Current Study

1. Write out your research problem (the most current version) and its significance using Booth et al.’s template:
   • I am studying/working on____________________ (your topic/site/empirical questions; remember to include a verbal noun)
   • because I want to find out who/what/when/where/whether/why/how_____________ (what you don’t yet know about your topic)
   • in order to help my reader understand how/why/whether____________________. (the bigger conceptual problem that your research addresses)
2. Draft a research problem paragraph based on your stated problem above.
   • Convert the personal and reflective research problem statement above into an objective paragraph appropriate for your proposal. This will involve things like:
     1. Using an academic register, including “this study” and “we” framing instead of “I” framing
     2. Adding topic-specific information necessary to make the problem compelling to both experts and non-experts
3. Lay out your question(s) and hypothesis(/es) in brief, formulaic language with theoretical reasoning for each hypothesis.
   • Your questions should have measurable answers, often framed as does/is questions (Does X predict Y? Is A positively associated with B?) or how much/many questions (How much can the effect of X predict outcome Z when controlling for Y?) Hypotheses should be explicitly aligned to questions. Each question should have at least one disprovable hypothesis. For example:
     1. Question: Is there a gender difference in the age of onset for first-word production?
        1. Hypothesis 0 (null): The age of onset for first-word production is not different for boys and girls
        2. Hypothesis 1: The age of onset for first-word production is earlier for girls than boys.
        3. Hypothesis 2: The age of onset for first-word production is earlier for boys than girls.
     2. Question: To what degree does the trial pre-K reading intervention improve later reading outcomes (measured by standardized reading assessments in Grade 5)?
        1. Hypothesis 0 (null): The reading intervention has no effect on later reading outcomes.
        2. Hypothesis 1: Children who participate in the reading intervention will have higher reading scores, on average, in Grade 5.
        3. Hypothesis 2: Children who participate in the reading intervention will have lower reading scores, on average, in Grade 5.
           1. See note below about (un/)motivated hypotheses. This is an example of a hypothesis that is likely unmotivated.

• Below each hypothesis, explain the theoretical reasoning for it ****in no more than one sentence. Clarify which hypotheses are truly, literally hypothetical (perhaps with no existing research that would support them) and which you believe to be most plausible and intend to claim as your predicted outcome. Consider:
  1. What existing research would point to this hypothesis?
  2. What would it mean if this hypothesis was borne out in my results?
• Hypotheses with little to no theoretical support and those that defy common sense should be articulated as an exercise only. The written proposal or thesis should only include theory-motivated

Methods

For this exercise, be as disorganized and verbose as you like. Lay out everything you could possibly need, then curate it to draft your methods section, keeping conciseness in mind: Which details are essential for your reader? How can you organize and consolidate your answers for brevity without losing essential information?

1. Describe the participants/sample/respondents/etc. with whom you will work, including details about these people that make them important potential subjects for your research project. Some example questions you may want to address (as necessary):
   • Who will make up the focus of your inquiry? Why?
   • Will you favor one demographic group over another? Why?
   • Will you focus on a certain age range? Why?
   • Will you need to recruit participants? How?
2. Describe your planned methods in as much detail as you are able for both planned data collection and analyses. At a minimum you should address:
   • What is the high-level methodological design of the study (e.g., survey, experiment, corpus analysis)?
   • Will you perform a secondary analysis on existing data or collect original data for a primary analysis?
     1. If collecting data, what will you need to create (e.g., surveys, stimuli)?
     2. If using existing data, how was it collected and what “shape” is it in?
   • What are the dependent and independent variables? How will you measure your outcome?
   • How will these methods allow you to disprove your hypotheses from #3 above?