PROPOSAL PAPER: TOPIC SELECTION INSTRUCTIONS
The purpose of this assignment is for you to identify 3 topics that are “researchable” ideas (Rockinson-Szapkiw
& Knight, 2012; see below for more information) and list those topics from 1–3 in order of preference. You must
also include a bibliography with quotes from the “Recommendations for Future Research” sections of peer-reviewed articles that indicate this research is needed in the field of counseling. Peer-reviewed research
articles must be from the last 5 years (otherwise the gap may have been filled).
Step 1: Inquiry. Come up with 3 topics of interest. Here is one example: “I wonder if religion and depression are
related in older adults (65 and above).”
Step 2: Review the peer-reviewed literature to identify gaps in the literature for each of the 3 topics. For
example, one peer-reviewed article on your topic of interest may state, “We recommend further research on
the impact of religiosity on depression prognosis, looking in particular at community samples, younger patients,
and people from non-Christian faiths (Payman & Ryburn, 2010, p. 566).”
Step 3: Put together a bibliography in the current APA format. The bibliography must include at least 1 article per
topic that suggests that the particular research topic/question is “researchable” (see Step 2 for more
information). You must include a brief 1–2-sentence summary of each article in the bibliography.
Example:
Bibliography
Payman, V., & Ryburn, B. (2010). Religiousness and recovery from inpatient geriatric depression: Findings
from the PEJAMA study. Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry, 44(6), 560–67. Retrieved from
http://www.serialsolutions.com.
This is where you will place a brief summary of the article’s contents and how it relates to the topic selection.
Remember it should be 1–2 sentences.
Preferred language style US English
Sample Solution
