Writing a Research Proposal ENGL 161 Fall 2016 John Casey

Purpose of a Research Proposal Research studies take time to complete and often cost professionals money to conduct (equipment, staffing, etc.). Your proposal thus is an opportunity to convince a supervisor (in this case me) that your study is worth the time or money to conduct. Here I have no money to offer you for your research but time is important as you’ll have a limited amount of time to finish your research. A good proposal can also help you refine your thinking on your topic. Figure out what your real interest is in the research.

Formatting a Research Proposal Most of the section in FIAW that I asked you to read for today (pages 318-21) focuses on methodology. What information to include in your proposal and how to structure that information? They recommend having at least FOUR sections: Purpose, Review of Relevant Research, Method, and Implications. Actual proposals sometimes include more sections or use different terms for each section. We’ll see that as we look at some examples in a few minutes.

Purpose In this first section (FIAW p. 319) you should describe what your research study is about and why you feel that study is important. You should also address your working thesis in this section. Which of the four models are you using (correcting misinterpretations, filling a gap, modifying, or hypothesis testing). Sometimes this section is labeled “Introduction” or “Overview.”

Review of Relevant Research This section of your proposal serves as a short literature review of the current sources you have found (FIAW p. 319). What are some trends in the existing research? Do your sources agree on the nature of the problem but not on a solution? Do they agree on solutions but not on the nature of the problem? Do they disagree on fundamental issues? Why? How? Trends in research help readers of your proposal see that your research is needed (what it will accomplish) and where it fits within the context of existing studies.

Method In a scientific study this is often the longest section of a proposal, describing the lab apparatus and experimental procedures. We’ll look at an example with that type of information shortly (FIAW p. 320). Your research report will probably not have so elaborate a methods section as you won’t have time in this class (or money for that matter) to conduct much original research. As a result, your methods section will primarily address the search terms you used to find your current sources, databases where you have found good results, and your reading practices for these sources (i.e. skimming or deep reading for instance).

Implications Sometimes called “Conclusion” or “Results,” this last section of your proposal should address the significance of your study (FIAW p. 320-21). If there were original research in your study, you would address what makes that research “original.” What does it add to the discussion on a topic? Without original research, this section largely addresses how your interpretation of existing research might be useful.

Sample Proposals FIAW provides a sample proposal on pages 325-31. Let’s start by looking at that. Now let’s look at some of the sample proposals you brought with you to class today. Do these proposals have the structure described in FIAW? Why or why not? Can you tell what they are studying and why it matters? If students don’t bring proposals or they bring proposals that aren’t necessarily useful, this website will help <https://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/researchcourse/develop_write_sample.html>. Look specifically at sample proposals in Industry/Business, Biology, and Education.

Writing Project #2 Your second writing project in this class is a Proposal for your research project (WP#4). A full description of this assignment can be found in the syllabus “Description of Writing Projects” section. Your proposal should include the sections and structure recommend in FIAW (Purpose, Review of Relevant Research, Method, Implications). You also will need to add an Annotated Bibliography of the sources you have found related to your topic (a minimum of three sources are required for this assignment).

Activity (if time) Start working on your proposal. Begin with the Annotated Bibliography. Then move on to a Review of Relevant Research. From there work on the Purpose, Implications, and Method. For Friday, bring a list of your current sources to the library with you for our second library instruction session. Our topic this week will be source relevance (scholarly vs. non-scholarly).