Reading Research Proposal Draft One Assignment

While an abstract would not typically be included in a research proposal for an honor’s or master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation, it is an important for you to be able to summarize your entire project, and this is the essence of an abstract. The abstract should help the reader understand the manuscript, without reading this entire document, by concisely summarizing the contents of the manuscript, including the purpose of the study, research question (s), the methodology, results, conclusions, and maybe even implications or recommendations for further research. Descriptions of the methodology should include the design, the sample, setting, and data collection methods. Any included results should not include statistics and an abstract rarely includes citations. This also helps a reader decide whether or not they want to peruse and/or read the entire document! The first sentence is not indented and usually between 150 and 250 words is recommended; however, some scientific abstracts are a little longer. It is written in the future tense until the study is completed. No more than one page is allowable, and the abstract should be written as one, double-spaced paragraph. The word “Abstract” should be centered on the first line with no other formatting. Keywords should be located at the end of the abstract, utilizing the same keywords that you found to be most helpful in your work. Indent and italicize the word Keywords followed by a colon, then a list of the words in lower case separated by a comma. This abstract is 251 words.

Keywords: This is a list of 4-7 words (separated by commas) that are central to your study. The keywords themselves should not be italicized.

The purpose of Chapter One is to provide a framework for the research. The chapter should create reader interest, provide a foundation for the problem that necessitates the research, overview the context of literature in which the research is founded, identify the importance of the research for a specific audience, and briefly introduce the research via the research questions. The Overview must clearly and concisely orient the reader to the contents and organization of the chapter.

The Background section educates the reader regarding the topic. Start this section by catching the reader’s attention. Use recent evidence from at least two or three scholarly journal articles published within the last five years. The Background section contains a summary of the most relevant literature and provides the historical (i.e., how the problem has evolved over time), social (i.e., contexts), and theoretical (e.g., important variables, the theoretical concepts, and the principles underpinning the research) contexts for the research problem. Each of the three contexts must be specifically examined using APA Level 2 headings for each. You should be sure to link and relate the background of the study to the proposed research. Remember that this is just an overview. You will go into more depth in Chapter Two. Questions that may be asked or addressed in this section may include, but are not limited to: What is the problem and why is it an interest? Who else is affected by the problem? What research has been done to investigate or address the problem? How will the proposed research extend or refine the existing knowledge in the area under study? Who will benefit or use the proposed research? What new information does the current research add to the body of existing literature regarding the topic?

“A problem might be defined as the issue that exists in the literature, theory, or practice that leads to a need for the study” (Creswell, 1994, p. 50). A problem statement summarizes “the context for the study” and the main problem the researcher seeks to address (Wiersma, 1995, p. 404). It identifies the general problem, the specific problem, the focus of the research, and the population sample. The problem statement draws from the background section; it includes current (i.e., five years or less since publication) literature (one to three citations) to show that the proposed research is empirically significant and relevant to the field. It should be stated clearly and unambiguously in one to two paragraphs and ends with a declarative statement: “The problem is….” In one to two focused paragraphs, convince the reader why the particular issue or problem your study is investigating needs to be done.

· Introduce the general topic needing more research, including relevant/recent statistics on the issue.

· Summarize the recent research on the topic.

· Explain how/why the current research is deficient or falls short.

· Conclude with a focused statement identifying the problem in relation to your research design.

In an effort to give the reader a quick overview on how you plan to help “solve the problem,” the purpose statement should follow the problem statement and clearly and succinctly state the focus and intentions of the proposed research. “The purpose statement should provide a specific and accurate synopsis of the overall purpose of the study” (Locke, Spirduso, & Silverman, 1987, p. 5) and begin with the following statement: “The purpose of this study is . . .” It foreshadows the research question(s), and the statement must be used consistently throughout the research proposal. The purpose statement includes the variables (i.e., Independent/Dependent and/or Predictor/Criterion) and defines each of the variables in the way you have operationalized them. Dictionary definitions are not acceptable. The purpose statement also includes a “brief” description of the population. You are encouraged to use the following template adapted from Creswell (2013):

The purpose of this _________ (classic experimental, quasi-experimental, pre-experimental, non-experimental or ex post facto) study is to test the theory of _______ that _______ (compares? relates?) the _______ (independent variable) to _______ (dependent variable), controlling for _______ (control variables) for _______ (participants) at _______ (the research site).

The independent variable(s) _______ will be generally defined as _______ (provide a general definition). The dependent variable(s) _________ will be generally defined as _______ (provide a general definition), and the control and intervening variable(s), _______, (identify the control and intervening variables) will be statistically controlled in the study.

Although brief in nature, the problem and purpose statements are two very important aspects of the manuscript. These statements support the importance of the study and identify the goal of the research. All preceding writing within the manuscript should funnel into the problem and purpose statements, and all proceeding aspects of the manuscript should align with, support, and further expand upon the problem and purpose statements.

The proposed research questions need to be derived from the problem and purpose statements. A well-formulated research question (a) asks about the relationship/differences between two or more variables, (b) is stated clearly and in the form of a question, (c) is testable (i.e., possible to collect quantitative data to answer the question), (d) does not pose an ethical or moral problem for implementation, (e) is specific and restricted in scope (i.e., the aim is not to solve the world's problems), and (f) identifies exactly what is to be solved. A good research question also clearly identifies the sample population. In addition, it should be noted that the research question implies the research design and statistical analysis. A typical research proposal contains one to three research questions. Research questions should be listed, each on a separate line. Example:

This study asks three research questions:

RQ1: Do students at Liberty University who attended the outdoor orientation program have higher grade point averages (GPAs) and higher retention rates compared to students at Liberty University who attended traditional orientation programs?

RQ2: Do students who participated in outdoor programming report positive impacts on social factors contributing to college retention?

RQ3: Do students who participated in outdoor programming report a lasting impact on their existential development?

1. Attitude - Attitude is a psychological tendency that involves evaluating a particular object with some degree of favor or disfavor (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993).

2. Interest - The combination of emotion and personal valuation of a task resulting in a desire for various levels of enjoyment (Ainley & Ainley, 2011).

3. Etc…

Provide a chapter summary here. The summary includes a succinct restatement of the problem and purpose of the study and provides a strong conclusion to the chapter.

This section should provide the reader with a direct connection to the conceptual model or theoretical framework that will effectively guide the study and allow the findings to be situated within a greater context. According to Maxwell (2005),

the point is not to summarize what has already been done in the field. Instead, it is to ground your proposed study in the relevant previous work, and to give the reader a clear sense of your theoretical approach to the phenomena that you propose to study. (p. 123)

Start by describing the theory(ies), including origination and major theorist(s). Next discuss how the theory(ies) has advanced or informed the literature on your topic. Conclude by articulating how your specific research focus relates to the theory and how it may potentially advance or extend the theory(ies). Examples of theoretical frameworks include Bandura’s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory, Maslow’s (1954) Hierarchy of Needs, Knowles (1980) Adult Learning Theory, etc. Situating the study and research questions within an established theoretical framework helps establish the significance of the study.

The purpose of this section is to provide an organized synthesis (not simply a study-by-study summary) of the existing knowledge on your research topic and link this existing knowledge to the proposed study. Remember that this section is the argument for the significance of the study. It communicates what has been examined on the topic(s), what has not been examined or how understanding on the topic is still developing, and how the study can fill the gap or further understanding in the field. Undoubtedly, there will be a significant amount of literature cited in this chapter.

This section should provide a focused summary of what is currently known, what is not known, and how your proposed study can specifically address gaps in the existing literature.

General notes: (Not to be included in the final submission)

It is important to remember that Chapter Two is not a library, that is, a summary of facts or summaries of relevant research, but rather a critical argument. Derived from Rudestam and Newtons’ (2007) Surviving Your Thesis, here are some keys to a successful construction of a literature review:

1. Be a convincing writer. Remember that your literature review provides the context for your research proposal and demonstrates why your topic is important and relevant. Your literature review demonstrates the relationship between previous research and your study, and it demonstrates how your study is distinctive and different from previous research.

2. Be a critic not a reporter. Adopt a critical perspective in reading and identifying

relationships among research articles. Avoid composing a literature review that is a library of facts. That is, make sure your literature review is a coherent argument that leads to the problem statement or description of the study you are proposing. Your literature review should begin with a clear statement of your goal and be followed by a structured argument.

3. Be a selective writer. Avoid the temptation to report all the literature you review. Be selective and discuss only the articles that are most relevant. Keep in mind that you may review 200 articles and only include 30.

4. Be a skillful researcher. Use primarily seminal articles and articles that are no more than five years old in your literature review. Always strive to cite primary sources and reputable and scholarly sources.

5. Be a reasonable problem solver. At the conclusion of your literature review, write a statement that summarizes or highlights the most relevant literature and conclusions that lead to your proposed study. Be sure that you clearly identify that your problem has both theoretical (i.e., fills a gap in the literature) and practical value (i.e., solution to a problem or concern in the professional field, improves professional practice.).

The purpose of Chapter Three is to present the procedures, research design, and analysis for the proposed research study. That is, it provides the reader with the details of what will occur during the execution of research, both data collection and analysis. The Overview may begin with a brief restatement of the nature and purpose of the study. It must clearly and concisely describe the contents and organization of the chapter. Descriptions in this chapter should be comprehensive and in sufficient detail as to permit the replication of the study. Chapter Three contains several subsections; they are listed below.

Hypotheses are speculations (i.e., educated guesses) about the relationships between two or more variables and is the focus of ‘testing’ in your research proposal. As a result, this section (unique to the quan-template) provides the opportunity to clearly demonstrate the connection between your problem statement, purpose statement and research question (s). It is important that hypotheses are based on carefully chosen criteria from sources such as: your theoretical framework, previous research outlined in the literature review or (sometimes) other sources such as: topical experts, user group consensus, or observation of the phenomena.

Every research question will normally have at least one corresponding hypothesis; however, sometimes more than one is needed. The number of hypotheses needed should be based upon the number of variables under study and the planned analysis method. Well-formulated hypotheses are based on the following criteria: (a) the hypothesis states the expected relationship/differences between variables, (b) the hypothesis is testable, (c) the hypothesis is stated as simply and concisely as possible, and (d) the hypothesis is founded in the problem statement and supported by research. Like the research questions, hypotheses directly influence the statistical procedures used. You may write hypotheses in the null (H0), nondirectional (H), or directional (H1) form but there must be a firm basis (chosen from the criterion sources outlined above) for whichever form is elected. Example (corresponding to earlier research question examples above):

The hypotheses for this study are:

H01: There is no statistically significant difference between the GPAs and retention rates of students who attend the outdoor orientation program as compared to those students who attend traditional orientation programs.

H12: Students who participated in outdoor programming will report positive impacts on social factors contributing to college retention.

H3: Students who participated in outdoor programming will report different impacts on their existential development as compared to students who do not participate in outdoor programming.

In this section, the sample population, the sample size, and type of probability sampling technique (e.g., simple random, stratified random, cluster, etc.) should be clearly explained and each decision should be supported by research citations. Demographic information (age, ethnicity, gender, etc.) should be described in narrative or tabular form. Depending on the nature of the study, sometimes actual names or descriptors may be used for organizations, schools, programs, and locations however, pseudonyms must always be used for people.

Begin this section with an overview of your sample population. For example, “The participants for the study were drawn from a simple random sample of first and second year undergraduate students enrolled at Liberty University during the fall semester of the 2019-2020 academic year.” In addition, make sure to specify your sampling technique beginning by reporting the sample size and utilizing the information you included in earlier drafts. For example, “…for this study, the number of participants sampled was XX which exceeded the required minimum for a medium effect size. According to Gall et al. (2007), 450 students is the required minimum for a medium effect size with statistical power of .7 at the .05 alpha level.” Also include sample demographic information regarding the age, ethnicity, gender, grade level, etc. of your sample. You may need to consider tables to represent this data. These data should represent your best effort in estimating the population and sample size for the purposes of this course. The sample must be described with enough detail so that other researchers could possibly replicate your study with similar subjects if your results need to be verified.

Depending on your study, after you have described the sample, you may need to identify and describe each group (e.g., treatment, control, etc.). Describe each group’s make-up in enough detail so that the study can be replicated. Include similar information as described in the sample section, but at the group level. At this point, write this section in future tense.

Any ethical considerations or implications of the research should be discussed. These might include ethical tasks like data storage (e.g., locked filing cabinets and password protection for electronic files) and usage, influence, confidentiality (e.g., use of site and participant pseudonyms), as well as any other potential issues that might arise and how they will be addressed. However, you should also expand upon the work you developed in an earlier draft that includes appropriate ethical principles (i.e., nonmaleficence, beneficence, respect, honest, justice, and competence).

Limitations should be discussed in terms of threats to both internal and external validity. Identify the type of threat and describe it in terms of the present study. Discuss how the limitation could potentially impact the study, and discuss if any steps will be taken to limit the threat. Every study has limitations, so do not discount the importance of this section.

Recommendations for further research need to addressed and discussed. It is normally most efficient to provide these recommendations as a numbered list rather than as a narrative. Consider different populations, testing instrumentation, theoretical constructs, and limitations. Recommendations for future research should be thought of as ways to further increase knowledge in the field of study.

Provide a summary of the study. From your Implications section, reiterate what you consider to be the one or two most important “take-aways” from the results of your research (you may consider including an anecdotal illustration).

All the references cited within the text should be listed in accordance with the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of APA. The reference title should be all capitalized, bold, and centered.

[DO NOT DELETE] Quantitative Research Proposal Template