What is a research proposal
1) intended to convince others that
-- you have a worthwhile (1) ______
-- you have the (2) ______ and work-plan to complete it
2) usually structured in the same way as (3) ______
Ⅱ. How to write a research proposal
1) Title
-- to be concise and (4) ______
-- often in terms of a functional relationship
2) Abstract
-- a brief summary of about 300 words
-- including (5) ______, the rationale for study, the hypothesis, the method and main findings
3) Introduction
-- purpose: to provide the background for the research problem
-- frame: to paint your research question in broad brushes and bring out its significance
· to put the research question in the context of a current hot area, or an older area still viable
· to provide a brief but appropriate (6) ______
· to provide the contemporary context
4) (7) ______
-- many different ways to organize this part
-- use of subheadings to bring order and coherence to this part
5) Methods
--purpose: to provide your work plan and describe the activities necessary for the completion of your project
-- guiding principle: sufficient information to justify the soundness of the methodology
· to demonstrate your knowledge of (8) ______ and prove that your method is the most appropriate
· to use qualitative method and justify it
· to be more elaborate than what is required for traditional quantitative research
6) Results
-- no results at the proposal stage
-- to have some idea of data to be collected and statistical procedures to be used
7) Discussion
-- to convince readers of (9) ______ of the proposed research
-- to include merits as well as (10) ______ of your research