The influence of gene-environment correlations in the LGBTQ+ community

Research Proposal 

Explain the theories and correlations of the gene and environment relationship in how it affects LGBTQ+ children growing up and the challenges they face. The topic is relevant to current culture because the LGBTQ+ community is still struggling from being fully accepted into society and the struggles that community goes through is something worth researching. Do these children have the same chances of growing up based on their genetics and their environmental struggles? Review peer-reviewed articles to research the effects.

Goals: The goal of this assignment is to demonstrate your knowledge of an interesting topic in developmental psychology and to develop a creative way of researching that topic.

Assignment Overview: The influence of gene-environment correlations in the LGBTQ+ community

• Research the existing literature on your topic (preferably one that we discussed/agreed upon in your Paper Topics assignment)
• Develop a research plan for investigating a specific aspect of this topic (that we identified in your Paper Topics assignment)
• Develop hypotheses about the results you expect to obtain if you were to implement your research plan
• You are strongly encouraged to view the Sample Research Proposal  Download Sample Research Proposal before beginning this assignment. NOTE: This proposal is not APA formatted, and it much more detailed than what is expected of you. For instance, it has a section on data analysis, which is not required for this assignment. But this sample proposal should give you a basic idea of what’s meant by “literature review” and “research proposal/hypotheses.”

Assignment Specifics:

• 6-8 pages long

o   5-6 page(s) of literature review (using Lynn’s website)

• must cite at least SIX scholarly sources (with proper APA-style citations), not including your textbook
• should incorporate some major theory we’ve discussed this semester (e.g., attachment, group socialization, etc.)
• should address specific problems/holes in the existing literature

o   ½ – 1 page describing your topic and its importance to developmental psychology

o   1-2 pages of methodology

• Specifics on sample/population of interest
• Procedure
• Stimuli/measures

o   ½ page of specific hypotheses (including description of independent and dependent variables) and a rationale for those hypotheses

o   APA-style reference page, title page, citations, formatting

• Follow APA formatting and style throughout                                                                                                               

Grading and evaluation: This assignment is worth 25% of your grade in this course. Your grade will be based on the following (see the attached grading rubric for more detail)

• Appropriateness of the topic
• Quality of the literature review
• Creativeness/appropriateness of the research plan
• Thoroughness of research plan description
• Sensibility of hypothesis(es)
• APA formatting/citations/references