Engl 600
Fall 2016
Research Proposal
Aims. Although I’m calling this assignment a research “proposal,” that name is a bit grandiose. Think of it rather as a more informal, almost exploratory sort of document—a feasibility study— lacking the somewhat stricter rules that characterize its more formal cousin, the “prospectus.”
Just the same, this informal proposal should have some sort of shape. (And I will suggest at least a few formal guidelines below.) Think of this as a first attempt to articulate, on paper, the nature and scope of a research project that you might undertake—for an eventual M.A. Project, say, or, failing that (e.g., if that’s too scary to think about right now), a real or imaginary seminar paper. Have you had one or more vague ideas floating around in your head about a potential research topic? Now is the time to give them some definition and clarity by putting them into words.
How to proceed. Name your project, first of all: give it a succinct and informative title that indicates the problem or question you’re setting out to explore (or, at the very least, that designates the topic or territory you’re setting out to cover).
Next: in 200-400 words, explain your motivation and give your project a rationale. (I’ll be asking you to “sell” and justify your idea more carefully when it comes time to craft a bona fide prospectus, later in the semester. For now, discuss what led you to this idea and why you think it’s good, necessary, or potentially interesting—to you and/or to anyone else.)
Now: take a break. Put your newly refreshed and/or enhanced library skills to work and do a quick-and-dirty search to make sure this topic can be feasibly and legitimately researched. Spend an hour or two—no more than that—doing keyword catalog and database searches and skimming reference sources and bibliographies. Does this seem like promising territory? Has it already been thoroughly trampled or trodden with well-worn grooves? (If so, is there room for some new grooves to be cut?) Is it too vast? Too crowded? Full of weeds, junk, and other eyesores? Populated with loonies and eccentrics?
Then: take another 400-600 words to report on what you’ve learned from your search and to consider what course of action it suggests. What sense of the landscape of your projected topic (and your position in it) have you now acquired? Is your topic in fact manageable and/or feasible, given the time and space within which you’ll be working? Does it need to be pared back, beefed up, broadened, refined, reframed—even abandoned? Why and/or in what ways? What subjects, fields, figures and/or debates will you need to become acquainted with? Well-versed in? Who on our faculty might be in a position to help guide you across your chosen terrain? What other provisional conclusions (and/or doubts) have you come to? What’s your next step?
Other specs. In tone and diction, aim for a happy combination of seriousness and informality. Feel free to use subheadings for organizational purposes (e.g., “Project Title,” “Background and Rationale,” “Feasibility” or “Findings,” “Ramifications” or “Next Steps”). Length: ~3 (no more than 5) double-spaced pages (1-inch margins). Due Tuesday, September 20.