Introduction (0 points)

The introduction of the proposal consists of 4 main parts: Background, Hypotheses, Goals and Objectives, and Rationale and Significance (see The Research Proposal). The Introduction should be used to clearly describe all aspects of your researchable question. The Experimental Plan follows the Introduction and explains the materials and methods you will use to meet your goals and objectives and test your hypotheses. In this assignment, you will review the elements of the Introduction in preparation for developing your Introduction outline. For this assignment, you will review the elements of the proposal Introduction in preparation for in-class discussion. Upon completion of this assignment, you will have a thorough understanding of the key elements of a good proposal Introduction.

Background

The background describes the key concepts and facts that the reader must know to fully understand the rest of the proposal and judge the value of the proposed research.

The background should describe the:

You must cite published research to support your arguments and conclusions, acknowledge the people whose research influenced your ideas, and document the validity of the methods you will use. Furthermore, your review of the literature is important for demonstrating your command of the subject and quality of your research. A strong understanding of your field increases the likelihood that you will make significant scientific contributions.

Keep in mind that your completed background section must be relevant to your stated hypotheses, goals, objectives, and methods.

Hypotheses
It's generally good to highlight the hypotheses and subhypotheses (if any) by putting them in a separate section.

Goals and objectives

Goals are the long-term ends toward which the research is directed, but are not expected to be fully achieved by the proposed research. For example, an appropriate long-term goal might be "to develop silvicultural prescriptions that maximize the growth of Douglas-fir stands."

Objectives are the achievable, outcome-based aims of your research, and should be presented as concise statements that describe what you plan to accomplish by your research activities. In many ways, the objectives are the most important part of the research proposal.  Although the objectives section is often very short, it is central to the rest of the proposal. Don’t let the length of this section or its apparent simplicity fool you, good objectives are not easy to write, and the quality of your research may well depend on your ability to identify and clearly articulate meaningful objectives.

The objectives should be closely tied to the hypotheses—that is, they should describe what you will accomplish to determine whether your hypotheses are true. The best objectives are outcome-based (e.g., what you plan to learn) rather than methods-based (i.e., how you plan to accomplish your research) or output-based (i.e., what products you will generate). For example, the objective "to measure tree heights and diameters in stands subjected to three different intensities of thinning" is a methods-based objective because it focuses on the methods you will use, and does not tell the reader why you are doing this. The objective "to prepare a report describing tree heights and diameters in stands subjected to three different intensities of thinning" is an output-based objective that describes what you will produce, but not what you will learn. The objective "to determine which of three thinning intensities results in the greatest subsequent growth of Douglas-fir stands" is an outcome-based objective because it tells the reader what you really hope to accomplish by your research activities (e.g., an increase in knowledge or understanding that allows you to judge whether a hypothesis is true or false). In this case, your hypothesis might be that "growth of Douglas-fir stands can be increased by thinning to a lower basal area than is currently used." In summary, the best objectives are outcome-based and directly related to your hypotheses.

Rationale and significance

Statements of rationale and significance should be included throughout the proposal (where appropriate), and then summarized in this section.

The rationale includes the:

The significance includes the: