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Faculty Advisors • Pass With Distinction • Précis |
PREPARATION OF THE PROPOSAL
At the first meeting with your advisor, you should develop 5-6 questions that relate to the thesis topic you are considering. Discuss these ideas with your advisor and select one idea to develop for your thesis proposal.
You are now ready to fully
develop your ideas and submit your completed proposal to the Honors College
Proposal Review Committee. You will meet with your advisor as many times
as is necessary, until both of you are comfortable with your topic and
your approach to the thesis project. Your proposal will be submitted to
the Honors College with the completed Proposal Application Form stapled
to the top. All questions on the thesis proposal form must be answered
and your advisor must sign off that this research proposal is agreeable
to him or her.
Proposal Application Form: This form is stapled to the top of your proposal. Although the form is self-explanatory, you must indicate on the form which semester you wish to begin your project and which semester you wish to register for these credits. You will also indicate which semester you intend to present your paper. Oral presentations are typically held during the seventh week of each semester. They are held in Honors Hall, where all necessary presentation technology is available on site. Your advisor must attend your presentation (see more information under Oral Presentation ). If you are taking all three thesis credits through the Honors College, please indicate this fact on your proposal form and the Honors College will register you for three credits of UH 450 when your proposal has been approved. If you are splitting the credits, (Colleges of Business and Science students), or are using a thesis number in another department, you will need to specify that information on your proposal application form.
Your formal
proposal will include the following sections:
1) Introduction or Literature Review,
2) Research Question or Hypothesis,
3) Methodology,
4) Expected Results or Conclusions,
5) Appendix (if needed) and
6) Annotated Bibliography.
• Title Page: Develop a short descriptive title for your thesis. Your title should be self-explanatory and give the reader a clear idea of your topic. This page should also contain the date (semester and year), the thesis advisor’s name and the department in which you did the research.
• Introduction or Literature Review: Your introduction
or literature review will provide the necessary background to your research
problem in such detail that the research question or hypothesis is readily
apparent and logically follows from the review. In addition, you should
identify the type of project you have chosen from the seven options available
to you under the course number, UH 450.
• Research Question or Hypothesis: Your proposal must include a hypothesis to be tested or a research question that you will examine. Your hypothesis or question must be tied to a body of knowledge that currently exists (see below). This section will be no longer than two sentences.
• Methodology: Your methodology section should be detailed and include all methods you will use in your research. Will your research involve the use of humans? If so, you will need to obtain Human Studies Approval from the Office of Grants and Research Development (OGRD). The necessary forms are downloadable from the OGRD home page and the instructions are self-explanatory. This approval is absolutely necessary before you interview one person or send out a single survey to be completed. If you are doing a survey or interviews, please add the full survey instrument and/or the complete interview questions to the Appendix section. Further, if data collection is involved, how will the data be collected and analyzed? What materials will be used? If you are completing a creative work, how will a particular theme be carried out? Are there challenges to be overcome? What timeline will you follow in completing your project? All of these are questions to be answered in this section.
• Expected Results and/or Potential Conclusions: This very short section, no more than one or paragraphs, should include the results you expect from your research and what those results mean in the greater pattern of knowledge in the field.
• Appendix: This section will contain your complete survey instruments and full range of interview questions, or any other information you and your advisor deem essential for the readers and reviewers.
• Annotated Bibliography: On a separate piece of
paper, include a preliminary annotated bibliography of at least 5 or 6
sources. This is the "body of knowledge" mentioned above. You
should have both early and current literature among your sources. Select
books or a combination of books and journal articles that address your
topic. Please follow an approved academic format in typing your bibliography.
An annotation is a 3-4 sentence statement explaining what information
is included in each source and how this information will be useful to
your thesis research.
Approval:
The Honors College Thesis Review Committee will review all proposals after
the deadline for submission each semester. Students whose proposals have
been approved will receive a letter from the Honors College and be registered
for the credits indicated by the student.
Contact
us: honors@wsu.edu 509 335-4505
Honors College, PO Box 642012, Washington
State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2012 USA | Accessibility
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