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A formal thesis proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the standards of the academic discipline. The formal proposal must provide a clear and lucid description of a question or problem and a proposed method of answering the question or solving the problem. Capstone thesis faculty must approve the proposal before students move on to the next stage of the process. The proposal should explain the question or problem to be investigated and convince the thesis professor that the question or problem merits investigation. It should show that the student has read the relevant and recent literature on the subject and it should contain a list of academically appropriate resources consulted during the preliminary stages of research.

This assignment requires you to write a formal thesis proposal that includes an Introduction, Literature Review, Theoretical Framework, and Research Design sections. Proposal drafting is considered a learning process and helps students avoid oversights and possible mistakes. You may refer to 2022 End of Program Assessment Manual for Masters Programs for information from the source publication. However, you may use the following outline for your thesis proposal.

Title Page (see End of Program Assessment Manual for Masters Programs, Appendix 1)

I. Introduction. Approximately one (1) page in length. Your introduction will provide background and contextual material justifying your topic (Statement of the Problem). Your introduction will also include a Purpose Statement. The introduction concludes with one or several specific Research Questions that sets the general context for the study. In the Introduction, you are explaining why your problem is worth researching and what that specific problem is via the Purpose Statement and Research Question(s).

II. Literature Review. Approximately two (2) pages in length with at least six (6) peer-reviewed journal articles that address the conceptual elements of the thesis and demonstrate that there is a “research gap.” Your review of the literature centers on your specific research question(s). The literature review focuses on discussing how other researchers have addressed the same or similar research questions. It introduces the study and places it in a larger context that includes a discussion of why it is important to study this topic. It provides current state of our accumulated knowledge as it relates to your specific research question(s). In your literature review you should summarize and synthesize the material. Identify the findings as well as the methodology used to obtain those findings. This section provides a preliminary analysis of the other authors that have written on your research topic. It provides a broad overview of the primary arguments related to the topic and organizes the general views on the main aspects of the topic by theme, which could be the prevailing arguments or schools of thought, or commonly held beliefs that your particular topic may challenge. The Literature Review is the foundation of your thesis research and should be something that you continually add to during the course.

III. Theoretical Framework. Approximately one (1) page in length which includes a scholarly source that illustrates the framework you may use in your own study. In this section you will identify the gap in the literature and explain how your thesis addresses that gap. You will also present, explain, and justify your preliminary thoughts on a theory or model that you will use in your study. If you are developing a model, you should present a preliminary diagram. Finally, you should state a hypothesis that is testable along with the variables you intend to analyze.

IV. Research Design. Approximately two (2) pages in length. This section represents your preliminary thoughts on how you will answer your research question(s). What design do you intend to use (i.e. case study method, quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods approach, interviews, surveys, policy evaluation etc.). What data will you need to collect to answer your question? Where does this data exist? How will you collect it? How will you analyze it? What are the limitations of your method? The Research Design section provides a roadmap for the reader to understand how you conducted your research (investigation) that lead ultimately to the outcomes and conclusion.

Reference List. Provide complete citations in current Turabian Bibliography Style or Turabian Reference List Style format for the resources you have cited. Remember to use a hanging indent.

Technical Requirements

• Your paper must be at a minimum of six (6) pages (the Title and Reference pages do not count towards the minimum limit).
• Scholarly and credible references should be used. A good rule of thumb is at least 2 scholarly sources per page of content.
• Type in Times New Roman, 12 point and double space.
• Students will follow the current Turabian Bibliography Style or Turabian Reference List Style as the sole citation and reference style used in written work submitted as part of coursework.
• Points will be deducted for the use of Wikipedia or encyclopedic type sources. It is highly advised to utilize books, peer-reviewed journals, articles, archived documents, etc.