For this assignment you will be writing a research proposal in which you will be asking a research question and a hypothesis for a research study on a subject of your choosing. Ideally, the research question will locate a gap or under-studied aspect of a subject you have chosen, perhaps following up with your annotated bibliography assignment, and propose a hypothetical research study in which you will investigate this subject further.
Be aware that research proposals often vary depending on what the audience is interested in seeing from the proposal.To highlight those differences, I shared the following documents only for that purpose:
Scholarly Article: How to Write a Research Proposal Download How to Write a Research Proposal[a detailed explanation for graduate level research proposals]
Website: San Jose State: Research ProposalsDownload Research Proposals
Directions:
What we will write is a simplified APA-style research proposal that will have six identifiable sections, meaning you must include Level 2 headings to introduce each section:
1. Introduction: here you will identify the need for study (why undertake this research), what the value of this research will be (significance of the study), and your research question. [Note: we are combining the traditional “introduction” and “rationale” together for simplicity.]
2. Literature Review: here you will summarize the existing scholarly work (journal articles) that has been done on this topic, identifying how the authors have studied this topic and interesting places where the research overlaps or disagrees with one another.
3. Methodology: here you will identify how you would hypothetically study the topic. Generalizing the study methods is fine–this is not a Research Methods course–but you should emphasize your objectives in this study (what kinds of information do you want to gather) and the practical details of how the study might be conducted.
4. Discussion: here you will discuss any potential problems or limitations you may anticipate in the study. Ignore monetary concerns (assume you would be getting the grant money unless your study is enormous). Instead, focus on the practical issues that may arise from such a study and how you might address them.
5. Conclusion: here you will hypothesize the short term and long term value of the study to researchers in this field. The conclusion about engaging persuasively with a professional audience to “sell” them on the idea of conducting this research for the benefit of other experts in the field of study.
Requirements:
Word Count: A minimum of 2000 words.
A clearly articulated research question following the notes on what makes a “good” research question.
Following the organizational format above.
A minimum of seven scholarly sources (more can be used for support in the Research Proposal).
APA formatting throughout, including a title page and sectional headings.
