Each ?student is required to prepare a formal research proposal of a ?historical research project. Note that this is the solely a proposal and ?y

GENERAL GUIDELINES

THE RESEARCH PAPER PROPOSAL1 HIST 500

THE RESEARCH PROJECT PROPOSAL Presentation of an acceptable proposal is not the beginning of the work on the research project. Rather, it marks the end of the first major stage of the research process. Before a proposal can be submitted, the student must have identified an appropriate research problem and developed realistic ways of exploring it. The student should realize that preparing the proposal is both a formal and an intellectual exercise. Therefore, all aspects of the proposal should be prepared as carefully as possible. An example of a historical research project proposal is included as an appendix to this guide and students are strongly urged to examine this document.

INTRODUCTORY READING The most efficient way to explore a topic and to test one’s interest is to read about it. In the initial stages, the reader skims or surveys a broad variety of materials with the purpose of gaining background knowledge in several fields of inquiry. As a rule, much of this introductory reading may not be directly related to the final research project proposal. Nonetheless, the reader is advised to make a few brief notes on each work read – author, title, publisher, date, and a brief synopsis of the most interesting points – so that the material can be found again if it is needed later. Journal essays, surveys, general histories, reviews, and specialized bibliographies are useful sources for the exploration of many topics. Textbooks and research papers from previous courses also will help in gaining sufficient background to begin identifying a suitable research problem. At the beginning of this reading, you should establish a consistent method of documenting the research. Again, for each item, record full bibliographical information, and make reference notes of some sort. Few things are more exasperating than the discovery that the documentation on a significant piece of research datum is missing. A methodical recording of the necessary information in a computer file, though tedious, should save much time and discomfort at later stages in the research process. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE A RESEARCH TOPIC? It is most important to begin with an area or a topic of genuine and lasting interest. In general, candidates choose their research topic on the basis of prior reading and personal experience and, like any large undertaking, this one is easiest to approach if broken down into smaller steps. Your first step should be simply to brainstorm: make a list of topics that might interest you. They may be related to papers you have written for earlier courses, to your reading, or to issues raised in connection with your work. Let the

NOTE: This guide is excerpted from A. Benson, D. Ostrowski, and D. Spetter. A Guide to the ALM Thesis, 6th ed., General Editor, S. Weaver Schopf. Cambridge: Harvard University Extension School, 2003.

list take shape over several days or weeks until you have a number of topics. Then go down the list and rank the topics in order of preference. Step two involves refining your list. Take a blank piece of paper and write a short overview detailing what you know and what you would like to find out about the topic. It will be helpful to keep the following questions in mind:

 What has been said about this subject already?

 Which aspects of this topic remain unexplored or unresolved?

 Do any questionable or erroneous assumptions characterize the previous writings on this topic?

 Is there a particular method or approach to this topic that might shed new light on it? Writing in this way tests your interest and also suggests how much you need to discover in order to begin to prepare a proposal on the chosen topic. If, for example, you are interested in medieval architecture but find that you cannot think of a single cathedral you know well, then you have a lot of work ahead of you, and you may want to rethink the topic. If your short overview proves to you that the topic is not worth pursuing, move to the next on your list of interests and write briefly again, and so on, until you feel satisfied with the topic you have selected. Once a general research topic has been chosen, the next step should be to find ways to limit it, give it clearer focus, and shape it into a tightly defined research problem or question. If the problem is too broad, the research is likely to remain superficial. There will simply be too much material for you to investigate. Conversely, the topic may be so narrow that not enough material exists to do it justice. You may find yourself fascinated by a particular topic but discover that there is only one article on it and that it is written in a language you do not read. It is then wise to choose another topic. All this does not mean, however, that the research topic cannot deal with important issues. It should. But the mark of a careful and competent researcher is to know how to pick the proper angle from which to approach an issue. Consider, for example, the history of utopias. No research project could possibly encompass all the ramifications of this topic. Instead, the investigator might examine utopias created in a particular period or country, or the psychological or economic ramifications of particular utopian systems. Alternatively, one might focus on the utopia created by a single author – Thomas More, for example, or B. F. Skinner – evaluating it within the context of a specific social theory. Here are some examples of topics that were at first too broad or unfocused and were subsequently narrowed or focused by the student:

Unfocused: “The American Constitution” Focused: “Definitions of Libel under the First Amendment to the Constitution” Unfocused: “American Expatriate Artists”

Focused: “Three 19th-Century American Expatriate Artists and Their Critical Reception Abroad: Sargent, Whistler, Cassatt”

Unfocused: “The Falklands War and Its Impact on the World” Focused: “The Falklands War and Its Impact on the British General Elections of 1983” Unfocused: “The Effect of Decreased River Pollution on Animal Life” Focused: “The Growth of the Cormorant Population on the Charles River Since 1980” Unfocused: “Early Intervention Programs” Focused: “The Effect of the Healthy Start Program on Infant Mortality in

Massachusetts” Unfocused: “The Effects of Weather on Culture” Focused: “The Impact of El Niño on the Chimu Culture of Peru from 1000 to 1300 AD:

A Comparison of Meteorological and Archaeological Data” Unfocused: “Humor in Chaucer” Focused: “Chaucer’s ‘Cook’s Tale’ and ‘Miller’s Tale’: A Comparison of Their Style,

Genre, and Comic Function in The Canterbury Tales” Unfocused: “Can Computers Be Used in Psychological Testing?” Focused: “The Potential Utility of Computerized Adaptive Testing in the Domain of

Personality Assessment” Unfocused: “Photography of Niagara Falls” Focused: “Stereographic Photography of Niagara Falls: The Forgotten Works of

George Barker, Charles Bierstadt, and George E. Curtis” For many, developing a specific research problem out of a more general topic is perhaps the most difficult and important phase of the entire research project. Also, it should be mentioned that first version of even a well-defined research problem may be modified or amplified in one way or another over the course of the investigation. One never knows entirely what will be found until the research is complete. But a clear focus at the outset is essential for the project to succeed at all.

GENERAL FORMAT FOR THE PROPOSAL The style and content of the proposal, typically twelve to eighteen double-spaced and typewritten pages, will depend upon the specific research problem and method. Again, an example of a history research project proposal is included as an appendix to this guide and it should be consulted by the student before beginning. Each proposal should have a title page that includes the information included in the sample document in the appendix. In terms of content, all proposals should include the following:

 Tentative Title

 Research Problem  Definition of Terms  Background of the Problem  Research Method(s)  Research Limitations  Working Bibliography

Tentative Title – The first section, the tentative title, probably should be written last. A successful title will emerge only after it has been determined, often by trial and error, just what the investigator hopes to accomplish. The title should be specific and clear; you may want to accompany it with a subtitle. Ideally, it should summarize the research problem with efficiency and style. Avoid titles that are pretentious, vague, or wordy. Expressions such as “An Investigation of” are redundant and should be omitted. Titles of just one or two words, on the other hand, are too brief to indicate the scope of the research problem. An overall rule is that the title should be explanatory but concise when standing by itself. Here are some examples of poorly worded titles that were effectively revised:

Original: “An Investigation of the Possibility of improving the Tax Method of Many Massachusetts Cities and Towns for Raising Revenue to Cover Rising Expenses for Public School Education in Those Same Cities and Towns” (Too wordy)

Revised: “Improving Education Funding through Local Tax Revenues in Five Massachusetts Municipalities”

Original: “The Need for World Order” (Too vague) Revised: “The Peace-Keeping Role of the United Nations in Lebanon since 1980” Original: “The Beckoning Hand: Gestural Poetics in the Neglected Early Verse of

Emily Dickinson, with Special Attention to the Theme of Mute Entreaty” (Too wordy and mannered)

Revised: “Gesture in the Early Poems of Emily Dickinson” Original: “Some Aspects of Animal Behavior in Monkeys” (Too vague) Revised: “Group-Foraging Behavior in Cercopithecus erythrotis”

Research Problem – The statement of the research problem should be precise. Unless the problem includes specific sub-problems, this section should not exceed two to four pages. The first paragraph of this section should briefly introduce or set in context the subject of your research. Then, simply state the problem or question the research will explore. Later, in the “Background” section of the proposal, you can describe more fully the sources to be used in analyzing this position and making the argument. The statement of the research problem must include a clear question, a suggested hypothesis, supporting evidence (that is types of sources with which to test and/or validate the hypothesis), and the conclusions and broader implications of your research. It cannot simply present a description, like a book report. It

should begin by asking a significant question, such as “Why did John F. Kennedy win the 1960 presidential election?” It should then present an answer to that question – an answer referred to as the “hypothesis”– from the Greek word meaning to suppose:– such as “John F. Kennedy won the election because of his superior performance in television debates.” Next, it includes the evidence in favor of the hypothesis and shows logical flaws in alternative hypotheses. Finally, the conclusion of the study shows that you have considered the further ramifications of your hypothesis, in light of the evidence: “Kennedy won the election principally because of his television performance but also because of superior campaign polling: a dual emphasis that would reshape the nature of all subsequent U.S. presidential campaigns.” When we refer to the conclusions you anticipate reaching, we mean the broader implications of your hypothesis, the “so what?” of your project’s findings. We do not mean that, as in ordinary expository writing, you should merely reiterate your hypothesis to conclude your paper. You do not, of course, actually have to present all of the evidence here (one paragraph or even two is far too short for that). You should, however, indicate what kind of evidence you intend to rely on and present an example or two to illustrate exactly how you expect the evidence to corroborate your hypothesis. In other words, the brief statement of the research problem should be like a road map, showing both where you intend to go and how you intend to get there. In short, consider the following when contemplating the research problem:

1. Question (What is the question you seek to answer?) 2. Hypothesis (What is the tentative answer that your study will test?) 3. Evidence (What source material will you use to test your hypothesis?) 4. Conclusions/Broader Implications (What are the research implications for further study?)

Since defining a suitable research project subject is perhaps the hardest step in shaping a proposal, it is not surprising that this summary statement of the research gives researchers the most difficulty and is most often sent back for revision. A principal reason for this is that many students fail to understand that the research problem is not the same thing as a research topic. Knowing how to select a problem that is both inherently interesting yet capable of being answered within limited space requires careful thought and considerable attention to detail. So, what, exactly, do we mean by research problem? We mean that the proposal should make a clear point. And, as we have seen, making a point, in turn, involves asking and answering a question. Furthermore, a research problem will suggest one or more subsequent questions to the skillful investigator. Similarly, your research problem should raise a question for the reader. If you are not sure whether it does or not, try rephrasing the stated topic in question form. A student might wish to write about the use of the United Nations to solve world conflicts. Is this a research problem? No. You can, of course, make something of a question out of the topic by asking: “How is the United Nations used to solve world conflicts?” But this merely invites a description of the UN’s role. A true problem would be: “What prevents the United Nations from being more effective in solving world conflicts?” Or, “Would

the United Nations have contributed more to world peace if it had remained outside the conflicts in, say, Africa?” Each of those questions demands an explanation, not a description. There is no puzzle involved in asking what the UN does. At best, you would answer with a list of functions. A research problem never involves description alone. The research problem must not only involve a question, but a focused question. Not every question is an appropriate one, because not every question can be answered within the time and page allotment or with the research materials readily available to the students. “Why did the American women’s movement begin in the 1960s?” This question is too broad to permit a satisfactory answer. A better question would focus on a single person or issue: Betty Friedan, or the founding of NOW, or the starting of Ms. magazine. A research problem must involve original research. At its center, the point of research is not simply to put together the views of other people, in the form of a series of book reviews and article reviews – what some have aptly named “the book report approach.” Although a legitimate stage in virtually everyone’s research project, this method alone does not constitute true research. In addition, the project must show independent thinking. This is another reason to keep the question tightly focused…you cannot do original thinking on a subject if it has not yet been adequately defined. Finally, a research problem involves not simply a tightly focused question and original research, but an answer to that question based on original thinking. You should try to make a well-reasoned point to substantiate the hypothesis advanced in your research project. It can be equally productive to look for evidence that opposes as well as supports your hypothesis and to deal with this information directly – e.g., conflicting critical interpretations of a complex novel, or government statistics that seem to contradict your own numerical data. If the hypothesis remains credible in the face of opposing evidence, you can defend your argument with perhaps even greater confidence and authority. Think of yourself not so much as a lawyer arguing a case as a judge evaluating the evidence on both sides of an issue in a trial. Through this kind of disinterested exploration of a question, the skilled researcher arrives at a position of relative certitude and is thus more likely to persuade the reader of the validity of his or her conclusions. To recapitulate, your research project asks a question and answers it with a proposition or hypothesis supported by evidence, which may or may not include empirical research, but must include original thought. What do we mean by “original thought”? We do not mean that you must think of something that no one else has ever thought of before. We do mean that you should come up with a hypothesis and offer supporting evidence in the research project that does not rely solely on the authority of others to support your point. You have not proved that the United States government should reduce its budget deficit simply because you can quote eminent professors who say that it should. You can demonstrate it only by bringing forward evidence and arguing the case on your own. Similarly, it is not enough to cite English critics who say that Robert Frost is a fine poet; you should be able to offer and comment on examples of Frost’s verse and its unique linguistic or structural features in order to defend this point of view. The argument, in other words, involves an interpretation that is your explanation of why things are the way

they are and offers evidence that you have gathered, the sum total of which should make a contribution to our knowledge and understanding of a particular subject. Definition of Terms – In this section, all important terms and acronyms should be explained, especially those that may be ambiguous, not readily understood, or used in a special way. Examples include such terms as “romantic revolutionary,” “embargo trope,” “aggression,” or “negative reinforcement.” Often when you have worked closely with a topic for a while, it becomes difficult to believe that any terms could be ambiguous, since you think you have a clear idea in your own mind about what they should mean. If you are unsure which terms need definition, show your proposal to a friend or associate and solicit their opinion. In the social, biological, and behavioral sciences it is especially important to establish operational definitions. “Crime,” for example, might be defined by police reports, victim reports, vital statistics, arrest reports, self-reports, or direct observation, or it might be defined as some composite measure of these instances. “Old age” would be defined as twelve years for dogs, but twelve days for the mayfly. How you define such operational terms will considerably affect the conclusions you reach in your research project. Be sure also that you will be using these terms in a consistent fashion; the way you define “crime” in Part 1 of a research paper should be the way you still define it in Part 3, unless you have good and explicit reasons for not doing so. Background of the Problem – The fourth section, the background of the problem, should explain the origins of the research question or problem, drawing on your preliminary reading. In the background section, you should review what has been done already in this area of research and the way(s) in which the proposed project will differ from earlier work. You should show that you are familiar with the major current opinions or interpretations concerning the problem you have chosen so that you do not simply duplicate existing or outdated research. The background section, usually several pages in length, must be directed specifically to the research problem and must indicate the carefully documented views of experts. The aim is not to provide simply a general overview of the topic or to present a string of references to others’ works. Rather, it is to demonstrate that a specific problem has been identified and to show its relationship to the research of other investigators. If, for instance, you were writing about George Orwell, you should mention the work of his principal biographer, Bernard Crick, and show how your views about some aspect of Orwell’s work differ from, corroborate, or extend Crick’s views, as well as those of several other recent critics of the Orwellian texts on which you intend to write. Longer than the statement of the research problem itself, this section must be well organized. Others’ research should be considered in a systematic fashion, according to topic, date, perspective, or some other logical means. It cannot be an unorganized mass; it must have some obvious flow, a sense of continuity, and an overall theme or point(s). In order to write the research project itself, you will have to impose order on large amounts of material and here, once more, significant attention to detail is required. Once you have established the focus of your own research in relation to this prior scholarship, one or more detailed examples should be presented that illustrate how your approach to the subject will

illuminate it. These examples also demonstrate that you have begun to envision the kind of precise analysis expected in the research project itself. Research Methods and Research Limitations – Depending upon the research problem, the two sections on methods and limitations might well be combined. These parts of the proposal describe the procedures in the investigation, as well as their limitations. What kinds of materials will be used? Are they readily available? Can you read written materials if they are not in English? Are translations available? What kinds of difficulties will there be in sampling or collecting physical evidence? What standards of certainty can be expected? Is your sample size adequate? Will you need statistics? If so, which statistics? These are the issues you should address and answer here. Especially for empirical research, you might wish to treat these sections separately, describing in detail the proposed subjects, apparatus, and procedures. Your proposal will be judged not only on the basis of its hypothesis but also on the proposed methods of data collection. Will you be using questionnaires? Observation? If an original measuring device is to be used, a draft should be included, accompanied by a statement of the intended sampling procedure and a plan for establishing its reliability and validity. Note that you will also need a backup plan if the new measuring device does not prove to be a viable assessment. Once you have collected the data, how will you analyze it? You must explicitly show how the data collected will test the proposed hypothesis. Make sure you have thought out all the steps involved in your research before you begin. Without exception, all research is limited in several ways. There are internal or formal limitations, such as the materials and procedures used, the ways in which critical terms are defined, the scope of the problem explored and of the applicability of the results. And there are external limitations as well, governed by constraints upon one’s time or pocketbook; the inability to travel to special collections, museums, or libraries, or to speak or read other languages; or to consider an evolving political situation beyond a certain date. These limitations should be acknowledged; indeed, identifying them may help you to focus your topic. However, problems such as time and money difficulties do not relieve you of the responsibility of designing a study that can adequately test your hypothesis and measure its results. Proposals that include no mention of limitations suggest that the candidate has not really gone beyond a superficial consideration of the subject. This section of the proposal, therefore, will require considerable thought. But close attention now to these and related questions will save you much time and discomfort in later stages of research and writing. Working Bibliography – The working bibliography should be selective. It should not simply include all the materials that might conceivably be used in the finished research. Rather, it should demonstrate that you have actually read the sources you cite, know which further sources you will need to consult, and why. The bibliography, in other words, represents an interim tally of your progress. The working bibliography should include most of the materials that will actually be used in the finished research project. It should list under two separate categories all works cited in the proposal (Works Cited); and all works identified that the researcher intends to consult in further research and writing (Works to Be Consulted). Sources within these various categories can be further divided into primary and secondary

works, or according to the various media they represent (books, journals, recordings, interviews, on-line databases), if you wish to do so. Titles listed under one rubric should not be repeated in another. A word of advice, on occasion, some students have tried to satisfy the requirement for a working bibliography by simply appending a printout of titles generated by a computer search in the area of their topic. This is not acceptable. Students should not haphazardly compile a lengthy but meaningless bibliography. The bibliography should represent actual work done, and it should reflect an organized approach to the research problem. Further, the working bibliography should be prepared in the precise form required for a finished research project which, for our purposes, is in accordance with the Chicago style manual. Additional Sections – You may feel that the proposal requires additional sections in order to explain your research fully. With respect to historical research topics, the proposal also may include a tentative outline of the proposed chapters of the project, a chronological list of the works published by the historian on whom you might focus, or a discussion of alternate approaches to the research problem. You should feel free to add whatever supplementary sections you deem essential. The one rule you should respect is that of brevity: do not pad the proposal with extraneous charts or long digressions simply to lend it an imposing bulk. Good research is clear and concise.

COMMON RESEARCH PROPOSAL PROBLEMS The most frequent single problem with research proposals is the failure to adequately focus the topic. This point cannot be stressed too strongly. What is meant by adequately focus? Perhaps it is easiest answer to this question is by pointing to topics that would be considered inadequately focused. A topic lacks focus if:

 It deals with a complex issue studied over an entire century or more, e.g., “Anglo-American diplomacy from 1880 to 1980” instead of a more manageable “Anglo- Anglo-American diplomacy from 1880 to 1890.”

 It deals with the complete works of a prolific author, e.g., “The novels of Henry James” rather

than a more manageable The Golden Bowl and The Ambassadors.

 It focuses on general rather than on specific problems, e.g., “Urban housing” instead of a more manageable “The Pierce Housing Estate.”

– NOTE –

Items included in the Working Bibliography and the final proposal should be annotated – that is accompanied by a brief description of the work’s contents and value for the investigation –

and formatted in the Chicago style.

 It asks no question or presents no hypothesis, e.g., “The marsupials of modern Australia” rather than “Can the marsupials of modern Australia compete successfully with eutherian mammals?”

Another reason for rejecting research proposals is that the student has not determined how the principal question can be answered or the hypothesis tested. Suppose that you have decided to investigate why the quality of secondary education in American inner cities is lower than that in more affluent suburbs. Further suppose that your hypothesis is that educational quality is directly related to the amount of money spent per pupil. How will you measure educational quality in testing this hypothesis? By comparing grades of inner city and suburban high school students? Or would you need a standardized test like the SAT? Does that test seem too culturally biased? For your proposal to be acceptable, you would need to select one or more methods for testing your hypothesis and provide a defense for them. Some questions are virtually unanswerable and should therefore be eliminated, e.g., “How did Coleridge’s opium addiction influence the imagery in his poem Kubla Khan?” or “Would the U. S. have become involved in the Viet Nam War if JFK had lived?” A final scenario that presents problems is when the proposal lacks the proper format or consistently demonstrates sub-standard usage of English. Be sure that all the sections required by the Guide have been included in the proposal and that your spelling, grammar, usage, and typing are accurate. Since the proposal is a graduate level project standards for English usage are correspondingly strict. In short, correct grammar, spelling, format, citations, and a meticulously proofread text are essential.

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