Read the information in Appendix A (especially p. 323) of your textbook for information about writing the introduction to your research proposal before you begin this assignment.

******** Also, under this module, PLEASE watch the YouTube video labeled “WRITING THE LIT REVIEW” on writing an integrative literature review by Dr. Lilia Sevillano before beginning this assignment. You will find this video in the General Resources for Research Proposal Assignment folder. This video is crucial in writing a good introduction for your proposal. *********

Begin the paragraph with indentation. The review is an integrative discussion of the literature on the topic. Your approach should contain these elements:

1. Identify current statistics that highlight the importance of the issue you hope to address with your research. A simple search with Google can give you some research reports that highlight the necessary statistics to illustrate the problem.

2. Follow up with an integrative discussion of the results and conclusions of the studies that have examined aspects of the phenomenon of interest to you. By integrative is meant that you are to find the themes in groups of studies and summarize these. There may be different groups of studies that arrive at different conclusions. A good review is one that is able to identify such studies and offer a critical assessment of the differences in the conclusions drawn.

3. Be careful to cite the literature you use throughout your text. Make your personal views about the methods, and conclusions of the studies you review known in this discussion. Do not be shy about stating your agreement with the methods and conclusions of the various studies you review, and why. If you disagree with the methods and conclusions, state why, and support your position with evidence in the literature. Identify where there could be improvements in the research strategies to clarify any disagreements in the literature, or fill gaps or areas that have hitherto not been examined, and how your current proposal will help in that effort. Summarize the main outstanding gaps in the literature in your review and state why there is a need for your proposed study. End with a prediction of what will happen when your study is performed.

In a nutshell, after one has read your literature review and introduction, one should see a logical reason for why your current research proposal is necessary. A good review is one that achieves this goal. A bad review and introduction lacks focus, and cannot justify the reason or rationale for the research proposal. If your review shows that the research has already been done, then the question that would follow is: what then is the rationale for proposing to do what has already been done? Your rationale for the proposal must be one that introduces a new perspective to the problem, or a new method for addressing the issue.