Purpose and value of a research proposal
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       Determining your question.
      Narrowing your focus from a broad 
        topic of interest to a workable question that 
        can be answered well within the word count 
        – crucial to do well.
       Identifying important sources in advance.
       Significantly reduce the writing time.
       Understanding the important debates by 
        placing yourself in the literature.
      Contents
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       Research question
       Significance of study
       Identification of literature
       Methodology 
       Proposed structure
       Theory
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      There are two main uses of a theory:
          Determine relevance.
          Explain process.
An effort to understand in a procedure of enquiry
                              Anything that is not about elephants is irrelephant
      Significance of study
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      Not necessarily original – in fact 
         this is highly unlikely.
       Must be specific to your question, but 
         placed within the context of the 
         literature on the broad topic.
       How do you contribute if not original?
       A way of introducing your focus. 
      Identification of literature
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       Have you successfully identified the 
         body of literature?
       Identifying key authors.
       Identifying themes.
       Identifying debates/contentions. 
       How does your research question fit in?