Writing your AERA proposal

Writing your proposal (Source:www.aera.net): 1. Title: Make Sure that the First Letter of Each Appropriate Word Is Capitalized.

2. Abstract: No more than 120 words.

3. You MUST address explicitly the following six elements in your proposal: (1) Objectives or purposes: • Provide a brief background or rationale for your research, and clearly state what the purpose of your paper is.

• State your research question(s) along with the purpose.

• Discuss how your research fits the theme if possible.

(2) Perspective(s) or theoretical framework: • Write thorough and substantive literature review on your research topic.

• Discuss your theoretical framework.

• Address what has been done in the existing literature, analyze and synthesize it as a segue to the discussion of why you are writing your paper.

(3) Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry: • Discuss your methodology, e.g., narrative inquiry, phenomenology, or case study, action research, etc.

• Discuss your data collection methods, e.g., field notes, observation, interviews, documents, surveys, etc.

(4) Data Sources, evidence, objects, or materials: • Provide a discussion of your data analysis.

• Provide salient, important emergent themes with evidence from your data.

(5) Results and/or substantiated conclusions, or warrants for arguments/point of view: • Discuss your findings carefully and thoroughly by revisiting the literature while providing a new perspective.

Address your research questions.

• Discuss implications of your study or recommendations for educators.

• Try to answer the “So what?” question.

6) Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work: • Discuss the significance of your study including how your study can contribute to the literature.

• Revisit the conference theme and how your proposal is tied into the theme.