Introduction to Research Methods in Childhood and Youth Studies CHST 2003A (Fal

Introduction to Research Methods in Childhood and Youth Studies
CHST 2003A (Fall 2024)

Final Research Project Proposal (20%): Due December 21

This assignment is the culmination of the work you have done throughout the semester to develop a research project proposal. This is a research proposal, which means you are not conducting any research, just creating a plan for a research project. You will utilize the knowledge you have gained throughout the course to propose a research project on a topic of your choice. You should already have a research question and an annotated bibliography to draw on to complete this assignment. In the discussions, you have received feedback on your research question, annotated bibliography, research design and ethics sections.

Your research proposal should discuss these areas of your project:

Describe your research topic and how you became interested in this topic. Discuss why your topic is important and why your research question helps you explore something especially important about that topic.
Include a discussion of your social position in relation to your research topic and question.
Discuss research that is related to your research topic and research question. You must include at least 10 peer-reviewed research articles in your literature review. Draw connections between your research question and how previous research has explored and thought about this topic. In addition to summarizing the important research that has been done on your topic, be sure to offer your own critique of the literature, compare to or contrast with the other research, and discuss the relevance of the research to your own project. It can help to organize the research done on your topic by themes. This can be a great resource for writing a lit review: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/conducting_research/writing_a_literature_review.html
Describe the research method you have selected for your project and provide justification for the method you selected. Include your research tool for collecting data. For example, if you are conducting interviews you should include an interview guide in your proposal. If you are using surveys, you need to include your survey instrument. If you are working with texts or images, you should discuss which texts or images you will work with and why.
Explain what your research sample will be, how you selected this sample, how you propose gaining access to this sample, and how you will recruit participants (if you are working with human subjects).
Discuss any ethical concerns or issues to consider in conducting your proposed project. In this section you should discuss the role of power in your research design. You should also address any harm or benefits your participants might experience, the ways you will maintain your participants anonymity, and how you will address consent in your study.
In your conclusion, discuss how you hope your research will benefit the lives of young people. Describe how your research might impact policy, programs or the daily lives of young people. Consider what future research might build on or add to the research you are proposing. For example, discuss what projects could come next.

Your research project proposal should be at least 6 pages double-spaced and no more than 10 pages. Your paper should use APA citational practice. I recommend breaking your paper up into sections (Introduction, Literature Review, Research Design, Ethical Considerations, Concluding Remarks).