How to write a research proposal and annotated bibliography

Writing your Research Proposal

Calamitous 14th Century

Spring 2013

Title of Project:

Give your project a working title, which may or may not become the title of your paper.

Research Question:

State your question or series of questions before you begin your research.  Explain what you hope your research will find or show in pursuing those questions. After you have conducted significant research you should be able to answer your question(s) in one or two sentences, which may become the thesis of the final paper.

Background:

Explain your interest in and experience with this topic.  Describe any previous research you have conducted on this or related topics, any classes you have taken on this or related topics, or any reading you have already done in the field.  

Significance:

Explain why this topic is worth considering, or why this question or series of questions is worth answering.  Answer the following questions:  what do you hope to learn from this topic? what use might your final research paper have for others in this field, the Stonehill community, or in the general public?  who might you decide to share your findings with once the project is complete?

Description:

Describe the kind of research you will conduct to complete this project (primary sources, secondary sources, interviewing professors with expertise in this area, etc.)  You might want to include preliminary titles for your annotated bibliography.

Methodology:

Explain how you will conduct your research in as much detail as possible.   Discuss the methods you will use to extract and process the information you gather in as much detail as is possible at this stage.  (As the project is underway you might find the need to revise your methodology, explore new types of source material, and/or adopt new methods of gathering and processing data.  If this happens, revise this section of the proposal and email the professor with an explanation of the changes.)

Annotated Bibliography (due Tuesday April 9):

Make a list of texts you plan to consult.  You will need to use AT LEAST two books or six essays or chapters in books, or a combination of the two (e. g. 1 book and 3 essays).  DO refer to as many works as you have found and read that aid in your research.  You may use articles and books that we have read in class for some, but not all, of your texts. Please work closely with me in selecting your materials. 

Note that an annotated bibliography is a bibliography that includes an additional summary and evaluation of each of your sources.  That is, you will have read the works on your bibliography and will indicate what ideas you find most useful—as a support or a foil—in developing your paper.  For more information on annotated bibliographies, look at this link to OWL: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/

Your bibliography will evolve as you work on the paper.  DON'T CEASE DOING RESEARCH AFTER YOU TURN IN THE ANNOTATED BIB. Many sources initially seem relevant, but turn out not to be, so it is always better to list all sources that might be of interest. As you eliminate sources, cross them off of this list.  Mark sources that are particularly useful, and add new sources as you come across them.  This will enable you to make a Works Cited list at the end of your project (i.e. a list of only the works you have summarized, paraphrased, or quoted from in the paper.)  I recommend that you NOT rely just on JSTOR articles; JSTOR's pool of articles is small compared to the valuable information available in other sources.  If you get an early start, there will be time for Interlibrary Loan requests to arrive.

Please note that points will be deducted at the instructor's discretion for late or missing work as you work through the stages of the paper.

Here's a sample annotation that combines a summary with a short assessment:

Lewis, Celia.  “Framing Fiction with Death: Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and the Plague” New Readings of Chaucer’s Poetry, ed. Robert G. Benson and Susan J. Ridyad.  D. S. Brewer 2003.

CT as collection of tales framed by death—between mission of the pilgrimage “to him that holpen hem whan they were seke” and penance of Parson’s Tale—like other famous frame narratives: Decameron, 1001 Nights, The Seven Sages of Rome (a medieval must-read).

She builds a compelling argument from thin evidence: the deathly frame of the CT (slight compared to the explicit ref in Decameron); Canterbury as site of healthful restoration (the water); the prominence of plague in Chaucer’s time; the Reeve looks like a Grim Reaper (part of a Dance of Death image); the paucity of ideas of heavenly redemption in Ch, death as “terminal rather than transcendental event” (idea from Jill Mann; quote from Katherine Trower); 2 short paragraphs on darkness of KT (efforts to limit death through lists, and caprice of death in the fury’s appearance—but this is from Boccaccio); parallels between Physician’s and Pardoner’s tales as about death that does not discriminate between good (Virginia) and bad (the rioters); the failure of narrational control in the headlinks of the CT paralleling the failure to control death; the importance of the Parson’s Tale as ending—penance was the thing most recommended for those facing the plague.

A deftly done article.