Catania, Sicily.

Contribution to a symposium: Karpelowsky, L. (2003, June). Walking the tight rope Practical challenges and therapeutic factors in working with Acute Stress Disorder: A case study. In D. J. A. Edwards (Chair), Trauma and posttraumatic stress: Clinical dilemmas for those offering of support, management and treatment. Symposium conducted at The Second South African Conference for Psychotherapy, Rhodes University, Grahamstown. Poster presentation at a conference: McBride, R. A., & Himadi, B. (2000, June). Modification of delusional beliefs in a severely deluded inpatient. Poster session presented at the World Congress of Cognitive Therapy, Catania, Sicily.

5.3.7. Theses, research reports and unpublished papers When listing references for theses, research reports and papers that have not been published simply refer to Unpublished research report, Unpublished paper, etc. If available provide the name and location of a University or Institute from which the material comes. Esat, F. (2003). The social construction of "sexual knowledge" : exploring the narratives of southern African youth of Indian descent in the context of HIV/AIDS. Unpublished Masters thesis, Rhodes University, Grahamstown. Finnemore, G. L. (2000). Case studies of brain fag syndrome in South Africa. Unpublished Masters thesis, Rhodes University, Grahamstown. See the next section for theses obtained from the internet.

5.3.8 Material obtained from the internet When the source of the material is on the internet, provide complete details of the URL (uniform resource locator) which is the address where it was obtained. Take care to ensure that you give the exact location because an error of even a single character may mean that readers will be unable to find the document themselves. In addition, the date on which you obtained the material from the internet must be given (since the material may not be available permanently at that address): Article from an internet journal: Barnes, J. (2003). Phenomenological intentionality meets an ego_less state. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology 3(1). Retrieved November 22, 2003, from http://ipjp.org/november2003/barnes.html
(Note: the internet address is not underlined or in hypertext and does not end with a full stop).

Report or document from the internet, where you have the full URL): Arndt, M, & Hewat, H. (2003). The experiences of stress and trauma: Black lesbians in South Africa. Retrieved November, 7, 2003, from http://wiserweb.wits.ac.za/conf2003/arndt.doc Kelly, K., Ntlabati, P., Oyosi, S., van der Riet, M., & Parker, W. (2002). Making HIV/AIDS our problem: Young people and the development of challenge in South Africa. Retrieved November 16, 2003, from http://www.cadre.org.za/pdf/making AIDS our problem.pdf When listing a report or document from the internet where you do not have the full URL, use available from to indicate that the material can be obtained by visiting the specific website and following the appropriate links

Kelly, K., Ntlabati, P., Oyosi, S., van der Riet, M., & Parker, W. (2002). Making HIV/AIDS our problem: Young people and the development of challenge in South Africa. Available from CADRE website http://www.cadre.org.za Here is an example for a chapter of a book posted on the internet: Banning, P. (1992). Recovery progress. Breaking the cycle (chap. 2). Retrieved September 9, 2003, from http://members.aol.com/pbanning/break-c Here are examples of theses or thesis abstracts available on the internet: Chukwuemeka, G. A. (2000). Profile of paediatric psychosocial disorders in Frere Hospital and analysis of associated patterns of referrals. Masters thesis, Rhodes University, Grahamstown. Retrieved November 21, 2003 from http://www.rhodes.ac.za/library/theses/2000/chukwuemeka / Karjane, H. M. (2002). The communication of trauma in media culture: A poststructural analysis of women's experience of gender-based violence and healing. PhD dissertation: University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Retrieved November 21, 2003 from http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/3068571 Here is an example of an undated document on the internet: Therapeutic programme (n.d.). Retrieved November 7, 2003, from http://www.riverviewmanor.co.za/program.htm

5.3.9 Audiovisual media Constructing a reference for audiovisual media such as motion pictures, television and radio broadcasts and audio recordings can

get complicated! Consult pages 266-267 of the APA publication manual for details. Here are a few examples: Motion picture: Moyers, B. (Presenter). (1993). Healing and the mind: Volume 3, Healing from within [Motion picture]. (Available from Ambrose Video Publishing, Inc., 1230 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 2245, New York, NY 10104)
(Note: No full stop after the final bracket).

Padesky, C. (Presenter). (1993). Cognitive therapy for panic disorder. [Motion picture]. (Available from Center for Cognitive Therapy, 1101 Dove Street #240, Newport Beach CA 92660) Compact disc: Khan, S. D. (2002).Thuma mina. On Wild prayer: 5 rhythms dance music [CD]. Totnes, Devon: Second Wave Productions.
(In the in-text citation, include the track number: e.g. Thuma Mina (Khan, 2002, track 4) is an evocative piece that provides a lively experience of the staccato rhythm ... ).

References
American Psychological Association (2001). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Barker, C., Pistrang, N., & Elliot, R. (1994). Research methods in clinical and counselling psychology. Chichester: John Wiley. Bromley, D. B. (1986). The case_study method in psychology and related disciplines. Chichester: Wiley. Charmaz, K. (2003). Grounded theory. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 81-110). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Durrheim, K. (1999). Research design. In M. Terre Blanche, & K. Durrheim (Eds.), Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences (pp. 29-53). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press. Ethical Standards Committee (1997). Policy - Procedures Guidelines relative to research on human subjects. Grahamstown: Rhodes University. Frankfort-Nachmias, C., & Nachmias, D. (2000). Research methods in the social sciences (6th ed.). New York: Worth. Kelly, K. (1999a). Calling it a day: Reaching conclusions in qualitative research. In M. Terre Blanche, & K. Durrheim (Eds.), Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences (pp. 421-437). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press. Kelly, K. (1999b). From encounter to text: Data gathering in interpretive research. In M. Terre Blanche, & K. Durrheim (Eds.), Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences (pp. 379-397). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press.

Kelly, K. (1999c). Hermeneutics in action: Empathy and interpretation in qualitative research. In M. Terre Blanche, & K. Durrheim (Eds.), Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences (pp. 398-420). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press. Khanjee, A. (1999). Assessment research. In M. Terre Blanche, & K. Durrheim (Eds.), Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences (pp. 287-306). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press. Kvale, S. (1996). InterViews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks CA: Sage. Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2001). Practical research: Planning and design (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage. Neuman, W. L. (2000). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Research Projects Review Committee information for students about meetings and procedures (2003). Available from Rhodes Psychology Department website http://rhodes.ac.za/academic/departments/psychology Seidman, I. E. (1998). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press. Smith, J. A. (2003). Validity and qualitative psychology. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 232-235). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Smith, J. A., & Osborn, M. (2003). Interpretative phenomenological analysis. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 51-80). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Taylor, S., & Bogdan, R. (1998). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. Terre Blanche, M., & Kelly, K. (1999). Interpretive methods. In M. Terre Blanche, & K. Durrheim (Eds.), Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences (pp. 123-146). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press. Tredoux, C. (1999). Sound conclusions: Judging research designs. In M. Terre Blanche, & K. Durrheim (Eds.), Research in practice: Applied methods for the social sciences (pp. 309-330). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press. Wilkinson, S. (2003). Focus groups. In J. A. Smith (Ed.), Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (pp. 184-204). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Appendix 1
A 1997 checklist of points used to evaluate student research proposals by the Psychology Department

1 Context The student has shown that the research is in an area of relevance to contemporary concerns There is evidence of a significant psychological literature that can be drawn on. The student has presented a good conceptual framework within which to address the question. There is a clear progression in the presentation of the material.

2 Aim/research question
The aim of the research and the questions to be addressed are clearly defined. The aims/questions follow from the and can be understood in terms of the material presented under context.

3
Participants

Methodology

The way in which participants will be obtained has been clearly described (sampling, inclusion/exclusion criteria etc.). ... are appropriate in light of the aims/questions ... have been clearly and systematically described. The student has avoided generic and overgeneralized descriptions (e.g. A questionnaire will be constructed... The participants will be interviewed...). ... are appropriate in light of the aims/questions.

Data collection procedures

Data

analysis procedures

... have been clearly and systematically described. The student has avoided generic and overgeneralized descriptions (e.g. Appropriate statistical tests will be performed... The data will be analysed by Statsgraphics... The data will be content analysed and themes extracted...). Significant ethical aspects have been adequately addressed (refer to the Ethical Standards Research Protocol). ... follow the required APA format Items cited in the text match the items in the reference list The reference list is not too long (students are expected to submit a select rather than an exhaustive list) ... indicate that there is sufficient literature within which to situate the project.

Ethical aspects References

Guidelines for writing a research proposal

(Second edition 2004)

Including a summary of the conventions for citing and listing references that apply to all assignments, reports and theses in the Department of Psychology

David Edwards, 2004

Department of Psychology Rhodes University Grahamstown 6140 South Africa
d.edwards@ru.ac.za Further information available at: www.rhodes.ac.za/academic/departments/psychology