Methodology and Rationale Instructions
Prompt: In 100-300 words describe a hypothetical methodology for studying your research topic. In the same document, in 250-350 words, create a rationale to a scholarly audience of experts on your topic justifying studying your proposed research question to your audience.
Requirements:
1. Do not use first or second person in the rationale, but you may use first person in the methodology.
2. In addition to a specific explanation of how you will test your research question, your methodology should explain how you will analyze the data and how you would recognize a significant result. Use the following outline to build your methodology paragraph. Generally, 1-2 sentences will be enough for each item:
a. Explain who or what your sample is and how you will locate it.
b. Describe your independent variable’s process.
c. Describe how you will collect and observe your data.
d. Describe how you will analyze your data.
e. Describe what a significant result would look like.
3. In your rationale, the question you are answering is this: Why is your research proposal a good way to study this problem, and why should we fund this research?
Pretend you are convincing a board of academics in this field that your research proposal is worth financial support. Remember: your audience is already experts in the field, so you do not need to explain basic principles.
