HOW TO WRITE Way 71 Ta ag Sy) Peete iit: beyond & dissertation proposals A.M. Riazi, Ph.D. Shiraz UniversityHOW TO WRITE RESEARCH PROPOSALS A.M. RIAZI, Ph.D. Shiraz University a RAHNAMA PUBLICATIONS 2000Riazi, Mehdi A. 1955 How to write Research Proposals. Proposals a guide book for graduate students in applied linguistics/ A. Mehdi Riazi.--- Tehran: Rahnama, 1378 = 2000 145 P.: tables, charts. ISBN-964- 6054-00-5 Cataloging based on CIP information. 1 Linguistics - Research. 2.Dissertations, Academic. 3.Report writing. 4.Academic writing. LTitle. P51.R54 410.72 National lib. of Iran M78-13973 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior permission, in writing, from the Publisher. RAHNAMA PUBLICATIONS Copyright ©2000 Enghelab Ave., Shohadaye Zhandarmerie St., (Moshtagh St.), Between Farvardin & Fakhre Razi, No.220 Tehran, Iran. P.O.Box: 13145/1845 Tel: (021) 6416604 & 6400927 iS How to write Research Proposals ths Sagallne 259 sab siayte vale clo AYVA gslinues Jol le wale Tes hat APFF OF aes <8 Lb ig Babe abigly wl edyayd QUES gle litle Jilie Laza, SI Liat bt: PR AYVPEI EFSF icydls VY! SL spell} claged ls GAS: cel Byte pt sly ole S>Dedicated To the soul of my father To the passions of my mother & To the companionship of my wife and childrenTABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures and Tables Preface Chapter One: Introduction Where and when to start? The next steps Organization of the book Chapter Two: Choosing a topic Step 1: Identify your general area of interest Step 2: Check and search for different sources Step 3: Formulate your research problem Step 4: Examine and evaluate the research problem Chapter Three: Working on the topic Task 1: Preparing a working bibliography Task 2: Reading and summarizing the literature Chapter Four: Drafting a proposal Drafting Composing the draft The format of a research proposal Introduction Literature review Ways of citing others’ work Order of citation 29 30 35 4 4 43 45 47 48 49 55Theoretical or conceptual framework Providing a rationale for the study Method Outline and organization of the study References Appendixes Chapter Five: Revising and editing the proposal Revising your proposal Editing your proposal Proofreading checklist APA editorial style Punctuation Capitalization Revising and editing by a PC Chapter Six: Resources for research in applied linguistics Part 1: Indexes and abstracts Part 2: Surveys of research Part 3: Journals Part 4: ERIC What is ERIC? Resources in education (RIE) Current index to journals in education How to do a search in ERIC? Other databases PsycLiIT Dissertations Abstract OnDisc References Appendix: A sample proposal Index 37 58 62 65 66 7 73 74 75 76 7 82 83 94 96 99° 101 123 123 123 124 125 126 126 127 128 130 144List of Figures Figure 1.1: Stages involved in the process of thesis preparation page 5 Figure 1.2: The process of developing a proposal page 7 Figure 2.1: Three spaces of knowledge page 22 List of Tables Table 3.1: Objectives in reading materials page 35 Table 4.1: Major sections in a proposal page 46 Table 5.1: Standards for the acceptability of a thesis proposal page 88 Table 6.1: Features of the journals in applied linguistics page 103In the Name of God Preface In the context of gradate studies, research proposals play an important role. In most instances the decision to permit the student to embark on a thesis or dissertation is made solely on the completeness of the research proposal. The quality of writing in the proposal is likely to be used by advisors as a basis for judging the clarity of thought that has preceded the document. The proposal along with its constituencies will also be used as an index of the degree of facility with which the study will implemented if appropriate, and the adequacy of ‘expository skills the student will bring to reporting the results. In sum, the proposal is the instrument through which faculty must judge whether there is a reasonable hope that the student can conduct any research project at all. This step-by-step guidebook is prepared to help graduate students in the field of applied linguistics to prepare and write proposals that could meet the conventions of the field. The text moves with the student from discovery of a topic to gathering sources and references, reviewing related literature, drafting, revising and editing the intended research proposal. In chapter six, a list of resources in applied. linguistics has been provided that should be useful to both students and researchers. The book may be used as a textbook for such courses as Advanced Writing in graduate programs in which students will be required to go through the book chapter by chapter and prepare their research proposal. Or, it may be used independently by the graduate students. I should thank Mr. Hassan Ansari, a Ph.D. student at the department of foreign languages and linguistics of Shiraz University for his careful proofread of the manuscript. His keen eyes did not let any defects to go unnoticed. AM. Riazi Shiraz UniversityIntroduction Many students attending graduate programs, MA or Ph.D., do not often have much experience) in writing their theses and dissertations or preparing similar tasks such as research articles. At times, we are faced with various questions’ on the part of graduate students as to how they should do their research or what processes they should go through in order to prepare their thesis or dissertation. These questions are mostly related to choosing an appropriate topic, selecting an advisor, finding suitable references and sources, preparing proposal, doing the research itself, writing up and defending the thesis or dissertation. (We may say that the process of conducting research and documenting it is, in effect, a socialization process in any academic discipline.) Students gradually and through differentChapter 1 2 EEE disciplines. As I have stated elsewhere (Riazi, 1997, p. 106), different studies carried out on writing “suggest that academic contexts have a powerful influence on how students define and approach writing tasks.” Also, a common thread and a basic theoretical premise in all these studies is that writing involves unique intellectual properties and therefore fosters higher order reasoning. In this chapter, the general process of conducting research in a graduate program of applied linguistics will be presented. Then, in the following chapters, each issue will be discussed in more details. 1.1. Where and when to start? The first step in academic research is not to get overwhelmed by the volume of scientific and academic findings and materials on the one hand, and not to get lost in the institutional rules and regulations, on the other. Otherwise, you may be bogged down at the outset. The best thing to do at this stage is to get a bird’s eye view of the major steps involved in the preparation of the research work. It is a good idea to prepare a list of important dates. It will help you to organize your work and predict everything appropriately. (|) Try to acquaint yourself with departmental, faculty, and university information sources including regulations for thesisIntroduction 3 SSeS Se and dissertation preparation. If these regulations are written up, you should read them carefully and raise your questions with authorities so that there is left no ambiguous points for you. In case, there is no written document, try to become familiar with the whole process by discussing issues with your advisor or other interested people. To this end, faculty members, head of the department, and more experienced students are good sources of information and reliable consultants. This familiarity is important because(each department and university may handle the procedures in different ways.) Another important step in doing research and, in particular, theses and dissertations is to start soon as possible. It has been frequently seen that students postpone the tasks to the last months of their study. This is not appropriate at all, Not only will such students face the shortage of time, they are also deprived of directing a major part of their studies (courses and assignments) toward the preparation of their thesis and dissertation. The best thing to do is that(when you start your graduate program, you try to have a plan for your dissertation in advance. )If not possible, then thinking about the thesis and dissertation topics should be one of your priorities and job should be started from the early days. Usually universities require graduate students to propose their plan for research after the second semester or not later than the end of the third semester. When students know in what area and on what topic they will be doing their research, they canChapter 1 4 _— organize all the possibilities and tasks of different courses in line with their research topic. In this case, students are able to direct the assignments of the courses toward their thesis} they can also use their free timé to prepare the needed literature, read them and make notes. If this happens, then before getting to the actual process of conducting research, most parts of the thesis have already been done. 1.2. The next steps Every graduate student should have a ‘general picture of the processes involved in carrying out a thesis or dissertation. Figure 1.1 depicts the stages of the task of research in graduate programs. (Although these stages are here presented in a linear way, the process is not likely to be linear)(You often need to get back to some previous stages in order to revise or modify the already-done jobs. Think of Figure 1.1 as a‘checklist rather than the actual steps that you will follow. Similarly, as most of the steps in the process are discussed in apparent chronological order in subsequent sections and chapters; you need not follow them in the sequence described here. Nevertheless, this figure will help you to picture the activities you are likely to engage in and assist in budgeting your available time. Once you have a general overview of the requirements and resources in mind, you should focus on conceptualizing the thesis problem. Start thinking about what might be a good thesisIntroduction 5 SS eS SSS Figure 1.1 A general picture of the stages involved in the process of thesis or dissertation preparation Stating the topic in the form of a research question or bypotbesiChapter 1 6 ——— EEE topic. To be successful at this, follow the processes introduced to you in the next chapter. A final suggestion is that (you should keep track of your ideas and give the thesis a prominence in your life) Set up a file, on your PC or in a notebook, to keep track of ideas, references, conversations, decisions, etc. 1.3. Organization of the book This book is organized in six chapters. Each chapter elaborates on one issue related to the preparation of thesis or dissertation proposals. The sixth chapter, however, presents the reader with a good: reference to resources available in the field of the second language teaching and learning. These resources could be used both at the time of preparing the proposal as well as at the time of submitting papers. Figure 1.2 below, presents a schematic guide to the content of each chapter, and the process through which a proposal will be developed. The book may be used as a textbook for such courses as advanced writing in graduate programs of applied linguistics. In that case, the instructor as well as the students will follow the chapters one by one so that toward the end of the semester they may come up with their actual proposals. Or it may be used as an independent guide-book which interested readers might use those chapters they find useful in the course of their proposal development.Introduction Figure 1.2 The process of developing a proposal Choosing a topic and formulating a research Submission to supervisor and committee members apter 3CHAPTER TWO Choosing a Topic and Formulating a Research Problem Choosing an appropriate and workable topic is probably_one of the most difficult tasks for graduate students. Students usually wander around looking for an appropriate topic. They think about it around the clock, often with little or no success. To some extent this is natural. However, choosing a topic is as much a process as the whole research itself is. Therefore, you should go through some steps to come up with an appropriate topic. The following steps will help you to choose your topic more systematically and with lesser ambiguity. This chapter aims at introducing and explaining four steps to you.) Step 1: Identify your general area of interest If you are waiting for a topic to hit your mind, you are not likelyChoosing a topic 9 to be inspired soon. Instead of waiting and waiting, it is more reasonable to go through some processes to choose your research topic.(The first step is to identify your general area of interest! It is the case that any piece of research deals with one aspect of language issues. In other words, if you look at the published or reported research projects, you can categorize them into different aspects of language and language teaching and learning areas. Thus, any piece of research in applied linguistics is usually directed towards a specific area of interest. This means that /at the very outset of research, you should decide on the area of applied linguistics in which you are interested. We refer to this as. the general area of interest.) ‘As members of the community of applied linguists, any one of us is perhaps interested in one particular area more than the other areas of language) This interest might come from different sources such as our previous experiences and readings, our future career, our personality, and so on or even a combination of them, It is not important where we have taken our interest. What is important is that we often have such an interest. This area of interest leads us to have most of our readings and knowledge in this area. The researcher should have enough knowledge in the area in order to be able to ask good questions to be answered through systematic research. One point should be made clear, however. (Having an area of interest does not mean that we are not interested in‘other topics and areas} Asmembers of this community we cannot detach ourselves from the issues and topics in our field. Nevertheless, due to the fact that human knowledge is becoming more and more specialized on the one hand, and that our resources are limited on the other, we cannot spend the same amount of time and energy on all topics and areas. Therefore, identifying an area of specialization or an area of interest, as is commonly called, would be considered as an academic and professional endeavor by and of itself. What are the areas of interest in our field? To answer this question it should be mentioned that there is no fixed and standard classification of these areas. Rather, by checking literature, journals, and other resources in our field, it is possible to identify and name these areas. Just to provide you with some ideas, we can say that the four skills, reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and language components, such as grammar and vocabulary; testing, teaching, learning, instructional technology, and learners’ motivation constitute but a fraction of the many interesting areas in applied linguistics. In any of these areas we can identify some more detailed areas as well. Hence, one might be, for example, interested in studying learning strategies in the area of writing or reading. Or, one might be interested in studying how different types of motivation would affect learners’ L2 achievement. Therefore, the first step in choosing a research topic is to identify in what general area you are going to conduct yourChoosing a topic ul research. Identifying the general area will narrow down your search and direct your thinking towards the final goal. You no more have to think about and search in all other areas. You become more focused and up to the point. Depending on your previous experiences, your line of studies or your future career, you then decide in what area you will do your research. If you have already entered a graduate program, do this step early. The advantage of identifying your general area of interest is that you can lead all your activities in the same direction. One of the common mistakes that some graduate students make is that they think they should postpone their choice of research topic to the end of their program or when they are finished with their course work, There are two problems with this./Firstly, if you wait until you finish your course work, you will most probably run short of time for your research project. Given the time limit set by most universities for graduate students to finish their program, this will put you under much pressure. Secondly, if you postpone your choice of topic, you deprive yourself of shaping your course work and assignments in the direction of your research and thesis! In all graduate courses you have to do a number of assignments such as writing annotated bibliographies, book reports, article reviews, small-scale-replication reports, etc. If you already know in what area you will be conducting your thesis, you can certainly take advantage of all the course work and assignment opportunities with an eye to your thesis. ForChapter 2 12 es example, if in a graduate course you are asked to carry out a small-scale-replication study, you can take this chance to do a pilot study of your own actual study. Or if you are required to prepare an annotated bibliography, you can do it on the topic of your thesis in order to save time in literature review. Take the first step and choose your area of interest as early as possible in the course of your graduate studies if not done already. Step 2: Check and search for different sources to pinpoint your topic Now that you have located your general area of interest, i.e., you know on what aspect of language teaching and learning-you will be doing your research, the next step would be to check different sources to pinpoint your general topic. (these sources may include published research articles in journals, completed master’s theses and doctoral dissertations, conference papers, and so on.)In the course of carrying out their investigation, (researchers usually encounter new problems or topics, which they have not been able to address in their piece of research. Therefore, they often write them down and suggest them for further research to be done by themselves or by other investigators. In all these sources and almost towards the final parts of a research report there is always a section, titled orChoosing a topic 13 untitled, called suggestions for further research that you can consult to locate a research topic. One of the criteria for the selection of a topic is that the findings should add to the body of the knowledge of the field. So, avoid trivial topics, or topics that have been worked on before) You will, in any case, spend time and work on your research. If so, then why not choosing and working on a topic whose outcomes may result in personal and. disciplinary growth? In identifying your general topic, in addition to Gource materials) you might use other sources as well. Lester (1994) identifies (personal experiences, talking with other people, and stretching one’s imagination as other possible sources of choosing one’s topic of research) Lester states that research often starts with talking to fellow investigators, instructors, friends, and/or even relatives. Thus, asking people in your school and community for ideas might lead to topics for investigation. The (best introduction to the current state of affairs in a research area is close association with your advisor who knows the territory and is often busy formulating and attempting his/her own questions.) (in short, conversing with peers, listening to professional discussions, assisting in research projects, attending lectures and conferences, exchanging papers, and corresponding with faculty or students of other universiti insti all ways of getting informed about the current state of the art in the field.yy Chapter 2 14 Seliger and Shohamy (1989) also believe that the general topic and question might come from three sources namely, (experience and interests, other research, and sources outside second language. |These sources provide the rationale for questioning the phenomena related to the field of applied linguistics. What is new in Seliger and Shohamy’s suggested sources is the sources outside second language. Given the fact that (ap can certainly use sources from other disciplines to inspire your lied linguistics is an inter-disciplinary enterprise, you choice of topic and general research problem) One of these disciplines is, for example, psychology. (Many research articles are published in journals of psychology that may also be related to the issues of pedagogy.) We can, therefore, consult-these sources as well and discover ideas and topics for research. For example, many articlés in psychological bulletins and journals are dealing with learners’ mental and cognitive processes. As researchers in the field of applied linguistics, one might be interested in exploiting what mental and cognitive processes ESL/EFL learners use in mastering their L2 writing ability? (By the same token, Ary et al. (1996) also consider experience, deductions 3 from theory, and related literature as the possible sources of identifying one’s general research problem. In explaining deductions from theory as a probable source of finding a general topic or problem, Ary et al. state that theories involve general principles whose applicability to specific educationalChoosing a topic 1s problems is only speculations until they are empirically validated. ‘It is only through research, that one determines whether the generalizations embodied in theories can be translated into specific recommendations for the improvement of educational practices.| From a theory, therefore, one might be able to deduct hypotheses to be researched. There are various theories on, cognition, learning, linguistics, etc. whose validity can be tested empirically. Consequently, any of these theories can stimulate you to raise questions or pose problems to be investigated in educational contexts. . Tope ‘aftenal Step 3: Formulate your research problem The process of research begins with a question and ends with finding answer(s) to that question. Using the sources stated in step two, you are now in a position to formulate your research problem—the cornerstone of your research project. You might consult only one of the sources and locate your topic, or it might be the case, that almost always you benefit from your consultations with many different sources and then make up your mind on a specific topic. That is, not only you may use your own personal experience and imagination, but also you may talk with other people and check various sources. Finally, you may identify your topic of research. Whether you use one of the sources or you combine several of them to choose your topic, you should be able to formulate your topic inChapter 2 16 —————————————— the form of a research problem. Your research problem is the foundation of your whole research process. Everything would be built upon it. As such, it should be as precise as possible. (When formulating a research problem, you should take your “Time; otherwise you will wonder why you asked it.)The most important factor in deciding on a research problem, according to Hatch and Farhady (1981), is your own interest and curiosity. The choice of your research problem must necessarily be very attractive to you or else you will not have enough motivation to carry it through. (You will live with it and it will be with you for a long time. Therefore, give it enough time and care. It should be something you are really interested in, and at the same time, it should originate from your own mind and curiosity. In such a case, not only will you have an impetus to work out your research problem and to find answer(s) to it, but also you will enjoy it. Your research problem wi will also ) influence your choice of research method. (The nature of some research problems leads us to use quantitative research methods; whereas some other questions are researchable only through qualitative research methods.) This means that when choosing your topic and formulating your research problem, you should also bear in mind that you should use an appropriate research method in investigating the problem. This is especially important if you prefer one research method over the other. If, for example, you are interested in finding out how kids acquire their mother tongueChoosing a topic 7 or what type of strategies ESL/EFL learners use in their reading comprehension, you may probably go for longitudinal and qualitative methods of research to collect and analyze your data. Qualitative research methods include descriptive and case studies, ethnographies, interaction analysis, participant and non- participant observation. On the other hand, if you intend to discover whether there is any relationship between learners’ IQ and their language proficiency, then, perhaps, you may go for quantitative methods for data collection and analysis. (Quantitative research methods also include experimental designs, surveys, correlational studies) etc. Given the fact that the nature of your research problem will determine the type of research method to be used, it should be borne in mind that one’s preference for a specific research methodology is another important factor in choosing one’s research problem. After the problem has been identified and you are satisfied with it, it is time for formulating it in a way that lends itself well to systematic investigation. {You can state the problem in either declarative or question form) Suppose that you are interested in finding out how PC use would affect L2 learners’ writing progress. You can formulate this problem in either of the following forms: _leThis study intends to find out if there is any relationship between L2 learners’ use of personal computers and their writing improvement.Paphen Speake vartablis esearch method Perppate. Chapter 2 18 2. What is the effect of using computers (word processors) on L2 learners’ writing development? Nat Pie nels.) (UAT eerch., able 4 ft sons} knowle dye [o the fretd) about language is included in space 1 in the figure above. Much the same is people’s general knowledge of medical issues which will form space 1 in the field of medicine. However, (space 2 includes knowledge and information which only members of the field (students and experts) have but not the other people. This Imowledge space might include theories, models, principles, concepts, and so on. The members of academic community acquire this knowledge by reference to the established knowledge of the field. (As the literacy level of people increases, more and more knowledge of space 2 will be transferred into space 1,)ByChoosing a topic 23 the same token, the lower the literacy level of the people of the society, the narrower and smaller the space 1 would be. Space 3 includes issues and problems that even members of the field do not know.) What they know is the existence of such problems and questions. This space forms the frontiers of the research in any field. The existing problems and issues open to investigation are located in this space. Therefore, graduate students as well as the researchers in scientific and academic fields are supposed to pick up their research topics from this space. Accordingly, the findings and results of the investigations would be first fed into space 2, and possibly a later time, into space 1. Thus,by stating that your research should add to the body of our knowledge of the field, it is meant that your research should solve one of the available problems in space 3 and inject the findings as knowledge into space 2.JNow, if you choose a research problem, which belongs to spaces 1 or 2, your research would be redundant and uninformative) Your research can add to the body of our knowledge of the field in two ways. Firstly, as you can infer from figure 2.1, there is always a knowledge gap between space 3 and space 2s Consequently, provided that your topic and research problem come from space 3, the findings of your research will certainly bridge part of the gap, however, small that part may be. Secondly, as you review the literature on a specific topic, you may come across conflicting findings with regard to the topic Previous wrong Pheore 3c ig.Chi pter 2 24 under investigation. {the competing and discrepant findings might have different reasons. It might be because of different research methods used in the studies, or it might be due to different contexts, or different types of participants, or many other reasons) You can choose this topic or research problem, conduct a research on it and solve the problem. In fact, such problems are located on the borderline between spaces 2 and 3. By shedding some illuminating light on the competing findings, you may solve the problem and move it to space 2. So, your research study should be one which, when investigated, its findings may add something to the available body of knowledge of the field, ive., it may expand space 2. In the process of carrying out research, researchers face other questions and problems that cannot be answered within the scope of the same study. You should, therefore, note down the new problems and suggest them for further research. If you remember, in the section on searching other sources for appropriate topics, it was mentioned that any published research report usually has a section entitled suggestions for further research. Such a section includes problems encountered by theChoosing a topi 25 researcher during his or her investigation of a particular problem. As other researchers provide you with topics for future research, you are also obliged to do the same thing to prospective researchers. This will further research in a particular field and as the research furthers, the findings and the knowledge of the field will widen accordingly. Let ght In searching for a topic and formulating a research problem there is always a degree of risk. That is, students may choose either novel or unresearchable topics. The problem with novel topics is that the researcher may not find enough literature both to contextualize the topic and to benefit from the previous research methods and procedures. Therefore, as a rule of thumb, it is not appropriate to start from the scratch. Hence, the topic and the research problem should have a precedent so that you can use the past knowledge and information and try to move ahead adding a bit to the available body of our knowledge of the field.) However, you may say that many important contributions to different fields of studies have come from novel and unprecedented topics. The fact is that most of such studies are carried out by exceptional people and in exceptional situations. ae 3. The problem must be one that is researchable. {y+ Peove!Chapter 2 26 EEE Therefore, as a norm, graduate students should do their research within the context of available knowledge and theoretical frameworks. This will help and guide them throughout the research process. as an : that they are not suitable for empirical investigation. It might be tacked the case that the topic does not lend itself well to the empirical mA procedures of data collection and data analysis. Philosophical Some other topics are just unresearchable in the sense questions are examples of this type. The other point related to the 2 bel researchability of the topic is the logistics of research. That is, Rea dy) the topic under investigation might be a very good topic; however, it may demand a lot of financial resources, or too many subjects, or too complicated instruments or tools which are beyond what a researcher can afford. It can, therefore, be implied that topics chosen for investigation should be empirically researchable and logistically feasible. In addition to the points discussed above, the topics should also be suited to the researchers. This means that some topics are appropriate and researchable for some researchers, but not for others. Among the factors affecting the suitability of a research problem for a particular researcher we may name, (1)Choosing a topic 27 the researcher’s interest, (2) the researcher’s knowledge and experience, and (3) the allotted time and money. As it was discussed and explained before, the research problem should be in the area of your interest. You will spend quite a lot of time on your research. Simply put, you will live with your research. Therefore, you should be really interested in the research problem and be eager to find answer(s) to the problem. Otherwise, the whole research would not be suitable for you. Another important factor in estimating the suitability of a research problem for a researcher is that it should be in line with the level of the researcher’s knowledge and experience. The researcher is expected to have the required knowledge about the topic in terms of basic concepts and theories as well as the appropriate research methods. We might refer to these two knowledge sources as declarative (the knowledge of what) and procedural (the knowledge of how). The investigator needs to know about the whats of the topic under study in order to be able to conceptualize the problem and to establish the theoretical framework in which the study is going to be carried out. While having the necessary background knowledge about the topic under study is a must it is, however, not enough. It should be accompanied by the researcher’s ability to select and use appropriate research methods to collect and analyze the required data. This will indicate the degree of suitability of some research topics for some researchers, but not for others.Chapter 2 28 "| 5, The problem should be ethically appropriate. | One of the major issues in research is that it should be ethical, ie., (protect the legal rights of the participants in the study. \It is often the case in empirical research that we perform our investigation on a number of participants. In hard sciences, like physics and chemistry, since the experiments are done on substances and materials and not human beings, ethical issues are irrelevant. However, in soft_sciences, humanities and social sciences, as most of the time human beings are involved as participants, it is crucial to take any measures in order to observe the participants’ rights. A very common step in this direction is to solicit participants’ consent to take part in the study, To this end, you may send them a letter explaining the objectives of the study and the role(s) they are supposed to play in it and then ask for their written consent. They should be assured that the information collected from them, through questionnaires or interviews or any other instruments, would remain confidential. There is the hope that with these measures the participants do not feel that they are forced to take part inthe study. Rather, when they decide to take part, they should do it voluntarily. If your research problem attests these features, then it is time to work on it. You need to prepare a working bibliography.3 CHAPTER THREE Working on the Topic and Research problem In the second chapter four steps were introduced to help a graduate student find his/her topic and research problem. It was mentioned that choosing an appropriate topic is often considered to be a difficult task especially for student researchers. Nevertheless, the research process does not end with finding and formulating a good research problem. Once the topic has been chosen and the research problem has been formulated, it is time to move on and work on the topic. The two main tasks after, choosing a topic are (1)‘preparing a working bibliography, and (2) reading and summarizing the related literature. The purpose of this chapter is, thus, to describe and explain these two tasks.Chapter 3 30 Task 1: Preparing a working bibliography The term working bibliography means a collection or a general list of all the possible sources and materials you can find related to your topic and research problem. For example, if the topic is reading strategies then you might try to collect as many references on this particular topic as possible. These references might include a variety of materials such as published research papers, books, papers presented at conferences, theses and dissertations, research reports, etc. (There is, of course, a distinction between a working bibliography and a final reference list, which will accompany your proposal or thesis.) (The final reference list includes only and only those sources that are cited in the body of the proposal or thesis.) In other words, there should be a one to one correspondence between the works cited in the body of a report and the list of references accompanying it. Thus, what you prepare as the working bibliography is, in effect, a general list of the materials related to your topic under investigation. But the ones you use and cite in your proposal or thesis will appear in your final list of references. The working bibliography would be a great help in the whole research process. You may benefit from it in different phases of your research; the least it serves is that it makes the references section of your proposal, thesis, or papers. Therefore, the more complete your bibliography, the more thorough your research would be. FollowWorking on the toj 31 a specific writing style, APA for example, and arrange the sources according to it so that you can make use of it in future and for the purposes of referencing. In order to prepare the working bibliography as thoroughly and systematically as possible, you need to follow two steps.) In the first step, and probably the immediate one, you should choose from the references of the materials at your elbow. That is, as it was mentioned earlier it is usually the case that you seek and then choose your topic from either research papers or theses. (This is because they do have a section entitled suggestions for further research that can trigger new ideas. If this is the case, then immediately check the reference list of the paper or thesis you have consulted and copy those references that have something to do with your selected topic) This procedure can be repeated for any other sources and references you get access to. Certainly you come across a good number of sources related to your topic through this process. However, the problem is that you may not be sure whether you have accessed all the available materials. To overcome this problem, proceed to the second step. (In the second step, you need to perform a computer Search on the topic through the available databases,’ A computerized literature search is a fast, efficient, and comprehensive way of retrieving literature on almost any topic in almost all field of study. Many subject indexes that might normally be available in a well-bound book are searchable by theChapter 3 32 use of a computer. These indexes on computer are called databases. Some of the related databases are introduced in chapter six. Readers are encouraged to get acquainted with these databases and get accustomed to using them. ‘There are two ways of searching databases: Online and offline. Online search is used where there is access to computer networks such as Internet. ‘Such databases are usually stored in some sites and users can search them online. All you need is an account and a PC equipped with a modem. However, an easier and a more feasible access to databases is offline. This involves the use of a Compact Disc, often called Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM). Such a CD is identical in appearance to the audio compact disc which plays music. The technology is also the same, except that the information stored on a CD-ROM is textual. One compact disc can hold the same amount of information that can be stored on 1,500 floppy disc, or approximately 275,000 pages of printed text. The disc can be scanned for the required information by a laser beam contained in the compact disc player in the computer. Numerous databases, which cover areas within different fields such as education, psychology, sociology, language and linguistics, can be often found in libraries and/or departments. Some examples of such databases on compact discs are ERIC, PsycLIT, and Dissertation Abstracts OnDisc.Working on the topi 33 The offline search procedure is to identify the keywords (descriptors) and/or a combination of them and click the computer to do the search.) A database works by combining various subject headings together to create a customized bibliography on a specific topic. A search that would normally take hours of manual searching in a paper subject index can be accomplished by a computer in a few minutes, If, for example, you are going to use ERIC to perform a computer search on reading strategies, you might identify the following as your descriptors: - Reading - Strategies - Reading strategies - Learning strategies - Teaching strategies - Reading OR strategies - Reading AND strategies There is another possibility, and even a more efficient one, and that is consulting the ERIC’s list of descriptors (see part IV of chapter 6). These are multi-volume reference books that provide the user with key terms and the plausible combinations of them that computer can do the search on. Thus, before heading to computer center for a search, it is reasonable to check theChapter 3 34 descriptors and select with a number of possible terms. There are, of course, librarians and other experts who can help you with your search, One useful hint is that if your chosen keyword is very general, you are likely to get a great number of references, hundreds, if not thousands. On the contrary, if your keyword is very specific, the number of references you get from the computer will be very small. In the first case, you need to narrow down your topic by limiting it to some other keywords to get to a reasonable number of and more related sources. In the second case, however, you need to expand your topic a little by relating it to other keywords. The construction of a database is based on Boolean logic. Three major functions of the Boolean logic are AND, OR, and NOT. AND makes the things smaller or limits them. For example, if your search for reading strategies it goes like this: you type Reading (AND) Strategies, then computer will search through the database, select, and report to you only those strategies which are limited to reading. OR, on the other hand, makes the things wider, or expands them. For example, if you decide to search for Strategies OR Styles, then computer will search both strategies and styles and will report back to you. Finally(NOT excludes the unwanted terms.)For example, if you want to find materials on all types of strategies except speaking ones, then you should formulate your search as Strategies NOT Speaking. The computerWorking on the topic 35 would automatically get all the materials on strategies except those related to speaking strategies. After you finish your search and get your printout, go through it and select the ones you think are the most related to your topic and put them on your working bibliography. Fortunately, the references selected by the computer on a particular topic will be supplied with an abstract giving you a chance to check the content of the studies. Task 2: Reading and summarizing the related literature (Now that you have prepared a working bibliography including the majority of the available sources related to your topic, your next job is to read them one by one and make appropriate notes. Different people might have different approaches toward reading materials. However, (it is recommend here that you read the materials with an eye to the aims stated in Table 3.1 below. ) Table 3.1 Objectives in reading materialsChapter 3 36 As for the first objective, in order to carry out a research project, you need to have a knowledge base related to the topic under study. This knowledge base can best be obtained through reading previously carried out research and published research reports) Reading and thinking about issues will broaden your perspective on the topic under study. It will also help you to conceptualize the critical terms and issues presented and discussed by other researchers. Without a moderate knowledge base you will face difficulties at different stages of your research. The more information and knowledge you can source about a topic, the better and the more efficient you can deal with it in different stages of your topic of investigation. ‘Therefore, do not hesitate to read as much as you can about your problem. You_ should become an expert in the field that you do your research. ) Part of the expertise you gain is by reading available materials. Thus, the first and foremost objective in reading published research reports and other materials should be to learn as much as possible about the topic under study. Although sometimes there might be some reasons why you need to skim an article or a book, it can only help you to get a gist of what is being said.) This is a good strategy for deciding whether a reading is an appropriate material or not. In general, skimming is not a useful strategy for reading for graduate students, but you may well be used to doing it in other contexts. For the purposes of making sense out of what other people haveWorking on the topic 37 to say, (instead of skimming you should develop ways of concentrating on large chunks of quite dense text and make sense of them) ‘There seem to be two major difficulties that readers have when they read academic books and materials. (One is struggling with the ways in which things are written. The other is the amount of time that they take to read.)Many readers express surprise that they make repeated readings of the same materials. It should be made clear here that you are likely to find yourself having to read things more than once and this is in no way to be seen as strange or unusual. Academics themselves find it often necessary to re-read articles and books.) Your second objective in reading materials should be to make yourself familiar with methodological aspects of the studies. That is, since you will be doing more or less the same study, fou should know how to operationalize the research problem, what instrument(s) to use, how to collect and analyze data and so on and so forth. )The best sources you can find out about these issues are the previous studies. Even in rare situations where your study might employ a completely different design, the minimum advantage of attending to methodological issues would be to gain some ideas about the design of your study. Sometimes the design of the previous studies can be applied to your own study; oftentimes some modifications mightChapter 3 38 ( be in order. In any ways, attending to the methodological aspects of the studies you review will often give you useful insights. ) Your third objective in reading materials should be to make notes of what you read for the sake of literature review. This is an essential aim in reviewing others’ writings. Both in your research proposal—though not as thoroughly as in the actual thesis—and in your chapter of literature review in your final thesis, you need to review other studies done in the same field and around the same topic. Having this in mind and given the fact that you cannot remember whatever you read, you should carefully read and make notes of the materials you review. (You might use_note-cards (usually 15x15 _ centimeter cards) or notebooks) to record the summaries as well as the bibliographic information of the sources you review. In case, you use note-cards, it is recommended that you use both sides of the card. On the one side of the card, put the bibliographic information such as author’s name, date of publication, type of reference, publisher, page numbers, etc. for direct quotes and any other information you will need to reference your materials later on. On the other side of the card, put your notes, summary, paraphrase, and direct quotes. Certainly you will need more than one card for each of the works you review. No problem, you can paginate the cards and use some initials to help you to keep in order the records of the materials you review. You might prefer to use a notebook (or notebooks) instead of note-cards. In that case,Working on the topic 39 you can put the bibliographic information at the top of the page, leave some space, and then continue with your notes and summary of the article or book. In any case, do not forget to write the bibliographic information. This is crucial, because at a later time you will be faced with piles of books, articles, notes, and other materials. Unless you have already organized your materials, it will be difficult for you to find the exact place of your notes and to cite on appropriate reference for what you claim or state. (The fourth objective of reviewing materials should be to identify the major findings of each study to draw upon them later on and especially in the discussions section of your thesis,) Although this might not seem of immediate use in preparing a proposal, it is wise to do this as you read through the article or book. (One way of discussing your findings is to discuss them in light of other people's findings) Therefore, you need to know what other researchers have come across in their studies. As you review published materials, it is worth identifying major findings and including them in your summaries. As you now know reviewing previously published materials is a multi-fold process. If you are aware of these different folds, you can take care of it easily and in sequence. (As you read through materials, keep a record of the source, attend to the methodological aspects of the study, and summarize its majorChapter 3 40 ——— ——————— findings. This will help you to benefit from previous studies in their totality.)Chapter Four Drafting a Proposal (The two major parts of a proposal are (the statement of the problem, and Oo the method by which the problem will be investigated. The other parts of the y parts with the aim of contextualizing the problem) In drafting a thesis proposal, you should attempt to organize your proposal are, in effect, the complement ideas and present them in different sections of the proposal. Based on the nature of the problem, you need to select appropriate sections for the proposal. To get to the final draft of your proposal, you might need to edit and revise it several times, In this chapter, you will learn how to draft a thesis proposal. 4.1. Drafting Learning how to write in a second language in a context like graduate programs is an active, extended, and dynamicChapter 4 42 process; something different from writing in classroom contexts, in which, for example, student writers spend a lot of time with an ESL teacher to write an essay (Riazi, 1997). Berthoff (1981) has described the composition process as an act of making meaning— a phrase that precisely indicates writing’s dual purpose.) On the one hand, words are the symbols through which we externalize and shape the process of thought. (We think through writing, making meaning for ourselves.) That is, making sense of the subjects and discovering its significance to us. On the other hand, while writing permits us to explore meaning for ourselves, it also allows us to communicate—to make meaning for an audience. We write to discover what we think, but we also write to tell others what we think. ) ‘The dual purpose of writing is prominently evident in the composition of the first draft. At this. point, the writer is still in search of meaning. Although one necessarily begins a draft with at least a premise and probably a formal outline in mind, in the process of writing he must feel free to test, examine, and expand; and to pursue a natural course of exploration and investigation. At the draft stage, however, the writer will also begin the task of conveying ideas to an audience, and will move away from a personal and private record of exploration towards a form of writing that makes meaning for an audience. Written language, shaped into phrases, sentences, paragraphs, essays, proposals,Drafting a proposal 43 conveys meaning through its organization. Any piece of written language has its own organization. (the conventions of written language help thought to emerge from language/(Preparing the thesis proposal, should then be considered as communicating to others what you want to do.) (Simplicity, clarity, and parsimony are the characteristics of good writing that reflect adequate thinking about the research problem,/Complicated matters are best communicated when they are the objects of simple and well-edited prose. (In the early stages of development, the only way to obtain prompt and helpful assistance is to provide advisors with a document that is easily and correctly understood. At the final stage, however, approval of proposal will hinge not only on how carefully the plan has been designed, but also on how well that design has been communicated.) Often an overwhelming mass of details goes into the planning of a research proposal, however, the writer must not forget the’ proposal’s most immediate function, which is to inform readers quickly and accurately. ) 4.1.1, Composing the draft Before you can grasp the components of a first draft, you must understand how the finished proposal works to make meaning for the target readers. (The main characteristic, as it certainly is with the thesis itself, is unity,)To convince your readers (member&Chapter 4 44 of your committee) that you understand the problem and you are prepared to investigate it, you must produce a unified proposal. ‘An analogy may help you to see how important the concept of unity is. Imagine, for a moment, that you want to establish your understanding of the mechanism of a watch. You may begin by disassembling the watch into its component parts. When the watch is on your desk in fifty separate pieces, you may see how it operates. But, /to convince anyone else that you understand the mechanism, you must put the pieces back together, re-fashioning it into a unified, ticking whole. So is with a proposal. (Creating unity involves not only combining parts to form a coherent whole, but also showing clearly and distinctly the relation between parts) In the final draft, then, the relation of the components of the proposal to each other and to the topic under study should be self-evident and unambiguous: unity should be achieved in one way or another at any cost. However, the student who attempts to produce a unified, coherent proposal in a single move often falls victim to that often-dreaded disease of composition, i.e., the writer’s block. The reason for this lies in the fact that achieving unity is not an isolated task, but an ongoing part of the writing process. As we revise and edit our drafts, we in fact work again to establish the relation between parts and whole, Moreover, (unity must be achieved on several planes: at the macro level of different sections of the proposal, but also at’Drafting a proposal 45 the more micro level of sentences and paragraphs.) Because one begins writing with words and sentences, thinking about them too much during drafting can keep a writer stuck forever on the first paragraph. Better to give some thought to sections: that way, you can hold the proposal in your mind and have an approach that propels you forward, rather than leaving you beached on page one. A final gentle reminder before you begin is, just relax! and give some thoughts to what should come next, but do not aim now for a completely unified product, even at the global level. Remember, as well, that although making meaning for readers is important, you should be discovering meaning for yourself at this Point as well./Don’t concentrate on unity so rigidly that you forget to think deeply about your topic and research problem. 4.1.2.- The format of a research proposal As it was mentioned before, proposals for research studies may take different formats depending on the nature of the problem as well as the design of the study. Some universities give very specific instructions for the format of proposals. Others provide general guidelines for form and content. Whatever the particular situation, it is vital to remember that there is no universally acceptable and/or correct format for a research proposal. )Each research plan requires that certain communication tasks beChapter 4 46 accomplished. Some of these tasks are common to all proposals and others are unique to the specific form of inquiry. Taken together, however, the tasks common in all proposals demand that what-is written fit the actual topic at hand, not some preconceived ideal. In a word, it is flexibility, not rigidity, that makes acceptable proposal documents strong. Table 4.1 specifies communication tasks that are present in nearly all proposals for empirical research in applied linguistics. You might, however, adjust these tasks when necessary. Check against the suggested format with the example proposal presented in the appendix. Table 4.1 Major sections or tasks in a proposal iLcoméne - introduction - /Bterature review S conceptual or theoretical framework + objectives and significance of the study +9 method: ~ outline and organization of the study ~ references. + appendicesDrafting « proposal 4 In what follows the function and the content of each of these sections are briefly described. 4.1.2.1. Introduction ¢ Pespecteire~ aren - enterotage is #7 The introduction section serves as an orientation for readers of the proposal, giving them the perspective they need to understand the detailed information given in later sections. Proposals, like other forms of written communication, are best introduced by a short, meticulously devised statement that establishes the overall area_of concern, arouses interest, and communicates information essential to the reader's comprehension of what follows. } In the introduction, you establish a context, or frame of reference, to help your readers to understand how your study fits into a wider field of inquiry. This first section might also be called the setting. You should prepare this setting so that it provides your readers with the background necessary to locate the particular purpose of your research within a general area of study. (After you have presented a contextual setting, you may use the final part of the introduction to focus the attention of the reader on the specific research problem you will be dealing with in the body of your proposal} You can think of this stage as a process of establishing a universe for your readers isolating oneChapter 4 48 ee galaxy within this universe and finally, leading your readers to one star in that galaxy. That star is your specific topic or research problem. The statement of the problem need not include all the subtopics. Nor need it be written in the language of formal research questions or hypotheses. It should, in effect, offer a specific and accurate synopsis of the primary target of the study. An early and specific communication of this kind satisfies the reader’s most pressing need. It also allows the reader to attend to your subsequent exposition and topic development. 4.1.2.2. Literature review In the previous sections, you established a setting for your research as well as a theoretical and/or conceptual framework. In this section, you review the findings of other studies done in your area of interest. For this reason, this section is often called the review of literature. It is essentially an organized collection of references to, or citations of, other works that are listed in a separate section at the end of your proposal and under the title of references. Your complete literature review would appear in your thesis or dissertation, because you would review more works as: you do your study. However, at the time of writing your proposal, , you need to prepare only a brief literature review. The review of literature serves three important functions.Drafting a proposal 49 First, it continues the process started in the Introduction Section giving your readers some hackground information required to understand your study. Second, it assures your readers that you are familiar with the important research that has been carried out in your area of interest. Third, it establishes your study as one ring in a chain of research that is developing and adding knowledge to your academic field. 4.1,2.3.1. Ways of citing other researchers’ works When reviewing other researchers’ studies, you may choose to focus either on the information provided by the author or on the person him- or herself. The first focus is called information prominent because the information is given primary importance (Weissberg & Buker, 1990]. The author's name and date of publication should be parenthetically attached to the end of the sentence, and the most complete source information would be provided in an alphabetical list of references at the end of the proposal. The following is an example of information prominent citation taken from Mendonca & Johnson (1994, pp. 747-748): Moreover, because teachers maintain control over students’ grades, teachers’ intentions and expectations for their students’ written texts can easily influence the negotiations that occur during peer reviews (DiPardo & Freedman, 1988).Chapter 4 50 = When the focus of the citation is on the information (as in the above example), you should write the citation in the present tense. ‘The present tense is used when the information you are citing is generally accepted as a scientific or an academic fact. The present perfect tense is used in general statements that describe the level of research activity in an area of interest. These statements are often written without citations. The following is an example: Little research has been done on topic development in ESL students’ composition. The second focus is called author prominent in which the author’s name is given more emphasis (Weissberg & Buker 1990, p. 44). The author’s name serves as the subject of the sentence. Citations of this kind are used when you proceed with your literature review and the citations refer to studies more closely related to your own. The following is an example of an author prominent type of citation taken from Mendonca & Johnson (1994, p. 747): Stanley (1992) found that coaching L2 writers on ways to be effective peer evaluators enabied them to be more engaged in the peer review task, communicate more effectively about their peers’ writing, and make clearer suggestions for revisions.Drafting a proposal 5 When you use author prominent citations to report the findings of individual studies closely related to your own (as in the above example) the simple past tense is used in the report. (However, your attitude towards the findings of the researchers also affects the complement verb forms) You may feel-that the findings of a particular study are generally accepted as fact. In this case, use the present tense in the complement verb (that is, the verb in the part of the sentence giving the findings. For example: Stanley (1990) showed that students’ proficiency is affected by their reading). the findings of a particular study are limited to that study, but are not to be accepted as true in all cases. In this case, use the past tense in the complement verb. For example: Stanley (1990) reported that minority students had lower academic performance. the author(s) of the study you are citing may themselves feel tentative about their findings; or they may not be reporting findings at all but only making suggestions or proposals. Here, use tentative verbs for the verb of report, and a modal auxiliary with theChapter 4 52 complement verb. For example: Stanley (1990) proposed (suggested) that low proficiency in English may be common among minority students. There are varieties of citing other authors’ works. The following is an example of one work by one author cited in four different ways (the examples are taken from APA Publication Manual (1994): Rogers (1994) compared reaction times In a recent study of reaction times (Rogers, 1994) In 1994 Rogers compared In a recent study of reaction times, Rogers (1994) described the method. ... . Rogers also found When a work has two authors, always cite both names every time you make a reference to it in the text. (When a work has three, four, or five authors, cite all authors the first time the reference occurs}/in subsequent citations, however, include only the surname of the first author followed by the phrase et al,/The phrase should not underlined and it should have a period after “al’, and the year if it is the first citation of the reference within a paragraph. e.g.,Drafting a proposal 53 Wasserstein, Zappulla, Rosen, Gerstman, and Rock (1994) found {first citation in text] Wasserstein et al. (1994) found [following the first citation in paragraphs thereafter] Wasserstein et al. found [omit year from subsequent citations after the first citation within a paragraph] If a reference list includes publications by two or more authors with the same last name or surname, include the first author’s initials in all text citations, even if the year of publication differs. Initials help the reader to avoid confusion within the text and to Jocate the entry in the list of references: R. D. Luce (1959) and P. A. Luce (1986) also found Yv J. M. Goldberg and Neff (1961) and M. E. Goldberg and Wurtz (1972) studied Identify works by the same author (or by the same two or more authors in the same order) with the same publication date by the suffixes a, b, c, and so forth after the year; repeat the year every time. Several studies (Johnson, 1991a, 1991b, 1991¢; Singh, 1983, in press-a, in press-b)Chapter 4 54 List two or more works by different authors who are cited within the same parentheses in alphabetical order by the first author’s surname. Separate the citations by semicolons, Several studies @alda, 1980; Ramil, 1988; Bepperberg & Funk, 1990) To cite a specific part of a source, indicate the page, chapter, figure, table, or equation at the appropriate point in text. Note that the words page and chapter are abbreviated in such text citations: (Cheek & Buss, 1981, p. 323) (Shimamura, 1989, chap. 3) To cite a work discussed in a secondary source (e.g., for a study by Seidenberg and McClelland cited in Coltheart et al.), give the secondary source in the reference list. However, in the text, name the original work you did not read, and give a citation for the secondary source you read: Seidenberg and McClelland's study (1989 cited in Cottheart, Curtis, Atkins, & Haller, 1993)Drafting a proposal 55 4.1.2.3.2. Order of citation There are a variety of ways to order the literature you review. (It is possible to arrange the citations from those most distantly related to your study to those most closely related.)In either case, you can begin with a more general area and narrow down to specific studies exactly related to your topic and research problem. We might also call this type of literature review general to specific. In a literature review, describing the history of research if an area, you may amange your citatione in chronological_order. Another possible arrangement would be to categorize the studies {according to the different approaches to the research problem taken by different researchers.) The citations within each category can then be ordered chronologically or from _ general to specific. The following figure taken from Weissberg & Buker (1990, p. 46) illustrates three different types of ordering citations: Citations grouped b h Citations ordered ETE Chronologically Cnemimreest (earliest) + Another approach —__ (latest) + ay ya PA — Still another approachChapter 4 56 (At the end of the literature review section, you sum up the review by pointing out a gap, that is, an important research question not yet investigated by other researchers) This is usually accomplished in few sentences. The following are three alternatives you can choose from in ending your literature review section: 1 . You may indicate that the previous literature described is inadequate because an important aspect of the research question has been ignored by other researchers. . Or, there is an unresolved conflict among the researchers of previous studies concerning the research problem. This may be a theoretical or methodological disagreement. . Or, an examination of the previous literature suggests an extension of the topic, or raises a new research question not previously considered by other investigators in the field. (in indicating sort of gap left by earlier studies, you prepare your reader for your own study.) This will be fulfilled in the objectives and significance section of your proposal.Drafting a proposal 57 4.1.2.3, Theoretical or conceptual framework Often times it happens to you to carry out your research within a specific theoretical or conceptual framework. If so, then, you need to explain it to your readers. This will help both yourself and your readers to conceptualize the issues related to your study.(Miles and Huberman (1994, p. 18 cited in Riazi, 1999, p. 46) state that a conceptual framework ‘explains, either graphically or in narrative form, the main things to be studied— the key factors, concepts, or variables—and the presumed relationships among them.” For example, if your study is related to schema theory, then you better explain the principles of this theory and how your study would fit these principles in the specific context of your study. Or, if your study deals with language learning strategies and you are using one specific typology of these strategies (for example, the one offered by Oxford, 1989 or O Mally & Chamot, 1990), then, it is much the better to present any of these typologies as the frame of your reference. ) This is important, because concepts, labels, components, relations, and even definitions might be different from theory to theory and from model to model. Depending on the topic under study, the theoretical and/or conceptual framework might vary in scope as well. Sometimes a typology (language learning strategies, for example) may form your conceptual framework,Chapter 4 58 some other times your framework might be a_ linguistic, psychological, or.social school of thought. For example, you might consider behaviorism, structuralism, functionalism, or social interactionism as your theoretical framework. When you choose and explain your theoretical framework, you in fact inform your readers of your perspective towards issues related to your study. Also, as Riazi (1999, p. 282) states, (theoretical framework ‘is a framework which its function is to inform the rest of your design—to help you assess your purposes, develop and select realistic and relevant research questions and methods, and identify potential validity threats to your conclusions.’ - 4.1.2.4, Providing a rationale for the study (Purpose and significance of the study) Once the reader understands the topic of investigation, the next logical point that pops up in mind is why bother about that question? \In explaining why the study is a worthwhile endeavor, you can point to the potential utility of results in either or both of two domains:(what might be contributed to the evolving body of knowledge, or what application might be made in a practical setting.) Purpose and significance of the study might constitute one section, or they might come in two independent sections of a research proposal depending upon their length,/1 If you have a lotDrafting a proposal 59 to write about the purpose(s) and the significance of your study, then, it would be better to separate them, In any case, this section of the proposal serves to present an important research problem not investigated by other researchers. Usually the purpose section constitutes one paragraph followed by specific research questions or hypotheses. It serves to state as concisely as possible the specific objective(s) of your study. This section— also referred to as the statement of pepone tile directly the introduction section. OD se (in the significance section, you soul your study on the basis of some possible values or benefits your study may have to other researchers in the field or to practitioners or both, We can call this section the statement of value as well. The statement of value is usually written in a way that suggests an attitude of tentativeness or modesty on the part of the researcher. (You should not sound too sure of the benefits, either theoretical or practical,) of your study. It is conventional to sound more cautious. This is accomplished by using modal auxiliaries, principally(n aa ) The example in the next page is a very brief example of how to state the purpose(s) and significance of a study. As can be seen, in this example both the objectives and significance of the study are presented together and in one section. However, in some cases you might prefer to devote two different sections to the objectives and significance of the study.Chapter 4 60 Research proposals must arrive at a formal statement of questions or hypotheses. These may be set aside as a separate section or simply included in the last part of the purpose section. 2.C. The Purpose and Significance of the Study This study intends to determine if students’ scores on two standardized tests of English language proficiency could serve to predict whether they would make greater or lesser progress in English during a one- year intensive program. In particular, the study aims at testing the following null hypothesis: Ho: There is no statistically significant difference between students’ level of English proficiency and their progress in English during a one-year intensive program. It is hoped that a systematic analysis of relative rates of progress among beginning, intermediate, and advanced students will indicate if ‘the program is benefiting some types of students more than others. Significant differences in progress, if found, would indicate the need for a thorough re-examination of program organization and instruction. In exploratory studies, research questions are most appropriate. However, you should indicate by the specific questions that the research problem would be subjected to thorough analysis.Drafting a proposal 61 However, when the state of existing knowledge and theory permits formulation of reasonable predictions about the relationship between variables, research hypotheses are employed. Hypotheses ordinarily have their origin in the theoretical perspective already established in the review of literature. Because the proposal must ensure that the reader grasps how the relationships expressed in theory have been translated into testable hypotheses, it is often useful to provide a succinct restatement of the theoretical framework at a point adjacent to the presentation of formal research hypotheses. (Hypotheses have to meet a number of standards: they should (1) be empirically testable, that is, they can be statistically confirmed or rejected, (2) be clear, specific, and precise, (3) contain statements that are not contradictory, and (4) describe variables or establish one issue only (Riazi, 1999) They are of two stages. A directional hypothesis can be formulated when there is a sound theoretical reason, usually based on previous research, (to hypothesize that the relationship, if there is any, will be in one direction or the other) This hypothesis has come to be known as a one-tailed hypothesis because it predicts a relationship with reference to one tail (end) of the probability curve. A nondirectional hypothesis leaves open the possibility of the relationship being in either tails (ends). Such a hypothesis is also called a two-tailed hypothesis.Chapter 4 62 4.1.2.5. Method All proposals for empirical research must embody a plan for the careful and systematic observation of the topic under investigation. (in the method section of the proposal, you show how the study will be set up so that the research questions will be answered or the hypotheses will be tested.) In this section of the proposal, you should include all the steps and procedures that will be taken to investigate the question under consideration. The presentation of method requires great attention to detail. The discussion of method must, in fact, include the sources, the collection, and the analysis of data. Usually this section includes statements about i the subjects (Ss}—those who will participate in the study, when and where, (2) the materials and/or instruments—the types of materials or tests to be used, and (3) ‘the(data collection and analysis procedure— what the Ss will be asked to do and how the analyses will be performed. As for the participants in your study, you need to describe the characteristics of the people who will take part in your study: Who they are, how many of them, their age range, their gender, their proficiency level, and any other important information, all clearly stated.(Usually the selection procedure will also be described here) First, you should describe the population of interest: Is the study concerned with university students, EFLDrafting a proposal 63 teachers, users of a particular accent, or what? Then, depending on your research problem, you might decide (to select your participants from the identified population using a probability or a non-probability procedure.) In quantitative research, you will need to use probability sampling (simple random sampling, for example) and describe how you will choose your participants. If your research problem lends itself to qualitative designs, then you might need to choose your participants using a non- probability sampling procedure (purposive sampling, for example), A careful description of the participants and the selection procedure will help the readers of the proposal to determine the internal consistency or internal coherence of the study. (Tests, questionnaires, and other types of elicitation techniques are the type of materials and instrument(s) you usually use in your study,)In research, you sometimes deal with the relationship between constructs. However, since constructs are usually impossible to observe or measure directly, you must operationalize the constructs in the form of some measurable variables represented in the instruments. If you use an available instrument (for example, an available test or questionnaire){ you should report the evidence of the reliability and validity of the instrument) Otherwise, and in case that you yourself intend to develop the required instrument, then, you must outline theChapter 4 64 procedures of developing the instrument as well as presenting how you will validate the instrument and how you will get appropriate indexes of reliability and validity. (he next major part of the method section of the proposal is data collection and analysis section As the title indicates, the data collection and analysis procedures might be presented together or, as you might find appropriate in some cases, each might constitute an independent section to itself. In any case, you need to clearly state what type of data and how much of it will be collected through what procedures for the purpose of your study. It is assumed here that you have already identified the type of study you will be doing. Thus, you can specify the data sources and the ways you would obtain the required data from these sources. Quantitative data, qualitative data, or a combination of both may form your data. Make sure that you have described the sources as well as the collection procedures in detail. After you describe your data collection procedures, then it is time to inform your readers as to how you would analyze the collected data. If your study is a quantitative one, then your design determines what statistical techniques should be used. Sometimes you use only one statistical technique, while there are occasions that you might need a variety of statistical analyses due to the nature of your research problem as well as the dataDrafting a proposal 65 that you have. You should single out, from among different research designs, the one that best fits your study, For example, if you are to compare two teaching methods, you are in fact dealing with an experimental design, and a t-test might suffice for the analysis of your data. In case, you intend to include other variables besides the teaching method in your study and come up with a comparison of all factors, then, you may need to set up a factorial design. It goes without saying that qualitative data require their own ways of analysis. They might need, for example, codification of the data (as such, you need to introduce your coding scheme), extraction of specific codes, and presentation of some patterns. 4.1.2.6. Outline and organization of the study In this section of your proposal, (You inform your readers as how your study will be organized in the form of a thesis or dissertation} Therefore, what you are required to do in this section is to introduce, though tentatively, the chapters that would form | your thesis. The most common organization currently being practiced and used by graduate students is the five-chapter format including: chapters of (1)*introduction, (2) literature review, (3) method and design, (4)‘findings and results, and (S}” summary and discussions. Certainly there would be cases that you might need to change this format and adjust the chapters ofChapter 4 66 oa your thesis according to the structure of your study. You can do it in consultation with your supervisor(in the proposal, however, you need only to briefly introduce the probable chapters of your study.) For each chapter, present a short description of the content you think would appear in that chapter. This not only helps your readers to see what format your final report will take, but also helps you as a researcher to organize your ideas about your study. 4.1.2.7. References This is another important section of the research proposals. In the list of references that appears at the end of your proposal, you mention the source(s) for readers to enable them to locate more bibliographical information about the works that you have cited in your proposal. (It comes in alphabetical order and follows an accepted format, usually APA.)Therefore, there should be a consistency in reporting the sources used. One important factor, however, with regard to the list of references is that [there should be a one-to-one correspondence between the works you have referred to in your proposal and the ones you name in your reference list) In other words, whatever source(s) you refer to in the body of your proposal should be reported completely in your reference list, and whatever appears in your reference list should have been referred to in your proposal. Make sure that citationsDrafting a proposal 61 in the text and entries in the reference list are identical in spelling and the date of publication. What follows are some examples of preparing reference lists according to the APA style. For more examples see APA Publication Manual (1994). A. References to periodicals 1. Journal article, one author Brown, J.D. (1989). Improving ESL placement tests using two perspectives. TESOL Quarterly, 22, 65-84. 2. Journal article, two authors Alderson, J.C., & Wall, D. (1993). Does washback exist? Applied Linguistics, 14, 115-129. 3. Citation of a work discussed in a secondary source (e.g., for a study by Seidenberg and McClelland cited in Coltheart et al.) Coltheart, M., Curtis, B., Atkins, P., & Haller, M. (1993). Models of reading aloud: Dual-route and parallel-distributed-processing approaches. Psychological Review, 100, 589-608. © In text, name the original work, and give a citation for the secondary source. For example, if you did not read the work cited, list the Coltheart et.al. reference in the References. In the text, use the following citation: Seidenberg and McClelland’s study (as cited in Coltheart, et al., 1993)Chapter 4 68 B, References to entire books 1 Book, one author, second edition Anderson, J.R. (1985). Cognitive psychology and its implications (2° ed.), New York: W.H. Freeman, Edited book, two authors Green, J., & Harker, J. (Eds.). (1988). Multiple perspective analyses of classroom discourse. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Article or a chapter in an edited book, two editors ‘Swain, M. (1985), Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its. development. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.), Input in second language acquisition (pp. 235-253). Rowley, MA: Newbury House. Book, no author or editor Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10" ed.). (1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. Entry in an encyclopedia Bergmann, P. G. (1993). Relativity. In The new encyclopedia Britannica (Vol. 26, pp. 501-508). Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica. C. References to technical and research reports 1. Reports available from the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)Drafting a proposal 69 Mead, J. V. (1992). Looking at old photographs: Investigating the teacher tales that novice teachers bring with them (Report No. NCRTL-RR-92-4), East Lansing, Ml: National Center for Research on Teacher Learning. (ERIC Document Reproduction in Service No. ED 346 082) 2. Reports from a university Broadhurst, R. G., & Maller, R. A. (1991). Sex offending and recidivism (Tech. Rep. No. 3), Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia, Crime Research Centre. D. References to proceedings of meetings and symposia 1 Published proceedings, published contributions to a symposium, articles or chapters in an edited book Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality. In R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Vol. 38. Perspectives on Motivation (pp. 237-288). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Regularly-published Proceedings Cynx, J., Williams, H., & Nottebohm, F. (1992). Hemispheric differences in avian song discrimination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 89, 1372-1375. Unpublished papers presented at meetings Lanktree, C., & Briere, J. (1991, January). Early data on the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSC-C). Paper presented atChapter 4 70 Se eee ‘the meeting of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, San Diego, CA. E. References to doctoral dissertations and master’s theses 1. Unpublished doctoral dissertations Wilfey, D. E. (1989). Interpersonal analyses of bulimia: Normal-weight and obese. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia. 2. Unpublished master’s theses Almedia, D. M. (1990). Fathers’ participation in family work: Consequences for fathers’ stress and father-child relations. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. 3. Doctoral dissertations abstracted in Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) and obtained on university microfilms Bower, D. L. (1993). Employee assistant programs supervisory referrals: Characteristics of referring and nonreferring supervisors. Dissertation Abstracts International, 54 (01), 534B. (University Microfilm No. AAD93-15947) 4. Doctoral dissertations abstracted in Dissertation Abstracts International (DAI) and obtained from the university Ross, D. F. (1990). Unconscious transference and mistaken identity: When a witness misidentifies a familiar but innocent personDrafting a proposal 1 w from a lineup (Doctoral dissertation, Comell University, 1990). Dissertation Abstracts International, 49, Z5055. 5. Manuscripts in progress or submitted for publication but not yet accepted Mcintosh, D. N. (1993). Religion as schema, with implications for the relation between religion and coping. Manuscript submitted for publication. F. References to reviews of a book xz Baumeister, R. F. (1993). Exposing the self-knowledge myth [Review of the book The self-knower: A hero under control]. Contemporary Psychology, 38, 466-467. 4.1.2.8. Appendices (Aecording to the APA Publication Manual (1994), an appendix allows the author to provide the reader with detailed information that would be distracting to read in the main body of the article.) Therefore, the materials that cannot naturally be included in the body of the proposal will appear in the appendices section of the proposal. This includes the instruments (tests and their validations, a sample of a questionnaire or other survey instrument used in the research, lists of words, a computer program, etc.) as well as any other type of materials that is an integral part of your study. (An appendix is necessary only if it helps readers to evaluate the study. }Chapter 4 2 Your proposal or thesis may include more than one appendix. If your work (proposal or thesis) has only one appendix, label it Appendix; if it has more than one appendix, label each one with a capital letter (Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.) in the order in which it is mentioned in the main text. Each appendix must have a title. In the text, refer to appendices by their labels as in the following example: Produced the same results for both studies (see Appendixes A and B for complete proofs).CHAPTER FIVE Revising and Editing the Proposal (When you are finished with drafting your proposal, next step is to go through the draft carefully with the purpose of editing and revising) These two tasks should be done separately. That is, try to get satisfied with the overall structure of your proposal and the different sections first. Then, read your proposal to edit any possible misspellings, any ungrammatical sentences, or any other mistakes you may find in your proposal,)In this chapter, you are introduced to the procedures of editing and revising your proposal as well as the APA Editorial Style.