The research proposal is a very important first step that serves as guide for the entire project. It has several necessary components. If the proposal is being written as a formal assignment, each component would have a separate paragraph.

• What does the student want to find out? The research question once it is answered becomes the thesis of the resulting paper. The student can formulate her question after surveying the topic (getting an overview by doing some general reading such as an article in an encyclopedia).

Research Method

• What kinds of action will the student take to find what she wants to know?
• How will information be discovered and gathered?...library research?...online research?...original research (interviews, surveys, etc.)?
• What resources are known even at the beginning of the project?

Final Form or Outcome

• What form with the final product take?...a paper?...a web site?...an oral presentation?

Bibliography (of sources used to prepare the proposal)

The proposal is a critical early step in the research process. It can be a formal assignment written to turn in to a teacher, grantor, conference presentation selection committee, or publisher. If not required a proposal should be done anyway to provide a guide for the individual student.

Key Idea
Thinking about the process and writing the proposal are very important. According to David Ellis, making a goal specific gives that goal (and its maker) power (8).