The goal of the proposal is to make a clear and compelling case that you understand the problem (hypothesis), the literature surrounding research on this topic (literature review), and that your stated methods will fill in the ‘gaps’ that other research has not (methodological plan). Overall, your project’s intentions are to improve on the existing state of knowledge. Proposal Guidelines 1. The proposal should be 6 – 8 pages in length and include an APA title and references page (not included in page count) 2. Use APA guidelines for formatting and referencing – see the Orientation module for more on this (use your APA Manual from Junior Seminar). 3. Minimum of 5 should be scholarly sources should be used in this paper’s literature review 4. Paper structure
* Introduction (including Statement of Problem, Purpose of Research, and Significance of Research): The introduction of a proposal should begin with a capsule statement of what is being proposed and then should proceed to introduce the subject to a general audience. It should give enough background to enable an informed layman to place your particular research problem in a context of common knowledge and should show how its solution will advance the field or be important for some other work. The statement describes the significance of the problem(s), referring to appropriate studies or statistics.
* Literature Review: Be sure to make clear what the research problem is and exactly what has been accomplished concerning research and to show why the previous work needs to be continued. The literature review should be selective and critical. Discussions of work done by others should therefore lead the reader to a clear impression of how you will be building upon what has already been done and how your work differs from theirs. Use at least 5 scholarly sources.
* Methodological Approach: Remember as you lay out the research design to be realistic about what can be accomplished, be explicit about any assumptions or hypotheses the research method rests upon, be clear about the focus of the research, and be specific about the means of evaluating the data or the conclusions. 5. No more than 20% of the proposal should be direct quotes. 6. Use proper grammar, citations, structure – The use of the Writing Lab is suggested for editing.
