Senior Thesis Proposal Example

As a student of an educational institution, your school may require you to write a senior thesis as part of your graduation requirements. Usually, they expect your thesis to be centred around an original idea. However, before you can proceed with your thesis, you need to submit a senior thesis proposal. Indeed, this will determine whether you can go ahead to write your senior thesis. So, what is a senior thesis proposal and a senior thesis proposal example?

What Is a Senior Thesis Proposal?

A senior thesis proposal is an introduction to your thesis idea. This will tell your supervisor or lecturer of what topic you want to write about and why you chose that topic. The most important thing your thesis proposal should do is identify a problem. Also, the proposal should tell how you hope to uncover or solve the problem. Furthermore, your thesis proposal should have research questions that it hopes to answer when you write your thesis. In addition to this, you should consult the works of other researchers. This will make it easier for you to introduce your thesis.

Although writing a thesis proposal may seem like an easy thing to do, students may find it hard to come up with examples. If you’re one of such students, there’s no need to fear. Here are some thesis proposal examples for you.

Senior Thesis Proposal Example

Proposal: Does Animal Testing Help Cure Cancer?

In researching the topic of animal testing for cancer research, sources fall on two divergent sides of the issue. Some sources, primarily in government and pharmaceutical or medical sites, explain the urgent necessity of subjecting animals to such testing as a requirement for developing new cures and treatments. These include sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Other sources, however, take the opposite view and proclaim that such animal testing is inhumane, cruel, and unnecessary. Such sources include as examples the Web site Human-health-and-animal-ethics.com. There is a clear chasm between the two perspectives on the use of animals for cancer testing.

In this proposed research paper, I plan to investigate both sides of this issue, considering the arguments each of these two opposing views present. In considering the arguments in favor of such testing, David Scott argues that animal studies have formed the basis for “virtually all” of contemporary cancer treatments (“Animal Research Is Helping Us Beat Cancer”). He specifically mentions the breast cancer drug tamoxifen as one that has both saved hundreds of thousands of women’s lives but also was developed only as a result of animal testing. Other progress Scott mentions includes a new “smart” drug, imatinib, that saves those with leukemia, and antibody treatments for cancer that identify and target cancer cells in the body. Scott asserts that both these developments were made only as  a result of animal testing. Similar claims are made by the Americans for Medical Progress, who cite progress in treating breast cancer, childhood leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, and lung cancer as the result of animal studies (“Animal Research Means Medical Progress”). The organization also notes that there are strong regulatory guidelines on how animals may be treated in such studies to minimize their pain and suffering under such research (“Animal Research FAQ: The Top 10 Questions”).

In contrast to these views, however, the Human-health-and-animal-ethics.com proponents insist that animal experimentation is of very limited value to medical progress because studies in mice and rats have, time after time, been proven not to transfer to humans in effective ways (“Cancer Research”). This organization insists that studies done using tissue cultures and other in vitro techniques are far more effective than animal studies in developing new treatments. They also point out that most cancer is a result of lifestyle choices by the patient, so changing our way of life could prevent cancer—and prevention is far better than a cure.

Sharon Seltzer presents a more balanced perspective by pointing out that a number of organizations, such as Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine confirms that animals make poor scientific models for human diseases of all types, including cancer. (“What If Animal Testing Brought a Cure for Cancer?”). Yet at the same time, Seltzer notes that recent animal studies of human cancers injected into mice have identified a treatment that appears to stop a virulent form of brain cancer. The Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry also takes this balanced approach, by noting the importance of animal studies in identifying carcinogens (“What You Need to Know. What You Can Do. How Do Scientists Identify Cancer-Causing Substances?”).

This issue of animal testing for cancer research has valid arguments on both sides. The issue ultimately comes down to the question of whether sacrificing animals for human good is a justified approach to medical research. It is this question that I plan to explore in my paper.

Works Cited

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. “What You Need to Know. What You Can Do. How Do Scientists Identify Cancer-Causing Substances?” Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 1 April 2010. Web. 20 March 2014.

Americans for Medical Progress. “Animal Research Means Medical Progress.” Americans for Medical Progress, 526 King Street Ste. 201, Alexandria, VA. n.d.  Web. 20 March 2014.

Americans for Medical Progress. “Animal Research FAQ: The Top 10 Questions.” Americans for Medical Progress, 526 King Street Ste. 201, Alexandria, VA. n.d.  Web. 20 March 2014.

Human Health and Animal Ethics. “Cancer Research.” Human-health-and-animal-ethics.com. n.d. Web. 20 March 2014.

Scott, D. “Animal Research Is Helping Us Beat Cancer.” Cancer Research UK. 21 June 2011. Web. 20 March 2014.

Seltzer, S. “What If Animal Testing Brought a Cure for Cancer?” Care2.com. 7 September 2012. Web. 20 March 2014.

Senior Thesis Proposal Example Ideas for Writing

  1. Journalism

For this, you can write on why the media shows bias towards covering certain issues.

  1. Library Science

For this, you can write on why physical libraries are better than virtual libraries.

  1. Real Estate Management

For this, you can write on which is currently top on Europe’s real estate market.

  1. Medicine

For this, you can write on which of the human gender takes their health more seriously and why.

  1. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

If you’re a student of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), you can write on why 5G technology does not help people.

  1. Civil Engineering

For this, you can write on building projects.

  1. Microbiology

For this, you can write on why the world is still battling with COVID-19 despite the tough precautions.

  1. Food Science

If you’re a student of food science, you can write on certain not-so-popular foods that can help in curing certain illnesses.

  1. Education

As a student studying education, you can write on why formal education is important for elderly people.

  1. Psychology

For this, you can write on why humans prefer to give more attention to negative news.

  1. Music

As a student studying music, you can write a comparative study on how a certain group of humans reacts to different types of music.

  1. Literature

If you’re a student of literature, you can write on why lovers prefer poetry to drama or prose when expressing their love for each other.

  1. Animal Science

For this, you can write on the different behaviors of animals of the same group.

  1. Law

For this, you can write on the objectivity of a court in passing judgment.

  1. Theatre Arts

As a theatre art student, you can write on why stage plays are less popular than TV shows.

  1. Political Science

For this, you can write on why democracy is not feasible in the 21st-century.

  1. Technical Drawing

For this, you can write a comparative study on manual drawing and using a tablet.

  1. Mechanical Engineering

For this, you can write on aircraft.

  1. Chemical Engineering

For this, you can write on what waste materials can be changed and used as work equipment.

  1. International Relations

For this, you can write on whether the United States of America will lose its superpower status soon.

  1. Sports

If you’re studying sports, you can write on which sports are the most important to humans and which sports are not.

  1. Philosophy

For this, you can write on how younger people think or reason.

  1. Religious Studies

For this, you can write on the need for religion in the 21st-century.

  1. Economics

For this, you can write on the challenges that the world’s economy faces today.

These are some examples you can use for your proposal. Now, remember, when you’re writing this proposal, you must use the present tense. This is because the research is work that you intend to do and not work that you have done. Also, note that your thesis proposal must have an introduction, literature review, methodology, and bibliography. Make sure to list your proposal aims and questions in the introduction part. Most importantly, you must write in a way that makes it easy for your lecturer to understand your idea. When your proposal is clear and easy-to-understand, there’s every chance that your supervisor will ask you to go on with the work.

Conclusion

With these thesis proposal examples, you’re on the right path to starting your thesis. Also, remember to make research in previously written work to help give a boost to your thesis proposal.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *