The Proposal Cookbook:
13 Ingredients of a Winning Proposal
Welcome again to TADA!FinishLine.
Yesterday the temperature was 70 degrees;
today there are flurries of snowflakes outside the window. I
thought winter was over and it was time once again for the buds
to bloom, but here I am snowbound in Maryland. Clearly I was
getting ahead of myself — spring will be here soon enough.
When your focus is on writing a thesis
or dissertation these types of seasonal cycles and traditional
deadlines might seem insignificant. Each semester seems just
like the previous one, bringing you no closer to finishing. That’s
why you need to break down your tasks into manageable bite size
pieces to feel some sense of accomplishment when these seasonal
mile-markers pass. You can look back with satisfaction at the
items you were able to check off over the past semester. Sometimes
even creating a list can seem overwhelming, that’s why
TADA! Thesis and Dissertation Accomplished CD has already done
the work for you.
When I was in graduate school I spent
a lot of time attending workshops on how to write a proposal.
I didn’t find any useful information that helped me jumpstart
the process. Often I left the workshop feeling more overwhelmed
than before. I am a visual learner; I needed to look at other
proposals in my discipline to get ideas. Even then I was not
motivated to get started. It wasn’t until I found a precious
gem of a book called The Proposal Cookbook: A Step by Step
Guide to Dissertation and Thesis Proposal Writing by J.
Bruce Francis, that I felt confident that I could write my dissertation
proposal. Unfortunately this book is currently out of print.
I summarized some of his suggestions in this newsletter.
While the proposal is generally written
in the present and future tense, the thesis or dissertation is
always written in past tense.
The following tips assume that you already
have a topic selected:
13 Ingredients of a Winning Thesis or Dissertation
Proposal
| 1. Introduction
(1-2 pages) |
- If you really need to write an introduction, it should
capture the reader’s interest but don’t get
hung up on making it perfect.
|
- You can write this section last. Your best overview
of the project may come after you have written the other
sections.
|
| 2. Problem Statement |
- Formulate a research question then restate the question
in the form of a statement: note the adverse consequences
of the problem.
|
- The type of study determines the kinds of question
you should formulate: Is there something wrong in society,
theoretically unclear or in dispute, or historically
worth studying? Is there a program, drug, project, or
product that needs evaluation? What do you intend to
create or produce and how will it be of value to you
and society?
|
| 3. Background |
- Capture the reader’s interest and convince him/her
of the significance of the problem.
|
- Give at least three reasons why the problem you have
chosen is important to you and society, and specify
at least two concrete examples of the problem.
|
| 4. Purpose |
- Begin with “The purpose of this study is
to…” change, interpret, understand,
evaluate, or analyze the problem.
|
- State your goal completely, remembering that it should
be some form of investigative activity.
|
| 5. Significance |
- Focus on the benefits of your study not the research
problem.
|
- Place yourself in the position of responding to someone
who says “so what?” Provide a persuasive
rationale for your argument by answering the following
questions: Why is your study important? To whom is it
important? What can happen to society,
or theory, or a program if the study is done or not done?
|
| 6. Methodology |
- Describe in technical language your research perspective
and your past, present, or possible future points of
view.
|
- List three research methodologies you could use, and
describe why each might be appropriate and feasible.
Select the most viable method.
|
| 7. Literature Review |
- Locate and briefly describe those studies and theories
that support and oppose your approach to the problem.
In other words, place the proposed study in context through
a critical analysis of selected research reports.
|
- Be sure to include alternative methodological approaches
that have been used by others who studied your problem.
|
| 8. Hypotheses |
- State clearly and succinctly what you expect the results
of your study to show.
|
- Focus more on the substantive nature of what you expect
to find and less on how you will test for those expectations.
|
| 9. Definition of Terms |
- Describe for the reader the exact meaning of all terms
used in the problem, purpose and methodology sections.
Include any terms that, if not defined, might confuse
the reader.
|
- State the clearest definition of each term using synonyms,
analogies, descriptions, examples etc. Define any theoretical
terms as they are defined by proponents of the theory
you are using.
|
| 10. Assumptions |
- Describe untested and un-testable positions, basic
values, world views, or beliefs that are assumed in your
study.
|
- Your examination should extend to your methodological
assumptions, such as the attitude you have toward different
analytic approaches and data-gathering methods. Make
the reader aware of your own biases.
|
| 11. Scope & Limitations |
- Disclose any conceptual and methodological limitations
|
- Use the following questions to identify the limitations
of your study: What kind of design, sampling, measurement,
and analysis would be used “in the best of all
possible worlds”? How far from these ideals is
your study likely to be?
|
| 12. Procedure |
- Describe in detail all the steps you will carry out
to choose subjects, construct variables, develop hypotheses,
gather and present data, such that another researcher
could replicate your work.
|
- Remember the presentation of data never speaks for
itself, it must be interpreted.
|
| 13. Long-Range Consequences |
- Think ahead approximately three years after the completion
of your thesis or dissertation project. What are the
long-term consequences of your having done the study
or not done the study?
|
- If you carry out the study successfully your results
will: confirm your hypothesis; contradict your hypothesis;
or possibly be inconclusive.
|
| Use the outline above to write
your proposal and finish your thesis or dissertation. The
answer to the email question below shows the relationship
between your proposal and your master’s thesis or
dissertation. |
Email Question of the Month:
Q:
I would like to know how to go
about doing chapter two of a master's thesis.
What are the important details it must have,
like historical background? Please help me I am truly
going out of my mind. Teresa
A:
| Thesis/Dissertation Chapters |
|
Proposal Ingredients |
| The Problem (CH1) |
|
1,2,3,4,5 |
| Literature Review (CH2) |
|
7 |
| Design of the Study (CH3) |
|
6,8,9,10,11,12 |
| Results |
|
-------- |
| Conclusions and Recommendation |
|
13 |
Best Wishes in the New Year.
Please pass on this issue to friends
and associates—just keep the entire message intact.
Sincerely,
Wendy Y. Carter, Ph.D.
email:
drcarter@tadafinallyfinished.com
www.tadafinallyfinished.com
About the Author: As a single mother, professor
Wendy Y. Carter, Ph.D., completed three masters' degrees
and a PhD. Her motto is a Good Thesis/Dissertation is a Done
Thesis/Dissertation. She is the creator of a new innovative interactive
resource tool on CD--TADA! Thesis and Accomplished. To learn
more and sign up for her FREE tips and teleclasses, contact us at
info@tadafinallyfinished.com.
Privacy is our policy. TADA™ Finishline does not
give out or sell our subscribers' names or e-mail addresses. |
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Inside
This Issue:
The Proposal Cookbook: 13 Ingredients of a Winning Proposal
Email Q & A of the Month
Next FinishLine Features:
Secrets to Parenting While in Graduate School.
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Volume
1, Issue 3