Objective:
Develop a research proposal to ask and answer a significant question about politics and society that interests to you. This proposal should demonstrate your ability to engage with existing scholarship and design a study of your own.
Instructions:
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Research Question:
- Identify a Research Question: Clearly state the question you aim to explore.
- Significance: Explain why this question is important in the context of your field.
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Literature Review:
- Survey Existing Literature: Conduct a literature review of at least five secondary sources related to your research topic.
- Summarize Key Findings: Discuss the main findings from your sources and how they relate to your research question.
- Identify Gaps: Highlight any gaps in the existing scholarship that your project seeks to fill.
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Research Design and Methods:
- Describe the Design: Explain how your research design is suited to answer your research question.
- Data Collection Methods: Specify how you will collect data (e.g., surveys, interviews, ethnography, discourse/content analysis, case studies).
- Data Analysis Plan: Outline how you will analyze the data collected.
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Research Feasibility and Ethics:
- Assess Feasibility: Consider factors such as funds, time, and access to data as an undergraduate student.
- Ethical Considerations: Address any ethical issues that may arise during data collection and how you will tackle them.
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Timeline:
- Tentative Timeline: Outline the key phases of your research from initiation to completion.
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Bibliography:
- Compile Sources: Include a bibliography with at least five secondary sources that you cited in your literature review.