Formal Thesis Proposal

Formal Thesis Proposal

Turnitin

INSTRUCTIONS:

This assignment will be submitted to Turnitin (meaning it should be free of Plagiarisms)

Prepare a formal thesis proposal in accordance with the standards of the academic discipline. The formal proposal must provide a clear and lucid description of a question or problem and a proposed method of answering the question or solving the problem. Capstone thesis faculty must approve the proposal before students move on to the next stage of the process. The proposal should explain the question or problem to be investigated and convince the thesis professor that the question or problem merits investigation. It should show that the student has read the relevant and recent literature on the subject and it should contain a list of academically appropriate resources consulted during the preliminary stages of research.

In general, the thesis proposal should include background information related to the research topic, purpose of the research, methodology, and analytic procedures to be used. Proposal drafting is considered a learning process and helps students avoid oversights and possible mistakes.

Research Proposal – Specific Instructions

For the thesis proposal, include each element in an abbreviated format.  

PLEASE USE THE ATTACHED TEMPLATE TO ENSURE YOUR PROPOSAL CONFORMS TO THE STRUCTURAL REQUIREMENTS. 

MA Theses are expected to contain the following elements:

(Adapted from the End of Program Assessment Manual) 

Introduction – Approximately one (1) page in length. Your introduction will provide background and contextual material justifying your topic. Your introduction will also include a statement of the problem followed by a purpose statement. The introduction concludes with one or several specific research questions that sets the general context for the study. 

Literature Review – Approximately two (2) pages in length with at least six (6) peer-reviewed journal articles that address the conceptual elements of the thesis and demonstrate that there is a “research gap.” Your review of the literature centers on your specific research question(s). The literature review focuses on discussing how other researchers have addressed the same of similar research questions. It introduces the study and places it in a larger context that includes a discussion of why it is important to study this topic. It provides current state of our accumulated knowledge as it relates to your specific research question. In your literature review you should summarize and synthesize the material. Identify the findings as well as the methodology used to obtain those findings. 

Theoretical Framework – Approximately one (1) page in length which includes a scholarly source that illustrates the framework you may use in your own study. In this section you will identify the gap in the literature and explain how your thesis addresses that gap. You will also present, explain, and justify your preliminary thoughts on a theory or model that you will use in your study. If you are developing a model, you should present a preliminary diagram. Finally, you should state a hypothesis that is testable. 

Research Design. Approximately two (2) pages in length. This section represents your preliminary thoughts on how you will answer your research question(s). What design do you intend to use (i.e., case study method, mixed methods approach, interviews, surveys, policy evaluation). What data will you need to collect to answer your question? Where does this data exist? How will you collect it? How will you analyze it? What are the limitations of your method?

Reference List – References should be presented alphabetically in APA format.  Technical Requirements Your paper must be at a minimum of 4-5 pages (the Title and Reference pages do not count towards the minimum limit).   Scholarly and credible references should be used. A good rule of thumb is at least 2 scholarly sources per page of content.   Type in Times New Roman, 12 point and double space.   Students will follow the current APA Style as the sole citation and reference style used in written work submitted as part of coursework.    Points will be deducted for the use of Wikipedia or encyclopedic type sources. It is highly advised to utilize books, peer-reviewed journals, articles, archived documents, etc.

     

These are the expected program learning outcome you can look at to prepare your formal thesis proposal. Use any of the below program learning outcome to develop your formal thesis proposal.

 

1. Evaluate specific domestic security challenges for the 21st century that face the United States and other industrialized nations.

 

1. Evaluate and propose changes at federal, state, and/or local levels, to reflect
   the evolving strategic policy issues associated with a statutory and presidential
   direction for.

 

1. Recognize terrorist group proclivities in order to forecast the risks, types, and
   orders of magnitude of terrorist threats most likely to confront the nation-state.
    
2. Define and describe by example the statutory, policy, strategy and legal
   differences between homeland security and homeland defense.

    

3.  Describe the roles/missions of USNORTHCOM and the DSCA mission, and
   compare and contrast these with the DHS mission.

    

4. Recognize the interdisciplinary nature of homeland security functions and be
   able to assess and integrate various functional areas.

 

1. Evaluate existing policies, procedures and protocols by DHS and the inter-
   agency community to allow seamless agency integration through prevention,
   protection, incident response and recovery scenarios.

 

1. Validate literal and procedural alignment/compliance with the National
   Response Framework, National Incident Management System, and Homeland
   Security Presidential Directives (HSPDs).