NEXT PHASE RESEARCH PROPOSAL PROJECT:
THIS WILL BE DUE THE MONDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING (22 NOVEMBER)
For this phase of the project you should:
1) Focus on one research question. Refine it so that it is
clearly and sharply focused. That means that the question should
address some very specific aspects of the processes or mechanisms
you’re asking about. In addition to a clear statement of the
problem, you should be able to propose some concrete potential answers
(or hypotheses).
2) Part of this development may include references to relevant material
in the literature (either primary or secondary). The bearing may
be direct or indirect.
3) You should now be able to use your hypotheses to generate the
framework of a study or experiment. What kind of predictions do
your hypotheses yield? What kinds of data do you need to collect,
what kinds of experiments might you conduct, to test these
hypotheses. And what would the potential results tell you.
You might want to use diagrams or figures to illustrate expectations or
relationships.
WRITE THESE THINGS UP as a ‘synopsis’, or brief summary/outline of your
research proposal. It might amount to 1-2 pages at this
point. AS ALWAYS, bring questions to me.
After Thanksgiving, there will be a chance for you to present your
research proposal to the class for discussion.