Title of proposal: for this section, create a title that explains something important about your proposed research study. For example, the title of the assignment is “Electric Brain” because we are studying how the brain generates and uses electricity. We are also studying how that electricity is measured by imaging tools.
Research Question: Have you ever wondered if thinking about ice cream activates a different part of the brain than when you eat it? Researchers develop questions about something that they notice in their world. They wonder about certain phenomenon or patterns. Research questions come from that wonder. So, write down some things that you have wondered about that relates to your brain and action.
Then, go to the University library and use any of the American Psychological Association journals to read about studies that relate to the brain and thinking or behaving. You might read about how autistic children’s brains work in learning or wonder about memory problems in clients diagnosed with alcoholism. Be sure that your studies use some form of brain imaging. Find two for this Assignment and make note of the references.
Finally, write one main research question that is specific and explain (in the same section) what interests you about this question.
Part of the brain studied: In this area, explain which part of the brain you would scan (to make an image). What are the functions of that part of the brain and how does it fit in your research question. For example, if we use the example of the difference between thinking about and eating ice cream, I would scan the olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), temporal lobe (long-term memory), and prefrontal cortex (advanced thinking skills)
Explain each area and how they function so that it is clear how these parts of the brain fit with the research question.