1. WELNS 670: Wellness Research Design Session 14

2. Writing the Research Proposal

3. Purpose of a Research Proposal Similar to an Architect’s Building Plan or a Entrepreneur's Business Plan Detailed guidelines for carrying out a project (once you have received permission) Request for Proposals (RFPs)/Request for Applications (RFAs)

4. Characteristics of a Proposal Straight forward Captures the attention of reviewers with the first sentence Communicates clearly – language must be clear, sharp and precise Clearly organized Supports the logic used to develop the proposed outcomes

5. Formatting a Research Proposal Follow a simple, logical form of presentation Use different heading styles to indicate different levels of headingsAPAAPA Select the number of headings to be used and determine which levels # of Levels# of Levels

6. Writing the First Draft Adhere to the guidelines required by the institution, organization, or funding agency to which you are submitting the proposal Focus on the organization and logical sequencing rather than wording/grammar/spelling Present the research problem at the beginning of the first chapter Convince the reader of the importance of your project Describe your with as much detail and precision as possible Assume that your readers know nothing whatsoever about your project Use appendices to present informed consent letters, specific measurement instruments, and other detailed materials Describe how you will analyze the data to answer your research problem

7. Revising Set the proposal aside for a few days Carefully scrutinize your work, looking for disorganized thoughts and illogical thinking Look for places where you are not as clear as you might be Seek feedback from others Check carefully for errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling Consider the feasibility of your project once again

8. The Data and Treatment of the Data Next several weeks will deal with this section… A research proposal addresses the nature of the data to be collected, how that data will be processed, and how the data will be interpreted.

9. Common Weaknesses in Research Proposals

10. Resources Web Site: A Guide for Writing Research Papers – APA Style: – http://www.apastyle.org/ http://www.apastyle.org/ – http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/apa_intro.htm http://webster.commnet.edu/apa/apa_intro.htm A number of Web sites on the Internet can help you in your writing. Here are a few: – Strunk and White – The grammar bible for many an author. http://www.bartleby.com/141/ http://www.bartleby.com/141/ – Miscellaneous reference works: http://scholes.alfred.edu/ref_desk/ref.html http://scholes.alfred.edu/ref_desk/ref.html

11. APA Levels of Heading LEVEL 5: CENTERED AND UPPERCASE Level 1: Centered Uppercase and Lowercase Level 2: Centered, Italicized, Uppercase and Lowercase Level 3: Flush Left, Italicized, Uppercase and Lowercase Level 4: Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading ending with a period.

12. Selecting the Levels of Heading One level (short articles, only): Use Level 1. Two levels: Use Level 1 and Level 3 Three levels: Use Level 1, Level 3, and Level 4. Three levels: Use Level 1, Level 3, and Level 4. Four levels: Use Levels 1-4 Five levels: Use Levels 1-5

13. 3 Heading Levels (APA) The Problem and Its Setting (Level 1) Statement of the Problem and Subproblems (Level 3) Problem. (Level 4) Subproblem 1. (Level 4) Subproblem 2. (Level 4) Research Questions/Hypotheses (Level 3) Delimitations (Level 3) Definitions of Terms (Level 3) Assumptions (Level 3) Importance of the Study (Level 3) Review of Related Literature (Level 1)