Writing a Research Proposal

1. Writing a Research Proposal Planning and thinking about research

2. Purpose and value of a research proposal • Determining your question. • Narrowing your focus from a broad topic of interest to a workable question that can be answered well within the word count – crucial to do well. • Identifying important sources in advance. • Significantly reduce the writing time. • Understanding the important debates by placing yourself in the literature.

3. Contents • Research question • Significance of study • Identification of literature • Methodology • Proposed structure

4. Theory • There are two main uses of a theory: • Determine relevance. • Explain process. An effort to understand in a procedure of enquiry Anything that is not about elephants is irrelephant

5. Significance of study • Not necessarily original – in fact this is highly unlikely. • Must be specific to your question, but placed within the context of the literature on the broad topic. • How do you contribute if not original? • A way of introducing your focus.

6. Identification of literature • Have you successfully identified the body of literature? • Identifying key authors. • Identifying themes. • Identifying debates/contentions. • How does your research question fit in?

7. Proposed table of contents Why is structure important?

8. Conclusion • A good research essay… • …has a research question that can be fully addressed in the confines of the word limit. • …indicates the significance of study. • …identifies the important themes and debates in the literature. • …outlines a logical, analytical structure. • …can significantly ease the process of research (and improve your grade).