Research Proposal Instructions
Students within a class group will form proposal groups of 3-4 students for the purpose of
developing a mixed-methods research proposal. All components of the proposal will reflect
a research topic to be studied using quantitative and qualitative processes. The proposal is
just that, as students will not be expected to collect or analyze data, or draw conclusions.
When developing the proposal, please consider whether to begin the research design with
a quantitative approach, followed by qualitative methods, or to present an “opposite”
design that begins with a qualitative approach followed by quantitative methods. Either is
acceptable. Your design approach should be based upon your research problem and
further justified through the research studies presented in your literature review. For
example, if past studies related to your topic have focused on qualitative methodologies,
you can justify a mixed methods approach because it will include objective quantitative
data that can support or refute the perceptual data to be collected.
Students will be expected to complete worksheets designed to assist the team with the
development of various key components of the proposal and the application of quantitative
and qualitative processes within these key components. Several worksheets require
approval of the instructor before the team can continue. An outline of the proposal format
with worksheet notations is below. Note: There are 5 worksheets, all requiring instructor
approval.
PROPOSAL FORMAT
A. Title Page
B. Abstract
C. Introduction [2-3 pages]
Brainstorming your Topic Worksheet
 Statement of the problem
 Significance of the problem
 Purpose of the study
o Importance of the quantitative component
o Importance of the qualitative component
D. Literature Review [6-8 pages]
Literature Review Worksheet
 Theory
 Summary of findings from prior studies
 Gaps in the literature, including research study gaps that support a mixed-methods
approach to your topic
 Presentation of Quantitative Research Question and Hypothesis (research and null),
and Qualitative Research Question
E. Methodology [10-14 pages]
1. Research Design and Data Collection Methods (3-4 pages)
Research Design Worksheet
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Research Proposal Instructions
Justification for methodology sequence of quantitative and qualitative processes
Research design for the quantitative component
o Research site
o Expected response rate (surveys, if applicable)
o Data collection procedures,
o Internal validity
 Research design for the qualitative component
o Rationale for data collection method
o Data collection tool/instrument
o Reliability and validity issues
2. Instruments and data collection tools (4–6 pages)
Measurement Worksheet
 For the quantitative component
o Conceptual definitions and operationalized major variables
o Measure/tools that you will use to collect data by operationalizing
pertinent independent and dependent variables.
o Reliability and validity issues
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For the qualitative component
o Techniques for conducting field research, including how you plan to
establish rapport
3. Subjects/participants (3-4 pages)
Sampling Worksheet
 For the quantitative component
o Target population
o Sampling
o Subject recruitment
o Estimated number of subjects
o External validity and generalizability
o Rights of research participants.
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For the qualitative component
o Purposive sampling technique
o Subject recruitment
o Estimated number of subjects
F. Critique [1-2 pages]
G. References
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Research Proposal Instructions
GENERAL GUIDELINES:
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The research involved must be quantitative and qualitative. Your design approach
should be based upon your research problem and further justified by the research
studies presented in your literature review, e.g. past studies have only considered
outcome data and not perceptions of participants.

If your research proposal is about evaluating an intervention, be sure to describe the
intervention. What is it that the program is trying to accomplish, who is the target
population, what are the services provided, how often and by whom, and other
relevant factors. If you are evaluating an intervention you need to include scholarly
literature that addresses the theory behind the intervention, e.g., parenting
programs—include articles that discuss the components of the parenting program
such as discipline, communication skills, stress management, etc.

The project must be feasible. It must be possible to collect and/or analyze data that
bear on your research question(s).

All papers must be in APA style with page numbers.

Do not write in the first person. Although you are describing what you are going to do,
the paper should present your design and methodology objectively.

If you already know the answer to your question, you should not be doing research on
it. There must be some reason that makes it worthwhile.

Note that you cannot replicate an existing study or use a paper from another class.

Grading: Make sure you address each section thoroughly to get full credit and use
appropriate sub-headings. Pay attention to suggested number of pages for guidance
on depth and substance required; 1-2 pages means MORE than a half page. It will be
difficult to get a good grade if you provide only 1 or 2 paragraphs for a section that
calls for 2-3 pages.
ALL PROPOSALS WILL BE UPLOADED ON BLACKBOARD THROUGH SAFEASSIGN, A TOOL USED TO ADDRESS
PLAGIARISM AND TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP STUDENTS IDENTIFY HOW TO PROPERLY ATTRIBUTE
SOURCES RATHER THAN PARAPHRASE. SUBMIT AS A DRAFT FIRST TO GET A REPORT OF ANY DISCREPENCIES.
MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES. THEN UPLOAD YOUR FINAL COPY.
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Research Proposal Instructions
GUIDELINES FOR EACH SECTION
I.
Abstract
Summarize the research proposal. Start and end the Abstract on a separate page.
II.
Introduction (2-3 pages)
A. Introduce the topic. Briefly describe the problem or program that will be
investigated.
B. Discuss the extent of the problem. Why is this topic important to examine?
What is the prevalence; i.e., how many people in the nation and/or Virginia
have the characteristic you are studying? Is this problem becoming more
prevalent? You may want to cite relevant statistics, e.g. In 2011, juveniles
between the ages of 12 and 18 committed nearly 25% of the violent crime in
the U.S. (U.S. Department of Justice, 2012).
C. Describe your topic’s significance. What are possible implications for
practice? Rationale—why are you studying this and how does your study
differ from other studies that have been done in this area, e.g. how will
changes in practice improve educational outcomes?
D. State the purpose of your proposed study. Include a problem statement, and
the specific research question(s) you intend to address. Your study should
be unique and address an aspect of your topic of interest that needs to be
researched. Be sure to include a quantitative research question, research
and null hypothesis, and a qualitative question.
III.
Literature Review (6 -8 pages). Please use subheadings.
Successful literature reviews give the reader the needed background to appreciate
the problem you are addressing and the methods you will be using to address it. I
would encourage you to go back to some of the research articles you have read and
see how scholars are using previous literature as a way of framing their research
and the techniques they use to synthesize large, and often diverse, bodies of
literature. Notice that a good review does not simply list and give details about all
available studies, but discusses them to make key points that the author wants the
reader to understand. Limitations associated with existing research creates a
justification for your study.
The lit review should include conceptual articles regarding theory that relate to the
problem and previous empirical research that has been done on this problem. A
minimum of 12 articles published in professional journals is required for this
section.
This section should provide an overview of the topic. Remember that this review
should be more than just a series of article summaries and should include both
conceptual and empirical articles. Integrate and summarize the articles to write
your own analysis of the topic, raise significant questions, and suggest issues that
should be investigated further, building a case for your study. Make sure you
integrate and summarize previous weaknesses of prior studies and integrate and
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Research Proposal Instructions
summarize the limitations on research methods, sample sizes, subjects, and
instruments.
Report what has NOT been studied or addressed (gaps in the literature) and back
this up with referred sources if possible. The need for other research studies may be
based on areas that have not been fully investigated or may be based on research
methods that have not been utilized. This discussion should also justify your
approach sequence regarding quantitative and qualitative processes.
Sub-headings should be used to organize your work based on the purposes of the lit
review. Suggested subheadings are:
 Theory or theories that provide a conceptual understanding or perspective
about your problem area
 Summary of findings from prior studies about your problem area
 Documented gap in the literature that your study will address
Identify the (educational, social or behavioral science) theory or theories that you
are using to guide your study or that you are testing through your study.
Present your research questions and hypothesis in 1 or 2 paragraphs. For the
quantitative hypothesis, make sure the dependent and independent variables are
identifiable.
IV.
Methodology (10-14 pages)
Now that the justification and guiding research questions have been developed for
your study, you must design and sequence a quantitative and qualitative research
approach based upon the associated research questions. You must consider a
variety of factors, including specific designs for data collection as well as sampling.
Now consider sampling, measurement/indicators of concepts, and data production
strategies. In developing a strategy for answering your question(s) of interest, you
have hopefully determined what will serve as your unit(s) of analysis. It is now time
to decide exactly how you will choose which cases to study from the larger
population of cases. What you decide here will determine to a large degree your
ability to generalize what you find in your research to cases that were not included
in your sample. Be specific in talking about your strategy and make clear your
reasons for choosing this approach. In discussing your sampling strategy, comment
on how this strategy influences the internal and external validity of your study.
In addition to sampling, you will want to describe exactly how the data will be
produced. If you plan to use a survey, both the survey instrument itself, as well as a
thorough discussion of how the survey questions will serve as appropriate
indicators of your concepts, should be included in your proposal. If you are planning
on doing interviews, you will want to construct a detailed interview guide with
which to begin the process. If you will be using available data, you should describe
in detail how you plan to obtain and utilize the data in a manner that sheds light on
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Research Proposal Instructions
your research question. If you are planning to conduct observational research, you
will want to discuss what you will be observing and what you will be looking for.
How will you keep track of your observations? How will you know if you observe
what you are looking for? What type of coding system do you think you will you use
to organize your observations (or turn them into data)? How will you develop
rapport in the field?
1.
Research Design and Data Collection Procedure (3-4 pages)
Describe and sequence your research design associated with the qualitative
and quantitative components of your proposal. Include the type of study
(descriptive, experimental, exploratory, evaluative), the study time period
(cross-sectional or longitudinal), the type of methodology (qualitative or
quantitative and the specific design within the framework), and the type of
data collection (survey, focus group, experiment, etc.)
 Describe the specific, concrete steps that you will take to collect the data.
Include how often data will be collected and the setting. Justify and fully
describe your procedures. Be very specific! You can list out the specific tasks
you will accomplish.
 If you are interviewing or doing observation, be sure to talk about where and
when the interview or observation will take place.
 If you are doing a survey or questionnaire, be sure to talk about expected
response rates and what you will do to obtain a good response rate
 If you are using secondary data, be sure to talk about how the data was
originally collected and how you will access the secondary data.
2. Address issues of internal validity. Consider the various threats to internal
validity: subject characteristics, mortality, history, data collector bias,
testing, maturation, attitudes of subjects. Identify two possible threats to
internal validity in your study. Describe other plausible explanations
(extraneous and confounding variables) that could account for your results
and how you would control for these threats.
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3.
Data collection instruments and tools (4-6 pages)
Include a description of the type of instruments that will be used to collect data.
Explain why you selected the type of instrument in light of your research purpose.
Cover each of the following:
 Content: If you are conducting a Survey- include the key topics your
questions will address, response options and format; or a Test/Scaledescribe the content or constructs the test/scale is design to measure and
format of the questions.
 Administration: Describe the administration of your instrument—time,
standardized process, repeated administrations, etc.
 Instrument Validity: Describe how you would validate your instrument.
Consider the different types of validity evidence (content, construct,
criterion—predictive and concurrent) in this discussion. What evidence
would you collect to support the inferences made on the basis of the data
collected?
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Research Proposal Instructions
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Instrument Reliability: How would you determine the reliability of your
instrument—consider test-retest, equivalent forms or measures of internal
consistency in your discussion. If you are using a standardized instrument,
research and include values related to reliability. Describe why you selected
these methods to ensure that your instrument yields valid and reliable
results.
For Quantitative Studies
Identify the major variables of your study and provide brief conceptual
definitions.
Define the measures/tools that you will use to collect data by
operationalizing pertinent independent and dependent variables.
If your research used an existing instrument, describe what it should
accomplish (including any subscales) and justify your use of the instrument.
Describe how the instrument has been utilized in previous research. Discuss
reliability and validity. Please include some sample items from each subscale.
If you developed your own instrument, describe its purpose and relevance.
Provide a copy of the instrument. Justify your use of the instrument and
ascertain how you would assess reliability and validity.
For Qualitative Studies
Identify and discuss the type of data collection tool you are using (i.e.
structured interview, or unstructured interview guide, observation checklist,
participation field notes guide, etc.) and provide your rational for this
particular use. If you will use an existing instrument, describe how the
instrument has been utilized in previous research. Identify its reliability and
validity. If possible, include the instrument in the appendix. If not possible,
describe some of the items on the instrument.
If you will be doing interviews or focus groups, provide information about
the questions and prompts that will be used and how they were developed.
Be sure to include a copy of your interview questions with the proposal.
Discuss how you have the instrument tested for reliability and validity
Discuss how validity and reliability issues are addressed in qualitative
research and how you anticipate considering validity and reliability in your
study.
4. Subjects/participants (3-4 pages)
 Identify your target population (the group to whom the study’s results are
expected to apply). Identify qualifying characteristics (i.e., the characteristics
that will make someone in the target population eligible for your study.)
Discuss overall demographics about the population – cite descriptive
statistics.
 Discuss sampling and whether or not you are going to use a probability or
non-probability sample. Justify your decision. Be sure to address sampling
for both the quantitative and qualitative portions of your proposal.
 Discuss how you will access or recruit the participants for your study.
 Estimate the number of participants, noting the rationale for this estimation.
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Research Proposal Instructions
5. Address issues of external validity and generalizability. Describe potential limitations
on the ability to generalize the findings of your study. Consider the desired
characteristics of your sample and sampling method and explain how you would
control for the threats to external validity.
 Discuss procedures you used to protect the rights of research participants.
Identify the incentives to be offered, study risks and how you will assure
privacy and confidentiality of data.
V.
Critique (1-2 pages)
 Identify overall strengths and limitations of your research design. In other
words, what makes this proposal cogent and what do you anticipate may be
potential problems? What are current and potential problems in:
o Finding subjects and gaining access to subjects?
o Measurement Validity -- Valid and reliable measures?
o Causal Validity – Establish cause and effect relationship???
o External Validity -- Generalizability of study findings to the target
population?
o Getting IRB approval for human research subject protections?
Be sure to consult and cite the texts in addressing strengths and weaknesses of your
study.
VI.
References
Only peer-reviewed journal articles count as references for this proposal. You may
of course include additional materials such as text books, internet sources etc. but
these materials need to be IN ADDITION to the required articles. WIKIPEDIA and
other generic internet sources are not acceptable sources for reference material for
this research proposal. If you have difficulty distinguishing between a referred
article and other information please seek consultation from the library.
Remember you need a minimum of 12 referred articles for the Literature Review
section. You can – and should -- use some of the Lit Review articles in other
sections, but you should also find additional sources to support your introduction
and Methodology and other sections of your proposal.
References should be double spaced in alphabetical order by author in APA style.
CHECKLIST
My paper:
 Focuses on a relevant issue
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Research Proposal Instructions
 Provides sufficient evidence for ideas and includes detail and discussion.
 Demonstrates graduate school-level critical and original analysis.
 Varies sentence structure, with a mix of compound, complex, and simple
sentences.
 Adheres to APA style, being particularly mindful of quotes, numbers,
citations and references.
 Incorporates headings and sub-headings to organize paper.
 Uses excellent grammar, sentence structure, spelling, and word choice.
 Accurately paraphrases, summarizes, and quotes sources
 Analyzes reference sources for reliability and validity.
 Presents original thoughts rather than restates what others have written.
 Includes 19-27 double-spaced pages, excluding the title page, abstract page,
and references.
Resources for finding instruments used in research:
http://www.library.vcu.edu/phpapps/dblist/dbbysub/81
http://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/find-tests.aspx
http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=browsePT.name
http://1340.sydneyplus.com/ETS_Test_Collection/Portal.aspx
http://psychcentral.com/quizzes/
http://ERIC.ed.gov/
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