Why is your topic worth studying?
Briefly mention your independent variable(s), dependent variable(s)
Briefly specify your theory/hypotheses
Describe the structure of the paper
Abbreviated literature (1 page maximum in length)
Preliminary theory, argument, and hypotheses
Data and methods
What is your data source(s)?
Why are you choosing these data?
What method(s) will you use
Why are you choosing these methods?
Briefly discuss the strengths and weaknesses associated with your methods particularly as it relates to internal and external validity.
Operationalization of variables
Explain how you will operationalize or measure your dependent and independent
Variables (E.g., What survey/interview questions will be used to measure your dependent
variable? What survey/independent questions will be used to measure your
independent variable? How do you measure media portrayal of war in news
media? What key words will you look for in a content analysis? What specific
stereotypes are you looking to measure?
Timeline and example of protocols
What is the timeline to carry out this project?