Adolescents and Suicide

Outline:
Title Page

II. Introduction and Literature Review (Modules 2 and 3)
A. Identification of specific problem (e.g., what it is and why is important).

B. Prevalence, scope of problem.

C. An overview of what we know (literature review). What has previous research found out about the problem? What methods and samples did they use? What are your variables of interest and what do we know about them from previous research (include conceptual definitions of terms)? Add critiques of other research (i.e., strengths and weaknesses of previous research).

D. An overview of what we do not know (i.e., gaps of knowledge in the literature that you plan to address in this proposal).

E. Statement of the purpose of your study and research question(s). Relate these to the gap in the literature you are addressing. Include hypotheses.

III. Methodology (Module 2, 5)

A. Design
1. What type of specific design will be used (between-subjects and within-subjects experiment design)? What is your rationale? (Module 5)
2. What specific research methods will be used (e.g., experimental vs. control group OR experimental, control group, and placebo group?

B. Sample and Procedures
1. Describe your study population and proposed sample (expected size, demographics, etc.) (Modules 1, 2)
2. How will the sample be selected? Once they are selected what procedures will they follow as they participate in your study.
3. Informed consent: Explain thoroughly how you will gain informed consent or document why informed consent is not required for this project (Module 3)
4. Describe ethical considerations and measures taken to protect human subjects (Module 3)

C. Measurement (Module 4)
1. Describe the instruments/surveys/tests and procedures you will use to measure the variables. If you select an existing instrument, be sure to provide information on strategies used to demonstrate reliability and validity (Module 2,5) on how they are scored, what the scores mean, who items were developed for, etc. Include a link or copy of any instrument you plan to use and explain how it is scored and whether there are any norms or cutoff scores.

D. Are there other ethical or political issues associated with this research as you have designed it? How will you address these issues? How you will address any cultural considerations, if appropriate (Module 3).

F. Analysis Plan: Describe all steps related to preparing and analyzing your data (Modules 9,11)

G. Limitations: Identify and discuss several methodological limitations.

IV. References

V. Appendices (include consent forms, measures, etc.)