PART III: METHODOLOGY / THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Provide a full description of your general research design, as well as the specific methods and
procedures used in your research project. The methodology should be sufficiently detailed so that
it can be replicated. If you are following a methodological approach developed by others, cite the
relevant studies. Provide diagrams, charts, and illustrations as appropriate for your discipline.
List the instrumentation you used and provide a diagram of the experimental setup.
B. Describe your theoretical approach or type of analysis, if applicable (feminist, Marxist, Freudian,
etc.). Discuss the types of sources used (primary or secondary texts, interviews, surveys, personal
notes, etc.).
C. Explain the details of your methods. For example: how you made measurements; the
concentrations and amounts you used; how you selected your research subjects; psychological
tests used; a copy of your survey questionnaire; an explanation of statistics used; a definition of
your focus in terms of historical period or framework; etc.
D. Explain any limitations that your study has in terms of the reliability and applicability of the
results.
PART IV: BIBLIOGRAPHY
(Also known as “Works Cited,” “References,” or “Literature Cited”)
A. On a separate sheet, list the articles or books that you have cited in your proposal.
B. Generally this is done in alphabetical order by the last name of the author. However, each field
has different format requirements. If your mentor has not already told you the style to use, the
best thing to do is look at research articles you have been assigned to read.
EDITING YOUR RESEARCH PROPOSAL
After you have written the first draft of your proposal, and before you turn it in to your mentor, check
for the following (do this for subsequent and final drafts as well):
1. Make sure your proposal has section headings: Introduction, Methodology, and Bibliography.
The Literature Review can be part of the introduction, or a separate section with its own heading.
2. The quality of the writing in the proposal (and the research paper) is important. Check for the
following common errors:
(a) Are the sentences too long? You can improve your writing immensely by using
shorter sentences.
(b) Are the paragraphs too long? This is a common problem that makes it harder to read
a paper.
(c) Is any of the writing awkward, vague, long-winded, or too informal? The best
writing is concise, to the point, and without a superfluous word.
(d) Avoid inadvertent plagiarism: have you cited your sources each time you express an
idea that is not you own?
(e) Have you utilized the correct style for citing articles or books? Adopt the citation
style of the major journals in your field or the one your mentor prefers.