How to Write a Research Prospectus

The IR Seminar, Directed Research and the IR Honors Thesis represent opportunities to conduct original research on international issues in which you have already gained some knowledge or experience. They are not vehicles for exploring entirely new topics. Rather, they constitute advanced work that represents a higher standard of learning, hopefully bringing to bear in an interdisciplinary manner many of the disciplinary perspectives learned in the Core and Thematic Concentration of the IR major. Whether you plan to complete international relations research through the required seminar or through one of the optional research alternatives, you will need to know the basics for conducting research. Below is a summary of steps necessary to complete the research prospectus required of all students doing directed research or thesis work in IR. A solid prospectus will provide the research design and methodology to give your efforts focus and perspective throughout the semester or year. This should improve the quality of your research.

First, you should keep in mind that a research prospectus is a serious endeavor.
Although a prospectus encompasses only a few pages, including bibliography, it requires a great deal of thought, reading and planning. It means that you must actually begin researching a topic before you commit to writing a paper on the subject. Often, initial research reveals that the topic has already been adequately addressed or that source materials are unobtainable.

Second, from the outset of your work you need to frame a research question.
It is not enough to have a topic. Good research begins with questions that beg for answers.

Third, you need to provide a summary of previous research in the field.
It is important to show how others have answered or not answered the question you have posed. This need not read like a list. You can group different authors under two or three categories of approaches to the problem. Provide a brief summary of each position. Explain what is right or wrong about the various positions. Then suggest how your efforts will contribute to the debate and advance the state of knowledge on the subject.

Fourth, you need to frame your working hypothesis.
At this early stage, you should offer your best guess or hunch about how you expect to answer the question. A hypothesis is not a contract. You may well find your initial instincts about a problem to be misguided (much good research does!). But by beginning with a hypothesis, you give yourself a guide for proceeding with research. It is far easier to reformulate an argument than to grope through mounds of data without a clue as to what you are looking for.

Fifth, in your prospectus you will need to discuss the types of evidence you plan to examine.
Be as specific as possible here. Discuss what types of evidence, should they exist, you would need to fully test your hypothesis. Also make sure to identify evidence that would disprove your thesis as well as that which would confirm it. Academic integrity requires that you look for both. Last but not least, consider which primary and secondary source materials you would need in order to get a thorough handle on available evidence. If possible, state where collections or data sources are physically located, being sure to indicate whether they are accessible.

Finally, you should include a working bibliography with your prospectus.
Provide a focused list of source materials you have consulted or plan to consult. Don't hesitate to identify gaps in your sources, as IR Core Faculty are well-trained to help you fill them.

A research prospectus is due in the IR Program office in Cabot 605 at the time students petition for approval to do an IR Directed Research or Honors Thesis. But students preparing a research paper for their IR Seminar would also benefit from applying prospectus guidelines to their research design.

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