CL1 - Teaching Stories: Joanne Stewart, Writing the proposal handout



 
 
   
   
 
   
   
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
   


 
 
 
   
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
Group Development and Peer Review
  of Research Proposals - by Joanne Stewart

Writing the proposal handout

ANALYTICAL LABORATORY RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Your assignment is to turn in a word-processed research proposal by the end of the lab today (5:00 p.m.).

PLAN YOUR TIME!

Do not get sidetracked. You told me Monday's discussion was productive because you were given structured time limits. It's your job to set those time limits today. Plan to finish by 4:00 in order to give yourself a one hour buffer for unforeseen difficulties. After you have worked out the details of your plan together, I recommend you divide the writing. You should edit each other's writing and make corrections before turning in your final masterpiece.

YOUR PROPOSAL SHOULD HAVE THE FOLLOWING:

  1. Introduction (why is your study important or interesting?).

  2. Justification for choice of method (compare to other possible methods).

  3. Description of sample collection, preparation, and other experimental parameters.

  4. Description of data analysis and prediction of results.

  5. Estimation of uncertainty (with numbers).

  6. Potential difficulties or complications.

I am looking for very specific and QUANTITATIVE information. For example, if you are comparing two methods, don't just say that one is "more sensitive" than the other. Be quantitative; what are the detection limits for each experiment?

You should consult appropriate references (and be sure to reference them in your proposal). Mungall and Taylor are GC and HPLC experts. I can help you with titration analyses, AA, ISE, and others. For some of you, the biology faculty may be helpful. The AOAC reference is in the library and I'll put the USP book in the Mac lab. We will not have all the answers...you will need to do some digging in the library.

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