The format and grading criteria: For this assignment, you are required to generate a written proposal for your Proposal Presentation on the same issue focused on a problem and solution that you chose to research for your Annotated Bibliography. The proposal is a formal document, and as such, should be proof-read carefully.
Working from our class discussions and your own thoughts on research topics, write a proposal for a research-based issue or problem. Do not concern yourself with writing an introduction or a conclusion or with presenting the proposal as an organically developed product (i.e., do not obsess about transitions between the paragraphs). That being said, you should still be sure that your proposal is more polished than a stream-of-consciousness free-write.
Section 1: Create a biography of yourself as a researcher–an “About the Author” section in which you establish your persona and your ethos as a student-researcher on your topic. Explain the reasons you are interested in the topic you chose and how you developed an interest in the topic (either through your research thus far or your personal experience in the past, or a combination of both).
Why do you feel there is a necessity to do this research? 2. In what situations have you gained knowledge on this topic (work, school, television, interest in the general subject, family members, hobbies, etc.)? 3. Where did you first discover this topic? 4. What past experiences do you have with this topic? 5. Do you know people with experiences with this topic? 6. Where have you gained information or learned about the topic? 7. What do you expect to learn throughout your research? 8. How much can you expect your audience to know about your topic (discuss different audience types)?
Section 2: In the second section of your proposal, introduce your issue/problem topic and describe what you think at this point the main focus might be. Include a tentative or potential solution or solutions in this section, including any existing, problematic policies. The reason that I’ve asked you to include this at this early date is to encourage you to question/interrogate your topic from the very beginning of your project, so you can approach it from a critical, analytical perspective.
Obviously you’ll probably revise your problem and solution while you research current policies–and maybe your entire approach to the topic–several times over the next few weeks, but this is an important first step in focusing your argument.
How have you limited the time period of the topic? 2. How have you limited the topic geographically? 3. What special circumstances limit the topic? 4. What is its historical, cultural, social, or critical context? Have you narrowed this topic down by event, person, or number? 5. Is there a question set of questions you hope to answer through your research? 6. Is there a particular issue or controversy about your narrowed topic in which you are focused? 7. What is your tentative solution to the problem? In one sentence, name the narrowed topic and your opinion about it, which will ultimately be the focus of your projects.
Section 3: In the third section, discuss the sources that you intend to use. Remember, you can use films, television programs, critical articles, books, interviews, surveys, etc. You don’t need to distinguish between primary and secondary materials at this point. In these paragraphs, speculate on what obstacles you foresee in this project and/or what you anticipate to be the most difficult part of the assignment.
In this section, you should discuss the methods and sources you will have used and may continue to use to conduct your research, including specific references to sites, databases, key texts or authors that you feel will be indispensable to your project. Include here also reference to less traditional research methods–fieldwork, interviews, surveys, visits to a discussion forum, as applicable to your topic. This is also the section in which you might troubleshoot the research project, or weigh the benefits and drawbacks of certain types of sources (i.e., availability, bias, etc.). Make sure your reader understands how the methodology/sources you have chosen are appropriate to your specific topic.
In this last section, address the “So what?” of this research.
That is, why does what you are investigating matter? 2. Why should your audience want to invest in it? 3. Why does the topic, controversy, issue, or problem matter in general? 4. What types of sources have you already found? Are they useful or not? Why or why not? 5. What further research needs to happen and why?
Section 4: Then, include a “List of Potential Sources” in proper APA format (like a References page)–minimum of four sources. At least three of these need to be credible, library-type sources, and at least two of those must come from the Ivy Tech virtual library databases.
Part I
In an original thread, upload the full rough draft of your Proposal Rough Draft (the written one as outlined above) to both this forum and in the M06: Proposal Peer Review forum (you will peer review a classmate’s draft next week).
If your original draft post contains a viable proposal on your chosen research topic that has made reasonable progress (get the full assignment on paper–600 words, excluding the List of Potential Sources, but it doesn’t have to be perfect) and is on topic, you will receive 20 points. Anything that does not meet the basic minimums mentioned above or is not completed will earn reduced credit. It is suggested that your List of Potential Sources is also present so that you may receive valuable feedback on it, but it is not required for the draft.
