Formulate your hypothesis and review prior research. To create your hypothesis, make a succinct statement that predicts the expected results of your research. A hypothesis explains the relationship between two variables. Make this as clear as possible. Don’t summarize prior research in your abstract, but you do need to have an idea of the work that has been done on your topic, and you may refer to one or two studies to support your research plan and hypothesis. Explain why you are making this prediction.
Detail your research methods. Understand your methods of data collection. Explain why you would use these specific techniques. These should be based on methods used by prior researchers as well as the resources you have available to you and the type of research being conducted. For instance, if you are conducting a major research undertaking for a large university, in a subject that has a vast research history, you may plan to conduct a large-scale survey, using quantitative statistical analysis. However, if you planning to conduct an exploratory inquiry into a relatively unknown subject you might use a small-scale case study using qualitative analysis.
Summarize the information as concisely as possible. Introduce the general subject matter as well as your research question. Clearly state your hypothesis or if it is an exploratory study, what questions you will explore. Explain your intended methods of data collection and why you plan to use these specific methods. State what you expect to find and why. Make each of these sections is no more than one to two sentences long.