1. WRITING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL Planning and thinking about research 1

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. 2

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

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

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. 5

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? 6

7. Proposed table of contents Why is structure important? 7

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 ). 8