Tentative Title: ________________________________________________________
1. Can you think of a dramatic illustration or quote that can set the tone or catch the readers interest for your study? What first awakened your interest?
2. Put yourself in the position of a reader of your problem statement. Would you want to
continue reading after the Introduction? Can you place a general question at the end of the
Introduction to intrigue or capture reader?
3. Is there something societally wrong, theoretically unclear or in dispute, professionally disturbing, or historically worth studying? Is there a program that needs evaluation and assessment? Try to develop a question which your study would attempt to answer. Then preface that question with enough of an explanation of the problem so that others will understand the question when you finally give it.
4. Discuss the statement with a classmate or with the instructor. Refine the statement so that the reader can restate accurately what your addressed problem is.
5. Is this really what you want to concentrate on? Why? Give at least 2-3 reasons why the problem you have chosen is important and valid. To you? To the profession? To society?
6. Specify at least two concrete examples of the problem.
7. To what published work, statistics, trends or theoretical controversy does your study relate?
8. Does your study have as a goal to change something? To understand something? To interpret an event or situation? State your goal completely, remembering that the goal is some form of investigative activity.
9. Now, restate the goal succinctly and clearly. Have a classmate or the instructor read it and then see if they can restate your purpose or goal clearly after reading your statement.
10. Restate the goal again beginning with the phrase "The purpose of this study is ... ".
11. Revisit the method we covered earlier in the semester. Which of them could you conceivably use and describe the possible strengths and weaknesses. If there is no clear best choice, consider more than one possibility.
12. If you can reduce your problem and research inquiry to the variable level (usually based upon some previous research you have identified), suggest some variables that you might examine.
13. Place yourself in the position of responding to someone who says "so what" to your study/project. How would you provide a persuasive rationale to such a person?
14. What can happen if your study is done? not done? How will things change? Or not change?
Evaluation Criteria: Clearly Written, Innovative idea (would add new knowledge to the LIS field if carried out), Well organized, Amount of Effort Evident in Finding, Support for Your Decisions, Understanding Demonstrated of Research Fundamentals, Presentation (punctuation, grammar, etc.)