Research proposals

The research proposal may seem a bit bogus in the whole writing of a research paper, but it is a way to get thinking about your paper and firming up where you are going. In essence, it is a map or a guide to get you to the end of the process perhaps a bit more smoothly. It is part of the preparation process, as well as gives you some indication if you've gone off track. The APA manual I created has a broad version of the proposal as I'm trying to make the manual applicable across a variety of courses. But the main elements are:

• Title of paper (this is a working title and may change)
• Purpose -- what is the problem that you want to study
• Background/Significance -- why are you interested and what makes this topic worthy?
• Description/Methodology -- how are you going to conduct your research -- primary or secondary research (most initial research is secondary)
• References