Topic – Okun’s law in the caribbean question – What is the extensiveness of Okun

Topic – Okun’s law in the caribbean
question – What is the extensiveness of Okun’s Law in the OECS from 2000-2019? The examination of Okun’s Law in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is projected to unveil a significant and diverse relationship between unemployment rate changes and real GDP growth.
-TITLE PAGE
This includes the title of the proposal (this may include a sub-title, but should normally not exceed
about ten words or so), your name, the type of research proposal (research or project), programme
name (The University of the West Indies BSc. Economics), date, and a list of advisors.
-ABSTRACT
This is a brief, clear and concise summary (between about 75 and 150 words in length) of what
you propose to do.
PART 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
This section sets the stage for the detailed proposal. It presents the rationale, goal context or
justification, and tells the reader why it is important to do the proposed research or project (“from
goals to methods”) and what will be gained from doing it (outcomes and anticipated implications).
a. Scope, Background, and Significance of the Problem: This is a brief, concise summary of the
main conclusions arrived at in your literature review and theoretical and methodological
statements; although it precedes those in the proposal narrative, it logically flows from them.
Questions you should answer here (in one or two paragraphs):
➢ What is the problem you will be addressing?
➢ What is it scope (e.g., how pervasive is it? how many people are affected by it? etc.)
➢ What do we know about it and/or not know about it?
➢ Why is it an important problem?
➢ What is the practical and the substantive/theoretical significance of your proposed study –
what will its results add to the literature or practice in this topic area?
b. Purpose of the Study (in 25 words or less): The purpose specifically delimits the focus of the
study. It specifies – clearly, precisely, and concisely – the variables to be studied in a research
study or the specific task to be accomplished in a project.
c. Conceptual/Theoretical Framework: This briefly describes the conceptual basis for the proposed
thesis work (one or two paragraphs, based on a lengthier description in Parts 2 and 3). The
conceptual framework may be one which is tested by your study and/or it may be used to answer
a question or frame a solution to a problem. Identification of a conceptual framework links your
study to the larger world of established scholarship/knowledge or practice on the topic.
d. Research Questions or Hypotheses / Project Task: These flow from the purpose and the
conceptual framework. The presentation of the theoretical background should lead the researcher
(and the reader) logically to your statement of hypotheses or research questions/project tasks.
e. Definitions: Provide conceptual definitions of any key terms in your hypotheses or research
questions/project tasks. (Note: This can be done in the Methodology section below.)
f. Theoretical assumptions: Here you should specify the main theoretical assumptions that will
guide your work (summarising from a longer discussion in Part 2 below) – that is, the basic
principles assumed to be true by you and which are implicit within your work. They include
assumptions about your research/project process and intended outcomes. You should identify what
these are, if they reflect a specific value orientation, and whether or not there are inconsistencies
between assumptions. (Note: This part can be summarised in c) above and discussed in greater
detail in Parts 2 and/or 3 below rather than here.)
PART 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This contains the review of related literature and a more complete discussion of the theoretical
underpinnings of the study. It will be the longest part of the proposal, and will likely range from 5
to 8 pages in length.
a. Literature Review: This section logically presents the reasoning upon which the proposed study
or project is based. It provides the perspective from which the investigator views the problem and
the rationale or theoretical argument underpinning the study/project. It may blend existing
theoretical traditions or may compare and contrast competing frameworks. It provides a cogent
case for why the proposed study/project should be done.
The review of related literature should be comprehensive (not necessarily exhaustive), and provide
information about what is already known about the problem or topic and what is not known.
Organised topically or thematically, this review focuses on the main traditions or schools of
thought, key authors, books, research studies, or other sources of knowledge on the relevant topic
(and/or sub-topics); the competing perspectives, their strengths and shortcomings and relevant
debates or disagreements between them; the linkages and gaps in the knowledge; and so on. The
literature review should be organised in a way which logically leads to and provides justification
for your own proposed research or project activity. The literature review for a qualitative study
supports the study and provides the rationale for the choice of method used to study the
phenomenon or conduct the proposed project. In addition, it provides the historical and social
context of the study.
b. Conceptual/Theoretical Framework and (if appropriate) Methodological Strategy: This should
be a description of the conceptual/theoretical framework and methodological strategy
underpinning the study/project. It should relate this choice to previous applications of this and
other frameworks/strategies to similar or related problems, and should provide justification for
why this is an appropriate approach for the proposed research. It should discuss the main
theoretical assumptions (statements of principles assumed to be true), conceptual definitions of
key terms, and a statement of the research questions or hypotheses (if a research project).
PART 3: METHODOLOGY AND WORK-PLAN
This section describes the specific approach you will use to test your question(s) or hypotheses or
to carry out your proposed project objectives. It must be in sufficient detail that someone else could
fully replicate your study or project.
a. Introduction: Overall design or approach: Describe the type of research or project design to be
used and the rationale for its selection. Of critical importance is whether the design is consistent
with the conceptualisation of the study and the specific aim(s) or purpose(s). (This should normally
be no more than one paragraph.)
b. Activities and time-line: Describe in detail the specific steps to be taken in performing the
proposed research or project, and an appropriate time-line for performing them. These steps should
follow logically. Discuss any potential variations or unknown factors here (or below under
“Contingencies and alternatives”). (This may be in the form of a list, chart or table, or it may be a
summary, with a time-line chart provided as an appendix below.)
c. Data Collection and Analysis: This section describes in detail the steps you will perform in your
collection of data, your analysis of the data collected, and/or your performance of project tasks.
(Depending on the type of thesis you are proposing to do, the following sections may or may not
be relevant.)
Sample and sampling procedure: Describe the procedure for sampling in detail; label it in
something approaching conventional descriptors, e.g., “This is a stratified, random sample
of…”; “This is a purposive sample of….”, etc. State what size sample you will use, from
what population the sample will be drawn, how participants will be selected, and what the
criteria are for inclusion or exclusion in the sample. Include a description of the study site
as appropriate.
Data Producing Instruments: Identify the indicators that will be used to reflect each variable
expressed in the hypotheses or research question(s). These are your operational definitions.
The choice of indicators should reflect the concepts being studied, and the state of
knowledge and measurement regarding that particular concept or variable.
Data Collection: Describe the specific methods you will use to collect data, the kinds of
data you will collect, and how data collection will proceed. Provide a schedule if
appropriate. Describe how you will gain entry into the research setting, what participants
will be told, what participants will be asked to do, and so on. Discuss how participant
attrition or non-participation will be handled.
Data Analysis: Describe in detail the methods you will use to analyse the data you have
collected. If you have more than one research question or hypothesis, specify the intended
statistical or other analytic approaches as appropriate for each question or hypothesis.
d. Resources, facilities, equipment, transportation, et al.: This section describes in detail what
specific resources, facilities, and equipment you will make use of, how you will gain access to it,
your transportation needs, and any other requirements.
e. Budget: A detailed breakdown of estimated expenses and any income from grants, donors, and
other sources. (This may go separately in an appendix.)
f. Risk management and ethical issues: This section discusses any potential risks that may be
incurred by yourself or others in the process of conducting your research or project, and all steps
you have taken or will take to ensure a minimisation of such risk. Describe the risks and benefits
to be gained by study participants. (Include consent forms, university-required ethics forms, etc.
in the appendix.)
g. Limitations: Describe any limitations (usually ones that limit the generalisability of findings)
related to your sampling, measurement, or data collection procedures. Discuss any biases related
to the ways your own position as researcher and your own assumptions may affect the research
findings. Discuss any implications of these limitations on the outcomes of your research or project.
h. Contingencies and alternatives: Discuss any reasonable potential obstacles and uncontrollable
circumstances which may delay or disrupt your research or project plans. Describe any alternative plans or
ways in which you will go about mitigating the effects of those circumstances, should they arise.
PART 4: ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES/FINAL PRODUCTS AND CONCLUSIONS
This should be a brief (no more than one or two pages) description of the anticipated final products
or outcomes of your research/project. Discuss (if appropriate) the criteria by which you will know
that you have successfully accomplished what you set out to do.
PART 5: REFERENCES
List of references cited. (You may include references not cited, but which you consider important
to the topic. However, it is generally better to cite any important references in your Literature
Review, and to only list cited references here.)