8/8/2019 INST 381: Proposal Guide

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INST 381: Research Methods Fall 2010

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Your final research proposal is due December 10 (during final exams week). This is the capstoneassignment for this course, and should prepare you for a future thesis project. The proposal must

be 7-8 pages in length, not including the title page and bibliography.

A research proposal is similar to a research paper, only it is lacking the conclusions of a final

research report. Instead, the proposal introduces a research question and providing a rationale

(why does the question matter), outlining a theoretical framework, presenting a hypothesis or

model, and describing the research design (this includes careful explanation of both case selection

and methodology).

The best way to proceed with a research proposal is to divide it into separate elements, each as a

separate heading within the paper:

1. Research Question

This section of your proposal (about 2-3 paragraphs) should introduce your research

question. In addition to providing some (brief) context, state your question as clearly,

concisely, and directly and possible. Then, give a brief explanation of why your question

matters to a general audience.

2. Theoretical Framework

This section is a little longer (about 3-5 paragraphs) but is geared towards presenting a

brief sketch of a literature review. Focus on the key concepts, theories, or schools of

thought related to your overall project. Give this section a name that reflects that

discussion (e.g. Defining and Explaining Rights Revolutions or Presidentialism,

Instability, and Explanations of Failed Presidencies). Later, your thesis will expand thissection into a complete chapter (the literature review).

3. Hypothesis or Model

Depending on what kind of thesis you are working, you need to determine whether you

want to use a formal hypothesis (that states the relationship between at least two

variables) or a more abstract, theoretical model. This section should be relatively brief

(about 2-3 paragraphs), but you may want to revisit it as you work on the longer Research

Design section.

4. Research Design

This section is the most important and most complicated section of your proposal (about

4-5 pages). This section will contain various subsections, and each should be carefully

labeled: case selection, data and method, and dependent and independent variables. The

specific sequence of these will vary, depending on your project. You should introduce

this section with a brief explanation(1-2 paragraph) of your general research design (are

you doing a single-case study, a comparative study, or a large-N study?).

8/8/2019 INST 381: Proposal Guide

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INST 381: Research Methods Fall 2010

Case Selection

This sub-section (about 2-3 paragraphs) should carefully explain what case or cases you

are using, and why they will best help you answer your research question.

If you are doing a single-case study, this may be apparent from your research

question. Still, it is your job to convince the reader that your case is a good case

for addressing your projects broader theoretical claims.

If you are doing a comparative case study, this is where you will explain whether

you are using a most-similar systems (MSS) or most-different systems (MDS)

research design.

If you are doing a large-N study, this is where you specify the parameters of your

sample.

For all of the above, you will need to explain any other parameters for your cases. For

example, a study of the French Revolution is not about France but about France from

1780 to 1810 (or however you define the parameters). The fundamental rule is to letyour audience know exactly what your cases are.

Data and Methods

This sub-section (about 2-3 paragraphs) should carefully explain to your reader what data

you will be using, whether it is data you are collecting yourself (e.g. your own participant

observation or interviews), data from some other source (e.g. economic data from theWorld Bank), or your own data but drawn from another source (e.g. content analysis of

archive materials).

The discussion of methods should flow naturally from the discussion of data. For

example, if you are doing content analysis of archive materials, you must specify what

archive materials you are using, where they are located, and the procedures of yourcontent analysis. If you are going to do statistical analysis, this is where you specify thesource of your data and the kind of statistical analysis you will use.

(If your thesis does not use a formal hypothesis with dependent and independent

variables, you will not have to worry about that sub-section. However, your data and

methods discussion will have to be more detailed; you will need to explain your process

as clearly and completely as possible, as well a include theoretical justification for your

research procedures.)

Dependent and Independent Variables

If you are using a formal hypothesis, this section (about 3-5 pages, depending on number

of variables) is where you operationalize your dependent and independent variables.Define them as clearly as possible.

5. Conclusion

Conclude the proposal with a brief discussion (about 2-3 paragraphs) of any obstacles,

limitations, or problems you foresee in executing your project. Be honest. Anticipate

problems and speculate on how you may deal with them (i.e. have a plan B).