Assignment: Research Proposal
\nFor EDF 5481E, you will prepare a research proposal. After you identify a research problem and
\nlocate literature related to your topic, you will have the information you need to write your
\nproposal. The research proposal should be written in the present tense. Remember to use APA style
\nthroughout your proposal. In addition, don\u2019t forget to double space your document. The reference
\nlist, however, should be single spaced with double spaces between individual references.
\nThe Table of Contents should mirror (or be similar to) the proposal outline presented earlier. In
\naddition to listing the sections and sub-sections, provide the page numbers for each. Furthermore,
\nwith regard to sections and sub-sections, don\u2019t forget to include the actual headings within your
\ndocument. Major headings (e.g., Title, Introduction, Literature Review) should be centered on the
\npage. Under these major headings will be sub-headings (e.g., Statement of the Problem, Purpose,
\nSample) that should be left justified.
\nThe following sections provide writing prompts (guides) that may be useful as you begin to pull
\ntogether the literature that you have found on your proposed problem of study.
\nSECTION ONE: INTRODUCTION
\n\u2022 Part #1: Write a paragraph that introduces your topic. Mention your topic in the first
\nsentence. What are you planning to study? What is the purpose of the study?
\n\u2022 Part #2: Fully discuss your topic. What specifically interests you? Think of a specific research
\nquestion (or questions) and state it clearly and precisely. You can also begin to formulate your
\nideas on how you might study your research question, though you need not be very specific in this
\nsection. For example, if you plan to study attitudes toward school vouchers, suggest what
\ncharacteristics influence how individuals feel about school vouchers (e.g., income, location, etc.).
\n\u2022 Part #3: Explain to the reader why it is important to study your topic and put it into a larger
\neducational context. Here is where you answer the \u201cSo what?\u201d question. That is, you plan to study
\nXYZ. So what? Why is it important to study this topic? What is the educational importance of this
\nresearch? Why is this study significant? This is your opportunity to be broad, general, and
\ntheoretical in your thinking.
\nBased on the outline provided\/developed, you must include sub-headings within this
\nsection. You must cite references within this section to support your topic and\/or claim.
\nSECTION TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
\n\u2022 Part #1: Briefly restate your research topic in an opening paragraph. Provide a short
\nintroduction about what question(s) you are trying to answer, why this is educationally
\ninteresting, and why you chose it. Also, provide a brief overview of the topics you will cover in your
\nliterature review.
\n\u2022 Part #2: Divide the literature that you have into sections of like studies. Then, for each
\nsection, write an essay summarizing the studies. Be sure to state the research purpose,
\nmethod(s), and findings ONLY for the studies that are paramount to your study. [NOTE: Use
\ntransitions within your essay so that it flows and does not appear like disjointed blocks of
\ninformation.]
\n\u2022 Part #3: Write a concluding paragraph that summarizes the articles. For example, how will
\nthese articles inform your research?
\nSECTION THREE: METHODS
\nThe purpose of this section is to describe and explain your research design. This can be the hardest
\npart of the proposal for some students; therefore, do not wait until the last minute to write this
\nsection. When writing this section, imagine that you have received millions of dollars from a federal
\nagency or a private company to study your topic. You have unlimited resources for your research
\ndesign. Since you will not actually perform the research be creative, but appropriate, with your
\ndesign.
\n\uf0b7 In a brief introduction, precisely restate your research problem(s)\/question(s).
\n\uf0b7 Discuss the ways in which your research will fulfill any of the purposes of research
\nmentioned in class and in the text. Which purpose is most important to your topic?
\n\uf0b7 Indicate the following elements of your research design:
\no What is your mode of observation? How will you collect your data? Examples: If
\nyou are designing a survey, what types of questions will you ask? If you are going to
\nperform in-depth interviews, what will you ask of your interviewees?
\no What is your population of interest? Do you have a sampling frame? If so, what is it?
\nHow will you select your sample? What kind of sampling technique will you use?
\no How will you analyze your data? What unit of analysis best fits your project, and
\nwhy?
\no What type of time dimension is best for studying your topic, and why?
\n\uf0b7 If you plan to conduct qualitative research, discuss the following issues (be as detailed and
\nspecific as possible):
\no Clearly define the theoretical constructs you will be using.
\no What is the main concept you are investigating? What other concepts will be
\nexamined (note the concepts\u2019 potential structures, processes, causes, and
\nconsequences)?
\no What type(s) of qualitative analysis will you conduct?
\n\uf0b7 If you plan to conduct quantitative research, discuss the following issues (be as detailed
\nand specific as possible):
\no Clearly state your hypotheses.
\no Identify and operationalize your variables. What are the levels of measurements of
\nthe variables? Discuss the causal relationships between the variables; that is,
\nidentify the independent variables and the dependent variable.
\n\uf0b7 Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your design.
\n\uf0b7 Finally, write a concluding paragraph that summarizes the research design and proposal. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Assignment: Research Proposal For EDF 5481E, you will prepare a research proposal. After you identify a research problem and locate literature related to your topic, you will have the information you need to write your proposal. The research proposal should be written in the present tense. Remember to use APA style throughout your proposal. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"disciplines":[196],"paper_types":[],"tagged":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions\/25251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/questions"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/questions\/25251\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"disciplines","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/disciplines?post=25251"},{"taxonomy":"paper_types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper_types?post=25251"},{"taxonomy":"tagged","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goodacademic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tagged?post=25251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}