Thesis Research Proposal
28 pages not including table of content page, reference pages, title pages and approval page
The thesis title will send to you by email
Your independent study project that shall include each of the following sections in the specific order shown:
1) Title Page
2) Approval Page
3) Introduction
4) Rationale for Study
5) Research Questions
6) Research Methodology
7) Definition of Terms
8) Implications
9) Literature Review
10) Methodology (Tying the literature in to the project)
11) Project
12) Evaluation
A well-researched proposal includes relevant citations from a variety of scholarly sources, including books, periodicals, and Internet sources. Focus on selecting high quality reference materials from reputable sources. The number, type, quality and relevance of the references cited in a proposal are a direct reflection of the level of scholarly effort the student has invested in researching and analyzing his or her selected topic. Your goal should not be to cite a specific number of references, but rather to produce a scholarly proposal that demonstrates your selected topic has been analyzed with depth and rigor and is worthy or graduate level research.
Your research proposal shall include citations from no less than ten (10) research literature sources, which shall include a minimum of two (2) books, two (2) periodical articles and two (2) on-line sources.
General formatting requirements for your research proposal include:
1) Typed using 12 point Times New Roman or Courier New font.
2) Double spaced throughout the paper unless specifically directed otherwise in the APA Manual.
3) 11/2 inch margin on left side of paper and 1 inch margin on top, bottom and right sides of paper.
4) Use flush-left justification throughout the paper unless specifically directed otherwise in the APA Manual.
5) All other formatting shall conform to the requirements of the APA Manual.
The idea behind the thesis paper is for the student to learn how to actually put a project or program together from their. Managers that "make things happen" are the ones we've seen move ahead in the business world, not us "worker bees""! So, we are going to re-arrange their to set it up as an "action plan" with a presentation for an educational program to correct the problem or implement the solution
Start by looking at Page 41 of the APA guide: The cover needs to look like that:
Page Two, as you can see from P.41 in APA is an Abstract. This goes back to pre-Google days when the brief description of the paper was inside the cover. Here is what it looks like:
Abstract
(One Paragraph, 200 words or less describing what you set out to find, what you found and what you plan to do with the research. This is on a page by itself.
Now, on Page 3, you are going to put the title at the top of the page and have the student copy the first paragraphs or pages under it, including the Problem Statement. Like this:
The next item is the Rationale for Study
Use the student's from the paper. This naturally follows the above lead in paragraphs that describe the reasons for the study.
Now we will develop the Research Questions
Example of Research Questions and their format for Thesis
Research Questions
1. What are the reasons for low employee morale at the New Castle Fisherman's Market and what costs and operational problems are associated with this low morale?
2. What effective methods or enhancing employee morale are available and where have they been successfully implemented?
3. How can a program to enhance employee morale at the New Castle Fisherman's Market be designed and implemented?
4. How can the effectiveness of this program be measured?
The next category is the Research Methodology
Take the Methodology section and review it to see if that is the method they actually used to do the research for the paper. They often say they are going to use surveys, interviews, etc. in there, but don't intend to use them or don't know how to administer them. Since your first student wants to complete the in Spring I, she will not have time to administer surveys, so discourage it.
This Research Methodology logically follows the Research Questions in a thesis. It is not placed behind the Literature Review.
Definition of Terms follows the Research Methodology. The definitions look like this;
University of Tennessee.A large, prestigious academic institution located in Tennessee.
Institution. (Next Definition, etc.)
The last sub-category is Implications. Have the student complete this sentence using dialogue from the Hypothesis:
Implications
If the program developed as a result of this study is implemented, the results will be ---------.