Once negotiated and approved, the Proposal serves as a contract between me and your research team.  It protects you from designing a project that might be unmanageable, and provides a written record of our agreement.  The Proposal should include the following elements, listed on a single sheet of paper. In other words, it should be concise.  Complete sentences are not necessary.   It would be fine to present this in the form of a chart or concept map (Inspiration).

Purpose Statement. One sentence: "The purpose of this study is....."

Research Participants.  The description of your participants should be as detailed as possible in brief and reflect the actual people who will be participating (e.g., name if you know them [give a pseudonym], age, gender, ethnicity).  If you are randomly seeking participants and cannot track their characteristics, describe the sample on a more general level.

Data. What information will comprise your data source(s)?  For example, interviews, AR statistics, circulation statistics, anonymous surveys, etc.

Implementation Process.  This is the "heart" of the implementation - procedures.  In this section, describe the events in chronological order as they will take place in your study.  Include who, when, and what.

Instruments and Materials.  List any materials you will be using during the study (e.g., Web sites, computer-based instruction, textbooks, instruments).  It is possible that you may have no instruments, but everyone should have materials.

Analysis tools and procedures.  Describe the tools you will use to analyze your data (e.g., descriptive statistics, to include mean and standard deviation) and the exact procedures you will use to analyze your data (e.g., Data will be organized according to the participants' responses to individual questions.  Next, I will read through the responses to each question, seeking to identify themes and patterns in the responses).

• Please make this plan brief; use bullet points rather than complete sentences. Confine yourself to a single piece of paper (8.5x11").  A Word table, Inspiration chart, or spreadsheet file would all work fine.
• During scheduled workshop time during the week of July 21, present your plan to me as a team.  I will evaluate it on the spot, and you will have time to reiterate as needed.
• Print the following copies:
• 1 for me to keep
• 1 for me to initial and return to you (your copy of our "contract")
• 1 copy for each team member

After your project is approved, you should consult with me about any substantial changes.