Proposals

How to Write a Research Proposal Paper

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 21:41:03 +0000

How to Write a Research Proposal Paper ana.lacerda@ma… Thu, 09/05/2024 - 17:41

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, Research skills

Skills Keywords:

Annotated bibliographies, Literature reviews, Proposals, Writing process

This Resource Page will help you:

Learn what a research proposal paper is. 
Understand the importance of writing a research proposal paper.
Understand the steps in the planning stages of a research proposal paper. 
Identify the components of a research proposal paper.

What is a Research Proposal Paper?

A research proposal paper:  

includes sufficient information about a research study that you propose to conduct for your thesis (e.g., in an MT, MA, or Ph.D. program) or that you imagine conducting (e.g., in an MEd program). It should help your readers understand the scope, validity, and significance of your proposed study.
may be a stand-alone paper or one part of a larger research project, depending on the nature of your assignment.
typically follows the citation format of your field, which at �� is APA.

Your instructor will provide you with assignment details that can help you determine how much information to include in your research proposal, so you should carefully check your course outline and assignment instructions. 

Why Write a Research Proposal Paper?

Writing a research proposal allows you to

develop skills in designing a comprehensive research study;
learn how to identify a research problem that can contribute to advancing knowledge in your field of interest;
further develop skills in finding foundational and relevant literature related to your topic;
critically review, examine, and consider the use of different methods for gathering and analyzing data related to the research problem;
see yourself as an active participant in conducting research in your field of study.

Writing a research proposal paper can help clarify questions you may have before designing your research study. It is helpful to get feedback on your research proposal and edit your work to be able to see what you may need to change in your proposal. The more diverse opinions you receive on your proposal, the better prepared you will be to design a comprehensive research study.

How to Plan your Research Proposal

Before starting your research proposal, you should clarify your ideas and make a plan. Ask yourself these questions and take notes:

What do I want to study?
Why is the topic important? Why is it important to me?
How is the topic significant within the subject areas covered in my class?
What problems will it help solve?
How does it build on research already conducted on the topic?
What exactly should I plan to do to conduct a study on the topic?

It may be helpful to write down your answers to these questions and use them to tell a story about your chosen topic to your classmates or instructor. As you tell your story, write down comments or questions from your listeners. This will help you refine your proposal and research questions.

Research Proposal (student's preliminary notes) (91.11 KB, PDF)

This is an example of how to start planning and thinking about your research proposal assignment. You will find a student’s notes and ideas about their research proposal topic - "Perspectives on Textual Production, Student Collaboration, and Social Networking Sites”.

Structure of a Research Proposal Paper

A research proposal paper typically includes:

Introduction

Start your introduction by giving the reader an overview of your study. Include:

the research context (in what educational settings do you plan to conduct this study?)
the research problem, purpose (What do you want to achieve by conducting this study?)
a brief overview of the literature on your topic and the gap your study hopes to fill
research questions and sub-questions
a brief mention of your research method (How do you plan to collect and analyze your data?)
your personal interest in the topic.

Conclude your introduction by giving your reader a roadmap of your proposal.

To learn more about paper introductions, check How to write Introductions.

Theoretical Framework

A theoretical framework refers to the theories that you will use to interpret both your own data and the literature that has come before. Think about theories as lenses that help you look at your data from different perspectives, beyond just your own personal perspective. Think about the theories that you have come across in your courses or readings that could apply to your research topic. When writing the theoretical framework, include

A description of where the theories come from (original thinkers), their key components, and how they have developed over time.
How you plan to use the theories in your study / how they apply to your topic.

Literature Review

The literature review section should help you identify topics or issues that will help contextualize what the research has/hasn’t found and discussed on the topic so far and convince your reader that your proposed study is important. This is where you can go into more detail on the gap that your study hopes to fill. Ultimately, a good literature review helps your reader learn more about the topic that you have chosen to study and what still needs to be researched

To learn more about literature reviews check What is a Literature Review.

Research Methodology

The methods section should briefly explain how you plan to conduct your study and why you have chosen a particular method. You may also include

your overall study design (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) and the proposed stages
your proposed research instruments (e.g. surveys, interviews)
your proposed participant recruitment channels / document selection criteria
a description of your proposed study participants (age, gender, etc.).
how you plan to analyze the data.

You should cite relevant literature on research methods to support your choices.

Implications and Conclusion

The conclusion section should include a short summary about the implications and significance of your proposed study by explaining how the possible findings may change the ways educators and/or stakeholders address the issues identified in your introduction.

Depending on the assignment instructions, the conclusion can also highlight next steps and a timeline for the research process.

To learn more about paper conclusions, check How to write Conclusions.

References

List all references you used and format them according to APA style. Make sure that everything in your reference list is cited in the paper, and every citation in your paper is in your reference list.

To learn more about writing citations and references, check Citations & APA.

Research Proposal Examples

Quantitative Research Proposal (Instructor's Guidelines) (222.05 KB, PDF)

These are detailed guidelines on how to prepare a quantitative research proposal. Adapted from the course APD2293 “Interpretation of Educational Research”.

Research Proposal (Student Sample) (110.27 KB, PDF)

This is a research proposal paper written by an �� student on the relationships between textual production, student collaboration and social networking sites. Hover over the highlighted parts to find annotations and comments about the structure and content of this research proposal.

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

Additional Resources

On Campus Services

How to Understand & Plan Assignments

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 22:19:46 +0000

How to Understand & Plan Assignments ana.lacerda@ma… Tue, 04/02/2024 - 18:19

Skills Categories:

Learning strategies

Skills Keywords:

Annotated bibliographies, Literature reviews, Proposals, Time management

This Resource Page will help you:

Understand the purpose of assignments at �� and how assignments support your learning
Navigate the process of understanding assignment instructions
Learn strategies for making plans for your assignments

Roadmap presenting the fours steps to prepare a literature review or an academic paper and indicating you are currently in step 1, part 1, understanding and planning the assignment.

Purposes of Assignments

You may ask: “Why are assignments so common at �� instead of exams? Why do most �� instructors use assignments to grade students?”

Assignments reflect the advanced nature of graduate studies, as shown in the three boxes below.

Active and Deep Learning

Assignments call for a higher level of thinking and deeper understanding of a topic. Assignments require and enable you to

think deeply and critically about the material
question and apply complex concepts, rather than just absorbing information
use what you learn in creative and original ways
find information and sources that support your ideas

Independent Learning

Assignments are projects that you initiate. Since it’s your project, you can (and should!) see assignments as opportunities to

explore topics and issues that are interesting and relevant to you (e.g., for professional, academic, or personal purposes)
manage your own time and balance your studies and life.

Develop Academic Skills

Assignments are not just assessment tools or products. Each assignment is a process. As you go through the assignment preparation phases, you practice and improve your academic skills, such as:

Research skills
Critical Thinking
Reading Skills
Academic communication skills (e.g., writing and presenting orally)

Understand Assignment Instructions

Step 1: Read the instructions

Read the assignment instructions thoroughly as soon as you receive them. Take notes of important information and possible questions.

Step 2: Determine the assignment type & purpose

Type

Do you need to produce an annotated bibliography, a reflection, a literature review, a presentation, etc.?
Do you know the structure of that specific assignment type?
If you are unclear (e.g., you don’t know what sections a literature review should include), start by familiarizing yourself with the features of the assignment type in question.

Purpose

What do you need to do in the task?

Are you being asked to compare? to analyze? to reflect? to review the literature?
Familiarize yourself with the grading rubric (if available). Grading rubrics give clues that help you identify ways of structuring your text or determine the content you need to include. If a grading rubric is not available, ask your instructor to clarify their expectations and criteria.

Example of Grading Rubric

Step 3: Check the technical details

The following requirements are usually specified in the assignment instructions. If you cannot find the information, you should ask your instructor for guidance.

Page length and word count: this detail helps you determine the depth you need to go into. For example

Do you need to limit your assignment to 2 pages? You might want to focus on one key point and support it with clear evidence.
Is it a 10+ page paper? Include more sources, develop a more complex argument or provide more perspectives.
Due date: this element is important to manage your time strategically and see how your assignment preparation plan fits with your other courses and deadlines.
Required sources
Is there a minimum number of references you need to include?
What type of sources should you consult?

Many assignments require you to find scholarly/peer-reviewed articles Depending on the topic and purpose, you might also need to check primary sources, curriculum or policy documents, practitioner-oriented sources. There may also be restrictions or limitations on non-academic sources (e.g., general websites or information sources).

The example below shows how a student followed Steps 1 to 3 by writing notes about their assignment instructions:

Assignment Instructions (sample with student notes) (675.79 KB, PDF)

This is a set of instructions for a final paper with notes written by an �� student. The notes show you the process of understanding and planning the assignment on the student’s part.

Make a Plan

Once you know the assignment deadline, plan your schedule by starting from the final deadline and working backwards.
Break the assignment down into steps & sub steps: researching, pre-writing, drafting, getting feedback, editing / re-writing, proofreading. Note: these steps are often iterative, and you might need to go back and forth between them.
Assign internal deadlines: how long will it take you to complete each sub-step?

Useful Tools for Planning:

Assignment Planner to help you make a day-by-day plan.

Assignment Plan (template) (20.04 KB, Word)

Download this template and use it when planning your work for an assignment.

Our Tips

1. Ask yourself questions as you approach each step of your assignment:

What do I need to do for a particular task (e.g. outlining the structure, researching, drafting, etc.)?
Do I know how do it?
If yes: what are the steps specific to this task?
If no: how can I find out? -- do some research and ask for help.
Can I break it down into smaller steps?
How long will each step take me?
What should my internal deadline be for this step?

2. Manage your time wisely.

3. When making your plan, consider your other responsibilities and how much time you will actually have to dedicate to this assignment. (Sometimes we need to multitask)

4. Don't leave the assignment preparation to the last minute!

5. Get support from your instructor and/or OSSC advisors if you need. Bring questions related to the assignment proposed as well as to your ideas on how to do the assignment. When you define a topic, ask about the appropriateness and feasibility of said topic.

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

Additional Resources

On Campus Services

How to Select Assignment Topics

ana.lacerda@mail.utoronto.ca — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 22:17:53 +0000

How to Select Assignment Topics ana.lacerda@ma… Mon, 10/23/2023 - 18:17

Skills Categories:

Academic writing, Learning strategies, Research skills

Skills Keywords:

Annotated bibliographies, Library navigation, Literature reviews, Proposals, Searching for sources

This Resource Page will help you:

Understand the importance of selecting an appropriate assignment topic.
Learn effective strategies for selecting a topic.

Roadmap presenting the fours steps to prepare a literature review and indicating you are currently in step 2, part 1, selecting the assignment topic.

Introduction

Your course instructors might ask you to write a ‘midterm paper’ or ‘final paper’, and they will often require you to choose your own assignment topic.

For example, in a course about Second Language Teaching Methodologies, your instructor might provide the following guidelines:

“You can write a research-oriented position paper. From an educational researcher perspective, position yourself in relation to and critically discuss one of the fundamental methodologies, areas, concepts or issues presented in this course. Aim to support your position on this topic with scholarly research, examples, and any other resources you deem appropriate.”

Once you’ve understood the assignment instructions, the next thing to do is choose your paper topic.

What are the Features of an Appropriate Assignment Topic?

Selecting and developing your own topic helps you improve your thinking and research skills. As you think about topics, it is important to find a balance between what you want to explore and what your assignment instructions ask for.

A common challenge for students is finding topics that are focused. When your topic is too broad, the feedback you might receive from your instructor is “to narrow it down”.

Narrowing down a topic means defining

a specific focus of inquiry (e.g., a teaching strategy, a framework, a curriculum reform, an educational policy, a counselling approach)
a context (e.g., geographical context, education setting, target population)
a purpose (e.g., what is the impact of an approach, what are the causes of an issue, how was a policy decided, contrast/comparison of methodologies, solutions to a problem)

When you focus your topic (AKA “narrow it down”), you dig deeper into a specific part of it, which makes your research more detailed and doable. Focusing your topic is important to establish clear boundaries to what you will be reading and writing about.

If your topic is too broad: 

You may find too many sources and feel overwhelmed
You may struggle deciding what concepts to include or omit
The information you find will be too general
The result might be a general assignment that fails to respond to the specific assignment instructions.

Let's compare some broad and narrowed-down assignment topics to highlight the difference:

Strategies for Finding Your Topic

MUST DO!

Before you choose your assignment topic, review the assignment instructions.

Pay attention to any specific requirements or constraints outlined in the instructions, including the types and number of sources you are required to use. This can help you identify the boundaries and expectations for your topic. You can learn more about understanding assignment instructions here.

Draw from your Personal and Professional Experience

Our unique background can lead to fresh perspectives on existing topics or inspire entirely new research questions. Think about your personal or professional experience related to the theme of your course with an inquisitive eye. Ask yourself critical questions about these experiences in relation to what you are learning.

Here is some inspiration for you:

If you have teaching experience, think about how concepts you're learning in your course might apply to your teaching context.
Think about a problem / issue you have encountered in your personal /professional life. Can you seek information to better understand it or solve it?
Think about some behaviors / attitudes that you or people you know have. Can you find explanations for them through the concepts you’re learning?
Think about broader social issues or education-related issues in your culture. Can you find any relationships to your course contents?

Engage with the academic community

Talk about your assignment topic ideas with your peers and instructors in class.

Outside of class, unleash your curiosity and be proactive! Attend workshops, seminars, university events, and other academic activities. You might discover new areas of interest or research angles. You can also receive valuable guidance and suggest areas of research that align with our academic goals.

Keep a list

While taking your courses, keep a list of interesting topics and questions.

Inspiration can strike at any moment, so jot down your ideas whenever they come to you.
Where to find inspiration for ideas?

Review course outlines and topics and see what interests you
Take notes of interesting points made by your professors and colleagues in and outside of class
Think about your professional /personal experience and write down issues and questions that might align with course content

Brainstorming and Mind Mapping

Do Preliminary Literature Search

If you have a general idea about your topic and are in the process of refining it, you should do some preliminary research and find relevant literature that will help you narrow down and refine your topic.

If your topic is very broad (e.g., Constructivism and learning), start from general sources like

Specialized encyclopedias
State-of-the-art articles
Literature reviews
Meta-analysis articles

These are goldmines for identifying the main concepts, trends, research gaps and scholars around your topic of interest.

Look for recent literature, if possible, to learn about the most current knowledge and questions in your field of study.

Note that the literature you read and search can be relatively broader than the topic we will eventually choose. For example, our review might reveal that there is a growing body of literature on the “benefits of project-based learning in primary education”. This could inspire us to investigate the effectiveness of project-based learning specifically in science education.

For more information on how to search for appropriate sources check How to Find Sources for Assignments. To learn more about literature reviews, check What is a Literature Review and How to Prepare a Literature Review.

Our Tips

Find a topic that interests you! Graduate courses allow you to explore areas of study that are meaningful to you. Consider assignments as an opportunity to advance your own learning interests.

Start early! Finding the right assignment topic is often an iterative process and can take some time. This means that your first topic idea might not be your final topic as you go back and forth between your topic selection strategies, discussions with your instructor and literature search.

Be proactive! Discuss your ‘half-baked’ ideas and/or outline with your instructor, and ask for specific feedback and constructive advice. Show your instructor that you have done some preliminary work instead of asking them, “can you please help me find a topic?”

Next Steps

Once you finalize your assignment topic, it’s time to search for sources on the library databases using different combinations of keywords. Check our resource page on searching for sources.

Proposals

How to Write a Research Proposal Paper

Table of Contents

This Resource Page will help you:

What is a Research Proposal Paper?

Why Write a Research Proposal Paper?

How to Plan your Research Proposal

Structure of a Research Proposal Paper

Research Proposal Examples

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

Additional Resources

On Campus Services

How to Understand & Plan Assignments

Table of Contents

This Resource Page will help you:

Purposes of Assignments

Active and Deep Learning

Independent Learning

Develop Academic Skills

Understand Assignment Instructions

Make a Plan

Useful Tools for Planning:

Our Tips

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

Additional Resources

On Campus Services

How to Select Assignment Topics

Table of Contents

This Resource Page will help you:

Introduction

What are the Features of an Appropriate Assignment Topic?

Strategies for Finding Your Topic

MUST DO!

Our Tips

Next Steps

Help & Additional Resources

Related Resource Pages on ASH

Additional Resources

On Campus Services