Keeping a Research or Lab Journal

The function of a research or lab journal is to set down on paper your thoughts about the things you are learning, the data you have collected, and the primary and secondary source material you are reading. It is a record of your questions about the material and your tentative answers to those questions. It documents the connections you make between the things you do in lab, the materials you read, and the discussions we have in class. The journal also provides a place to record the questions these activities and discussions raise.

The object of the journal is to record your thoughts about class activities and readings. You want to do this as close to the moment of having the thought as possible, and you want to minimize anything that hampers this objective. Make your journal accessible and easy to use. Keep the journal in a composition notebook with a sewn-in binding. This requirement is “industry-standard” in the science world. Keep it neat enough that you can use it later, but don't worry about correct spelling or punctuation. The journal is not for anyone's eyes but your own. When I “grade” them, I do so upon relatively superficial reading (I browse them just enough to get an idea of how often you are writing, and the thoughtfulness of that writing).

The journal should document the ways you are thinking about the material of the course and connecting it up with other things you've thought about. What surprises you about what you are reading? For example, one journal entry might merely be an expression of your personal thoughts about animal cognition. Do nonhuman animals “think” the way we humans think? If so, how could we find out? How can we truly know what other people know or think? How do people’s thoughts about these sorts of questions influence how they treat nonhuman animals? Is the way people treat animals important? If so, why?

Such thoughts are extremely valuable. At first, they might seem like "non-academic" thoughts because they are personal feelings. But every scientist relies upon such feelings at some level; they tell us what is important to consider in our work. In this case, the thought above suggests a thesis question: "What does the way humans interact with nonhuman animals tell us about how those humans view their animal partners? How does that treatment both elucidate and limit what we can know about animal cognition?”
The journal is not a place to take notes from class meetings, or even lab exercises. A journal entry may begin with, contain references to, or discuss notes from class or lab, but the notes themselves should be kept elsewhere. The function of the journal is to discuss and reflect upon your notes, not to record them. Take your notes elsewhere; if you use the journal to take them, the journal will be of less value.

Before and while writing your lab summaries or reports, go back over the journal. How has your thinking about the material evolved? By keeping in mind the intellectual journey you have made through the material, you are reminded that your readers will be making a similar journey, through which you must guide them. Oftentimes, properly-edited journal entries may even form the basis of paragraphs. Editing and expanding journal material may help you make the difficult transition from researching to writing.

Here is an example of one of my journal entries:

7/21/03: Spent all day in the Brown library, reading about stress and autism. It seems to me that many of the classic characteristics of autism are also characteristics of individuals under stress. Behaviors such as stereotypic movements, self-injury, tantrums upon a challenge with novelty, disruptions in sleep—just to name a few. It begs the question—is autism a stress disorder? Or more appropriately, is it accompanied by stress or emotional arousal that manifests itself in some of the so-called “symptoms” of autism? Reading first-hand accounts from hi-functioning autists like Temple Grandin certainly leads one to believe that at least some folks with autism also suffer from terrific anxiety and nervousness, like you would expect from an individual under stress. And there are so many different ways to make an organism that is less tolerant of challenge, too. As there appear to be many many pathways to the autistic phenotype. As I read this material, I keep thinking of additional studies I should do on stress in rats, but I find that I no longer have it in me to do such intrusive work. *SIGH* I also keep thinking I will never understand enough about the neurophysiology of stress to start writing this darn book chapter.....

A few comments on this entry:

I start with the date. This is the only kind of formatting rule I am concerned with, and I do it only because it helps me trace how I thought about an idea. Other than that, I am totally unconcerned with making the entry look good. I'm just thinking thoughts on paper.

There are some references here that no one but me will understand. That's fine -- the important thing is that I will understand later what I was talking about. In the entry, I'm making connections—thinking about my own past research on stress in rats, the research I am reading about, and things I have read in the past about folks with autism (like Temple Grandin). My entry thus makes connections between the kinds of material I've read and the research I have done. Ask yourself, how does what I'm reading or doing bear on what I hope to be learning in this course?

The entry also raises questions that are left unanswered. This is the most important thing I can stress about the journal. Good scientific writing is the result of a process of asking questions and pondering answers (even if it looks like some other scientist had all the answers from the start). You simply cannot develop good papers without engaging in this process. The journal is a way to record these internal conversations, and use them to develop your paper.
You probably engage in this process anyway. Whenever you read, you ask yourself questions ("why did they use try to teach chimps to talk in human language?," or "what the heck is delayed match-to-sample, anyway?"). Most of us, however, don't respect our internal questions; we are taught that if we have to ask them we must be deficient, and we therefore ignore them. The journal process is about becoming comfortable with our own questioning. It is about respecting our internal (and external) discussions about what we read and what we do, and elevating our trained intuitions to the center around which we interpret our data and build our professional writing.

The point behind all of this is to develop interesting and worthwhile research questions and papers. Too many papers focus on simple, easy-to-answer, "fact"-based questions, such as "How do rats find their way around a water maze?" These are valid questions, but they tend not to lead to interesting papers. Rather, they produce rather dry recitations of facts.

Such papers lack interest. Your paper is not primarily an opportunity to relate the "facts" about something; it should be a chance for you to explore interesting questions. These are the kinds of questions that don't have simple answers; they are the ones that scientists and other scholars deal with constantly.

This process of honing-in on a good research question can only take place when you listen to your own thoughts about the material you’ve read and the things you’ve learned. For instance, you might start with one of those straight-forward, "fact"-based questions, like "How do sloth bear cubs synchronize their behavior?" In the process of finding out how, you make lots of video tapes of sloth bear cubs interacting and on their own. And what you find in your observations -- among many other things -- is instance after instance of intense aggression between cubs, on the mornings after they have been exposed for a short time to the adult male. You wonder about this, but don't really know what to make of it, so you move on, ignoring it in your search for "real" answers to your question about sloth bear cubs and their social interactions with one another.

You have just missed a golden opportunity. Instead of ignoring your thought, you might have pulled out your journal and jotted a quick note:
on observing the cubs’ behavior this morning: once again, there was much more aggressive play—maybe even full-blown fighting?—than I have seen before. And this is after another evening session of trying to introduce the cubs and mom to the dad. What’s going on here? Is it just a normal consequence of development, or is something about the stress and excitement of seeing “dad” spilling over into the cubs’ interactions with one another?

The mere act of writing down this question gives credibility and substance to your thought. Once it is on paper, you may see it again later. Perhaps you will read something in a paper about bears in captivity, and something will click in your head. You are on your way to developing a fascinating thesis question: What is the role of adult males in the social development of sloth bear cubs?

(Modified from text written by Patrick Rael, Reading, Writing, and Researching for History: A Guide for College Students. Brunswick, ME: Bowdoin College, August 2000).

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Remember, because you have several days to take these tests, and because they are open-book, open-note, and open discussion, YOU WILL BE HELD TO A HIGHER STANDARD for your answers than if you were taking a test in the 50-minute class time. Below are some tips for how to meet that standard with a minimum amount of pain and suffering on your part.

1. READ AND REVIEW THE MATERIAL in advance. Just as you would study for an in-class test, you must study for a take-home test in order to do well on it. Don't wait until you get the exam to do this. Studying beforehand will shorten the time it takes you to find the relevant passages in the text, and will speed up the time it takes you to compose your answers.

2. STUDY THE QUESTIONS at the end of every chapter. I will be using these often as questions on exams. Think about answers to them--review the text material or your notes as needed to obtain those answers. If you can, jot down brief answers to them as part of your studying. This will shorten your test-taking time considerably, if those questions are on the next test!

3. OUTLINE YOUR ANSWERS on a separate sheet of paper before you begin to write them down. What are the major points that you wish to make? What data do you need to put where in your arguments, in order to support them? Find those data in the text or in your notes, and jot them down in your outline where you will need to refer to them.

4. WRITE OUT YOUR ANSWERS to essay questions on a separate sheet of paper first, before putting your answers on the test sheets. Use your outline as a guide to the creation of your prose answers.

5. GET A FRIEND (preferably one not in this class--such a person is less likely to "read between the lines") OR WRITING TUTOR to read your answers before you put them on the test sheets. Is the meaning of your prose clear? How well does it match your outline? Are you saying what you intended to say?

6. CHECK YOUR "DIRECTIVE WORDS" handout to be sure that you are answering the question in the way that you have been asked to answer it. Ask your friend or writing tutor to check this for you, too!

7. DON'T REPEAT THE QUESTION that you have been asked. For example, if a test question reads: "According to Research Methods for Studying Animal Behavior in a Zoo Setting, what are the steps necessary to conduct an animal behavior investigation?"--don't start your answer by writing "According to Research Methods for Studying Animal Behavior in a Zoo Setting, the following are the steps necessary to conduct an animal behavior investigation:" In doing so, you just wasted time and space. I know what the question is--don't bother repeating it in your answer.

8. DON'T "DUMPTRUCK." This is "teacher-ese" for when students write down everything that they know about a topic, with or without ever answering the question. "Dumptrucking" takes up time and space, and worse--it often leads the reader to think that you are uncertain about your answer; that you are "shotgunning" the answer in the hopes that you will "hit" at least some of the points that the reader is looking for. For example, if I ask you to describe the 3 hypotheses for infanticide in langurs, don't start your essay by telling me about langurs, where they live, and how they commit infanticide. I already know that! Keep your answer focused on the question that you are being asked. Don't put in "filler."

9. CHECK YOUR SPELLING. In an open-note, open-book take-home test, there is no excuse for spelling something incorrectly. To do so shows a lack of seriousness and time-taking. It leads the reader to think that your answer is sloppier than perhaps it actually is. Again, use your friend or writing tutor to help you with this.

10. USE THE NUMBER OR POINTS a question is worth as a rough guide for how to answer the question. For example, the question "Describe how science as a way of knowing is different than other ways of knowing" was worth 2 points. In your answer, I was looking for the two criteria that the acquisition of some knowledge must meet in order for that acquisition to be considered an example of science as a way of knowing: all knowledge must be based on experience, and that knowledge must be replicable. If you had both of these points in your answer, you should have received 2 points. If you only had one of these points, you earned one point, etc.

11. THINK LIKE A NATURAL SCIENTIST. That means that if there are data to support your argument, use them! If there are data to refute another's argument, use those too! If I ask you "which hypothesis of infanticide best fits the data as you know it?," don't choose an hypothesis that you just refuted one paragraph ago. For example, many people correctly wrote that in order to test the social pathology hypothesis, you would have to compare the rate of infanticide in human-fed populations with populations that are not influenced by humans. Those folks often pointed out that this indeed has been done, and that no difference in rate of infanticide exists between monkey troops that are fed and those that are not. This is a datum that refutes (fails to support or contradicts) the social pathology hypothesis! Yet those same writers would often go on to say that the social pathology hypothesis was the best, because it seemed the most likely to them. THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE to a natural scientist as a way of thinking. If the data fail to support an hypothesis, then that is usually taken as evidence that the hypothesis is incorrect. Choose your answers carefully, and support them with evidence as appropriate. If you cannot support them with evidence, then support them with reasoning. But don't try to support them with your personal feelings on the matter.

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Effective answers to essay questions depend in part upon a clear understanding of the meanings of important directive words. These words (e.g., "explain," "discuss," "compare") indicate the way in which the instructor wants you to present the material. Background knowledge of the subject matter is essential, but mere evidence of this is not enough to earn you points on an essay--you must answer the question that you are being asked. In other words, you have to learn to use what you know relative to the question that is being asked. This requires a knowledge--among other things--of the meaning of directive words. For example, if you are asked to compare the sexual competition hypothesis of male langur infanticide with the social pathology hypothesis of the same, you will get no credit if you merely describe the two hypotheses. Or, if you are asked to evaluate the three hypotheses regarding langur infanticide, you would get no points for merely listing them. An essay is only satisfactory if it answers directly the question that is being asked.

Below is a list of common directive words that you might see in this class, or in other essay tests on campus. Feel free to consult this handout as you are taking the take-home tests for this class, to be sure that you are answering the question in the manner that is required.

1. Analyze: determine the nature and relationship of the component parts of; explain; break down. Ex. "Analyze the mechanism by which some species of moths avoid predatory bats."

2. Assess: judge the value or character of something; appraise; evaluate. Ex. "Assess the relative strength of each of the 3 hypotheses regarding infanticide in Hanuman langurs, given the available data."

3. Compare: examine for the purposes of noting similarities and differences. "Compare the nestbuilding behavior of weaver birds and bower birds."

4. Contrast: compare in order to show unlikeness or points of difference. Ex. "Contrast the theories of Hull and Tolman in how animals find their way around in space."

5. Criticize: make judgments as to merits and faults; criticism may approve or disapprove, or both! Ex. "Criticize the proximate and ultimate approaches to animal behavior."

6. Define: give the meaning of (a word, a phrase, a concept); determine or fix the boundaries or extent of. Ex. "Define the term 'Fixed Action Pattern.'"

7. Describe: give an account of; tell about; give a word picture of. Ex. Describe the courtship behavior of male kittiwake gulls."

8. Discriminate between: describe in such a way as to show differences between. Ex. "Discriminate between casual and systematic observations.

9. Discuss: talk over; write about; consider or examine by argument or from various points of view; debate; present the different sides of. Ex. "Discuss the impact of Darwin's theory of natural selection on modern biological thought."

10. Enumerate: mention or list separately; name one after another. Ex. "Enumerate the parts of a typical scientific research paper."

11. Evaluate: Give the good points and the bad ones; give an opinion regarding the value of; discuss the advantages and disadvantages. Ex. "Evaluate the behavior of helping at the nest in Florida scrub jays."

12. Explain: make clear or plain; make known in detail; tell the meaning of; make clear the cause or reason of. Ex. "Explain how sea turtles find their way back to their natal beach for egg laying."

13. Illustrate: make clear or intelligible as by examples. Ex. "Illustrate the ways in which an animal may maximize it's fitness."

14. Interpret: explain the meaning of; make plain; present your thinking about; present your thinking about. Ex. "Interpret the tail-flagging behavior of white-tailed deer."

15. Justify or Defend: show good reasons for; present your evidence; offer facts to support your position. Ex. "Defend your choice of 'the best' hypothesis for explaining infanticide in langurs."

16. Prove: establish the truth or genuineness of something by giving factual evidence or logical reasons. Ex. "Prove the creching behavior of ostriches is or is not evolutionarily advantageous."

17. Summarize: state or express in concise form; give the main points briefly. Ex. "Summarize the observations that led Darwin to his theory of natural selection."

18. Trace: follow the course of; give a description of the progress of; ascertain by investigation. Ex. "Trace the development of song in the white-crowned sparrow."

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Note: All of the following hold true for developing a research project of any kind, including a thesis project or independent study project.

I. Finding a Research Topic

Your proposal should be about a topic that you know well, or at least, are interested in finding out more about! The more that you now about your topic, the more likely you will create a satisfactory proposal.

You will need to do three things to prepare for writing your proposal: a). look for and read published research on a topic that interests you; b). make “on-the-spot” observations of the phenomena that interests you; and c). think long and hard about how these phenomena appear to operate.

II. GETTING STARTED

Everyone in this course has some reason for being here--at least one thing that interested him or her in animal behavior that led to the taking of this course. Perhaps you want to know whether nonhuman animals have anything like language, or how to better train your dog, or what nonverbal signals influence humans. Think about your interests, the questions that have occurred to you as you have been pursuing your degree. What are those topics of interest? Flip through your old introductory texts, your animal behavior texts, or texts from other relevant classes to the chapters that interested you most. Pick a topic that still captures your interest. Then, start reading.

a. Read Selectively. You don't have time to scour the globe for all possible relevant works and every possible angle. If you can find them, read what are called review articles, review journals, and review books. Review articles are helpful to you as a potential researcher because they organize a great deal of information efficiently. (And they are a great source of references!!) A topical review represents the analytical thinking of the author, who has examined the existing literature, interpreted it, argued about it, and called attention to the theoretical issues that it raises. These reviewers tend to be the best scholars in their field--that is why they are called upon to write the reviews.

Review journals are easy to find. Often the word "Review" is in the title, as in Review of Educational Research, or Psychological Review. Brain and Behavioral Science is another review journal that you might find relevant for this course. The APS journal Current Directions is alsoan abbreviated review journal. Using an electronic source such as CARL Uncover, you may search the table of contents of issues of any of these journals that we do not have in our library.

In some fields (and psychology is one of them) there are books published annually that are devoted to the review of significant recent developments. An example of such a book is the Annual Review of Psychology. Monograph series such as Perspectives in Ethology are also good sources for review material.

b. Make some observations. Sometimes this might take some effort on your part, to create a situation, or put yourself into one, that will allow you to observe the phenomena that interest you. With an evolving problem in mind, take your journal to a place where you can observe relevant phenomena. Make notes and think on paper about what you observe. As you read the literature, and think over what you have read, probe your observations in order to examine the possible dimensions of a problem.

What observations should you make? Here you should follow your own invention. Initially, many things may seem relevant, because you have not yet narrowed down your topic to do-able dimensions. When you do so, you will have one issue that can be researched.

c. While reading and observing, take time to reflect. Einstein once said that young physicists would benefit by being confined to lighthouse duty on an island in the sea. These conditions, he said, would compel a young scientist to think. Similarly, when you are contemplating a research proposal, you must have time to reflect. You must, of course, have something to think about. Alternate reading and observation, accompanied by a lot of thinking, are the first steps in preparing to write a proposal. Keep in mind that thinking IS legitimate (and necessary!) work!

II. Starting to Write:

a. Recognizing A Problem When You See One. Before you can create a problem of your own to be solved, you must know what one is. Believe it or not, this can be very difficult for some folks.

Research problems are explanatory devices; they are carefully crafted sentences about finding out and should not be intermingled with your personal or social values, or with your preference for a particular subject.

One of the differences between a research paper and a proposal is that in the latter, your words must not only show an understanding of a certain phenomenon, but must show some promise of revealing convincing evidence that your understanding is correct. The words that you use in describing your research problem explicitly reveal your purpose:

Ex. "To understand ......."
Ex. "To describe the interrelations between XXX and XXX."
Ex. "To offer a possible solution to........"

A problem statement is composed of identifiable works and sentences. A reader should be able to tell without difficulty what the problem is that your study will address. Ordinarily, a single paragraph of a few sentences is sufficient to express the central concepts of a problem. This is followed by auxiliary sentences that elaborate and explain the problem.

Cut to the chase and begin your proposal with your problem sentence as the very first sentence. Ex. "In this study I intend to find evidence that..." or "This will be an investigation of the (such and such) effect observed by (so and so). In those observations, s/he found (a certain phenomenon) that has not yet been explained. The problem in this study is to show that the (phenomenon) can be explained by a relationship between variables (X and Y)." Continue until the problem has been fully explained. Choose words that get right at the purpose of your study.

A few more words about problem statements:

1. PROBLEM STATEMENTS CONSIST ENTIRELY OF WORDS ABOUT
FINDING OUT, and contain no words justifying the topic of investigation.
That comes later.

Ex. "...Determine how many errors occur when..."
Ex. "...To find what the rate of response is likely to be when...."
Ex. "...The rate of calling is diminished by..."
Ex. "...Measure the intensity of aggression after..."
Ex. "...the age at which a child is first able to..."

3. A PROBLEM STATEMENT HAS ELEMENTS OF ITS OWN SOLUTION; An hypothesis that is a logical next step.

4. A PROBLEM STATEMENT HAS A SINGULAR FOCUS. It has real
boundaries, it is not fuzzy. Here is an example of a non-problem, because it has no boundaries:

"I will examine a relation between social development in vervet monkeys and these young monkeys’ abilities."

Here is a statement that is getting better--it has at least some boundaries:

"I offer an hypothesis that lack of exposure to adult alarm calls when young
impairs infant vervets’ behavior."

It could get much better yet! Can you draft an even better version?

b. Writing the First Draft. Limit your first attempt to no more than three to seven pages. Ask me to review your proposal at this time. Give these pages your very best thinking. Start with two or three sentences that express the very heart of your problem, and be as direct as possible. There are two reasons to write this short draft. One, you are quickly able to see your own thinking. Two, I am able to easily identify your intentions and direct you from this draft. Try not to ramble.

Your draft should include the following components:

1. It should define the central concept under study (usually the dependent variable)

2. It should give a brief history of the problem (in the form of a literature review)

3. It should explain why the problem is important

• ex. point out its relevance
• give statistical information
• give quotes from influential people
• use an evocative case study

4. It should describe what you are going to do; set the stage for your proposed study; justify why you have chosen to study the variables that you have.

5. It should state your hypothesis (es); that is, state clearly what you expect to discover.

III. What are the Primary Differences Between a Research Report and a Research Proposal?

The main purpose of a research proposal is to tell others that you have a worthwhile project to conduct and pursue the necessary competence to carry it out. In other words, you have to tell people what you plan to do, why you want to do it, and how you are going to do it. You need to convince your reader that you have an exciting research idea, and that you have a good grasp of the relevant literature, the major issues involved, and the appropriate methodologies.

In a research paper, you are telling the reader about what you DID. In a research proposal, you need to be telling the reader about WHAT YOU WANT TO DO, and making a compelling argument for WHY this needs to be done. Thus one of the most important parts of a research proposal is the rationale: the reasoning for your proposed research. This does not feature prominantly, if at all, in a research paper. If you think of a research proposal as a kind of sophisticated sales pitch in combination with an action plan, you would not be too far off the mark. In a research proposal, you are trying to convince the reader of the need to do the study that you propose, and of the appropriateness of the methods that you have chosen to conduct that study. Justification (or the "rationale" of a study) is one of the most important parts of a research proposal. Take a look at the sample research proposals that you were given in class and see if you can recognize the emphasis on rationale. Keep this in mind as you draft your own proposal.

The exact format for a research proposal will depend to some degree on the agency or persons for whom it is being prepared. Each foundation, for example, has its own requirements for such proposals in terms of what must be included, how long each section can be, etc. In general, however, they all share these components:

A. Title: It should be concise and descriptive. For example, the phrase, "An
investigation of . . ." could be omitted. Try to make the title catchy; a good title not only pricks the reader’s interest, but also predisposes him/her favourably towards the proposal.

B. Abstract: The abstract in a research proposal (like the abstract in a research report) is a brief summary of approximately 300 words. It should include the research question, the rationale for the study, the hypothesis (if any), and the method. Descriptions of the method should include the design, procedures, the sample, and any instruments that will be used.

C. Specific Aims and Objectives: As the name implies, this part of the paper should be concise and precise. Typically, it is only a few sentences long. Your aim should be a short single statement which states precisely what your research is trying to achieve. Your objectives should be a short list of statements which say how you will be able to achieve your overall aim.

D. Introduction: The "Introduction" tells the reader 1) what your project is about, and 2) why the project is worth doing. The Introduction must also state clearly and completely the specific objectives of your project -- in some detail, what you intend to accomplish. Though the reader encounters it first, you probably should write the "Introduction" last since you will need to have mastered the other parts of the proposal to provide an effective "Introduction."

The main purpose of the introduction is to define the context and boundaries of your proposed research. Therefore, it will begin with a general statement of the problem area and conclude with a specific research question. You also need to explain why you are interested in selecting a particular topic. The introduction should cover the following elements:

1. A general statement or description of the research problem, which could be an empirical, descriptive, or theoretical issue. The best approach is to ask a single, important question that can be answered through the proposed research.

2. The background of the problem. It should set the stage or provide the context of the research problem. It should provide both the historical background and the contemporary scene, encompassing as best you can all the key players and their major publications. In other words, it should paint the research question in broad strokes and cite representative studies.

3. A brief description of the major theoretical models related to the research problem, indicating the theoretical perspective you have chosen or developed for your study.

4. Identification of the key independent and dependent variables.

5. A clear statement of the purpose and rationale of your research, indicating why the study is worth doing.

6. A statement of hypotheses and an explanation for your predictions. However, for exploratory or descriptive types of research, you may not have any hypotheses.

E. Literature Review: The "Literature Review" tells your audience (your advisors, off-campus sponsors, or sources of funding) what the state if the art in your topic is. You probably should tackle the "Literature Review" first since mastering it will give you the background you need to write other sections. If you have thought carefully in advance, you can use much of what you wrote for your research review paper in this section.

In some research proposals, this is not a separate section, but rather is folded into the introduction. In others, it is a separate section (one that is sometimes called “Background and Rationale”). The literature review section provides a more detailed and critical review of the literature directly bearing on the proposed research. For example, you should evaluate various theories in the light of available research findings. You should also examine the relevant literature related to the key variables, research instruments, etc.. Your scholarship will be in question if you fail to cite some of the influential studies or misread the papers you have cited.

Try to use sub-headings to organize your literature review in a logical and meaningful way. For example, having established the importance of your research area and its current state of development, you may devote several subsections to such issues as: theoretical models, measuring instruments, gender differences, etc. Each subsection should represent a major aspect of your proposed research. For each segment, you need to critically examine the relevant literature. The purpose of the literature review is to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the problem area, as well as to justify your study. You need to convince your reader that your proposed research will make a significant and substantial contribution to the field (i.e., resolve an important theoretical issue or fill a gap in the literature).

F. Methods:

• Describes the design of the proposed study.
• Describes your population and sampling procedure.
• Describes the measuring instrument to be used.
• Describes the procedure and the time frame of data collection.
• Describes how you will analyze the data.

You need to demonstrate your knowledge of alternative methods and make the case that your approach is most appropriate for your research question. You also need to explain how you will get your subjects, and why you choose a particular sample of subjects.

G. Appendices: Appendices (singular, appendix) contain materials too lengthy for inclusion in the text, or not directly relevant. Certain kinds of raw data, background materials, data sheets, questionnaires, and the like go here. ALL material in appendices must be referred to in the text so readers know why they are here.

H. References: All of the sources cited in your proposal, in proper format.I suggest you write the sections of the proposal in this logical sequence: Literature Review, Procedure, Appendices, Introduction, Specific Aims, Title, References. When you submit the proposal, the order of presentatoin should be: Title Page, Specific Aims, Introduction, Literature Review, Procedure, References, Appendices.

IV. Common Mistakes in Proposal Writing

• Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research question.
• Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for your research.
• Failure to cite landmark studies.
• Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical contributions by other researchers.
• Failure to stay focused on the research question.
• Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research.
• Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on the essentials.
• The proposal is not well-organized. For example, some materials are mentioned two or three times in different sections of the proposal. The most common organizational weakness is that the proposal goes "all over the map" without a clear sense of direction. The best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a seamless river.
• The writing is neither clear nor concise.

REMEMBER:

A good research proposal (like a good research review paper) has an additional advantage; with appropriate revisions, the chapters or sections in the proposal can give you a start on similar sections for a final research report. Thus, each of the kinds of writing that we have been doing in this class are related to one another! Good work on a proposal has two advantages: planning for effective resource use when actually doing the research, and getting a jump ahead on the final research report.

*(Modified from: Van Wagenen, R. K. (1991). How to Write a Thesis: Substance and Style. New Jersey: Prentice Hall; and http://www.twu.ca/cpsy/faculty/wong/graded/proposal.html, by Paul T. P. Wong, Ph.D., Director, Graduate Program in Counselling Psychology, January 23, 1997)

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My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules:

1.Always avoid alliteration.

2.Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

3.Avoid cliches like the plague. They're old hat, so lay off 'em.

4. Employ the vernacular.

5.Eschew ampersands & abbrev., etc.

6.Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.

7.It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

8.Contractions aren't necessary.

9.Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

10.One should never generalize.

11.Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."

12.Comparisons are as bad as cliches.

13.Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.

14.Profanity sucks.

15.Be more or less specific.

16.Understatement is always best.

17.Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

18.One-word sentences? Eliminate.

19.Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.

20.The passive voice is to be avoided.

21.Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.

22. Mixed metaphors are a pain in the neck and ought to be weeded out.

23.Who needs rhetorical questions?

24. Make sure each pronoun agrees with their antecedent.

25. Just between you and I, the case of pronoun is important.

26. Watch out for irregular verbs which have crope into English.

27. Verbs has to agree in number with their subjects.

28. Don't use no double negatives.

29. Being bad grammar, a writer should not use dangling modifiers.

30. Join clauses good like a conjunction should.

31. About sentence fragments.

32. Don't use run-on sentences you have to punctuate them.

33. In letters essays and reports use commas to separate items in series.

34. Don't use commas, which are not necessary.

35. Parenthetical words however should be enclosed in commas.

36. Its important to use apostrophes right in everybodys writing.

37. Check to see if you any words out.

38. In the case of a report, check to see that jargonwise, it's A-OK.

39. As far as incomplete constructions, they are wrong.

40. About repetition, the repetition of a word might be real effective repetition - take, for instance the repetition of Abraham Lincoln.

41. In my opinion, I think that an author when he is writing should definitely not get into the habit of making use of too many unnecessary words that he does not really need in order to put his message across.

42. Use parallel construction not only to be concise but also clarify.

43. It behooves us all to avoid archaic expressions.

44. Consalt the dictionery to avoid mispelings.

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