Thesis Proposal

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Thesis Proposal

• Nina Spada
• Second Language Education
• Curriculum, Teaching and learning

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Research proposal

• Convinces others that you have a worthwhile
  project
• Convinces others that you have the competence and
  the work-plan to complete it

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Research Proposal

• What do you plan to accomplish?
• Why do you want to do it?
• How are you going to do it?

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Importance of Proposal

• Its the first significant piece of writing you
  will do on your thesis
• It will give you firsthand insights into the
  complexity of the investigatory process and the
  particular research area you have chosen
• It provides your chair and committee members
  evidence of your preparation to carry out the
  research and of how you operate as a scholar.

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Most importantly

• The proposal serves as a blueprint for what you
  intend to do
• Specifies exactly how you plan to complete your
  research
• Ones research is only as good
• as ones proposal

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How binding is the proposal?

• Informal contract
• Viewed as binding in some disciplines
• No contract
• Recognition that changes occur during the process
  of the research

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Elements of the proposal

• Introduction (Literature Review)
• Method
• Results

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Introduction (Literature Review)

• Two-chapter model
• Relatively short chapter that introduces topic,
  provides a brief overview and state the research
  problem and sometimes hypotheses
• Longer chapter provides a critical, integrative
  review of the literature
• CHALLENGE to present sufficient information in
  the first chapter for the reader to understand
  why the research question is important without
  being redundant with the longer chapter.

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Introduction (Literature Review)

• One chapter model
• Combined the material of the two-chapter version
  into one
• Begins with a brief introduction to topic,
  launches into the literature review that
  concludes with a statement of problem and
  hypotheses
• ADVANTAGE More streamlined and focused than
  two-chapter model

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Contents of Literature Reivew

• Complete or abbreviated review?
• Funnel approach

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Method

• how its going to be done section
• Rule of thumb replicability
• Standard organizational framework
• Participants
• Setting
• Measures
• Procedures

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Analyses and Results

• Organizational sections
• Analyses
• detailing the procedures (quantitative or
  qualitative) that you will use
• Results
• Mock or anticipated results section

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Additional information

• Timeline
• Appendices
• Samples of instruments to be used in the
  research, analytic frameworks etc.