Your project in this course will be to develop a research proposal for a research question that is of interest to you. The proposal will allow you to develop of research question, review the literature related to this question, develop hypotheses, define the methods and procedures needed to gather the necessary data to answer your research question, and determine the statistics required to properly evaluate your data and answer your research question. We will not collect data to conduct the project, but your proposal should be complete and thorough and allow you to conduct the experiment if you desire at the conclusion of the course.

The proposal will consist of the following sections:

Introduction

Briefly explain what you are going to study (your research question) and why you feel it is an important question. Also address why this experiment is of interest to the exercise science or nutrition community? the scientific community? the public at large? Why is it important to our knowledge of kinesiology, exercise science or nutrition to conduct this experiment? The rationale for the study should be supported by the literature. You should explicitly state the purpose of your study at the end of the Introduction section and state all hypotheses that you will evaluate.

Literature Review

In this section, summarize and discuss the relevant literature. What did you learn from the previous researchers? How does this relate to your research topic? Be certain to use appropriate references (APA format) when presenting the literature.

Methods and Materials

This section should accurately describe the procedures necessary to conduct your experiment. The section should include a description of your subjects,  and all equipment and materials required to perform the experiment, and a detailed discussion of the experimental procedures. In a precise, logical manner, think through the steps required to gather the desired data and describe these steps in this section. An individual reading your methods section should be able to replicate your experiment based upon the methods you present. The final section of the Methods is to describe how you will analyze the data and what statistics (descriptive and inferential) .  The Methods section of journals in sports medicine such as Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise or nutrition will be helpful to provide guidance in writing this section.

For example, do not just hypothesize that "I’m going to see which supplement produces the greatest improvement in muscular strength." What supplements will be tested? How will they be offered to the subjects? What numerical data will you collect to test your hypothesis(es)—how will you dose the supplement? How will you measure muscular strength? Also, it is not enough to observe just one subjects’ performance: suppose that subject has some abnormal physiological responses, different base levels of strength, different responses to different types of training programs. Repetition is important. What is your control group (the one with "normal" conditions)? What is your experimental group? Are you sure that only ONE variable at a time is being altered in your experimental group? For example, if you’re testing the effects of one supplement, then you must make sure that other aspects of diet, activity, sleep, rest, and any other factors remain identical among all subjects tested.

Also, the methods section in a recent manuscript that conducted a study similar to the one you are proposing will be a great resource.  However, make sure that you do NOT plagiarize and that you understand completely the content of this section.  You may benefit from discussing the specifics of your methods with a professor who does research in your topical area.

Bibliography/References

List your references in APA format. See the links provided on the class web page for details on the APA format.

Proposal Mechanics

The proposal should not exceed seven pages in length. As a guideline, use the following section length estimates to reach the 7 page maximum.

• Introduction 1 page maximum
• Review of Literature 3 pages maximum
• Methods 4 pages maximum
• Bibliography 1 page maximum

The proposal should:

1. Be typed, double spaced, with 1" margins on the top, bottom, left and right sides.
2. Be written in a clear, concise and succinct manner
3. Have all pages numbered, except for page #1.
4. Have a title page with an appropriate title (No, this does not count as a page of text).
5. Include Figures and Tables at your own discretion (these are not text). If you use these items, they should be ordered on the page after they are first mentioned. For example, if you introduce Figure 3 in the text on page 5 of the manuscript, Figure 3 should appear on page 5 or 6 of the paper.
6. Not use a report cover to hold the manuscript together, a staple is just fine.

The proposal is due on April 11th, 2006 at 9:00 am.