RESEARCH PROPOSAL: Freedom of speech

Date: November 1, 2008 To: Ms. Mousume Akhter Flora From: M. Ainul Faruquee, English 105, sec. 4 Subject: Proposal to do a research paper on the perception of North South University students about the significance of Freedom of speech. INTRODUCTION It is every human beings right to express his feelings and opinions. Freedom of speech is the right to express oneself freely without any censorship or fear of being prosecuted or humiliated. It is necessary to speak for every person to express his/her needs and rights. Freedom to speak liberally or freely is especially for student population as they are the future citizens of the world. They need to speak for themselves and express their feelings about things that are happening around them. It helps to build a sense of democracy among them. Students at the university level go through a crucial period as they enter a transition period. They enter into the process of being the future citizens. In the context of Bangladesh there are two types of universities Public and Private. In public universities students have different modes of expressing themselves, such as demonstration, procession, open speech, distribution of leaflets. They also express their opinions about different issues and also speak for their problems in student lives. On the other hand this kind of mechanism does not exist in private universities like North-South University. That does not mean that the students do not want it or dont think about doing it. In fact it may be good for both the students and the university if the students can express their opinion about different matters. In this research project I want to find out what North-South University students do think about freedom to speak for themselves. RESEARCH QUESTIONS In this research I want to investigate North-South University students perception about freedom of speech and how do they want to practice this basic right within the realm of this university. To reach that goal I will endeavour to answer the following research questions

What is freedom of speech and why it is important? What do North-South University students think about freedom of speech? To what extent they want it? How do they want to express themselves? To whom they want to express themselves? What do the students expect from the authority in this regard? What do experts and scholars say about the importance of freedom of speech? What makes a university effective and create a sense of belonging between authority and students?

HYPOTHESIS The basic theme of freedom to speak is that people will communicate freely and without any hesitation. I am hypothesizing that North-South University students are willing to practice their right to express themselves. At the same time I have the presumption that the university authority has no reservation about this matter. In this context, I think that it is up to the students to express their opinions about different issues throughout their stay in the university. This practice will help the authority to develop and improve the performance of the institution and a sense of belonging will develop between both parties. It will create opportunity for the students to participate in the development activities within the institution. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY I want to conduct this research in two phases. First I will conduct a primary research which is to answer my research questions and rectify the hypothesis. The primary research will be conducted with questionnaire survey. The items will be close-ended and have rating scales. Data will be analyzed quantitatively and the inherent patterns in the data will be interpreted and described. Then Ill conduct a thorough literature review within my time limit. This will fulfil the need for the secondary research and provide basic information and concepts about freedom of speech and its importance for student population. I intend to use the resources of

the library and the web, slandered reference sources etc. To find materials on the web Ill use search engines like Google or Yahoo, reference sites and news sites. This literature review will contribute to my primary research extensively. ORGANIZATION The research paper will be divided into several sections. The organization of the paper will be based on the research questions that I intend to work with. The main sections will be Introduction, Background information, Data presentation, Data analysis and Summary of findings. TIMETABLE I plan to complete the primary research work by mid November, and the secondary research work- a week before the end of November. Ill complete the final edition of the Research Paper by the end of November, and submit it by the specified deadline towards the end of the semester. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL I hereby request your approval for my research proposal. If you wish me to alter or improve the proposal, I will resubmit it after incorporating the required changes. I would also be grateful for your suggestion and help in conducting my research and carrying out the project.