Introduction Chapter
The first chapter of the project report (the purpose of the study, the research questions being asked, and the associated literature review) must be submitted at the half-way stage to ensure the quality and reasonable progress of the work. The completed Introduction chapter should be approximately 2000 words in length and follow the Dissertation Submission Format set out in Section F of this Handbook. You will be required to submit an electronic copy of the completed Introduction chapter to iLearn. There is no need to submit a hard copy to Arden University. You should inform your Supervisor once you have submitted your chapter. The completed Introduction chapter is worth 20% of the final overall grade.
Chapter Structure
The Introduction chapter should be an outline summary of your Dissertation. Thus, you will need to cover the following items:
Purpose of the study
This should contain an explanation of the problem/issue and justification as to why it is important.
Research questions
You should write a series of precisely written aims and objectives, and research questions. These will help you to evaluate your findings and conclusions.
Literature Review
You should demonstrate your knowledge of relevant literature by identifying key debates together with concepts and theories within the topic area. You should clearly show how the literature will be utilised to inform your research. Note: This is not your full Literature Review but a summary of the key points.
Methodology
This section should outline the fundamental issues in methodology followed by a description of the methodological approach to be adopted in the proposed research, and an outline of your data collection and analytical process. Note: This is not your full Methods chapter but a summary of the key points.
Conclusions
This section should outline how you aim to tie together the threads that you will weave throughout the work. It should address how the aims and objectives, and research questions will be evaluated. and answering the questions that were initially set. Note: This is not your full Conclusions chapter but a summary of the key points
References
You must include references in support of your Introduction, which should be used in accordance with APA standards for Psychology
