GENCOMM 115T Technical and Business Writing
Research for Proposals
Proposals fill a NEED (your problem). Your job is to:
- articulate the need clearly (this is your WHY)
- then make a suggestion, based on RESEARCH, on how to fill that need (this is your WHAT)
Example: Let's pretend I work in a library called Kathy's Pretty Good Library
1. My problem and why I have it:
Patrons walk out of the library and forget to check out materials before they leave. Sometime this forgetfulness is intentional, other times it is an accident. Nonetheless, once an item leaves the library without a name attached it is rarely returned and we librarians have no way of tracking it down. This creates two problems: our collection suffers because others can't check out what is missing and it is expensive to replace missing items. We NEED a way to prevent theft in our library.
2. My suggestions for solving the problem:
Here is where the RESEARCH starts! What might I need to know to solve this problem?
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Get background information (figure out your keywords)
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use Wikipedia | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_theft |
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What have other businesses done to address this problem?
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Google search or Bing Search | |
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Do my professional organizations suggest any solutions?
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Look up their websites in a search engine (hint: use site:.org) | http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/guidelinesregardingthefts |
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What information is in the databases?
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WorldCat Search and Database page or Ebsco Search | http://library.ohio-state.edu/record=e1000526~S1 and http://library.ohio-state.edu/record=e1000248~S1 |
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If a product can be purchased to solve the problem, what is the best one?
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Consumer Reports and Consumer Search Infoworld Test Center (geared more toward business) |
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Research all the possible solutions to find the best one! Use the "image" search to find visuals
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http://www.demco.com/goto?circ_tech_secm&intcmp=CC_circtech_secm |