Academic research involves a special methodology that is not the same as that used by a journalist or the casual inquirer. Nevertheless, as the diagram shows, a variety of forces can stimulate one's curiosity: something read in a newspaper or heard on the news, material covered in classes, personal experience. What are you curious about within the general subject matter of this course ? list a few areas of curiosity. for example, i am curious about these different areas: racial diversity in portland whether and why 18 and 19 year old college students are more likely to be republican than democrats the history of fairs and expositions, like the lewis amp clark exposition held in portland in 1905 2. Choose one of the areas of curiosity and develop some specific questions this is called question framing . Many research questions can be classified as: exploratory just trying to find out about something descriptive trying to obtain descriptive data, such as average age, income, etc. explanatory trying to explain the relationship between variables, like your major in college and your future earnings for example, i choose to develop the issue of racial diversity in portland.

Here are some questions: what is portland's racial breakdown? this is a descriptive question. Why has portland's racial makeup developed as it has? this is general enough to be considered exploratory. Is there a relationship between certain factors and portland's racial makeup for example: geographical location pacific northwest relatively late date of incorporation 1851 economic activity originally logging and natural resources, now more high tech these are considered explanatory questions. Do any of your questions lend themselves to a research hypothesis? if so, write out any hypotheses. a research hypothesis is an educated guess about relationships that may explain behavior and phenomena. Sometimes we refer to our research hypothesis as our thesis or theses plural. If research hypotheses involve quantitative data, they may be tested statistically through statistical hypothesis testing.

note that developing hypotheses may require some preliminary research or prior knowledge which is why a hypothesis is called an educated guess. for my example, i can develop the following research hypotheses, although not all of them can actually be tested statistically. Obviously, these research hypotheses are based on information i have from previous research, reading, etc. I hypothesize that portland has a relatively low percentage of non caucasians compared with cities of similar size and growth measured by population change over past decades. Of the non caucasians, i hypothesize that portland is likely to have a relatively high proportion of asian residents because of our location on the pacific rim as well as our more recent development of high tech industry in addition, older generation asian americans are likely to be here because of railroad building during the 1860s. I also hypothesize that portland is likely to have a relatively high proportion of hispanic residents because of our location north of california and because of the part of our economy that is agriculture based. Finally, i hypothesize that portland is likely to have a relatively low proportion of african american residents because of our geographical location never a port of access for the slave trade and our relatively late development of an industrial economy sufficient to provide a large number of jobs to attract migration from the south and northeast. In addition, i hypothesize that portland was, for most of its history, a conservative city, with an active k and leadership that did not encourage diversity.

Identify the ideal evidence data and how you will probably try to gather that evidence your methodology . you are very likely to need multiple types of evidence data.

The concept paper initiates the dissertation phase of a doctoral degree which follows the completion of necessary coursework and training, and represents a culmination of the student’s learning. the dissertation is a student’s final academic effort to synthesize course material by applying their learning to a research project. The project is expected to add new information to the field of study. the concept paper acts as a summary of this project. The concept paper, although highly abridged, is comprised of many of the same items found in a dissertation. these specific elements of the concept paper may vary depending upon the academic program and the chosen degree. programs typically provide a grading rubric that serves as an outline for the required components and student are encouraged to follow those rubrics closely in developing their concept paper. Goal statement provides a broad or abstract intention, including the research goals and objectives. this part of the concept paper tells the reader who, what and when regarding the research goal. An abridged methodology provides the student’s best idea on how to conduct the research and analyze the data. The goals and objects identified in previous sections of the concept paper should relate to the research methods described in this section. for the concept paper, the methodology is simplified or summarized, serving as a general outline of the methods that will be employed. timeline provides a range of time for completion of the project, highlighting key elements for each stage of the project. this element is unique to the concept paper and provides the student structure for managing sections of the project within a realistic time frame.

References provides references to the material cited in the literature review and elsewhere in the concept paper. It is strongly recommended that the candidate prepare a concept paper 2 3 pages that will serve as an early communication device between the candidate and the doctoral committee about the proposed research. Typically, the concept paper presents an overview of the proposed research problem, its context, and a way to study it. After the doctoral committee concurs on the concept paper, the candidate will submit a proposal to the committee members.

Essay on Effects of Technology on Human Life

The candidate is advised to consult with his/her major professor and doctoral committee members during the proposal preparation phase the purposes of the dissertation proposal are: to identify the research problem, to survey and evaluate the relevant literature, and to describe the plan for conducting the research. The proposal is a contract between the candidate and the doctoral committee as to the research that will be conducted. It is therefore important that the details of the research plan be specified and approved in the proposal before the data are collected. Sample questions to be considered in the development of a research proposal are shown in appendix ii.

At the proposal defense, the outside chairperson will remind the student of the necessity of the irb review. A copy of the certificate of completion of training in human subjects protection must accompany the proposal when it is submitted to the coedu associate dean rsquo s office. The certificate of completion and evidence of annual re certification must be presented with the dissertation when submitting the request for final oral defense. A copy of irb approval of the final research protocol must be submitted to the coedu associate dean for academic affairs.