Prospectus Guidelines
The prospectus is a road map to your final product. It should include:
The Problem Definition (The Question) – Your problem definition should build on your client’s statement of the problem he or she wants to address. Describe clearly the central question you are addressing and any sub-questions, including rationales for those sub-questions. You and your client should be clear about exactly what you are and are not addressing in the PAE.
Methodology– Briefly lay out your strategy for addressing the problem definition. If you are proposing case studies, indicate how many you will do and how you will choose them. If you are conducting surveys, describe how you’ll choose subjects and what you’ll ask them.If you are using data, describe how you plan to analyze it. Think of the methodology as the logic that will enable you to assert that your findings are a reasonably accurate assessment of the situation and that alternative explanations would not be better.
Sources of Information – This is part of the methodology section, but we have highlighted it because we feel it is important to be as specific as possible at this time about where you plan to get the information you will need to carry out the research strategy proposed. What types of information will library, public document or web research provide? Who do you need to talk with? Don’t stop with just mentioning “advocates” or “providers”, for example. Talk about the strategy you will employ to select organizations and individuals from whom you gather information, and briefly state what types of information you expect will be provided. It is important to find out early if there are some people your client wants you to talk to and some that he or she wants you to avoid. It is also extremely important for you to get a commitment from your client to provide any information that is essential for the study that you cannot get elsewhere – and a commitment to provide it in a timely manner. If you have had this discussion, report on your agreements in the prospectus, just to get it into a written record.
Possible Policy Options – We don’t want you to decide what the outcome will be before doing the research, which would violate one of the fundamental tenets of research. Nevertheless, it is useful to think about the types of policy issues you want to be able to address (funding, implementation, marketing, etc.) and work backwards to see if your research design and data will support the analysis you want to carry out to make the level of recommendations your client expects.
Calendar – Describe a tentative timetable indicating when each major component will be completed. It may help to work backwards from the date the final paper is due to determine when each of the pieces needs to be in place. This helps you and your client assess what it is reasonable for you to accomplish.
Client Responsibility and Budget – Describe any agreements you have with your client about what your client will do for you (i.e., introduce you to people, invite you to meetings, etc.) and will provide you with (i.e., data, funding for various aspects of your PAE, reports, etc.). You may also want to provide a budget. There will be opportunities later in the semester to apply for travel funds, but we may be able to help you find funds for things like gift cards for focus group participants, reproduction of surveys, etc. We can’t accommodate your wish list, but tell us what the essentials are and what they would cost.