Week 6 Assignment
Research Proposal Assignment

Assignment overview:
This assignment asks you to produce a formal proposal of at least 1200 words describing a research project you intend to pursue for the rest of the semester. Typically the proposal builds on one of the topics you discussed in your research topic. However, you may write your proposal on a different topic if you so desire.
Paper format:
1200 + words; double spacing, separate title page including name, title, and date, page numbers, in-text citations, and words cited in APA format; 1” margin, visual evidence (as appropriate) with captions.
Submission format:
Electronic posting: Attach the file to week 9 assignment thread.
Assignment Goals:
This assignment has three interrelated goals:
1. To help you develop an effective research plan for your final project, considering context, research questions, sources, timelines, and larger implications.
2. To give you practice working with the research proposal as an academic genre.
3. To provide an opportunity for working on stylistics and effective academic discourse.

Proposal Draft and Revision:
To give you time to develop your research idea and to focus on polishing your writing, this assignment involves a draft ad a revision.
The draft is due on Oct 31st 2015. Turn in your draft as an electronic document attached to week 9 assignment thread.
Draft format:
Your draft should be at least 1200 words in length, and should be double spaced. Please include page numbers. You may use images in your draft if you wish, please use them rhetorically and not decoratively. In addition, be sure to cite any resources (textual or image-based).
The revision: is due Dec 12th 2015.
Proposal Requirements and Structure:
The proposal should be at least 1200 words in length (include page numbers please) and should have a well thought-out title and contain effective visual rhetoric as appropriate. It should be a traditional, linear word document, although it must be divided into sections with following sub-headers:
1. Section #1- Introduction: This introduction should be designed to interest your reader in your topic and proposal and provide some historical/cultural context for your project. At the end of your introduction, include a tentative thesis to indicate to your reader that you are entering your project looking at your topic through a critical, analytical lens—this thesis should clearly state your intentions using metadiscrusive structure (i.e, “in this project I will ….” or “This research project will investigate….”). A good formula for an introduction is context + problem/complication + proposed argument or research question. Each stage in this formula should be a few sentences long. Make sure to include the research questions and hypotheses. Note: Make sure to use reference sources to help you develop and understand the background of your topic.
2. Section #2. Research Methods and Sources: In this section, you should discuss the methods and sources you will use to conduct your research, including specific references to sites, databases, key texts or authors that you feel will be indispensable to your project. Include here also references to less traditional research methods—fieldwork, interviews, surveys, visits to chatrooms, gaming, etc… as applicable to your topic. This is also the section in which you might troubleshoot the research project, or weight the benefits and drawbacks of certain types of sources (i.e availability, bias, etc). Make sure your reader understands how the methodology/sources you have chosen are appropriate to your topic. Keep in mind, also, as you move forward that you are required to use sme databases as part of your research strategy.
3. Section# 3- Timeline: Include a timeline for your project, using these dates from the syllabus as the foundation to your plan.
1. Section #4- Conclusion: In your conclusion, address the “So what” of this research. That is why does what you are investigating matter as more than an academic exercise? Why should your audience want to read it? Why does it matter?
2. Section #5- About the author section: Finally as an addendum to the proposal, create a biography of yourself as a researcher—an “About the Author” section in which you establish your persona and your ethos as a student-researcher on your topic. Please include an appropriately sized photograph of yourself alongside your bio. Be sure you use the third person in your biography.
3. Section #6- Works Cited or Preliminary Bibliography: If you cite any sources, you will also need to have a works cited at the end of proposal (references) with citations in APA format. Any parenthetical citations in the text itself should also follow APA formatting guidelines.

Proposals vary in structure according to discipline. Typically, a research proposal includes the following components:

• Title
• Summary/Abstract
• Introduction
1. Overview
2. Topic and purpose
3. Potential significance
4. Framework and research questions
5. Limitations
• Review of the significant literature
1. Theoretical perspectives (conceptual or theoretical framework)
2. Related research
• Design and Methodology
1. Overall approach and rationale
2. Site or population selection
3. Data collection methods
4. Methods of data analysis
5. Ethical considerations
• Appendices
1. Timeline
2. Budget/funding
3. References

Week 6 Assignment
Research Proposal Assignment

Assignment overview:
This assignment asks you to produce a formal proposal of at least 1200 words describing a research project you intend to pursue for the rest of the semester. Typically the proposal builds on one of the topics you discussed in your research topic. However, you may write your proposal on a different topic if you so desire.
Paper format:
1200 + words; double spacing, separate title page including name, title, and date, page numbers, in-text citations, and words cited in APA format; 1” margin, visual evidence (as appropriate) with captions.
Submission format:
Electronic posting: Attach the file to week 9 assignment thread.
Assignment Goals:
This assignment has three interrelated goals:
1. To help you develop an effective research plan for your final project, considering context, research questions, sources, timelines, and larger implications.
2. To give you practice working with the research proposal as an academic genre.
3. To provide an opportunity for working on stylistics and effective academic discourse.

Proposal Draft and Revision:
To give you time to develop your research idea and to focus on polishing your writing, this assignment involves a draft ad a revision.
The draft is due on Oct 31st 2015. Turn in your draft as an electronic document attached to week 9 assignment thread.
Draft format:
Your draft should be at least 1200 words in length, and should be double spaced. Please include page numbers. You may use images in your draft if you wish, please use them rhetorically and not decoratively. In addition, be sure to cite any resources (textual or image-based).
The revision: is due Dec 12th 2015.
Proposal Requirements and Structure:
The proposal should be at least 1200 words in length (include page numbers please) and should have a well thought-out title and contain effective visual rhetoric as appropriate. It should be a traditional, linear word document, although it must be divided into sections with following sub-headers:
1. Section #1- Introduction: This introduction should be designed to interest your reader in your topic and proposal and provide some historical/cultural context for your project. At the end of your introduction, include a tentative thesis to indicate to your reader that you are entering your project looking at your topic through a critical, analytical lens—this thesis should clearly state your intentions using metadiscrusive structure (i.e, “in this project I will ….” or “This research project will investigate….”). A good formula for an introduction is context + problem/complication + proposed argument or research question. Each stage in this formula should be a few sentences long. Make sure to include the research questions and hypotheses. Note: Make sure to use reference sources to help you develop and understand the background of your topic.
2. Section #2. Research Methods and Sources: In this section, you should discuss the methods and sources you will use to conduct your research, including specific references to sites, databases, key texts or authors that you feel will be indispensable to your project. Include here also references to less traditional research methods—fieldwork, interviews, surveys, visits to chatrooms, gaming, etc… as applicable to your topic. This is also the section in which you might troubleshoot the research project, or weight the benefits and drawbacks of certain types of sources (i.e availability, bias, etc). Make sure your reader understands how the methodology/sources you have chosen are appropriate to your topic. Keep in mind, also, as you move forward that you are required to use sme databases as part of your research strategy.
3. Section# 3- Timeline: Include a timeline for your project, using these dates from the syllabus as the foundation to your plan.
1. Section #4- Conclusion: In your conclusion, address the “So what” of this research. That is why does what you are investigating matter as more than an academic exercise? Why should your audience want to read it? Why does it matter?
2. Section #5- About the author section: Finally as an addendum to the proposal, create a biography of yourself as a researcher—an “About the Author” section in which you establish your persona and your ethos as a student-researcher on your topic. Please include an appropriately sized photograph of yourself alongside your bio. Be sure you use the third person in your biography.
3. Section #6- Works Cited or Preliminary Bibliography: If you cite any sources, you will also need to have a works cited at the end of proposal (references) with citations in APA format. Any parenthetical citations in the text itself should also follow APA formatting guidelines.

Proposals vary in structure according to discipline. Typically, a research proposal includes the following components:

• Title
• Summary/Abstract
• Introduction
1. Overview
2. Topic and purpose
3. Potential significance
4. Framework and research questions
5. Limitations
• Review of the significant literature
1. Theoretical perspectives (conceptual or theoretical framework)
2. Related research
• Design and Methodology
1. Overall approach and rationale
2. Site or population selection
3. Data collection methods
4. Methods of data analysis
5. Ethical considerations
• Appendices
1. Timeline
2. Budget/funding
3. References