You will create a file in Word with the following information in it, and submit it through the computers in the department's lab, not on paper, following the directions that are posted in the lab:

1. Use the library's electronic resources to find a list of several journal articles (references) that relate to your current topic area. Through this process, continue to narrow down your topic area and get down to a manageable number of references (shoot for between 15 and 20). Record the full citations for these articles. Note: at this point, don't worry about whether or not these journals are in the library.

 
2. Look at your list of references and note what journals the articles appear in. Make a list of the journal titles and tally how many of your references appear in each journal. You must list all the journals you use regardless of whether or not they are available in the library. Also, you should indicate whether or not each journal is available in the library by placing a (y)es or (n)o after each journal title on your journal tally.


For example your journal tally could look something like this:

Journal of Abnormal Psychology (y): 2

Physiology and Behavior (n): 3

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology (y): 4

Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (y): 1

Journal of Psychopathology (n): 3

TARGET JOURNAL: Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Revised Proposal Topic: Fly Behavior

Alternate examples of Journal Tallies.
 

3. The journal with the highest number of your references in it becomes your target journal, but now you need to be concerned with whether or not the library has it. If our library does not have your target journal, check to see which journals on your tally we do have, and choose the one that has the most of your references in it.  Include on this page your updated proposal topic.

1.  In the library, or on line (full text), page through the past one year's worth of issues, not the last calendar year but the last year of that journal which the library owns, of your target journal (found in the Journal Tally Assignment), and look at the titles of 20 articles. Using the title of each article, make a list of your guesses regarding the topic of that study. These topics do not have to be related to your current proposal topic, the point is to introduce you to other potential topics that you might be interested in. You don't have to record any bibliographic information or give us the title. We just want a list of topics. You can have repeating topics. (Include the name of your target journal on this exercise.)

 
2. Use all of the above information to narrow down your research proposal topic. It would be a good idea to find at least three of the articles from your reference list and read them. Based on what these articles say and everything else you have done in this process you should be able to start thinking about a new and innovative proposal that is a natural extension of the work that professionals in the field have already done.