Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:

Proposal topic: Relation between unemployment and mass shootings 

Proposal should have the following sections:

Introduction: identify specific research question and the general context for the study. In this section include:
a statement of the problem or general research question and context leading to a clear statement of the specific research question;

background and contextual material justifying why this case or topic should be studied; and

a purpose statement.


Literature Review: This short preliminary literature review section reviews the literature important to your specific research question. 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 case. It provides the current state of accumulated knowledge as it relates to your specific research question. In this section:
Summarize the general state of the literature (cumulative knowledge base) on the specific research question. For example, if you discuss other studies that have been conducted you would summarize the researcher's findings, how those findings were obtained, and conduct an evaluation of biases in the findings.

This section should provide 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.

Include a short conclusion and transition to the next section.

In literature review, discuss the theoretical framework to be used in the study. You should ensure you cover the following in your discussion:
a summary of the theory or model to be used in the study, including a diagram of the model if appropriate;

comment on the kinds of questions this theory has been used to answer in the past and why it is appropriate to use in this proposed study

discussion of the current knowledge gaps. This is an opportunity to once again promote the importance of your own research. How will the research fit within this larger body of knowledge? What are you doing differently? What gaps will the research fill?

include a transition into methodology section.

Research Design and Methods: Describes how to answer research question or test the hypothesis. This section describes the overall research design and how to plan to collect, synthesize, and interpret data. It should include:
identification and operationalization (measurement) of variables;

a sampling plan (i.e., study population and sampling procedures, if appropriate);

justification of case studies used;

data collection/sources (secondary literature, archives, interviews, surveys, etc.);

a summary of analysis procedures (pattern-matching, etc.); and

the limitations of the study and bias discussion.

Conclusion: Reemphasizes the importance of your study and ties the proposal together.

Reference List: 12-15 peer reviewed sources