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The purpose of the written
research proposal is to give students an opportunity to develop
their research skills. The student must design a research study
with a modeling component. The design can entail an experiment,
quasi-experiment, descriptive study (e.g., utilizing survey data,
scanner data), and so forth. The following chart provides an
outline that you may find useful to follow.
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Heading |
Content |
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Research Problem |
Describe the rationale for the study: background, research
objectives, and potential contributions of research. (The
length of this section should be about 2-3 pages.) |
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Literature Review |
Briefly describe the context for your research, and how it
relates to prior work. Define your key constructs. Identify
research gaps. (The length of this section should be about three
or four pages.) |
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Model Specification |
Develop your model. Completely describe your model
specification, including any assumptions and hypotheses. Provide
a brief explanation that outlines the logic of your model
development. (The length of this section should be about 8-10
pages). |
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Methodology |
Describe the method in detail. For example, in an experimental
study, describe the procedure (how you will select subjects,
assign them to conditions, the instructions you will give them,
the manipulations and the dependent variable). For example, for
a survey, describe a method of administration (mail, phone,
internet) and describe how you will obtain cooperation. For all
measured constructs, show three to five sample items that will
be used to measure the constructs. (This section should be
about two pages.) |
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Data Analysis Plan |
Outline the analyses you plan to conduct to evaluate your
model. Review the threats to internal and external validity
with respect to your study. Indicate which threats are a
problem and which are not, and why. (This section should be
about two pages.) |
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Managerial Relevance |
This section should be about one page. |
You must submit a short (two or three page) description of your idea
for a research proposal for approval, and meet with the instructor
to discuss it. The completed proposal should be no longer than 25
pages, typed and double-spaced, excluding relevant references. It
is due on May 2.
Notes: (1) Do not include a huge literature review in your research
proposal! (2) The research that you propose must be “doable” --
e.g., possibly as a summer research project.
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