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 |  Research Projects in Statistics Joseph Kincaid,
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
The Research Proposal
Implementation tips An ounce of prevention…
As I mention in the text book, my most frequent comment on drafts of research proposals is that the proposal is not specific enough. From the perspective of the course objectives, the proposal is intended to demonstrate that the project will meet the course requirements. In order to do this correctly, the instructor needs to understand what the project will involve before it actually takes place. This is best done with specific statements and not general ones.
This specificity has the added advantage of providing well-defined scope for the project. This will help keep the project doable within the framework of the semester.
The proposal draft
In my syllabus, the draft of the research proposal is a project requirement, but does not count for any points toward the students’ final grades. This is intended to reduce the amount of stress associated with this requirement. The students have a chance to revise the draft before submitting a final proposal.
The draft is an extremely important stage of the project. Commenting on the proposal draft is your opportunity to enhance or restrict the project so that the size and scope are what is expected for your course. This is your opportunity to ensure randomness in the sampling. This is your opportunity to ensure that the variables are well-defined. Etc.
Human subjects
Rights of human subjects are always a concern in scientific research. Be sure that you and your students follow your institution’s guidelines for preserving the rights of human subjects in any project your students undertake.
Permission
Students don’t always realize that permission may be required to collect certain types of data due to the nature of the data, the nature of the research question or possibly the location of the data collection activities. If there is any doubt regarding permission, it is best to err on the safe side.
As described in the example, the steps for obtaining permission are to submit the permission request to the instructor for approval first and then submit the permission request to the appropriate person or office. Obtaining verbal permission between submitting the draft proposal and the final proposal is a good idea, but written permission is always best when permission is required.
Written permission can take many forms. For offices or agencies that see this request often, a formal letter on agency letterhead is usually the best approach. For other organizations where this request would be quite unusual, the students may want to type up a permission letter for the appropriate authority to sign. For example, if students were collecting data in front of a grocery store, I would recommend that they secure verbal permission initially and then prepare a typed memo granting permission, take it to the store manager, and have him or her sign it for them. This protects the students with minimal imposition on the store manager.
Points for the research proposal
I recommend assigning 15—20% of the points to the research proposal. |
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2004 McGraw-Hill Higher Education