MA proposal guide 2021

Department of Social & Cultural Anthropology
School of Humanities
Tallinn University

The writing of the MA Proposal entails 6 credits for the completion of the MA Degree in Anthropology. The proposal is to be at least 5 000 words and no more than 8 000 words. The Proposal is to be submitted at least 3 weeks before beginning to do fieldwork. The proposal is to be defended to at least one member of staff that is not the supervisor. Preferably, the member of staff would not have participated in the MA Seminar. The purpose behind this is to give the opportunity for the MA researcher to receive feedback from a member of staff that is not familiar with the project.

The proposal has various intentions:

Content: The research proposal should include the following elements:

Title: The title should describe the content matter of the research in a precise and creative way. A common practise is the use of a short and suggestive principal title followed by a subtitle that specifies the content. The title should not be so metaphoric so that its particular content is not understood, nor so descriptive that it is boring and unimaginative.

Introduction: The introduction should briefly summarise the problem, the research questions, and the relevance of the theme.

Literature Review: This section should define the object of study, the theme of the research, and the current state of affairs in the relevant field. This section should organise and present

previous research that is pertinent to the theme. It can take in consideration, for example, the different schools of thought, tendencies and approaches, theoretical arguments, and empirical issues that shape the contours of the project.

It should include a bibliographical list of relevant literature, including books, articles, other dissertations, films, photography exhibits, and other publicly available references. MA researchers should consider recent sources, published in the last five years, as well as older publications.

The purpose of this section is:

Presentation of the Problem: A problem is a new question, a persistent uneasiness, a questioning that will allow a new idea to come forth. The formulation of a problem can suggest the limits of our knowledge.

According to Booth, et al., (1995, 52, 237), the basic structure of a problem is:

Research Questions: The research questions are based on the research problem and should bear a direct relation to it. In contrast to the problem, which has a more general formulation, the research questions should be concrete and specific. Creswell (1998) offers acceptable alternatives. He suggests the formulation of one general research question (connected to the problem) that will function to direct other specific sub-questions.

Propositions: This section should present tentative answers to the research questions. The proposition articulates or announces to the reader the argument or general argumentative direction of the dissertation. The propositions express some expectations regarding the research questions. The propositions can be seen as a "working hypothesis" that is sustained through theoretical reflection and evidence. In no way does this "working hypothesis" constitute a commitment to an approach or an answer to the thesis. Its intention is to present to the reader the current inclinations of the researcher. It is expected that the research process will exceed the propositions of the proposal, which is the result of producing new knowledge.

Methods: The method is the "path" that the research process will take. This section should include a brief discussion of the methodological affairs that are expected in the process of fieldwork. In other words, it should describe the logic and the research procedures. Ideally, there should be a clear connection between the propositions and the evidence that the researcher intends to collect. For each proposition there should be a proposed path to accumulate evidence.

Research ethics: When writing the pre-fieldwork report, the researcher should consult anthropological codes of ethics and describe how the research project follows the principles set out in the Association of British Social Anthropologists, American Anthropological Association ethical guidelines or similar. Another good source is the ERC Research Ethics in Anthropology/Ethnography.

According to the Procedure of Tallinn University Ethics Committee for the processing of applications of evaluating research (14.01.2020) in the area of social sciences permission is needed if the study includes:

In the report, the researcher should carefully consider which ethical dilemmas might emerge in the field site and how to ensure that the research causes no harm to participants. In COVID times, it is especially important to ensure the safety of face-to-face fieldwork both for the researcher and the research participants. A brief risk analysis should be added here together with a potential backup plan if face-to-face fieldwork should be unfeasible due to COVID-19 circumstances.

Anonymization and data protection. The researcher should describe how informants' identity will be protected and how the data will be anonymised/pseudonymised. How will the data be backed up and encrypted in case equipment is lost or stolen? Where is the equipment and fieldnotes kept and how are they safeguarded? Who has access to data?

Please note that normally the defended Tallinn University MA thesis are available online. If the data is particularly sensitive, you can request a closed MA thesis defence and your thesis to not be available to the public for a certain number of years. It might already be a good idea to think whether this would be the case and how to go about it.

Benefits sharing. It might also be a good idea to already think how to share your findings with research participants. How will you be giving something back to the community? Although a lot can change during the fieldwork, it might be a good idea to think of potential popular publications, workshops, lectures or film screenings, or input to policy documents that will allow the researcher to give share the results of the research with the community.

Bibliography: The bibliography should include the literature referenced in the proposal. If appropriate, the researcher can include a further reading list that he or she is interested in consulting in the future.

As for format of the bibliographic section, the MA researcher is free to choose the style they prefer – as long they are consistent throughout the text. We suggest that the researchers consults the style guide published by The American Anthropological Association. It can be accessed from their website (http://www.aaanet.org/publications/style_guide.pdf).

Another format we suggest is the Chicago Manual Style, which can be accessed online

(http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html).

Calendar: The calendar is a tentative schedule that will divide the basic tasks of the process and the distribution of time. The department's suggestion is that the thesis should be submitted within one year and a half after the research proposal being approved.

Title Page

5 000 words excluding title page and bibliography.

Font: Times New Roman 12 pt.

Bibliography section following the AAA Manual Style or the Chicago Manual Style.

This document presents suggestions and guidelines to writing the MA Research Proposal, for the MA in Social & Cultural Anthropology. These guidelines are suggestions and the evaluation of the proposal will not follow a strict assessment on whether the document follows these guidelines. These points are to be seen as a guide. MA researchers may consider alterations to the order and format of this guide. For example, a short abstract stating the "what", "why", and "how" of the project can be added at the beginning of the proposal – after the title page. The Academic Library has many research manuals. They contain valuable ideas on how to structure a research question and outline a methodological proposal.

Researchers are suggested to submit their research proposal after taking the Research Methods course.

Booth, Wayne, Gregory Colomb, & Joseph Williams. 1995. The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Creswell, John W. 1998. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.