Research Paper: Research Proposal

Due by 1:15 PM on Thursday, April 9, 2026

Objective

The goal of this submission is for you to translate your research idea and data set into the outline of a workable paper. You can think of your research proposal as “baby paper”: a summary of what your question is, why it matters, and how you intend to solve it.

For this assignment, some basic data work is necessary. However, you may find it helpful to explore some analyses to get a better sense of what empirical specifications are feasible.

Components

While our first two assignments were fairly informal, this is a formal paper. That means that I will pay close attention to not only what ideas you present, but also how you present them.

Your proposal should be at least 1200 words (excluding references) and include the following components:

  1. Introduction that contains (1) a clearly stated research question. What hypotheses are you testing? (2) Motivation — why is this important/interesting? Include at least 2 sources.

  2. Literature review: discussion of related literature and how your paper fits in. Include at least 4 peer-reviewed sources that are distinct from your introduction sources (i.e., at least 6 unique sources total across the introduction and literature review).

  3. Data description: Description of data set — make sure you include the sources! You will need to have loaded and explored your data enough to produce the summary statistics table below.

  4. Summary statistics table that includes the basic descriptive statistics that will be relevant to your analysis. Ultimately, this table will probably be the first table in your final paper. It should be formatted nicely (i.e., not copied directly out of Stata) with easy-to-interpret variable names and column headers, and it will likely include the following:

    1. Number of observations
    2. Means and standard deviations of your dependent variable(s)
    3. Means and standard deviations of your key independent variable(s)
    4. If you are comparing two (or more) groups, you will want to report means separately for each group.
    5. Any other details that might be relevant to your data (i.e. number of states, number of years, number of households, etc.)

  5. Empirical specification: You must include the empirical specification of the regression(s) you are estimating in equation form, along with a clear description of what each variable is.

  6. Planned analysis: How will your results answer your research question? Make sure your assertions are qualified and well-supported.

  7. Threats and limitations: What challenges will you face in interpreting your results? Discuss potential threats such as omitted variable bias, reverse causality, measurement error, or other violations of our assumptions, and how you might address them.

  8. Bibliography — for any references cited in your proposal plus any data sources

  9. (Optional) Outline of tables: In as much detail as possible, outline the tables you plan to include (no numbers necessary)

Your annotated bibliography will help you push forward your motivation and the literature review.

Keep in mind that the more detail you include, the better the feedback you’ll receive! A classmate will provide a peer review of your proposal, providing feedback to help you turn your proposal into a final paper

Rubric

This assignment is worth 38 points. Each criterion is scored on a 5-level scale (does not meet → fully meets), with proportional points at each level.

Component Criteria Points
Introduction 6
1 Research question is clearly stated, specific, and answerable 2
1 Question is well-motivated using at least 2 sources 4
Literature review 4
2 Important literature discussed and linked to research question; at least 4 peer-reviewed academic sources (distinct from introduction sources) 4
Data & summary statistics 6
3 Data set(s) clearly identified, appropriate, and cited 2
4 Summary statistics table includes key variables; clearly and accurately conveys info in a formatted table 4
Empirical strategy 10
5 Empirical specification clearly stated (equation form), variables defined 4
6 Empirical strategy and proposed analysis shows critical thinking 4
6 Assertions are qualified and well-supported (e.g., avoid overstating causal claims) 2
Threats & limitations 2
7 Discusses potential threats to interpretation and potential solutions 2
Presentation & formatting 10
8 Cited references included in properly-formatted bibliography 2
— Meets formatting requirements (length, paragraphs, etc.) 4
— Writing style clear and easy to read; few grammatical or typographical errors 4
Total 38

Submission requirements

Your research proposal should be written in paragraph form (i.e. complete sentences, not bullet points), copy-edited for grammatical/spelling errors, and submitted as a Word or PDF document.

Examples

See Brightspace for example proposals. These are not perfect, but they are all of high quality.

Last updated on March 17, 2026

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