Foundations Modules

This template brings together the work from each SoTL Research Foundations module into one proposal. Use it to describe your study in 6–10 pages before you seek approvals. Replace each italic prompt with your own text, then delete the prompt.

How to Use This Template:

• Audience: your Dean, the Site Authorization reviewer, and later the IRB. Write so a colleague outside your discipline can follow it.
• Examples: some sections include a short example from a study of how online adjunct instructors in an undergraduate teacher preparation program prioritize instructional time. Replace it with your own.
• Approval order: do not contact participants until IRB approval is in hand.

1. Study Information:

2. Abstract:

In 150–250 words, state the teaching and learning problem, the purpose, the primary research question, the design and participants, how data will be collected and analyzed, and how findings will be used. Write this section last.

3. Introduction and Background:

In 1–2 pages, answer the questions below. Cite sources for any claim about the field.

• The problem: What teaching or learning issue prompted this study? What did you notice in your own classroom or program?
• The context: Describe the course, program, modality, and students. Note relevant GCU expectations, such as instructor presence or feedback standards.
• The gap: What is not yet known, or not known in this context?
• Significance: Who benefits from the answer (students, instructors, program leaders, course designers) and how?

4. Purpose Statement and Research Questions:

Purpose statement. One or two sentences: “The purpose of this [qualitative / quantitative / mixed-methods] study is to [explore / describe / compare / examine] [phenomenon] among [participants] in [setting].”

Research questions. List one primary question and up to three sub-questions. Each should be answerable with the data you plan to collect. For quantitative designs, add hypotheses.

• RQ1 (primary): …
  • RQ1a: …
  • RQ1b: …
  • RQ1c: …

Alignment check. Map each question to its data source and analysis so reviewers can see the fit.

5. Literature Review and Framework:

In 1–3 pages, summarize what is known and show how your study builds on it. Synthesize by theme rather than source by source. Favor peer-reviewed work from the last 5–10 years plus foundational texts.

• Themes in the literature: Two to four themes with key findings.
• Theoretical or conceptual framework: Name the lens that guides your questions and analysis, and explain why it fits. Examples: Community of Inquiry (teaching, social, and cognitive presence); TPACK; self-determination theory.
• How this study contributes: One paragraph linking the gap to your research questions.

6. Methodology:

Give enough detail that another researcher could repeat the study.

6.1 Research design

Name the approach (e.g., qualitative descriptive, case study, survey, quasi-experimental, mixed methods) and why it fits the questions.

6.2 Setting

Course(s), program, modality, and term(s). Note whether courses are university-designed.

6.3 Participants and sampling

• Who is eligible (inclusion and exclusion criteria)?
• Sampling strategy (e.g., purposive, convenience, criterion) and target sample size, with a rationale such as saturation or a power analysis.
• Your relationship to participants (e.g., supervisor, peer, instructor of record).

6.4 Recruitment

How participants will be contacted, by whom, and how often. Attach recruitment messages in the appendices.

6.5 Instruments

Interview protocol, survey, rubric, or other tools. State whether each is original, adapted (with permission), or validated, and how it will be piloted or reviewed by experts.

6.6 Data collection procedures

Step by step: what happens, in what order, how long it takes participants, and how data are recorded (e.g., Teams recording, transcription).

6.7 Data analysis

Name the method (e.g., Braun and Clarke thematic analysis; descriptive and inferential statistics), the software, and how each research question will be answered.

6.8 Trustworthiness or validity

Qualitative: member checking, peer debriefing, audit trail, reflexive journaling. Quantitative: reliability and validity of measures.

7. Ethical Considerations:

SoTL studies often involve your own students or colleagues, so reviewers look closely at consent and power. Address each item.

• Informed consent: How consent is obtained and documented. Attach the consent form.
• Voluntariness and power: How you will avoid pressure, especially if you supervise, evaluate, or teach participants. Confirm participation has no effect on grades, evaluations, or contracts.
• Risks and benefits: Expected risks (usually minimal) and benefits to participants or the field.
• Confidentiality: How identities are protected (pseudonyms, de-identification) and who can see raw data.
• Data storage and retention: Where data live (GCU-approved storage), how they are secured, and when they are destroyed.
• AI tool use: Which AI tools (e.g., Mosaic) were or will be used, for what (drafting, transcription, coding), and whether any participant data will be entered. Do not enter identifiable data into tools not approved for that purpose.
• Compensation: Any incentive, or “None.”

8. Scope, Assumptions, Limitations, and Delimitations:

• Assumptions: What you take as true without testing (e.g., participants will answer honestly).
• Limitations: Weaknesses outside your control (e.g., self-report bias, small sample, a single program).
• Delimitations: Boundaries you chose and why.

9. Timeline and Approvals:

Approvals happen in this order. Enter target dates; allow several weeks for review at each step.

10. Resources and Budget:

List what the study needs and who provides it. Write “None” where nothing is needed.

11. Dissemination and Application:

SoTL is public scholarship: plan to share findings and apply them to practice.

• Application to practice: How results will inform your teaching, the program, faculty development, or course design.
• Internal sharing: e.g., college meetings, CIRT showcases, GCU faculty development sessions.
• External sharing: Target conferences and journals (e.g., ISSOTL, OLC, Teaching & Learning Inquiry, Online Learning).
• Follow-up studies: Next questions this study may raise.

12. References and Appendices:

References. Use APA 7th edition. Include only sources cited in the proposal.

Appendices. Attach as applicable:

• Appendix A: Recruitment email or announcement
• Appendix B: Informed consent form
• Appendix C: Interview protocol, survey, or other instruments
• Appendix D: Optional artifacts (e.g., time-log template)
• Appendix E: Permissions for adapted instruments
• Appendix F: CITI training certificates

Pre-Submission Checklist:

• ☐Every research question maps to a data source and an analysis approach
• ☐Participant population and sample size are justified
• ☐Power dynamics and voluntariness are addressed
• ☐AI tool use is disclosed, and no identifiable data go into unapproved tools
• ☐Instruments, consent form, and recruitment text are attached
• ☐Timeline follows Dean approval → Site Authorization → IRB
• ☐References are in APA 7th edition
• ☐All italic prompts and examples are replaced or deleted

Need more support? Request an electronic review of your draft or a research consultation by contacting [email protected].