Methods Prospectus

Graduate Methods - How To Write a Prospectus

There are many ways to write a successful prospectus for a thesis; however, almost every good prospectus contains certain common features which make the overal project clear to others. The following prospectus guidelines should be used in preparing your prospectus in Graduate Methods.

The prospectus guidelines are available in three formats:

MSWord | HTML (see below) | pdf

When preparing a prsopectus for the Department of History, you should consult the Graduate Handbook and with the Graduate Advisor to be sure you are aware of current guidelines.

Guidelines for a Prospectus

The prospectus should clearly explain the topic, historical interest, method, and sources for the research project. It should include all of the sections listed below and should be as complete as possible for the chosen topic.

I. The Prospectus is a formal statement about your chosen topic of research. It should contain an explanation of the larger historical concerns, which make your topic worth doing. You will also be able to present questions you will be asking of your sources. Also, it asks you to present some tentative conclusions and a thesis. The narrative portion of the text should be typed and double-spaced, no more than 10 pages in length, and contain the following components:

A. A discussion of the general topic. Describe your subject briefly, place it in a historical context, and state its significance to larger historical issue(s).

B. A definition of the “problem” that you are confronting, including questions that you will ask in an attempt to help you solve the problem. You may present tentative conclusions and even a thesis statement, even though the research is not yet completed. State clearly and concisely how you presently conceive of this problem and how you suppose it can be resolved. Keep in mind that any conclusions and or/thesis you propose are tentative at this point and may have to be radically revised or even discarded as you proceed with research.

C. Historiographical Context. What work has, and has not, been done in this field and on this problem? Discuss the relevant scholarship critically. You need not belabor specific failings, simply show what you understand to be the merits and limitations of relevant works. You should explain how and why your research will contribute to the existing body of scholarship. Does it fill a gap? Does it add a new perspective? If so, what exactly?

D. Me thod and Theory. Outline an approach to your problem. If your conception has theoretical aspects, discuss them critically. Think carefully about method and theory, even if you decide not to engage much with external perspectives and theory. I neither encourage nor discourage such engagement, but caution that original historical research should not merely be illustrating the ideas of others.

E. A discussion of your sources. Give a description of the sources for your subject that have be identified so far. Stress primary sources. What difficulties do they present? This discussion should be specific and should note significant patterns in sources, their availability (in print or manuscript), their accessibility (identify principal libraries and repositories), and what you hope to learn from them. Some of this information may be related in the annotated bibliography section as well.

II. A Working Annotated Bibliography including primary sources and secondary sources. This should treat two sorts of sources: those which you have in your possession or have immediate access to here and those which you have not yet obtained but intend to use and can get relatively easily (in no more than a few days off of campus). This bibliography should be complete for the subject chosen.

A. For sources in your possession: Divide the bibliography into primary sources and secondary sources but stress primary sources. Provide complete bibliographic information for each entry and follow standard form (Chicago Manual of Style). Remember to alphabetize by author's last name or the appropriate title word. For each entry, or group of entries, briefly annotate the sources. Such annotations may have to be short paragraphs for source collections, archival ranges, or by types of source and should be concise and specific.

B. For sources which you have not yet obtained but intend to use: Do exactly the same as part A except that you do not have to annotate the entries. However, give some indication of the availability and likely access of the sources you intend to consult, especially archival sources.

III. A tentative schedule. This should include the number of weeks or months you expect each stage of the research project to take. Allow appropriate times for research, travel to collections, writing, and revision. You may wish to project, if possible, a chapter outline (see below, part VI). Such timetables are often required when submitting grant applications for research funding and it should specify where you must go and how long you must spend there in realistic terms.

IV. A one paragraph summary or abstract (maximum 100 words).

V. A cover page with: 1) a proposed title, 2) your name, 3) the abstract and (optionally) 4) the list of possible supervisors.

VI. OPTIONAL: A preliminary outline of the written work that will come from the project envisioned. Follow traditional outline form, being careful not to be too detailed but including general sections and sub-sections of the work. This should be done with the understanding that prospective titles, chapters, and topics may change as you work. Although you may not submit this with the prospectus, it may help to do this to clarify the parts of the project.

ADVICE : Be sure to consult the Graduate Handbook of the Department of History and the Graduate Advisor for current requirements for a prospectus.

Sally Hadden
401 Bellamy Bldg.
Dept. of History
Florida State University
Tallahassee FL 32306-2200