Research Proposal Information Part I

Your research proposal will be a written essay of 2-3 pages that proposes a research topic, offers a tentative focus for your research questions and the angle you will take on the topic, describes the methods you will use to investigate your topic and answer your research questions, sets up a timeline for completion, and argues for the significance of your work.

Purpose/Goals: This proposal is designed to act as a guide for your research this semester by asking you to articulate the topic, questions, and significance of your investigation. It will also introduce you to the professional and technical genre of proposal writing and establishes the relationship between using sources and writing that makes valuable knowledge for other people, and yourself.

Subject: You are free to choose your topic for this assignment interests you, moves you, or otherwise appeals to you in some way. I would highly recommend that you make a choice that will allow you to explore your a systemic problem that is the focus of attention already. Your proposal represents a commitment; based on this proposal you will write a major research-based essay, an annotated bibliography, a multi-genre exploration of the stakeholders involved in the issue, and your final oral/multimedia presentation. As you proceed your focus may change. This is perfectly acceptable! Research and writing are themselves processes of discovery. Just be sure to stay in communication with me along the way.

Length/Format: The proposal should be two to three typed, double-spaced pages. The main body of the paper should use the set of questions below to help you work through this particular genre of writing. Be sure and add a paragraph laying out a timeline for your research and writing. Provide this paragraph at a logical place. Finally, compose a short biography/rationale (100-250 words) in which you develop your credibility/ethos for this research, i.e, you explain your interest in the topic.

Research proposals are commonly used in a wide variety of disciplines and professions as a means of developing agendas for research communities, obtaining funding, publicizing plans for inquiry and field research, and testing the interest of potential audience in a given project. Therefore, the genre, organization, and contents of the Research Proposal differ in important ways from other kinds of popular and academic writing.

Process: In the proposal itself, you should explain your interest in your chosen subject and establish a set of questions to guide your inquiry. That is, you should create an abstract of your planned research (using, if you wish, subheadings and images) and include the following components in your final draft (you can work through the attached page as a checklist):

• Come up with an intriguing title for your research proposal. [This title will necessarily be different from the one you use for your research, and the spirit of inquiry should appear in your choice of a title. See example below.]

Investigating Inequality in Womens' Education

• Craft an effective introduction to engage the audience’s interest. [Note: we will be sharing these proposals in class and in Peer Review groups – so your audience is the entire class.]

• Give some background on the topic (or, what you know so far). [Note: acknowledging how little you know can be an effective rhetorical move, for it shows you exactly what knowledge you need to accumulate.]

• Identify a series of questions that will inform your research. [You might want to explain each question or set of questions as you list them.]

• Delineate the methods you will use to conduct your research: Library investigation of primary and secondary sources? Interviews with experts on campus or in the community? Field research with student or community populations? [Note: be as specific as possible, providing the names of key sources, potential interviewees, and other research sources, as well as the rationale for why these methods will serve your needs.]

• Set up a time line for your research. [Be sure to identify the steps of your process. This aspect is the one common denominator in all research proposals, no matter what the disciplinary or professional field.]

• Determine and articulate the purpose or goal of this research: What is your ultimate aim? Why are you researching this particular topic? Or, why do you feel compelled to study this topic further? What do you hope to accomplish? Whom do you hope to persuade? Why is this important? Or, what is the significance of this work? [Note: This last aspect is the most crucial one, and it often makes or breaks the decision of a governing board, financial establishment, or other evaluative audience when judging various proposals for their merit, feasibility, and contribution to the field. You might choose to weave this aspect into your introduction and then return to it again in your conclusion.]

Suggestions for Ideas on How to Get Started: I suggest that you write out your responses to the key points above and then shape your answers into your proposal. See also Proposals