The Proposal: Study Note

The Proposal
As noted above, the preparation of a project or paper proposal, even though not required by the professor, is a valuable exercise. Not only does the proposal provide a clear guide for the research process, it also becomes the basis for the introduction to the paper. Generally speaking the research proposal needs to include the following items.
1. An introduction giving the background for the problem; it may also show the scope or extension of the problem.
2. Statement of the problem.
3. Purpose of the research.
4. Significance of the research. Although a student paper may not have far-reaching consequences, any well-prepared research paper should be useful to someone. In this section the following questions should be answered: Who will benefit from having this question? What is the value of this research to a given discipline? Why is doing this research important? No rule prohibits the writer from being one of beneficiaries. One value or objective of a research on Christian work for cripples might be its “use by the writer as a basis for ministry among the handicapped.
5. Definition of terms. An author should clearly indicate the use of certain terms to mean specific ideas. In writing about “young adults” the researcher might define them as “persons of either gender between the ages of 20 and 25.” Thus the reader is informed of the exact meaning of terms used. It is important for everyone-writer, professor, and readers-to be exactly sure of meanings.
6. Limitations of the study. Here the researcher honestly states the limits imposed by shortness of time, lack of library facilities, or language limitation. However, too many of these limitations may suggest that a wrong topic has been chosen or poor research is under way.
7. Delimitations of the study. Not to be confused with “limitations” (see above), delimitations are parameters chosen by the researcher.
8. Methodology. The researcher must clearly show what steps are to be followed to complete the research.
9. Presuppositions or assumptions. Any researcher has presuppositions. The reader deserves to know what they are.
10. Working bibliography. This is a list of sources already consulted and found useful to the topic. This list will grow as the research progresses. The tentative bibliography helps the professor gauge the student’s familiarity with the topic.
Another item may or may not enter into the proposal of a bibliographical research, but is usually present in other kinds of research: the hypothesis. A hypothesis is the researcher’s tentative solution to the problem, an indication of the expected result of the study. Sometimes called a “thesis,” it is the proposed solution to the problem. If a hypothesis is clearly going to direct the research, it must be stated. A proposal for a class paper can be written in one or two pages. A thesis proposal will be much longer and will reflect a great deal of study and research already completed.