In this section you will discuss what method you will use, and how you will plan to
apply it for your proposed study.
First, describe the method you will use for collecting data in your proposed study
(survey, interview, observation, experiment, etc.). Justify the use of this particular
method in light of what you are doing in the study and expected outcomes or
applications of results. I would expect to see about 2-3 references supporting your
ideas and rationale here. Make sure to describe where the data will come from (e.g.,
population and sample; observation site; existing dataset; archival or other
collection). As appropriate you should also describe how you will obtain access to
the population, site, collection, bearing in mind ethical issues about access and use
of human study participants; how you will address risk to participants, protect their
privacy, anonymization, keeping data, recordings, or artifacts secure, etc.; and/or
any special circumstances relevant to this study
Please also include text about how you propose to analyze your data (e.g., grounded
theory applied to qualitative interviews, statistical testing of experimental results).
You do not need to supply details, but you should be able to coherently discuss what
you plan to do with the data once you have collected it. Consider and describe any
study limitations (e.g., to generalizing the study to other settings, or
to
interpretations because of research sample limitations, researcher bias, etc.).
Conclude your methods section with a short “call to action” summing up the
importance of your proposal. You should touch on how your proposed work will
advance research in this area, how it will answer your research questions (both
larger “umbrella” questions and case-specific questions) and/or address your
hypotheses. Discuss potential implications of results in terms of theories tested,
comparison to other research, etc. It is important to connect back to the literature
review for these points. This section should also include a sentence or two about
broader implications: why does this research need to be done? What makes it so
important? How will it change the world? Make sure to end on a powerful note!
In addition to the general assignment criteria described on the course syllabus, this
assignment will be graded on the following criteria:
? appropriateness and relevance of selected methods to your proposed
research questions;
? clear identification of data sources;
? thoughtful consideration of risk, ethics, and other special considerations;
? relevance of proposed analysis to type of data and research question;
? thoughtful consideration of potential limitations;
? carefully considered connections to previous research;
? discussion of potential implications and significance of the proposed
research.