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BBL 3403 RESEARCH METHODS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE
SEMESTER 1, 2017/2018
DR. IDA BAIZURA BAHAR
FINAL ASSESSMENT
Research Proposal
Due: To Be Determined by UPMET (last day of the Final Exam week)
The task is assessed in order to address the following Learning Objectives:
3.decide on a research proposal in standard English which follows MLA format and documentation (C6)
4.make decision based on reliable sources (CT).
The purpose of this assessment is to provide you experience with designing a research study, and writing a research proposal. The benefits are both academic and professional—as this is a common genre in academia.
Page Length
Your proposal should be between at least 10-15 pages not counting your works cited and any appendixes you might include. It must be typed in font Times New Roman size 12 and double-spaced. Please include a cover page which must be a plain piece of white paper containing your name, matric number, programme of study, course code and title, and the title of your proposal. The cover page must simply be stapled together with your essay at the top left corner of the paper. Any references used must follow the MLA 8th Edition style.
Conventional Elements of a Research Proposal
Background of Study
The research problem or objective needs to be situated within a context of other scholarship in the area(s). The literature review presents a discussion of the most important research and theoretical work relating to the research problem/objective.
Problem Statement
Research proposals generally begin with an introductory section that describes the research problem and establishes its significance.
Justification of Text Selection
Describe the subjects e.g. texts for your study, considering carefully the selected texts. Explain your method of selecting yourtexts. Discuss thetexts in relation to your research question or hypothesis, to availability, and to your researchdesign. That is, you need to identify the texts and make clear whether they will be available andhow you will analyse them.
Conceptual/Theoretical Framework
Describe the kind of framework you plan to conduct, and explain the logic and purpose of your analysis. The kind(s) of analysis you plan will, of course, be contingent on the texts, the justification of texts selection collection as well as on your research question. These all work in tandem with one another. You need to explain how you will analyze the texts you have selected.
Research Methodology
This section describes how you will conduct your study. Regardless of the type of research you plan to do, you need to indicate how you will carry out your study so others may judge its viability, and its worth among others. For example, close reading, textual analysis, interviews with author.
Describe what you plan to actually do and the kind of research you will conduct. Your data-collection methods obviously need to be consistent with your research problem, your subjects and your measurements.
Research Objectives
Research objectives are the steps you are going to take to answer your research questions or a specific list of tasks needed to accomplish the goals of the project.
Research Questions
Your specific research question(s) or hypotheses should be stated clearly either at the end of the description of the problem/objective or at the end of the review of the literature.
Significance of Study
Overall, this section answers several questions. Why is this work important? What are the implications of doing it? How does it link to other knowledge? Why is it important to our understanding of the world? What new perspective will you bring to the topic? What use might your final research paper have for others in this field or in the general public? Who might you decide to share your findings with once the project is complete?
Limitations of Study
Limitations describe the boundaries that you have set for the study.
Definition of Terms
This section provides operational definition of terms that are unusual or unfamiliar. It identifies precisely the names of concepts or theoretical frameworks introduced in the Statement of the Problem.
References
Include a references section of all sources cited in the research proposal. Double check your references against the proposal to make sure that all sources appear in both places. As you draft your proposal, keep in mind that, as the name suggests, you are describing your tentative plans for research. You want the proposal to be specific enough for someone to understand what it is you plan to do so they can assess your plan, and you want it concrete enough to help you as you engage in your research. Further, your proposal should help you (and your readers) identify any problem areas before you invest time, energy and money in a study so that you can correct these. But your proposal is also subject to change once you actually begin the study. The point is: be realistic and be flexible.