Dr. Marshall’s Handy-Dandy Outline for the Research Prospectus
Ed Admin 615B
Organizational tip: If any heading below is bold (e.g., “Introduction of the
Problem”), then make it a main heading in your paper.
Planning tip: Talk with your advisor to modify this outline as appropriate.
1
Title page
Use APA format
1 page
2
Abstract
This is the part of your paper that people are going to read
first. Make it clear and concise and interesting. Note: This
is not like a book blurb, where you refrain from giving
away the end. Summarize it all. Use abstracts from your
lit review as models. The abstract should be on its own
page.
Under 120
words
3
Introduction of the Problem and Research Question
In approximately a paragraph – no more than a page –
summarize what your proposal is about and why anyone
should care about it. What problem do you want to solve?
You’re still trying to grab the attention of your reader.
Less than
1 page
Next state your main research question. Identify the
population you’re studying, the methods you’re using, and
the main focus of your research. You will go into more
detail later.
4
Literature Review
This is not just a book report-like summary, but an
argument for your work. The items below give examples
of major and minor areas to cover.
Make sure you’ve identified the big names in your topic
and that you’ve located empirical studies from a variety of
sources.
a) Give your reader a sense of history of the problem. Explain
how that history relates to your research. E.g.:
i) For __ number of years, research has said….
ii) The major trend in this research is…(a minor trend
is….)
iii) Researchers on this topic agree/disagree that….
iv) Best practices in this field include….
b) Identify key concepts related to the problem. Explain how
those concepts relate to your research. E.g.:
i) __ has been defined as…
ii) One way to measure __ is…
~ 3 pages
Marshall — 2
iii) The way in which ___ gets enacted most often is….
c) Identify any theory which underpins your research and
build a conceptual framework. E.g.:
i) This research stems from the field of anthropology,
which provides it with…
ii) This research builds upon critical race theory, which
states….
d) Explain how your research is different than the field so far.
i) This research includes different populations, methods,
concepts, ways of approaching the question…
ii) However, my research….
e) Explain what your research contributes to the field.
Make sure all your literature relates to your research
questions. If your RQs do not mention school culture, then
do not mention it in your literature review. You do not
have to cover the entire history of education here; just the
bits that are relevant to your work.
5
Research Questions (RQs)
Tying in to the literature you just reviewed, restate your
big research question and all its sub-questions
~ 2 pages
a) Identify hypotheses for each question
b) Identify working assumptions for each question (again,
based on the literature)
c) If you include a Maxwelli matrix, put it in an appendix.
6
Significance of Proposed Study
Remind your reader again why your research is new and
useful.
~ 1/2
page
7
Design and Methodology
Because this section is so long, sprinkle in level 2
subheadings as you see appropriate. You might look at
other research papers for ideas.
10+ pages
a) Qualitative or Quantitative or Mixed? (MS ii p. 438 ff)
i) Briefly describe what general kind of methodology you
are using and why (should link back to literature review
in some way).
ii) What type of research design are you using? (e.g.,
experimental, case study) and why?
iii) Briefly describe what conclusions or types of
conclusions are possible. Ideally this step will prevent
your paper from being inconclusive. E.g. “If we find
data of this flavor, we’ll know X. If we find data of this
other flavor, we’ll know Y. If only half the subjects
return their surveys, we’ll still know at least Z.”
Marshall — 3
b) Selection of sample (MS p. 402)
i) Whom are you choosing to study and how did you
choose them?
ii) How did you get access to this site or data?
iii) Use a table to describe how many people you are
talking about, particularly if they come from different
groups: e.g., 10 teachers, 3 schools = 30 people
iv) What is your comparison group? What are their
important similarities to and differences from your
target population?
c) Instruments and Procedures
i) Describe surveys, interview protocols, etc. Put the
actual instruments in an appendix.
ii) Describe the pilot study you used to test your
instrument or other ways in which you or others have
tried to validate it or make it reliable. If you want to
include pilot data or other details, put them in an
appendix, but write about what you have learned from
the pilot (process, findings) in the proposal itself.
iii) In a table, describe your data collection plan. Explain
when and how often you are using the instruments:
E.g., surveying entire school in the spring and fall
using the XYZ survey developed by __ & ___, also
interviewing the principal at least three times over the
school year, etc.
Be specific! E.g., Are you audiotaping interviews? How
long will they last? Are you transcribing them?
Entering them into a software program?
d) Analysis of Data
i) What statistical or coding techniques are you using to
mine your data? (reading data repeatedly?
Hierarchical Linear Modeling?)
ii) Are you using particular software?
iii) Have other people used this technique? (refer to lit
review again)
e) Limitations
Here you acknowledge any limitations of your research or
any risks that might challenge its validity.
i) Researcher role
(1) How are you part of this research situation?
(2) How “objective” do you think you are? Address the
participant-observer continuum.
(3) What are your biases and assumptions and how are
you going to control for them?
ii) Ethics
(1) What ethical decisions have you already made or do
you anticipate making? (e.g., what will you do
about negative findings?)
Marshall — 4
(2) How will you ensure that your research participants
come to no harm?
(3) Do you have IRB approval yet?
iii) Validity
(1) How have you tried to ensure that your study
actually answers your question?
(2) What alternative explanations could account for any
of your findings?
(3) How generalizable is your study to other
demographics, other contexts, other countries?
8
9
10
11
12
Conclusion
Wind up with a strong paragraph or two explaining that
despite aforementioned limitations, your work is going to
be as methodologically rigorous as possible. Then remind
your reader of its significance again.
Timeline
Outline your workplan, including, submitting IRB
application, collecting data, analyzing data, getting a draft
to your advisor, getting a draft to your POS committee,
revising, and presenting at your oral exam.
Budget
Include research expenses, potential funding sources.
References
Use APA format. List only references that you cite, not
everything you read.
~ 1 page
~ 1 page
Appendices
a) Consent Form
b) Instruments / Protocols
c) Supporting data, if any
Maxwell, J. A. (2005). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (2nd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
ii McMillan, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2001). Research in education: A conceptual introduction
(5th ed.). New York: Addison Wesley.
i