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Research Proposal


Purpose

Anybody who goes into teaching will want to connect their pedagogy to their student's practices, or, at the very least, they want to do research that accesses the success of a class or program. Likewise in the workplace, professional writers will want to learn how fellow workers or clients' interact with various technologies. Rather than using metaphors and myths to inform the work that you do in these contexts, you will want to learn how actual writers use interact with the technology. This assignment gives you the opportunity to think about and articulate how you would conduct research to learn how writers use computers to compose texts.


Instructions

Epistemological Process

Start by thinking about an exigency that needs to be addressed. This may be an issue that arose from the readings this semester. Or it may be an issue that emanates from a local situation (i.e., classroom, workplace). In either case, you want to connect the issue from the reading to a local situation and vice versa. Do not try to address universal issues.

Once you have chosen a exigency, you will want to develop guiding research questions. This is what you want to learn from your research. You should design your research to answer these questions.

Also start thinking about resources that you would have access to if you were to do this research.

Writing

You have two choices for writing up your methodological plan. You can present your work as...

  • a formal, professional document (i.e., headings, single-spaced, block paragraphs)
  • a PowerPoint presentation with a detailed script (using the notes function)

Use the generic structure and the following heuristics to guide the composition of your proposal:

  • A statement of the problem: What exigency will your project address? What are your research questions?
  • A brief review of literature: What have other scholars said about the same (or similar) problems? What have other researchers done methodologically to address similar problems? (This is where you bring in the scholarship on the issue that you are studying)
  • A methodological design: What will you specifically do to address the research problem? What steps will you take to collect and analyze data? This should be designed with enough detail that anyone could pick up your document and understand what to do.
  • A design rationale: Why will the plan that you designed yield the information that you need to answer your research questions? This will be a meta-discussion of your methodological intentions and may be supported by scholarship. (This is where you bring in the scholarship on research methodologies)
  • A statement of anticipation: What problems do you anticipate will arise when you execute this plan? How will you handle these problems if they arise?

You may want to consult the Digital Writing section of the resource page for an example.

Presentation

On the day of the final, you will presenting your Research Proposal to the class as if they were a professional audience. You will have up to fifteen minutes to present your proposal. For the presentations, you will want to generate a visual supplement, such as a PowerPoint Presentation or a one page handout.

Your presentation will be factored into your grade.


Criteria

Logistic:

  • 2000-2500 words for written
  • 15 minutes for presentation
  • due on June 21, 2006
  • submit hard copy; if PowerPointsubmit printed slides with notes
  • 150 points

In addition to the general evaluation criteria, the instructor will be looking for evidence of...

  • an informed understanding of the course material and its application
  • a sense of audience–this should be formal and written for a professional audience
  • an document that is "original," at least in the context in which it is being applied
  • a document that is viable; can this research reasonable be executed as it is designed?
  • a design that considers validity; does the design measure what you want to learn?
  • a rhetorical awareness of the situation you are proposing to work within
  • an ability to articulate your knowledge of the course material
  • appropriate use of conventions, including MLA or APA citation formatting