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Introduction
Although instructors tailor their classes to fit their own style and strengths, certain elements of ENG 104 & 114 are similar for all students at Ball State University. One of those is the requirement that “One project will take the form of a Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography.”
Some instructors may require a proposal very early in the research process, in which case the proposal would be more brief, less evidence-based and more speculative in nature. For the sake of our discussion here, we are going to assume that the Research Proposal is being required near the end of the initial research but before you have developed your own argument or thesis statement.
What is a Proposal?
Proposals are not just academic exercises. The “real world” requires proposals in many areas, from proposals that function as bids for jobs, proposals that suggest changes in government, or proposals to change or improve an aspect of work or the world. In academic settings, students and professor propose to do research, whether that is for a project for a class, a dissertation or for a grant. Different instructors will approach this ENG 104/114 requirement in different ways. For this section, we will explain how to do a research proposal, but you may be asked to other types of proposal, such as a proposal for some kind of change that comes from the research you have already done. So be sure to check with your instructor and pay close attention to how your instructor shapes this assignment.
By its nature, a proposal is a request. You are proposing to do research and requesting approval from your instructor in order to proceed with the research project you have planned. Does this mean there is a chance your instructor will deny your request? Perhaps, but careful planning and communication with your instructor throughout the process—including careful reading of the expectations your instructor lays out in the form of assignment sheets and requirements—will mitigate the likelihood of that occurrence. Also, careful work in your initial research and shaping of your research question will give you the confidence that you are setting forth on an important project.
In our discussion of Generating a Research Question we guided you through the process of beginning with something that makes you Wonder, exploring to identify a Problem, moving forward to clarify your Purpose, and then focusing your research with the guidance of a Research Question. When you write your proposal you will share those elements with your professor in a formal academic document.
Thus your proposal, the formal presentation of that initial research, will likely have an Introduction, explanation of the Problem, declaration of your Purpose, statement of your Research Question, discussion of How you Plan to Proceed, and a sharing of your Timeline for completing the project.
Introduction
As you begin, consider the needs and expectations of your audience (most likely your professor, unless the assignment requires otherwise). You will want to get your reader’s attention, and provide initial information so that your audience understands the context in which you are doing your research, and what the basic area of interest and inquiry are.
Problem
An important element of a proposal is demonstrating a need—you are convincing your audience that this is important work that needs to be done. You do this by indicating that there is a problem. Often in academic situations the problem is presented as a gap in the research. You will present some sense of what is known, in order to set up what is not yet known, and why it is important to discover, to fill the gap.
Purpose
In some ways the purpose will be obvious: you want to solve the problem or fill the research gap. However, when you clearly state that purpose you clarify for yourself and for your audience exactly what you are setting out to do. The statement of purpose helps to add focus to the project.
Research Question
Shifting from purpose to Research Question provides further clarity and focus to your research project. As you saw in our example, the Purpose of “understand the best way to respond” became more focused in asking “What is the role of government…?” Your Research Question should be clear, should be something that will require additional research for you to answer, but will also be narrow enough that you can arrive at an answer in the time you have to complete the project.
How you Plan to Proceed
The Plan will be drawn from the work you did on Aligning your Question with Methods. You will need to convince your audience that you have a clear sense of the work that needs to be done. You will need to indicate to your audience what you see as the next steps, so that your audience sees that what you set out is important, but also that you have a clear sense of the best way to go about answering your question.
Timeline
While the timeline may at first seem obvious to you, since your instructor has no doubt given a due date, a successful project benefits from more than just the final deadline. Your plan presented a number of things that you needed to accomplish, a number of steps that you would need to go through to arrive at your answer. Your timeline is your chance to set deadlines for yourself for each of those tasks. You will also want to ask yourself if any of those tasks have smaller parts, or steps to them. Present all of those steps in a chronological way, indicating when you will have each step completed. This will guide you and persuade your audience that you have a clear sense of what it will take to complete the project on time.
Student Sample
Below, you will see a Sample Proposal. Click on the Hotspots to the right for a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of this proposal in the context of the expectations we lay out above.
[h5p id=”19″]
Summary
A research proposal helps communicate your project to an audience, likely your instructor. Often the proposal will also include an annotated bibliography, which we will go over in the next section.
NEXT: Annotated Bibliography