Only a full introduction section is needed. Must find at least 3 sources of prior literature to use with its reference’s The full template is listed here: On the third page, you typically begin your introduction. Notice that the word
“INTRODUCTION” does not appear at the top of the page as many of the other headings do.
The title used is the same one that appears on the cover page.
The first paragraph should contain a definition of your dependent or outcome variable (at
the construct level). Describe why this construct is important (i.e. it is associated with some
societal problem, etc.) and provide some meaningful data about the importance of understanding
this construct. Explain how your dependent or outcome variable might be impacted by your
independent or predictor variable. Describe why it is important to understand this effect or
relationship.
Subsequent paragraphs should describe previous research that examined the effect or
relationship. These studies serve to provide the rationale for your study. What did the
researchers do? What did they find? What did they conclude? Try to stick to describing
constructs instead of operational definitions when describing the prior research.
Do this for each study cited. Typically, one or more paragraphs are necessary to explain
each study. Try to make the transition smooth from one paragraph to the next. Use transition
words (see SIGNAL WORDS handout). For example, similarly, Jones et al. (2019) found
that…or, in contrast, Smith (2015) reported that…
Describe any outstanding questions or issues that were not addressed by these prior
studies; ending on the issue that your study will specifically address.
Describe the present (your) question. Describe what you are doing differently from other
studies. Describe your hypothesis (i.e., what do you expect to find?). DO NOT describe your
operational definitions in this section