A research proposal is the presentation of an idea that you wish to pursue. A good research proposal presumes that you have already thought about your project and have devoted some time and effort in gathering information, reading, and then organizing your thoughts. A research proposal is NOT a project to be thrown together in one night with ideas off the top of your head. Thus, one might say that the research proposal is a second step, following the selection of a broad topic.

The actual proposal will indicate what analytical question you wish to address. The foundation of a good research paper is a good research question. Just a tree needs a good root system to grow to be strong, a good research paper needs a good analytical question.

What does "analytical" mean? An analytical question can take different forms and no one form is necessarily better than others. What all analytical questions have in common is the fact that they are not merely descriptive. That is, an analytical question moves beyond the "what" and explores the "how," and the "why." In order to do that, you will need to use some economic theory. I do not expect an undergraduate to use theory at the same level as a PhD student; nevertheless, you can use their works as a guide to how you might proceed. As part of the paper, you would then review what the economic techniques utilized to address your problem.

The specific parts of the research proposal are as follows:

1. Statement of the question your paper will answer. Again, remember that the point of your paper is to explain something.

2. Brief literature review in which you review the major works on your topic and indicate what the arguments are.

If you are applying a theory to an issue, you can review the theory used. The point is to show an awareness of what has been written on your issue, what evidence was used, what theories applied, and what arguments were made.

3. A statement as to what your argument/explanation will be.

4. A statement as to how your explanation/argument will differ from that which has been made by other authors. How is your explanation original or different? Sinceapplying a theory, you can explain which theory you will use and why you think that is the appropriate theory to explain the event(s) you are interested in.

5. A brief outline of the parts of the paper.

6. A short bibliography/statement as to the major sources you will use. This can include databases, websties, interviews, etc.

7. The proposal need not be long, but the quality should be high. I would think that 3-4 pages would be sufficient. The more effort you put into your proposal the better your paper will be. Also, the more detailed your proposal, the more I can comment and usefully guide you to a good paper.

Source: This work was copied near word for word from the write site at George Mason University. Please consult their site for the complete text and a list of the sources they used to compile the work.