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THEELEMENTSOFAPROPOSAL

FrankPajares
EmoryUniversity

I.IntroductionandTheoreticalFramework

A.Theintroductionisthepartofthepaperthatprovidesreaderswiththe
backgroundinformationfortheresearchreportedinthepaper.Its
purposeistoestablishaframeworkfortheresearch,sothatreaderscan
understandhowitisrelatedtootherresearch(Wilkinson,1991,p.96).

B.Inanintroduction,thewritershould

1.createreaderinterestinthetopic,
2.laythebroadfoundationfortheproblemthatleadstothestudy,
3.placethestudywithinthelargercontextofthescholarly
literature,and
4.reachouttoaspecificaudience.(Creswell,1994,p.42)

C.Ifaresearcherisworkingwithinaparticulartheoreticalframework/line
ofinquiry,thetheoryorlineofinquiryshouldbeintroducedand
discussedearly,preferablyintheintroductionorliteraturereview.
Rememberthatthetheory/lineofinquiryselectedwillinformthe
statementoftheproblem,rationaleforthestudy,questionsand
hypotheses,selectionofinstruments,andchoiceofmethods.Ultimately,
findingswillbediscussedintermsofhowtheyrelatetothetheory/lineof
inquirythatundergirdsthestudy.

D.Theories,theoreticalframeworks,andlinesofinquirymaybedifferently
handledinquantitativeandqualitativeendeavors.

1.Inquantitativestudies,oneusestheorydeductivelyandplacesit
towardthebeginningoftheplanforastudy.Theobjectiveisto
testorverifytheory.Onethusbeginsthestudyadvancinga
theory,collectsdatatotestit,andreflectsonwhetherthetheory
wasconfirmedordisconfirmedbytheresultsinthestudy.The
theorybecomesaframeworkfortheentirestudy,anorganizing
modelfortheresearchquestionsorhypothesesforthedata
collectionprocedure(Creswell,1994,pp.8788).
2.Inqualitativeinquiry,theuseoftheoryandofalineofinquiry
dependsonthenatureoftheinvestigation.Instudiesaimingat
groundedtheory,forexample,theoryandtheoreticaltenets
emergefromfindings.Muchqualitativeinquiry,however,also
aimstotestorverifytheory,henceinthesecasesthetheoretical
framework,asinquantitativeefforts,shouldbeidentifiedand
discussedearlyon.

II.StatementoftheProblem

A.Theproblemstatementdescribesthecontextforthestudyanditalso
identifiesthegeneralanalysisapproach(Wiersma,1995,p.404).

B.Aproblemmightbedefinedastheissuethatexistsintheliterature,
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theory,orpracticethatleadstoaneedforthestudy(Creswell,1994,p.
50).

C.Itisimportantinaproposalthattheproblemstandoutthatthereader
caneasilyrecognizeit.Sometimes,obscureandpoorlyformulated
problemsaremaskedinanextendeddiscussion.Insuchcases,reviewers
and/orcommitteememberswillhavedifficultyrecognizingtheproblem.

D.Aproblemstatementshouldbepresentedwithinacontext,andthat
contextshouldbeprovidedandbrieflyexplained,includingadiscussion
oftheconceptualortheoreticalframeworkinwhichitisembedded.
Clearlyandsuccinctlyidentifyandexplaintheproblemwithinthe
frameworkofthetheoryorlineofinquirythatundergirdsthestudy.This
isofmajorimportanceinnearlyallproposalsandrequirescareful
attention.ItisakeyelementthatassociationssuchasAERAandAPA
lookforinproposals.Itisessentialinallquantitativeresearchandmuch
qualitativeresearch.

E.Statetheproblemintermsintelligibletosomeonewhoisgenerally
sophisticatedbutwhoisrelativelyuninformedintheareaofyour
investigation.

F.EffectiveproblemstatementsanswerthequestionWhydoesthis
researchneedtobeconducted.Ifaresearcherisunabletoanswerthis
questionclearlyandsuccinctly,andwithoutresortingtohyperspeaking
(i.e.,focusingonproblemsofmacroorglobalproportionsthatcertainly
willnotbeinformedoralleviatedbythestudy),thenthestatementofthe
problemwillcomeoffasambiguousanddiffuse.

G.Forconferenceproposals,thestatementoftheproblemisgenerally
incorporatedintotheintroductionacademicproposalsforthesesor
dissertationsshouldhavethisasaseparatesection.

III.PurposeoftheStudy

A.Thepurposestatementshouldprovideaspecificandaccuratesynopsis
oftheoverallpurposeofthestudy(Locke,Spirduso,&Silverman,1987,
p.5).Ifthepurposeisnotcleartothewriter,itcannotbecleartothe
reader.

B.Brieflydefineanddelimitthespecificareaoftheresearch.Youwill
revisitthisingreaterdetailinalatersection.

C.Foreshadowthehypothesestobetestedorthequestionstoberaised,as
wellasthesignificanceofthestudy.Thesewillrequirespecific
elaborationinsubsequentsections.

D.Thepurposestatementcanalsoincorporatetherationaleforthestudy.
Somecommitteespreferthatthepurposeandrationalebeprovidedin
separatesections,however.

E.Keypointstokeepinmindwhenpreparingapurposestatement.

1.TrytoincorporateasentencethatbeginswithThepurposeof
thisstudyis...
Thiswillclarifyyourownmindastothepurposeanditwill
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informthereaderdirectlyandexplicitly.
2.Clearlyidentifyanddefinethecentralconceptsorideasofthe
study.SomecommitteeChairspreferaseparatesectiontothis
end.Whendefiningterms,makeajudiciouschoicebetween
usingdescriptiveoroperationaldefinitions.
3.Identifythespecificmethodofinquirytobeused.
4.Identifytheunitofanalysisinthestudy.

IV.ReviewoftheLiterature

A.Thereviewoftheliteratureprovidesthebackgroundandcontextforthe
researchproblem.Itshouldestablishtheneedfortheresearchand
indicatethatthewriterisknowledgeableaboutthearea(Wiersma,
1995,p.406).

B.Theliteraturereviewaccomplishesseveralimportantthings.

1.Itshareswiththereadertheresultsofotherstudiesthatare
closelyrelatedtothestudybeingreported(Fraenkel&Wallen,
1990).
2.Itrelatesastudytothelarger,ongoingdialogueintheliterature
aboutatopic,fillingingapsandextendingpriorstudies
(Marshall&Rossman,1989).
3.Itprovidesaframeworkforestablishingtheimportanceofthe
study,aswellasabenchmarkforcomparingtheresultsofa
studywithotherfindings.
4.Itframestheproblemearlieridentified.

C.Demonstratetothereaderthatyouhaveacomprehensivegraspofthe
fieldandareawareofimportantrecentsubstantiveandmethodological
developments.

D.Delineatethejumpingoffplaceforyourstudy.Howwillyourstudy
refine,revise,orextendwhatisnowknown?

E.Avoidstatementsthatimplythatlittlehasbeendoneintheareaorthat
whathasbeendoneistooextensivetopermiteasysummary.Statements
ofthissortareusuallytakenasindicationsthatthewriterisnotreally
familiarwiththeliterature.

F.Inaproposal,theliteraturereviewisgenerallybriefandtothepoint.Be
judiciousinyourchoiceofexemplarstheliteratureselectedshouldbe
pertinentandrelevant(APA,2001).Selectandreferenceonlythemore
appropriatecitations.Makekeypointsclearlyandsuccinctly.

G.Committeesmaywantasectionoutliningyoursearchstrategythe
proceduresyouusedandsourcesyouinvestigated(e.g.,databases,
journals,testbanks,expertsinthefield)tocompileyourliterature
review.CheckwithyourChair.

V.Questionsand/orHypotheses
A.Questionsarerelevanttonormativeorcensustyperesearch(Howmany
ofthemarethere?Istherearelationshipbetweenthem?).Theyaremost
oftenusedinqualitativeinquiry,althoughtheiruseinquantitativeinquiry
isbecomingmoreprominent.Hypothesesarerelevanttotheoretical
researchandaretypicallyusedonlyinquantitativeinquiry.Whena
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writerstateshypotheses,thereaderisentitledtohaveanexpositionof
thetheorythatleadtothem(andoftheassumptionsunderlyingthe
theory).Justasconclusionsmustbegroundedinthedata,hypotheses
mustbegroundedinthetheoreticalframework.

B.Aresearchquestionposesarelationshipbetweentwoormorevariables
butphrasestherelationshipasaquestionahypothesisrepresentsa
declarativestatementoftherelationsbetweentwoormorevariables
(Kerlinger,1979Krathwohl,1988).

C.Decidingwhethertousequestionsorhypothesesdependsonfactorssuch
asthepurposeofthestudy,thenatureofthedesignandmethodology,
andtheaudienceoftheresearch(attimeseventhetasteandpreference
ofcommitteemembers,particularlytheChair).

D.Thepracticeofusinghypotheseswasderivedfromusingthescientific
methodinsocialscienceinquiry.Theyhavephilosophicaladvantagesin
statisticaltesting,asresearchersshouldbeandtendtobeconservative
andcautiousintheirstatementsofconclusions(Armstrong,1974).

E.Hypothesescanbecouchedinfourkindsofstatements.

1.Literarynullanodifferenceformintermsoftheoretical
constructs.Forexample,Thereisnorelationshipbetween
supportservicesandacademicpersistenceofnontraditionalaged
collegewomen.Or,Thereisnodifferenceinschool
achievementforhighandlowselfregulatedstudents.

2.Operationalnullanodifferenceformintermsofthe
operationrequiredtotestthehypothesis.Forexample,Thereis
norelationshipbetweenthenumberofhoursnontraditionalaged
collegewomenusethestudentunionandtheirpersistenceatthe
collegeaftertheirfreshmanyear.Or,Thereisnodifference
betweenthemeangradepointaveragesachievedbystudentsin
theupperandlowerquartilesofthedistributionoftheSelf
regulatedInventory.Theoperationalnullisgenerallythe
preferredformofhypothesiswriting.

3.Literaryalternativeaformthatstatesthehypothesisyouwill
acceptifthenullhypothesisisrejected,statedintermsof
theoreticalconstructs.Inotherwords,thisisusuallywhatyou
hopetheresultswillshow.Forexample,Themorethat
nontraditionalagedwomenusesupportservices,themorethey
willpersistacademically.Or,Highselfregulatedstudentswill
achievemoreintheirclassesthanlowselfregulatedstudents.

4.OperationalalternativeSimilartotheliteraryalternativeexcept
thattheoperationsarespecified.Forexample,Themorethat
nontraditionalagedcollegewomenusethestudentunion,the
moretheywillpersistatthecollegeaftertheirfreshmanyear.
Or,StudentsintheupperquartileoftheSelfregulated
Inventorydistributionachievesignificantlyhighergradepoint
averagesthandostudentsinthelowerquartile.

F.Ingeneral,thenullhypothesisisusediftheory/literaturedoesnotsuggest
ahypothesizedrelationshipbetweenthevariablesunderinvestigationthe
alternativeisgenerallyreservedforsituationsinwhichtheory/research
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suggestsarelationshipordirectionalinterplay.
G.Bepreparedtointerpretanypossibleoutcomeswithrespecttothe
questionsorhypotheses.Itwillbehelpfulifyouvisualizeinyourmind=s
eyethetables(orothersummarydevices)thatyouexpecttoresultfrom
yourresearch(Guba,1961).

H.Questionsandhypothesesaretestablepropositionsdeducedanddirectly
derivedfromtheory(exceptingroundedtheorystudiesandsimilartypes
ofqualitativeinquiry).

I.Makeaclearandcarefuldistinctionbetweenthedependentand
independentvariablesandbecertaintheyarecleartothereader.Be
excruciatinglyconsistentinyouruseofterms.Ifappropriate,usethe
samepatternofwordingandwordorderinallhypotheses.

VI.TheDesignMethodsandProcedures

A.Themethodsorproceduressectionisreallytheheartoftheresearch
proposal.Theactivitiesshouldbedescribedwithasmuchdetailas
possible,andthecontinuitybetweenthemshouldbeapparent(Wiersma,
1995,p.409).

B.Indicatethemethodologicalstepsyouwilltaketoanswereveryquestion
ortotesteveryhypothesisillustratedintheQuestions/Hypotheses
section.

C.Allresearchisplaguedbythepresenceofconfoundingvariables(the
noisethatcoversuptheinformationyouwouldliketohave).
Confoundingvariablesshouldbeminimizedbyvariouskindsofcontrols
orbeestimatedandtakenintoaccountbyrandomizationprocesses
(Guba,1961).Inthedesignsection,indicate

1.thevariablesyouproposetocontrolandhowyouproposeto
controlthem,experimentallyorstatistically,and
2.thevariablesyouproposetorandomize,andthenatureofthe
randomizingunit(students,grades,schools,etc.).

D.Beawareofpossiblesourcesoferrortowhichyourdesignexposesyou.
Youwillnotproduceaperfect,errorfreedesign(noonecan).However,
youshouldanticipatepossiblesourcesoferrorandattempttoovercome
themortakethemintoaccountinyouranalysis.Moreover,youshould
disclosetothereaderthesourcesyouhaveidentifiedandwhatefforts
youhavemadetoaccountforthem.

E.Sampling

1.Thekeyreasonforbeingconcernedwithsamplingisthatof
validitytheextenttowhichtheinterpretationsoftheresultsof
thestudyfollowfromthestudyitselfandtheextenttowhich
resultsmaybegeneralizedtoothersituationswithotherpeople
(Shavelson,1988).
2.Samplingiscriticaltoexternalvaliditytheextenttowhich
findingsofastudycanbegeneralizedtopeopleorsituations
otherthanthoseobservedinthestudy.Togeneralizevalidlythe
findingsfromasampletosomedefinedpopulationrequiresthat
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thesamplehasbeendrawnfromthatpopulationaccordingtoone
ofseveralprobabilitysamplingplans.Byaprobabilitysampleis
meantthattheprobabilityofinclusioninthesampleofany
elementinthepopulationmustbegivenapriori.Allprobability
samplesinvolvetheideaofrandomsamplingatsomestage
(Shavelson,1988).Inexperimentation,twodistinctstepsare
involved.

Randomselectionparticipantstobeincludedinthesamplehave
beenchosenatrandomfromthesamepopulation.Define
thepopulationandindicatethesamplingplanindetail.

Randomassignmentparticipantsforthesamplehavebeen
assignedatrandomtooneoftheexperimentalconditions.

3.Anotherreasonforbeingconcernedwithsamplingisthatof
internalvaliditytheextenttowhichtheoutcomesofastudy
resultfromthevariablesthatweremanipulated,measured,or
selectedratherthanfromothervariablesnotsystematically
treated.Withoutprobabilitysampling,errorestimatescannotbe
constructed(Shavelson,1988).

4.Perhapsthekeywordinsamplingisrepresentative.Onemust
askoneself,Howrepresentativeisthesampleofthesurvey
population(thegroupfromwhichthesampleisselected)and
howrepresentativeisthesurveypopulationofthetarget
population(thelargergrouptowhichwewishtogeneralize)?

5.Whenasampleisdrawnoutofconvenience(anonprobability
sample),rationaleandlimitationsmustbeclearlyprovided.

6.Ifavailable,outlinethecharacteristicsofthesample(bygender,
race/ethnicity,socioeconomicstatus,orotherrelevantgroup
membership).

7.Detailprocedurestofollowtoobtaininformedconsentand
ensureanonymityand/orconfidentiality.

F.Instrumentation

1.Outlinetheinstrumentsyouproposetouse(surveys,scales,
interviewprotocols,observationgrids).Ifinstrumentshave
previouslybeenused,identifypreviousstudiesandfindings
relatedtoreliabilityandvalidity.Ifinstrumentshavenot
previouslybeenused,outlineproceduresyouwillfollowto
developandtesttheirreliabilityandvalidity.Inthelattercase,a
pilotstudyisnearlyessential.

2.Becauseselectionofinstrumentsinmostcasesprovidesthe
operationaldefinitionofconstructs,thisisacrucialstepinthe
proposal.Forexample,itisatthisstepthataliteraryconception
suchasselfefficacyisrelatedtoschoolachievementbecomes
scoresontheMathematicsSelfEfficacyScalearerelatedto
GradePointAverage.Strictlyspeaking,resultsofyourstudy
willbedirectlyrelevantonlytotheinstrumentaloroperational
statements(Guba,1961).

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3.Includeanappendixwithacopyoftheinstrumentstobeusedor
theinterviewprotocoltobefollowed.Alsoincludesampleitems
inthedescriptionoftheinstrument.

4.Foramailedsurvey,identifystepstobetakeninadministering
andfollowingupthesurveytoobtainahighresponserate.

G.DataCollection
1.Outlinethegeneralplanforcollectingthedata.Thismayinclude
surveyadministrationprocedures,intervieworobservation
procedures.Includeanexplicitstatementcoveringthefield
controlstobeemployed.Ifappropriate,discusshowyouobtained
entr.

2.Provideageneraloutlineofthetimescheduleyouexpectto
follow.

H.DataAnalysis

1.Specifytheproceduresyouwilluse,andlabelthemaccurately
(e.g.,ANOVA,MANCOVA,HLM,ethnography,casestudy,
groundedtheory).Ifcodingproceduresaretobeused,describe
inreasonabledetail.Ifyoutriangulated,carefullyexplainhow
youwentaboutit.Communicateyourpreciseintentionsand
reasonsfortheseintentionstothereader.Thishelpsyouandthe
readerevaluatethechoicesyoumadeandproceduresyou
followed.

2.Indicatebrieflyanyanalytictoolsyouwillhaveavailableand
expecttouse(e.g.,Ethnograph,NUDIST,AQUAD,SAS,SPSS,
SYSTAT).

3.Provideawellthoughtoutrationaleforyourdecisiontousethe
design,methodology,andanalysesyouhaveselected.

VII.LimitationsandDelimitations

A.Alimitationidentifiespotentialweaknessesofthestudy.Thinkabout
youranalysis,thenatureofselfreport,yourinstruments,thesample.
Thinkaboutthreatstointernalvaliditythatmayhavebeenimpossibleto
avoidorminimizeexplain.

B.Adelimitationaddresseshowastudywillbenarrowedinscope,thatis,
howitisbounded.Thisistheplacetoexplainthethingsthatyouarenot
doingandwhyyouhavechosennottodothemtheliteratureyouwill
notreview(andwhynot),thepopulationyouarenotstudying(andwhy
not),themethodologicalproceduresyouwillnotuse(andwhyyouwill
notusethem).Limityourdelimitationstothethingsthatareadermight
reasonablyexpectyoutodobutthatyou,forclearlyexplainedreasons,
havedecidednottodo.

VIII.SignificanceoftheStudy

A.Indicatehowyourresearchwillrefine,revise,orextendexisting
knowledgeintheareaunderinvestigation.Notethatsuchrefinements,
revisions,orextensionsmayhaveeithersubstantive,theoretical,or
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methodologicalsignificance.Thinkpragmatically(i.e.,cashvalue).

B.Moststudieshavetwopotentialaudiences:practitionersandprofessional
peers.Statementsrelatingtheresearchtobothgroupsareinorder.

C.Thiscanbeadifficultsectiontowrite.Thinkaboutimplicationshow
resultsofthestudymayaffectscholarlyresearch,theory,practice,
educationalinterventions,curricula,counseling,policy.

D.Whenthinkingaboutthesignificanceofyourstudy,askyourselfthe
followingquestions.

1.Whatwillresultsmeantothetheoreticalframeworkthatframed
thestudy?
2.Whatsuggestionsforsubsequentresearcharisefromthe
findings?
3.Whatwilltheresultsmeantothepracticingeducator?
4.Willresultsinfluenceprograms,methods,and/orinterventions?
5.Willresultscontributetothesolutionofeducationalproblems?
6.Willresultsinfluenceeducationalpolicydecisions?
7.Whatwillbeimprovedorchangedasaresultoftheproposed
research?
8.Howwillresultsofthestudybeimplemented,andwhat
innovationswillcomeabout?

IX.References

A.FollowAPA(2001)guidelinesregardinguseofreferencesintextandin
thereferencelist.Ofcourse,yourcommitteeordisciplinemayrequire
ChicagoorMLA.

B.Onlyreferencescitedinthetextareincludedinthereferencelist
however,exceptionscanbefoundtothisrule.Forexample,committees
mayrequireevidencethatyouarefamiliarwithabroaderspectrumof
literaturethanthatimmediatelyrelevanttoyourresearch.Insuch
instances,thereferencelistmaybecalledabibliography.

C.Somecommitteesrequirethatreferencelistsand/orbibliographiesbe
annotated,whichistosaythateachentrybeaccompaniedbyabrief
description,oranabstract.CheckwithyourcommitteeChairbeforethe
fact.

Appendixes

Theneedforcompletedocumentationgenerallydictatestheinclusionof
appropriateappendixesinproposals(althoughthisisgenerallynotthe
caseasregardsconferenceproposals).

Thefollowingmaterialsareappropriateforanappendix.Consultwithyour
committeeChair.

Verbatiminstructionstoparticipants.
Originalscalesorquestionnaires.Ifaninstrumentiscopyrighted,
permissioninwritingtoreproducetheinstrumentfromthe
copyrightholderorproofofpurchaseoftheinstrument.
Interviewprotocols.
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Sampleofinformedconsentforms.
Coverletterssenttoappropriatestakeholders.
Officiallettersofpermissiontoconductresearch.

References

AmericanPsychologicalAssociation(APA).(2001).PublicationmanualoftheAmerican
PsychologicalAssociation(Fourthedition).Washington,DC:Author.
Armstrong,R.L.(1974).Hypotheses:Why?When?How?PhiDeltaKappan,54,213
214.
Creswell,J.W.(1994).Researchdesign:Qualitative&quantitativeapproaches.
ThousandOaks,CA:Sage.
Guba,E.G.(1961,April).Elementsofaproposal.PaperpresentedattheUCEA
meeting,ChapelHill,NC.
Fraenkel,J.R.&Wallen,N.E.(1990).Howtodesignandevaluateresearchin
education.NewYork:McGrawHill.
Kerlinger,F.N.(1979).Behavioralresearch:Aconceptualapproach.NewYork:Holt,
Rinehart,&Winston.
Krathwohl,D.R.(1988).Howtopreparearesearchproposal:Guidelinesforfunding
anddissertationsinthesocialandbehavioralsciences.Syracuse,NY:Syracuse
UniversityPress.
Locke,L.F.,Spirduso,W.W.,&Silverman,S.J.(1987).Proposalsthatwork:Aguide
forplanningdissertationsandgrantproposals(2nded.).NewburyPark,CA:
Sage.
Marshall,C.,&Rossman,G.B.(1989).Designingqualitativeresearch:NewburyPark,
CA:Sage.
Shavelson,R.J.(1988).Statisticalreasoningforthebehavioralsciences(second
edition).Boston:AllynandBacon.
Wiersma,W.(1995).Researchmethodsineducation:Anintroduction(Sixthedition).
Boston:AllynandBacon.
Wilkinson,A.M.(1991).Thescientistshandbookforwritingpapersanddissertations.
EnglewoodCliffs,NJ:PrenticeHall.

Howtocitethiswebpage:
Pajares,F.(2007).Elementsofaproposal.Retrievedfrom
http://des.emory.edu/mfp/proposal.html

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