Research Proposal

Research Proposal: Superstitions
Date: March 12, 2013
To: Dr. A.Q.M.A. Rahman Bhuiyan
From: Shabanur Rahman Chowdhury, ID# 1010374030, ENG 105, Sec: 1
Subject: Proposal to conduct a research project on the effects superstitions have on NSU students.
INTRODUCTION:
“Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events”. Superstitious beliefs are tied to the supernatural or unpredictable side of events that are in the scope of things otherwise beyond human being’s control. Superstitious belief is the most common phenomenon in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and other nearby Asian countries. Worldwide, almost 80% people believe in different types of superstitious ideas. The focus of my research will be on how the superstitious beliefs affect the men and women of our society. Bangladesh is the country with the largest number of illiterate people in the whole world, who have a strong believe in various superstitious ideas. However, these beliefs are also common in case of literate persons. In our country, considering the different effects of these fallacy, people usually create their mind and apply all these superstitious beliefs in their works and sometimes change their decisions. Through this research I would like to know how such superstitious experience affect NSU students. I hope that this research will help to find answers to the question whether the effects of superstitious beliefs are more intense in men or women.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
In my research I tried to figure out the effects of superstitious beliefs on NSU students. My research addresses the following questions: * What is superstition? * What types of background people belong to who believe in superstition? * What are the effects of these superstitions in people’s lives? * How does it act as a means when making any kind of decisions- whether positively or negatively? * Who believe more in superstition whether men or women? * What changes do they make in their lifestyles according to the superstitious beliefs?

HYPOTHESIS:
Superstitious believe is the name of the most dangerous curse of human being’s live. Superstition works completely on irrational belief systems where one successful mental correlation counteracts many unsuccessful results. From my research, I expect to find that Superstitious beliefs have several impacts, mainly negative, on how people specially NSU students conduct their lives. It is expected that Women believe more in superstition than men. They have more intense effect of superstitious beliefs than men. Superstitions are often used pejoratively to refer to religious practices other than the one prevailing in a given society, although the prevailing religion may contain just as many supernatural beliefs. Superstitions are also commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy and spiritual beings, particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific unrelated prior events. So, I also expect that the NSU students will mix the religious views with these superstitious beliefs.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
To conduct my research I gathered data from primary sources and as well as secondary sources.
For my primary research, I conducted a survey of a representative sampling of the general NSU students. The sample population size of my survey was 20, where 10 were men and 10 were women. To get a range of useful data I designed the survey questionnaire with different types of 16 questions.
For my secondary research, I used resources of the library like books, magazines, newspaper. I also browsed the internet and used search engines like Google to find the relevant information. To collect the secondary information on superstition and its affects I used the journals, articles published online. Moreover, I searched and used information related to my topic from websites like Wikipedia. I used the resources of the following secondary sources for conducting my research work.
Stojanovski, F. The influence of superstition: Something personal. Retrieved from www.fillip.stir.org
Hood, B. M. Believing in magic: The psychology of superstition.
Ingersoll, R. G. (1898). Superstition.

ORGANIZATION:
My paper will be divided into several sections, the most important of which are the Introduction, Background, Data Presentation & Analysis, Limitation and Conclusion. Within the sections my organization will be based on my research questions.
TIMETABLE:
I hope to complete my primary research by early March and my secondary research by early April. I shall complete writing the final draft of my Research Paper by the end of April, and submit it by the specified deadline (the last day of classes) towards the end of this semester.
REQUEST FOR APPROVAL:
I hereby request your approval for my research proposal. If you wish me to modify or improve my proposal, I will submit it after incorporating the necessary changes. I would also be grateful for your advice and help in conducting my research and completing the project.