1. Thesis Proposal Nina Spada Second Language Education Curriculum, Teaching and learning

2. Research proposal Convinces others that you have a worthwhile project Convinces others that you have the competence and the work-plan to complete it

3. Research Proposal What do you plan to accomplish? Why do you want to do it? How are you going to do it?

4. Importance of Proposal It’s the first significant piece of writing you will do on your thesis It will give you firsthand insights into the complexity of the investigatory process and the particular research area you have chosen It provides your chair and committee members evidence of your preparation to carry out the research and of how you operate as a scholar.

5. Most importantly… The proposal serves as a blueprint for what you intend to do Specifies exactly how you plan to complete your research One’s research is only as good as one’s proposal

6. How binding is the proposal? Informal contract – Viewed as binding in some disciplines No contract – Recognition that changes occur during the process of the research

7. Elements of the proposal Introduction (Literature Review) Method Results

8. Introduction (Literature Review) Two-chapter model – Relatively short chapter that introduces topic, provides a brief overview and state the research problem and sometimes hypotheses – Longer chapter provides a critical, integrative review of the literature CHALLENGE: to present sufficient information in the first chapter for the reader to understand why the research question is important without being redundant with the longer chapter.

9. Introduction (Literature Review) One chapter model – Combined the material of the two-chapter version into one – Begins with a brief introduction to topic, launches into the literature review that concludes with a statement of problem and hypotheses – ADVANTAGE: More streamlined and focused than two-chapter model

10. Contents of Literature Reivew Complete or abbreviated review? Funnel approach

11. Method “how it’s going to be done” section Rule of thumb – replicability Standard organizational framework – Participants – Setting – Measures – Procedures

12. Analyses and Results Organizational sections – Analyses detailing the procedures (quantitative or qualitative) that you will use – Results Mock or anticipated results section

13. Additional information Timeline Appendices – Samples of instruments to be used in the research, analytic frameworks etc.