INST 381: Research Methods Fall 2010

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Your final research proposal is due December 10 (during final exams week). This is the capstone
assignment for this course, and should prepare you for a future thesis project. The proposal must
be 7-8 pages in length, not including the title page and bibliography.

A research proposal is similar to a research paper, only it is lacking the conclusions of a final
research report. Instead, the proposal introduces a research question and providing a rationale
(why does the question “matter”), outlining a theoretical framework, presenting a hypothesis or
model, and describing the research design (this includes careful explanation of both case selection
and methodology).

The best way to proceed with a research proposal is to divide it into separate elements, each as a
separate heading within the paper:

1. Research Question

This section of your proposal (about 2-3 paragraphs) should introduce your research
question. In addition to providing some (brief) context, state your question as clearly,
concisely, and directly and possible. Then, give a brief explanation of why your question
“matters” to a general audience.

2. Theoretical Framework

This section is a little longer (about 3-5 paragraphs) but is geared towards presenting a
brief sketch of a literature review. Focus on the key concepts, theories, or schools of
thought related to your overall project. Give this section a name that reflects that
discussion (e.g. “Defining and Explaining Rights Revolutions” or “Presidentialism,
Instability, and Explanations of Failed Presidencies”). Later, your thesis will expand this
section into a complete chapter (the literature review).

3. Hypothesis or Model

Depending on what kind of thesis you are working, you need to determine whether you
want to use a formal hypothesis (that states the relationship between at least two
variables) or a more abstract, theoretical model. This section should be relatively brief
(about 2-3 paragraphs), but you may want to revisit it as you work on the longer Research
Design section.

4. Research Design

This section is the most important and most complicated section of your proposal (about
4-5 pages). This section will contain various subsections, and each should be carefully
labeled: case selection, data and method, and dependent and independent variables. The
specific sequence of these will vary, depending on your project. You should introduce
this section with a brief explanation(1-2 paragraph) of your general research design (are
you doing a single-case study, a comparative study, or a large-N study?).
INST 381: Research Methods Fall 2010

Case Selection
This sub-section (about 2-3 paragraphs) should carefully explain what case or cases you
are using, and why they will best help you answer your research question.

• If you are doing a single-case study, this may be apparent from your research
question. Still, it is your job to convince the reader that your case is a good case
for addressing your project’s broader theoretical claims.

• If you are doing a comparative case study, this is where you will explain whether
you are using a most-similar systems (MSS) or most-different systems (MDS)
research design.

• If you are doing a large-N study, this is where you specify the parameters of your
sample.

For all of the above, you will need to explain any other parameters for your cases. For
example, a study of the French Revolution is not about “France” but about “France from
1780 to 1810” (or however you define the parameters). The fundamental rule is to let
your audience know exactly what your cases are.

Data and Methods

This sub-section (about 2-3 paragraphs) should carefully explain to your reader what data
you will be using, whether it is data you are collecting yourself (e.g. your own participant
observation or interviews), data from some other source (e.g. economic data from the
World Bank), or your own data but drawn from another source (e.g. content analysis of
archive materials).

The discussion of methods should flow naturally from the discussion of data. For
example, if you are doing content analysis of archive materials, you must specify what
archive materials you are using, where they are located, and the procedures of your
content analysis. If you are going to do statistical analysis, this is where you specify the
source of your data and the kind of statistical analysis you will use.

(If your thesis does not use a formal hypothesis with dependent and independent
variables, you will not have to worry about that sub-section. However, your data and
methods discussion will have to be more detailed; you will need to explain your process
as clearly and completely as possible, as well a include theoretical justification for your
research procedures.)

Dependent and Independent Variables

If you are using a formal hypothesis, this section (about 3-5 pages, depending on number
of variables) is where you operationalize your dependent and independent variables.
Define them as clearly as possible.

5. Conclusion

Conclude the proposal with a brief discussion (about 2-3 paragraphs) of any obstacles,
limitations, or problems you foresee in executing your project. Be honest. Anticipate
problems and speculate on how you may deal with them (i.e. have a plan B).