Research Proposal Assignment

Due Date – Please submit your research proposal by 03/08/19 at 11:00am.

Submission Guidelines – Please email your completed assignment as a Microsoft Word .docx file to me. My address is [email protected].

Revision Policy – This assignment can be revised and resubmitted for an entirely new grade. Revisions must be submitted by 03/22/19. Revising and resubmitting your proposal is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

 Your research proposal should contain the following two sections:

Section I – Motivating Question, Problem, or Objective (480-500 words)

This section should introduce your research interest by describing your personal connection to this topic and by providing some historical and/or cultural context about this topic. Tell the reader how you became interested in this topic and what you find interesting about it. This section should end with one or more questions about your research topic that will indicate what specifically you wish to uncover about this topic.

Here are some guiding questions to help you write this section:

  • What exactly do you want to study? Why is this topic of interest to you?
  • What is the theoretical/practical significance for your research? Who else might be interested in learning more about your research topic?
  • What are the specific questions that are guiding your research agenda?

Section II – Review of Prior Scholarship (550-600 words + names of journals & databases)

This section discusses the existing scholarship on your research topic. It will help you to situate your research in relation to the ongoing conversation that your research interest has already generated. The purpose of this section is to show that you have done some preliminary research on the secondary sources pertaining to your research topic, and that you have a general sense of the kinds of things that have been said about your topic. Be sure to identify any trends or patterns of thought that you see emerging, and draw attention to any questions that you find particularly interesting but which hasn’t received much scholarly attention.

  • What have other scholars said about your research topic? What are the consistent findings that seems to be agreed on? What are the major points of debate and disagreement surrounding your topic? Are there any gaps or unresolved questions about your research topic? Make sure you refer to at least 3 sources (books / articles) when addressing these questions.
  • List 5 journals and 3 databases from where you can get secondary sources on your research topic.

Learning Goals

Students will:

  • Determine the scope and objectives of their research for their final paper.
  • Develop practical experience with using library resources and assessing the value of various kinds of online sources.

 

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.