1. Cover Page. The cover page must
list the proposed title, your name, the Department of Political Science, the
names of the supervisory committee with a place for their approval signatures,
and the date of submission (see
Attachment A).
2. Table of Contents. The Table of
Contents must list each chapter and the major sub-topics within each chapter.
The Table of Contents should indicate the major dimensions of the topic and a
broad descriptive outline of the work to be done (see
Attachment B). You are strongly encouraged to develop your chapter
outline with at least two major headings (chapter title and first-level
heading).
3. Abstract. One page that provides a
summary description of the proposal.
4. The Research Problem. You must
offer a clear statement of the research problem. This is one of the most
difficult aspects of research because it must be something that is of interest
to you personally, acceptable to your advisor, important to the discipline of
political science, and "doable" given your material and intellectual resources.
This section must begin with a one sentence statement of the problem. If it
takes more than one sentence, you are probably unclear about the nature of the
problem. It is important to note that some problems will be highly descriptive
in nature (e.g., comparison of different methods of contracting for services).
Other approaches might focus on a problem that is more instrumental in nature
(e.g., how can contracting out for services be increased?). Yet others might
require hypothesis testing (e.g., there is no relationship between level of
professionalization and contracting out).
The importance of the research problem to political science as a discipline must
be made clear. This involves citation of relevant literature from the
discipline. You should show that your proposed research addresses a significant
problem.
5a. The Model or Conceptual Framework or
Theoretical Orientation. Model, conceptual framework, and theoretical
orientation are terms that have been variously defined in the methodology
literature without a great deal of precision. They all, however, suggest the
great importance of developing or adopting a set of logically related abstract
ideas that are central to your research problem. The principal issue here is the
phenomena you propose to analyze and the justification for studying them. The
presentation of the model must include a definition of key terms and
relationships.
5b. Review of Literature. You should
not have a separate single review of the literature. Rather, when you are
presenting the research problem, related model and procedures, you must review
literature that is related. In effect, then, there must be a review of the
literatures relevant to the particular area of the prospectus.
6. Methodology/Procedures. A
distinguishing feature of academic research, compared to research by journalists
and writers, is the care given to the research design and process of data
collection. The appropriateness of the research materials depends directly on
the conceptual framework and related research question. The first part of the
analysis methods section of the prospectus must very briefly summarize the
research problem and related model.
The data collection and analysis should be explicitly linked to the research
problem and related model. The research design section must also include:
7. References. The references should
not be excessively long. The purpose is to identify those works that are central
for your problem. At this stage of your research, you may list reference items
that are not included as citations in the text of your paper. The final
dissertation, however, must include only reference items that are actually cited
in the body of the work.
8. Timetable. Prepare a table that
specifies each stage of your work and the expected completion date. Obviously
this can only be a "best guess" (see
Attachment C).
9. Institutional Review Board Application.
Approval from the IRB is required for any human subjects research conducted for
a thesis or dissertation at the University of Oklahoma. Forms are available at
their
website.
Helpful Hint: Defense of Dissertation
Prospectus. Students are to schedule a defense for the dissertation prospectus.
When approved, the signed approval is to be delivered to the Political Science
Graduate Program Office for inclusion in your permanent file.
American Political Science Association. 2002. Style Manual for Political
Science. Washington, DC.
Leedy, Paul D. 1993. Practical Research, 5th ed. New York: Macmillan.
Mauch, James E. 2003. Guide to the Successful Thesis and Dissertation, 5th ed.
New York: Marcel Dekker.
Przeworski, Adam and Salomon, Frank. 1999. The Art of Writing Proposals. New
York: Social Science Research Council.
Turabian, Kate L. 1996. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and
Dissertations, 6th ed. rev. by B. Honigsblum. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Van Evera, Stephen. 1997. Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science.
Ithaca: Carnell University.
Other dissertations are also a good source of information. Ones from Political
Science are available in the Department’s library in the conference room.
From:
http://www.ou.edu/cas/psc/graduate/phdprospectus.html