- Project Proposal & Social Media Plan due Mon., Feb. 18, by 9 am (category = project_proposal)
- Comments on Proposals & Wireframes due Wed., Feb. 20, by 9 am (category = wireframe)
- 3 SSRs due Mon., Feb. 25, by 9 am (category = SSR)
- Annotated Bibliography (Part 1) due Wed., Feb. 27 (category = bibliography)
- 2 SSRs due Mon., Mar. 11, by 9 am (category = SSR)
- Annotated Bibliography (Part 2) due Wed., Mar. 13, by 9 am (add to Part 1 post)
- Literature Review due Mon., Mar. 18, by 9 am
- Revised Project Proposal & Social Media Plan due Wed., March 20th, by midnight (category = project_proposal_rev)
Your project proposal should have clear parameters, e.g.: “#MeToo: a timeline of a hashtag“; “Voices from Prison: oral histories from North Carolina”: “Gaming the System: a political advertising game”; “Solar Punk Archive: the art of a new movement.” Your project title should identify a specific focus and convey what type of tool or media you’re using or creating. Although you may have started with a big vision and high ideals, narrow your focus to a small, manageable corner of that vision. Your project should be small enough for you to feel confident that you can find and read all the leading experts on the subject in the time available (approximately 3 weeks). Think of the scope of your project as equivalent to a scholarly article (20-25 pages double-spaced), or even smaller, given the amount of time you’ll need to master the digital tools and platforms and address UX design issues. By “scholarly” we mean that the project should be research-based, informed by data/evidence and analysis/interpretation, even if the knowledge or information you create gets produced and shared in unconventional ways.
Thinks to think about
- How will you collect data? Are you conducting research on human subjects (in which case you’ll need IRB approval)? Is anyone at risk if you gather and share information about them?
- How will you get permission to publish literary texts, artistic works, or other copyrighted media online?
- Who is the audience for your project? What are their needs/desires? Would anybody be at risk if they participated in your project?
- How will you connect with those audiences?
- How will you know when your project is done? Who will curate/maintain it over time?
Keep in mind that this project proposal is provisional: it can and should change over time. You will revise the proposal again after you have conducted extensive research on your topic and the networks of interest related to it, including writing SSRs, compiling an annotated bibliography, and composing a literature review (see above schedule).
Problem: Your first paragraph should propose a specific scholarly problem for investigation, anchored by a driving question, hypothesis, or thesis. Use the Craft of Research method (“I am researching…, because I want to know…, so that my users…”) to revise your initial TQP proposal to something smaller, more specific, and manageable. Use the same format, though feel free to break it down into 3 or more sentences.
Sources & Data: Your second paragraph should identify the sources you will use and/or the data you will gather. You should also explain how you will get access to the sources and data you need. If you have already conducted any research or identified specific sources or experts, include a preliminary bibliography.
Pros & Cons: Your third paragraph should discuss the pros and cons of pursuing a digital research project on this problem.
Social Media Networking Plan: Your fourth paragraph should identify 2-3 people or groups who might be interested in your project and who can help you connect to broader networks beyond your own personal connections, e.g. social or environmental activists, fashion bloggers, professors, friends, mentors, or experts in the field. List several public venues you might use connect with those people or groups, e.g. a related hashtag on Twitter or Instagram, the Twitter account of an influencer in the field, a public FaceBook page, a specific blog. Finally, create a set of steps you will follow to generate interest in your project through these networks.
