Your written assignment this week is preparation for your final assignment due in Week 6. Your final assignment will involve conducting a brief observational only investigation designed to help answer a research question. This week you will choose a topic in social psychology and conduct an in-depth literature review of the topic. From this literature review, you will develop the research question related to the topic. You will identify at least three articles that you reviewed that address the research question using scientific methods of investigation. Finally, you will outline a plan for your own observational investigation designed to add to the body of knowledge on the topic and help answer the research question. This week’s paper should be in the form of a research topic proposal and should include:

• an overview of the topic
• literature review of the topic
• your research question
• identification of one to three articles from the literature review that describe scientific investigations designed to address the research question
• an outline of a proposed brief observational only investigation designed to help answer the research question

Note that your investigation should be brief and should not require interaction between you and the research subjects. It should be simple enough that it not require approval from the IRB, but you must have approval from your instructor before proceeding.