Assignment

Research Paper Proposal, which should encompass pieces of what you have written thus far in the class. Introduction, Research Question, and Hypothesis: This section shall provide an overview of the topic that you are writing about, a concise synopsis of the issues, and why the topic presents a "puzzle" that prompts your research questions, which you will include. This section will be 1-2 pages. This section can be preceded by an epigraph that creates interest in the topic. Ensure that you follow proper format for epigraphs!!

Review of the Literature: All research papers and proposals include a literature review to set out for the reader what knowledge exists on the subject under study and helps the researcher develop the research strategy to use in the study. A good literature review is a thoughtful study of what has been written, a summary of the arguments that exist (whether you agree with them or not), arranged thematically (USE HEADINGS). At the end of the summary, you should circle back to your research question that remains to be answered. It is written in narrative format (this means you should NOT use bullets) and must contain at least 10 peer reviewed sources.

Theoretical Framework: In this section, you will provide a summary of the theory or theories which will be used in the study. Provide a short descriptive narrative that includes the theory's major assumption and the theoretical propositions pertinent to your project. Literature should be included to support your theory. This means parenthetical citations are required.

Methodology and Research Strategy: This section provides the reader with a description of how you will conduct the research. It explains what research approach you will choose and why. It describes any special considerations and defines any limitations and terms specific to this project, if necessary. BE SPECIFIC! Stating quantitative or qualitative is NOT sufficient. Are you suggesting interviews, sampling, field research, focus groups, surveys, etc. How will you recruit people? How many participants? Again, BE SPECIFIC!

Data Analysis: In a small section detailing a summary of your strategy to analyze the data you plan to collect even if this is descriptive analysis of facts, execution of a case study or a process tracing.

Conclusions: Like any conclusion, it should provide a synopsis of the proposal and the strategy and what you hope to add to the body of knowledge. This section should also offer suggestions for avenues of future research for other scholars, as all knowledge is evolutionary.

References: This section will contain all references, cited in APA format and alphabetically arranged. Entitle this section as "References" and as you should use parenthetical citations throughout.

My topic is. What is the future of transportation security.