CONCEPT PAPER

What is concept paper?

 Concept papers are summaries of projects or issues that reflect the
interests, experience and expertise of the writer or organization.
 Concept papers generally serve the purpose of providing in-depth
discussion of a topic that the writer has a strong position on, usually
with the intent of obtaining funding for that project from donors.
 may also be used as an instructional tool that may have developed as a
result of extensive research, committee input and/or as a result of the
outcome of a current project.

All research projects need a concept paper: a short summary that tells the
reader what the project is, why is it important, and how it is carried out. Even
if no one else ever reads it, the concept paper helps a researcher spot holes in
his or her project that might later prove fatal. It is far better to be clear at the
beginning than to put in a lot of effort for a naught.

A concept paper contains these elements:

1. A clear description of the research topic, including summary of what
is already known about the topic.
2. A one-sentence statement of the research question that the project will
seek to answer. The concept paper should connect this question to the
existing literature-something that almost always takes more than one
sentence to accomplish.
3. A demonstration of why it is important to answer this research
question. What good comes of this answer? Why is this project worth
anybody’s time?
4. A description of why it is important to answer this question. This
includes:
a. a description of the data that the researcher plans to gather or use;
b. a description of how the researcher will analyze these data;
c. a demonstration of how these data and this analytic method will
answer the research question; and
d. a summary of any ethnical issues that may arise in the research
paper
5. A statement of the limitations of this research, specifically the thingd
that it cannot discover (and why)
6. Longer projects-term papers, masters’ theses, dissertations, and
professional research – also typically include a selected bibliography.
How to Write Concept Papers
In the cases where the concept paper is written with the intent of receiving
funding, most grantors publish guidelines that instruct the writer/s on how
to write the concept paper that they will consider funding.
First and probably most important, the writer must ensure that the mission,
requirements, funding patterns and other specific information about the
target grantor or audience match with those of the organization or
individual project in need of funding or assistance.
Second step. Summarize the project by stating the problem to be
discussed/solved, the goal of the project, the objectives, the anticipated
outcomes, procedures for determining whether the goals and objectives
have been achieved, the population served and the theoretical model upon
which the project is based.
Third, the writer must develop a list of references that discuss the model to
which the project will be directed.
Fourth, there should be a budget developed for the project, if applicable.
This would include all billable costs associated with planning and
executing the project. Whether the concept paper is for the purpose of
obtaining funding or merely for the purpose of conveying information, a
budget may be necessary if there are costs and resources associated with
the project, such as hours devoted to research and information gathering.
The fifth step could entail obtaining the necessary approvals by
individuals authorized to do so prior to submission. In the case of a purely
informational concept paper, this may be committee input. This step may
occur much earlier in the process.
In addition, one must consider the timing and deadlines that submission of
the concept paper must adhere to. Expect deadlines to be strict whether
funding is being sought or not. There may be a bit more flexibility in due
dates for those concept papers that are designed solely for disseminating
information.

The Concept Paper is completed prior to the dissertation proposal and serves
as a development tool and summary of the planned dissertation. The Concept
paper is a brief document. Depending upon the requirements of a specific
academic program, the Concept Paper may range from as few as 2-3 pages to
as many as 10-20 pages. The essential point of the Concept Paper is to explain
the importance of a particular research project.
The point of a concept paper is to provide a clear summary of the research
project. It should enable a casual reader to understand what the research is
investigating, why is it important and how the investigation will proceed.

Tips in writing a concept paper:

1. Grab your reader’s attention.
2. Explain why you are approaching this sponsor.
3. Describe the problem your project addresses.
4. Put the problem in context to explain why it matters.

ABSTRACT
What is an Abstract?
- a summary of a body of information.
- sometimes, are in fact called summaries--sometimes, executive
summaries or executive abstracts.

There are two kinds/types of abstracts:

1. descriptive abstract a
2. informative abstract.

Descriptive
- provides a description of the report's main topic and purpose as
well an overview of its contents.
- very short usually a brief one- or two-sentence paragraph.
- it appears on the title page.
- appears at the beginning of journal articles
- you don't summarize any of the facts or conclusions of the report.
- generally quite short, often no more than 100-150 words in length.
- describe the main information in the paper, including its purpose,
methods and scope, but they do not describe its results or
recommendations.
-only the major conclusion may be mentioned, but many descriptive
abstracts do not include even that.
 - is little like a program teaser.
- it’s like major first-level headings of the table of contents have been
rewritten in paragraph format.
- outlines the topics covered in a piece of writing so the reader can
decide whether to read the entire document. In many ways, it is like a
table of contents in paragraph form.

Informative Abstract
- provides detail about the substance of a piece of writing because
readers will sometimes rely on the abstract alone for information.
- typically follow this format: Identifying information (bibliographic
citation or other identification of the document)Concise restatement
of the main point, including the initial problem or other background
Methodology (for experimental work) and key findings
- usually appear in indexes like Dissertation Abstracts International;
(however, your instructor may ask you to write one as a cover sheet
to a paper as well.
- provides information from the body of the report specifically, the key
facts and conclusions.
- summarizes the key information from every major section in the
body of the report.
- communicate specific information from the study, including its
purpose, methods and scope.
- Unlike descriptive abstracts, informative abstracts also list the results
and major conclusions of the study, and recommendations are
included as well if these are appropriate.
- generally longer than descriptive abstracts, but an informative
abstract should never be more than longer than 10% of the article or
study itself.
- Summarizes the key facts, conclusions, and other important
information in the body of the report.
- Usually about 10 percent of the length of the full report:
- for example, an informative abstract for a 10-page report would be 1
page. This ratio stops after about 30 pages, however. For 50- or 60-
page reports, the abstract should not go over 3 to 4 pages.
- sentences are longer than normal and are crammed with information.
- tries to compact information down to that 10-percent level
 - It's expected that the writing in an informative abstract will be dense
and heavily worded. (However, do not omit normal words such as
the, a, and an.

Purpose:
- Help reader decide whether to read the text or not
- Summarize the findings of the text
- Help scholars find your article
Sample Descriptive Abstract
 We continue to document all major climatic variables in the uplands
and floodplains at Bonanza Creek. In addition, we have documented the
successional changes in microclimate in 9 successional upland and floodplain
stands at Bonanza Creek (BNZ) and in four elevational locations at Caribou-
Poker Creek (CPCRW). A sun photometer is operated cooperatively with
NASA to estimate high-latitude atmospheric extinction coefficients for
remote-sensing images. Electronic data are collected monthly and loaded into
a database which produces monthly summaries. The data are checked for
errors, documented, and placed on-line on the BNZ Web page. Climate data
for the entire state have been summarized for the period of station records and
krieged to produce maps of climate zones for Alaska based on growing-season
and annual temperature and precipitation.

Sample Informative Abstract based on Non- Experimental Work

On November 22, 1994, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published
special rules to establish nonessential experimental populations of gray wolves
(Canis lupus) in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. The
nonessential experimental population areas include all of Wyoming, most of
Idaho, and much of central and southern Montana. A close reading of the
special regulations indicates that, unintentionally, the language reads as though
wolf control measures apply only outside of the experimental population area.
This proposed revision is intended to amend language in the special
regulations so that it clearly applies within the Yellowstone nonessential
experimental population area and the central Idaho nonessential experimental
population area. This proposed change will not affect any of the assumptions
and earlier analysis made in the environmental impact statement or other
portions of the special rules. (accessed January 26, 1998)

Sample Informative Abstract based on Experimental Work

Research reported by Daly, Miller, and their colleagues suggests that
writing apprehension is related to a number of factors we do not yet fully
understand. This study suggests that included among those factors should be
the belief that writing ability is a gift. Giftedness, as it is referred to in the
study, is roughly equivalent to the Romantic notion of original genius. Results
from a survey of 247 postsecondary students enrolled in introductory writing
courses at two institutions indicate that higher levels of belief in giftedness are
correlated with higher levels of writing apprehension, lower self-assessments
of writing ability, lower levels of confidence in achieving proficiency in
certain writing activities and genres, and lower self-assessments of prior
experience with writing instructors. Significant differences in levels of belief
in giftedness were also found among students who differed in their perceptions
of the most important purpose for writing, with students who identified "to
express your own feelings about something" as the most important purpose for
writing having the highest mean level of belief in giftedness. Although the
validity of the notion that writing ability is a special gift is not directly
addressed, the results suggest that belief in giftedness may have deleterious
effects on student writers.
PROJECT PROPOSAL
What is a Project Proposal?
- Is a project management document that’s used to define the objectives
and requirements of a project.
 - Helps organizations and external project stakeholders agree on an
initial project planning framework- outlines your project’s core value
proposition
- Sells the value to both internal and external project stakeholders

Main Purpose: To get buy- in from decision- makers.

How to write a Project Proposal

Triple Constraint
- How can we address the triple constraint of project scope, schedule
and cost?
Core Problem
- What is the core problem we are trying to solve?
Resources
- What resources will be available?
Timeline
- What project timeline are we working within?
Budget
- What project budget do we have to work with? How does this affect
our goal setting?
Strategic Goals
- What are the strategic goals of our clients and how does our proposal
align with those goals?
Client Benefit
- How will the client benefit from the completion of our project??
Project Deliverables and Success
- How will the success of the project be measured? What deliverables
do our stakeholders expect to see at closure?