CPSC 461 Information Structures III
Research Assignment | Part One | Copyright (C) 2003 Katrin Becker Last Modified May 17, 2003 07:59 PM
Writing A Proposal
Function of a Proposal | Specific Tasks | "The Habit of Truth"
Reference Links:

Main reference: Lawrence F. Locke, Waneen Wyrick Spirduso, and Stephen J. Silverman, "Proposals That Work, 4E", 2000, Sage Publications, ISBN 0-7619-1707-1

Part ONE of almost any research project involves writing a proposal. Even if the project is a personal one and will never be presented to anyone else, starting with a proposal helps to give form and direction to your work. In our case, we are looking for a document that is on the order of 2-5 pages. You will be penalized for the length of your document ONLY if it is insufficient (i.e. it doesn't tell us what we need to know) or it is excessive (i.e. it tells us stuff we don't want to know). In other words, while it is unlikely you will be able to explain yourself in a single page, if you succeed, you will not be penalized for having a proposal that is too short. Similarly, you will not be penalized for a document that is long, if it remains clear and relevant.

Function of a Proposal: Communication; Plan; Contract

Communication

Your target audience for this document is people who are in a position to give you something: advice; marks; consent; resources; money. Don't mislead them (making a mistake is not the same as misleading), and don't make promises you don't intend to keep. Whether it is true or not, conduct yourself as though you will need to approach these people again in the future. The proposal is not supposed to be a con, or some kind of "sting" operation. Clarity and thoroughness are the keywords here. The goal of your proposal is to convince your audience to say "yes". Part of this involves convincing them you can in fact do this.

Plan

This is a "plan for action". If your plan is seriously flawed, there really is little hope of success for the project itself.

Contract

A completed proposal, once it's been "approved" is very much like a contract. "The powers that be" have given their approval to your plan - they may even have committed stuff in support of it - you now have a moral and ethical obligation to carry out this plan to the best of your ability. NOTE: The proposal is not a "pact", and it's highly unlikely (well, a bad strategy for sure) that anyone signed anything in blood over this, so if while actually doing the work, you discover that your plan requires some adjustments (occasionally you will even discover that a total "re-think" is in order), you should approach the appropriate "powers" and discuss things.

In our context (the research project for this course), we have limited time for do-overs, so you may find that by the time you discover your plan turned out to be a bad idea, you may have no time to fix it. That's why this assignment places such a heavy emphasis on "Part 3" - the Port-Mortem. It is your opportunity to explain.

Specific Tasks: Introduction; Purpose; Rationale; Question or Hypothesis; Delimitations & Limitations; Definitions; Background; Procedures; Supplementary Material

Introduction

The introduction is a "short, meticulously devised statement that establishes the overall area of concern, arouses interest, and communicates information essential to the reader's comprehension of what follows." ( Locke, Spirduso, and Silverman, 2000, pp 8) Basically, your goal here is to tell the reader what this proposal is about (get to the point). This is true in general for introductions. When I'm deciding whether or not to read a paper or book - I read the abstract or the introduction - if it doesn't tell me what I can expect to gain from spending part of my life on this document, I'm not interested. If it takes too long telling me why this is worth my time, I'm also not interested.

Purpose

This one explains what the project is about. Why are you doing this and what do you hope to get out of it? This does not have to be written in formal "research-ese". Assume the reader is intelligent, but may not understand the details of your "area". Be clear, but not condescending.

Rationale

In other words, what is it good for? Why is it worth doing? Why bother? Diagrams may be helpful here. Here your goal to to justify the PROJECT, rather than specific choices within the project. Leave the finer details till later.

Question or Hypothesis

This is the "research-ese" part. It is a formal statement. These statements will normally be "stated in formal terms appropriate to the design or approach being proposed". They should also "display, in logical order, all subsequent subsections of the research topic". ( Locke, Spirduso, and Silverman, 2000, pp 11)

Things to consider:

1. Is the question free of ambiguity?
2. Is a relationship among variables expressed?
3. Does the question imply an impirical test?

Delimitations & Limitations

Delimitations: describe the generalzations used: who; what; where; how much; etc.

Limitations: refer to limiting conditions or restrictive weaknesses.

Definitions

This should be fairly self-evident. Define terms used so readers are clear on what you mean by them.

Background

What do we (as in, mankind, the scientific community, computer scientists, ...) already know or do?

How does your question / purpose / goal relate to what we already know?

Why are you doing it this way?

Procedures

This is the heart of your proposal. In this case, the main purpose of this proposal (aside from getting some marks) is to outline your plan of action so you can get some feedback regarding its viability. If you propose something we already know is doomed, we will tell you, and you will have an opportunity to alter and adjust. Your goal is to give us enough information here so we can help you create a project that is doable, and one from which you will learn something useful.

Supplementary Material

This could include:

1. Specifications for equipment
2. Instructions to subjects
3. Letters and other relevant documents
4. Subject consent forms
5. Raw data or tabular material from pilot studies
6. Tabular material from related research
7. Copies of paper and pencil instruments
8. Questions for structured interviews
9. Credentials of experts, judges, or other special personnel to be employed in the study
10. Diagramatic models of the research design
11. Diagramatic models of the statistical analysis
12. Schematics for constructed equipment
13. Chapter outline for the final report
14. Proposed time schedule for executing the study
15. Supplementary bibliographies

"The Habit of Truth"

"The foundation of scholarship as a collective human enterprise is neither intellect nor technical skill. It is simple honesty. If scholars did not have what Jacob Bronowski called "the habit of truth", there could be no accumulation of reliable knowledge, and thus no science. The rules for this habit of conscience are absolute: no compromises, no evasions, no shortcuts, no excuses, and no saving face. Planning, conducting, and reporting research make sense only so long as the social contract among scholars is honored - everyone tells the truth as well as he or she can know it." ( Locke, Spirduso, and Silverman, 2000, pp 25)

Copyright (C) 2003 Katrin Becker Last Modified May 17, 2003 07:59 PM