ASSIGNMENT: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Write a research proposal for a topic in your major (or any field of interest) that examines a specific problem using a spatial or geographic perspective. A research proposal includes a thorough description of what you want to study, why you want to study it, why there is a need for it to be studied and how you are going to study the issue.
Your proposal should be submitted in canvas by 5pm on Monday Dec 5th
STEP 1: PREPARING THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL (This helps you get started thinking about the assignment - you don't have to actually turn any of this in)
1. FORMULATING A QUESTION:
• TOPIC - what are your interests?
• BACKGROUND RESEARCH - what is already known about this topic? Now that I've read some of the information that is out there, what do I really want to learn about this topic? What questions have I developed by reading about this topic?
• SPECIFIC QUESTION - what specifically do you want to know about the topic? Is this a question that can be answered?
2. DEVELOPING A METHODOLOGY:
• VARIABLES - what kind of data might you need to collect in order to answer your research question. The variables are the categories of data that you would collect. They are the column headers in your database (if you were to create a data base).
• DATA - Now that you have identified the variables or categories of data that you need to collect, determine how you would actually collect that data.
o WHAT KIND OF DATA WILL YOU USE? https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/10919_Chapter3.pdf
- Quantitative - broad term referring to scientific methods that incorporate some combination of collecting numerical data such as metric-level measurements, collecting data using relatively structured and closed-ended approaches and formats, and analyzing data with numerical and statistical approaches; commonly used in both physical and human geography
- Qualitative - broad term referring to scientific methods that incorporate some combination of collecting nonnumerical data such as verbal or pictorial records, collecting data using relatively unstructured and open-ended approaches and formats, and analyzing data with nonnumerical and nonstatistical approaches; commonly used only in human geography
o HOW WILL YOU COLLECT IT?
- Collect it yourself through fieldwork (primary data): Consider costs, feasibility, time frame
- Gather it from other sources (secondary data): What format is it in? Do you need to manipulate it? Is the scale acceptable
o WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE DATA?
- How will you use or ‘put together' the data that you have in order to answer your research question? How will you analyze the data?
STEP 2: WRITING THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL (This is the part you will actually submit)
• Use the format below to write your proposal. Your proposal should be about 1-2 pages in length.
1. TITLE:
2. BACKGROUND:
a. PERSONAL EXPLANATION:
b. LITERATURE REVIEW:
c. CONTRIBUTION TO LITERATURE:
3. RESEARCH QUESTION:
4. METHODOLOGY:
a. Overall methodology
b. Identify and describe variables & data
c. Data analysis
5. CITATIONS:
Below are instructions for how to complete each section of the proposal.
1. TITLE: Create a title that concisely represents the research question you will be addressing.
2. BACKGROUND:
a. PERSONAL EXPLANATION: Explain the background and issues related to your proposed research. How did you come to be interested in this subject? It is acceptable to use personal pronouns in this section, though that may not always be the case when writing proposals. I do want to know your personal interest in the subject.
b. LITERATURE REVIEW: What is already known about this issue in your field of study? To answer this question, you will need to search relevant academic sources, read a selection of articles about or related to your topic and then summarize in this section what you learn. You must examine and cite no less than 3 sources. An easy way to begin this process is to enter your question or topic into into google scholar https://scholar-google-com.proxy.lib.miamioh.edu/schhp?hl=en&as_sdt=0,36. I don't expect you to become an expert in the field but you should have a sense of how to research and then summarize what has already been written about your topic.
c. CONTRIBUTION TO LITERATURE: What can your research contribute to what is already known about the issue? Specifically, what can your research add to what you learned about the topic in the previous section? Be sure to address how using a spatial or geographic perspective contributes to the existing knowledge.
3. RESEARCH QUESTION:
a. Formulate a question that is focused and can be clearly answered.
4. METHODOLOGY: This section should describe how you plan to answer your research question. This section should include:
a. A brief description of your overall methodology - what are you going to do and how?
b. Identify each of your variables and describe the data that you would collect for each of them. The description of the data should include the type of data, the source(s) for the data and the means by which you will gather the data. You should have a minimum of 5 variables.
c. Describe how you will analyze the data in order to answer your research question.
5. CITATIONS
a. Be sure to cite all sources used. Your sources should be academic (no Wikipedia or comparable sites). These section should be a list of the sources that you used in the other sections of this paper. You will have most likely cited sources in the Literature review section and in identifying sources of your data. The sources of data can be websites. You can use any commonly accepted format for your citations.