thesisproposal写作指南及样本.docx

1、thesisproposal写作指南及样本Thesis proposal 写作指南及 样本proposal should make a convincing scholarly case that the project is rigorous？and innovative in theory and conception, methodology and material content, an？d that it can produce new, relevant and independently verifiable insights.？The proposal outline for

2、mat also provides the main structure for the final the？sis essay.？Introduction: Win the Readers Attention？Every proposal should provide clear, explicit answers to three questions:？What are we going to learn from the proposed project that we currently do not？know？Why is it worth knowing？On what basis

3、 can we evaluate the validity of the conclusions？Say what you have to say directly, firmly and concisely. Grab the readers at？tention in the opening paragraphs. Here you should overstate, rather than unde？rstate, your question or position. You can introduce qualifications later.？One approach is to b

4、egin with a clearly posed question: Has the discourse of？development achieved its ends Is anthropology the agent of imperialism W？hat contributions has anthropology made in the quest for world peace Do not？pose rhetorical questions, but concrete issues whose answers can be determined？, while they ar

5、e not immediately apparent.？Alternately, state your central point, hypothesis, or interpretation directly:？Cultural differences do not kill people, only people kill people. Developm？ent has done wonders for the remaining food-foraging peoples of the planet. ？The study of popular music reveals the un

6、spoken cultural precepts of the socie？ty that produces and consumes it.？Of course, not every project is reducible to such brief propositions. It may b？e necessary to lay out a logical, sequential argument to define the core quest？ion. However, if yours is a more complex argument, be certain to proje

7、ct a cle？ar and explicit message that will make yours stand out from other proposals.？Writing Style: Strive for Clarity and Grace？Your proposal should offer a clear exposition of anthropologys research fron？tiers, not a tedious litany of its duller dimensions. Avoid pretentious jargon？, and if techn

8、ical language is called for, use only those new words and techni？cal terms that have no equivalents in everyday language. Likewise, focus on th？e ideas, not the details. Argue the concepts and tendencies in your area of co？ncentration, not the descriptive fine points. Keep the main text as streamlin

9、e？d as possible.？Poor writing kills the best of ideas. Use a style manual in all your writing.？One excellent writing reference (available online) is Strunk and Whites The E？lements of Style. This and other resources are accessible from the jump page,？Anthropology Resources on the Internet, reached f

10、rom a link on the Hartwick An？thropology Department Home Page.？Theoretical Concerns: Establish the Proposal Context？Your proposal should not be a tired exercise in the obvious. It should state w？hat new knowledge the project will produce. Summarize precisely and succinctly？the current state of knowl

11、edge, and provide a current, comprehensive bibliogr？aphy. You do not need to provide a review of the literature, but offer a cle？arly focused view of the specific body of knowledge to which you will add. The？bibliography provides a measure of your seriousness, and its comprehensivenes？s will reflect

12、 upon your proposals evaluation. A good bibliography indicates？thorough preparation to ensure that your project will enhance the work of othe？rs, not duplicate it.？Avoid excessive discussion, especially in the Abstract and Introduction, of th？e general theoretical problem. Concentrate more on discus

13、sing specifically how？you will carry out the research and analysis (see methodology discussion belo？w).？In the early stages of proposal writing, the Hartwick library professionals ca？n help you identify and access the many print and electronic resources relevan？t to your project. Begin with the Libr

14、ary of Congress Subject Headings to iden？tify the keywords that will be essential to efficient, effective bibliographic？research. Consult such resource guides as Dissertation Abstracts Internationa？l, the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Social Sciences Index, and the S？ocial Science Periodica

15、l Index, and other online periodical search engines. Th？e Annual Review of Anthropology is an important venue for state-of-the-art dis？cussions and extensive bibliographies, as are such area-studies guides as the？Handbook of Latin American Studies (available on line) and the International A？frican B

16、ibliography. Also consider online databases such as CARL and ERIC. In？the early stages, I will ask that you identify the research resources you have？utilized. You will avoid frustration and save valuable research time by consu？lting such resources at the outset.？What Is the Core Objective？The statem

17、ent that it has not been studied may be a sufficient argument. Ind？eed, generally, the less known about ones chosen topic, the more compelling？the proposal. Whatever you choose, aim to convince the reader that your topic？is not only timely, but also that its results will elucidate enduring human pr？

18、oblems.？Explicit theoretical interest is always important. Your theoretical frame shou？ld situate the question in terms of its relevance to controversial theoretical？arguments. How does your problem inform the main theoretical debates in anthr？opology How does your approach test accepted ideas or of

19、fer new ones To be e？ffective, your proposal should demonstrate awareness of competing viewpoints a？nd argue your position by addressing anthropological theory broadly, while not？ing alternative tendencies.？Conceptual Issues: Develop an Innovative Approach？Enigmas and seeming contradictions can be p

20、owerfully persuasive. Beginning in？the 1950s, the Civil Rights Movement promised to remake racial relations in t？he Jim Crow south, but several decades later, identity politics is more contro？versial issue than ever in popular cultural discourse throughout the nation.？After World War II, social scie

21、ntists worried that widespread migration to ur？ban centers would undermine rural life. Indeed, the effects can be seen in man？y parts of the country, but today, aided by modern computer and communications？technology, a new urban-to-rural migration trend is simultaneously underway.？Cautionary note: U

22、nless you have something original to add, you may want to av？oid topics of central interest to anthropology. Usually these are subjects a？bout which many are writing, in response to the definitive contribution of a t？rue innovator. By the time you write your proposal, do the research, and sit d？own

23、to write, you might wish you were working on something else. So if your in？terests lead you to a relatively unexplored problem, one not of current and c？entral interest to anthropology, consider pursuing it.？Outline Your Methodology？Regarding methodological efficacy, the proposal must specify your r

24、esearch str？ategy and how you will interpret the results vis-vis your central problem.？Do not just state your goal; tell how you will go about it. A methodology goes？beyond simply listing research tasks to asserting why these tasks constitute？the best approach to the problem. A simple listing of tas

25、ks does not necessari？ly mean that they comprise the best or most expedient approach.？Some common expressions do not specify tangible research strategies. For examp？le, I will look at the relation between x and y is uninformative. Looking a？t a relation between variables can only be done indirectly,

26、 by digging throug？h archives, interviewing, observing and taking standardized notes, collecting？data, analyzing patterns and the like. How will you highlight the relationship？of underlying forces intrinsic to the mass of data You should outline the pr？ocess of gathering data and interpreting it as

27、specifically as you can. What a？ctivities will you pursue to collect data, what techniques will you use to ana？lyze it, and how will you test the validity of your conclusions Do not leave？the reader wondering what you actually will do. Specify the sources, the respo？ndents, and the proposed techniqu

28、es of data collection and analysis.？Proposals that engage a powerful current issue (identity, gender, ethnicity, r？ace, nationalism, hegemony, cultural resistance, relations of states and indig？enous people) often follow a predictably weak line of reasoning. They begin by？discussing various theoreti

29、cal formulations of the issue. Then they offer a v？ague laundry list of research methods, hinting that the project will apply the？appropriate methodology in the field. The proposal ends by asserting a rath？er slack and generalized connection between B and A. Try to avoid this dead en？d.？In contrast,

30、 a comparative research design has particular appeal. In some ways？all research is comparative because it must employ some implicit or explicit？point of reference. Make the comparison explicit to enhance its value as an av？enue of scientific inquiry. In comparative proposals, the evaluator asks whet

31、h？er the similarities and differences between the chosen cases elucidate the cen？tral question, and whether the author is capable of executing both sides of th？e comparison.？Summary: Restate and Specify Your Objectives？An effective proposal usually ends by re-invoking the original thesis. How wil？l

32、research and its results finally illuminate the central question How will y？ou demonstrate the validity of your original idea You must convince the reade？r that there is something clearly at stake in the study, that does not have a？preconceived conclusion, and that your exploration of the unknown will yield e？ngaging, systematic propositions.？Proposa