General Overview: For this first milestone, you will create a formal topic proposal for your Final Paper. You will also locate seven (7) references to support the topic. To accomplish this, you will fill out the Topic Proposal and Literature Review Worksheet document (attached in the assignment area), which will guide you through describing your chosen topic and the resources to support it. Refer to the Topic Proposal and Literature Review Worksheet Example document to assist you in filling out the worksheet. The final project is meant for you to propose a hypothetical study. You are not and should not be conducting human subject research for this project. It is not necessary for the purposes of this assignment. All human subject research requires written approval from the AU Institutional Review Board in order to protect the welfare and ensure ethical treatment of the subjects.
You may use one of the references provided in the document you reviewed in the Topic Ideas document introduced in Week 1, but you still need a total of 7 sources. If needed, visit the Shapiro Library Database Index: A-Z Databases for information on how to use the librarys psychology-related databases. For the selection of your seven (5) articles, use PsycINFO or PsycARICLES. Your articles MUST be:
    Peer Reviewed (a. limit your search to “peer-reviewed” and b. check to see that the journal itself is peer reviewed by looking at their website-it will always be noted)
    The articles MUST be of standard length (do not use a brief report or an abstract)
    At least two (2) of the articles MUST contain a research study that was conducted (e.g. have Methods and Results sections)
    DO NOT use Wikipedia or blogs as sources

You must choose references from reliable sources such as peer-reviewed journals. Answer the following questions on the worksheet, which are based directly on the literature review requirements in the final paper. Provide a minimum of two sentences for each answer. 
    What are the key aspects of cognition covered in the studies in your references? 
    What evidence does each study present for how cognitive processes influence the area of human behavior covered in research? 
    How have views on this topic changed over time? You may use the references cited by the researchers in the studies you are using, material from the text, or other appropriate reference material. 
    What conclusions can be reached, based on these studies and references? 
    What research design was used for each study, and why do you think the researchers chose it? 
    How did the researchers address potential ethical issues, and did they do it adequately? Why or why not? 
    What gaps exist in these studies that could be addressed in future research? State a specific research question to address in your final paper. 

Rubric 
Guidelines for Submission: You will upload the worksheet as a Word document to Blackboard for grading and feedback. Once the submissions are graded, you will be able to review the feedback provided to you in the grading rubric. Your worksheet should be completed following proper APA citation and reference format.
Any thoughts that are not your own MUST be cited in proper APA format. Direct quotes (short and long) MUST be cited and formatted following APA guidelines.
Even if you paraphrase information, it MUST be cited. Papers are being evaluated through SafeAssign. Plagiarism will NOT be tolerated. If plagiarism is discovered, it will result in a grade of 0 for the assignment and possible disciplinary action.