Developing a Plan of Action
The Rose Main Reading Room in the New York Public Library’s Schwarzman Building. | Photo credit: Melinda Reed
The “What” and “How” of the Research Proposal
Central to any research proposal is the methodology – the section that explains HOW you will conduct your research and HOW you will synthesize, process, or analyze the data. In this section, you need to outline in detail the steps that you will take over the allotted research timeframe. Walk us through the project. In doing so, you will convince the reader that you have a clear and feasible plan and that:
- You will be conducting your research to the standards and practices in your discipline
- You have developed a thorough understanding of how to best to fulfill the aims of your study
- You will be ready to go on day one of your research.
As you write, anticipate issues that your reader might raise, and seek proactively to provide the specifics that will address those questions. For instance:
- Are you planning to do interviews? If so, how will you locate these individuals?
- How many people will you be interviewing? How will you structure, conduct, and code the interviews? Have you gone through Institutional Review Board (IRB) training?
- Are you planning to do archival research? If so, which archives and what collections within the archives will you be using? Have you confirmed that you will be able to access these archives?
- Are you planning to do lab research? Will you have the equipment, materials, and space that you need?
Make sure that your methods match the research question and vice versa. If it isn’t clear how your methods will actually allow you to answer your central research question, then you need to determine which component needs to be modified.
What is the Institutional Review Board (IRB)?
If your research involves human subjects, you will need to complete training through – and secure approval from – the Georgetown IRB prior to conducting the research. The IRB is responsible for the scientific and ethical review of all research involving human subjects.
Tip
Seek out discipline-specific feedback from your faculty mentor(s)! Given their own
scholarly research, they are well positioned to advise on ways of enhancing the feasibility of your proposal.