FodnessReviewsLyonsProposal

1.Does the title reflect both the specific focus of the project, and why it will be of more general (theoretical or social) interest?**
 * TITLE

Yes.

2.Does the abstract clearly specify the aims of the project?**
 * ABSTRACT

Yes.


 * 3.Does the abstract clearly articulate how the project will create new knowledge, and respond to theoretical or social concerns?**

Yes. This project is ripe with new knowledge creation.


 * 4.Does the abstract provide a succinct yet clear description of how the project will be carried out?**

Yes.

5.Does the overview clearly describe the aims of the project – empirical, conceptual, methodological and practical?**
 * OVERVIEW

Yes.


 * 6.Does the overview describe the importance of the project – empirically, conceptually, methodologically and practically?**

Yes.


 * 7.Are the aims of the project reflected in (clearly articulated) primary research questions?**

Yes – an excellent list.


 * 8.Does the overview explain and justify the type of data that will be collected for the project?**

Not explicitly. The abstract indicates that the research will be done from mining the archives, but the overview does not restate this.


 * 9.Does the overview provide a “snapshot” of the various components of the research project, and a sense of the schedule on which they will be completed?**

No. This information is covered later in the proposal.


 * 10.Does the overview convince you that the project is feasible, and that the researcher has the appropriate expertise?**

Yes.

11.Does the proposal provide an adequate (not too long, nor too short) and compelling description of the “object” of the study?**
 * BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE

Yes.


 * 12.Does the proposal clearly explain what literatures the project will draw on and contribute to?**

Yes.

13.Does the proposal describe the relationship between this project and previous work carried out by the researcher?**
 * PREPARATION AND WORK THUS FAR

Yes – there has been a lot of background research done already, especially about the production of quinine.


 * 14.Does the proposal provide a plan for pilot studies, literature reviews, language training or other initiatives that need to be undertaken before the project begins?**

No, because most of the studies that need to be done before beginning the project have already been done by the researcher.

15.Does the proposal provide an understandable and compelling “snapshot” of what the researcher thinks is going on, based on preliminary investigation and existing theory?**
 * METHODS

Yes.


 * 16.Does the proposal indicate how the research questions build on existing literature?**

Yes.


 * 17.Does the proposal clearly explain what data will be used to answer the research questions, and how and where this data will be collected?**

Yes – archival research & discourse analysis.


 * 18.Does the proposal provide a very clear sense of what the researcher will do in various phases or components of the project?**

Yes.


 * 19.Are you convinced that the proposed data collection plan is both feasible, and appropriate to the aims of the project?**

Yes. There are multiple research sites, but they are necessary for completion of the project.


 * 20.Does the proposal convince you that the researcher has a strategy for validating his or her data, and for acknowledging the biases that he or she will bring to the project?**

Yes. The data will be coming from archives, so the information will either be there or it won't. By conversing with contemporary scholars, some of the elements of bias will be able to be overcome by having a “sanity check” by others studying the same phenomenon.


 * 21.Does the proposal provide a clear and compelling sense of how the data will be analyzed?**

Yes.


 * 22.Does the proposal provide a compelling sense of how the data analysis will be written into a text – through the development of chapters that develop particular core concepts, for example?**

Not explicitly, but the way the information is being collected conducts itself nicely into being organized into chapters.


 * 23.Does the proposal provide a strategy for addressing the ethical dimensions of the project, and a sense that that the ethical dimensions have been thoroughly thought through?**

Since the project is largely a historical study, there are few ethical dimensions to deal with, but the core issue of whether the activities of pirates should be endorsed is a component of her proposal.

24.Does the proposal provide a compelling description of the scholarly publications that will result from the project?**
 * DISSEMINATION

Not explicitly.


 * 25.Does the proposal describe the scholarly audiences that will be interested in the books and articles that result from the project?**

Not explicitly.


 * 26.Does the proposal describe a creative strategy for circulating project results among informants, and to particular lay audiences?**

Not explicitly.