Psychology in Action Developing Your Final Research Plan

In-Class Activity • Building on Your Outline • Individual Submission

What This Activity Is For

You already submitted your Research Plan Outline. That means your group has:

A chapter selected ✓
A phenomenon or topic identified ✓
An individual concept chosen ✓

Now it is time to go deeper. Today’s activity asks you to take the foundation from your outline and build it into a detailed, presentation-ready research plan. This is working time — use it well.

Example Research Plan

What are you working on

Step 1 — Revisit Your Outline (5 minutes)

Look back at what you submitted for your Research Plan Outline. Identify:

What did you write for your concept definition? Is it in your own words, or did you copy it?
What research tasks did you list? Are they specific enough to actually do, or are they vague?
Did you identify real sources, or did you just name general places like “Google”?

Write one sentence answering this: What is the weakest part of your outline that needs the most work today?

Step 2 — Sharpen Your Concept Definition (10 minutes)

Take your concept from the outline and rewrite the definition. Do not copy from the textbook. Use your own words to answer these three questions:

What is it? (Define the concept in plain language)
How does it work? (What does this concept describe or explain?)
Why does it matter for your topic? (In 1–2 sentences, explain how this concept directly applies to your group’s phenomenon)

Write all three answers in your document now.

Step 3 — Build a Specific Research Plan (15 minutes)

In your outline, you listed research tasks. Now upgrade them. For each task, make sure it passes the “Can I check this off?” test — meaning it names a specific action, a specific source or page range, and a specific outcome.

Write 4–6 upgraded research tasks for your concept.

Use these sentence starters to help:

“Read pages __ in Chapter __ and take notes on __”
“Search Google Scholar for ‘__ [concept]’ and locate studies”
“Find one news article or real-world example showing __ in action”
“Search Psychology Today / APA.org / [specific site] for __”
“Write a 2–3 sentence draft explanation of how my concept applies to __”

💡 Ask yourself: If your professor read your task list, would they know exactly what you did?

Step 4 — Lock In Your Sources (10 minutes)

Upgrade your source list from the outline. List at least 3 specific sources:

Textbook — Write the exact chapter and page numbers where your concept appears
One academic or credible psychology source — Name the article title, website, or exact search term
One source connected to your real-world topic — Name the specific article, report, or search you will use

❌ “Google Scholar”

✅ Google Scholar search: “positive reinforcement screen time children 2020+” — locating 2 peer-reviewed studies

Step 5 — Group Sync: Cohesion Check (10 minutes)

Meet with your group for 10 minutes. Answer these questions together:

What is our group’s one-sentence argument — the core claim we want the audience to leave with?
What is the logical order our concepts should be presented in, and why?
What is the one concept that holds the group’s argument together — the one idea that connects everyone else’s section?

Write your group’s one-sentence argument in your document. Then write 2–3 sentences explaining how your individual concept contributes to that argument.

Step 6 — Self-Check Before You Submit

Before submitting, make sure:

✅ My concept definition is in my own words — not copied from the textbook
✅ I have 4–6 research tasks that are specific and behavioral
✅ Each task names a source, page range, or search term
✅ I listed at least 3 named sources (not just categories)
✅ I wrote my group’s one-sentence argument
✅ I explained how my concept connects to that argument

Reminders

Vague answers will not help you — “do research” and “look stuff up” are not specific enough
This activity directly prepares you for the Final Research Plan due May 1
If you are stuck on your concept definition, open the textbook right now and read the section before writing
If you are not sure your research tasks are specific enough, ask yourself: Can I actually do this in the next 10 minutes? If yes, it is specific enough