Functional Outline

I. Introduction (1 page)

A. Provide rationale for the study

B. State the goal of the study

C. Preview the paper and create contact with reader

Transition

To better understand the effects of stories on university recruitment, it is imperative to examine how university recruitment works and how stories may compliment this process.

II. Review of Literature (5.5 pages)

Synthesize the literature that is providing the theoretical foundation in position with the context it is being studied.

A. University Recruitment

1. Describe what universities are currently doing to recruit students
2. Explain the problem of students having trouble understanding the intangible idea of higher education.
3. Define relationship marketing

B. The Narrative Paradigm

1. Define the components of the narrative paradigm.
2. Connect how the narrative paradigm compliments relationship marketing
3. Connect how the narrative paradigm can make higher education a more tangible idea for prospective students

C. The Persuasive Power of Stories

1. Explain the social psychology research done with stories
2. Describe how regulatory fit from stories may work to help students feeling they would fit in at a university
3. Explain how stories could be persuasive in recruiting students based on research

Transition

This study is guided by the following research questions: (RQs listed)

III. Method (2.5 pages)

The goal of this section is to describe the data collection process, sample, and research procedures

A. Explain why I used focus groups

B. Sample- Describe sample

C. Procedures- Describe recruitment and focus group procedures

D. Data Analysis- Explain the data analysis and coding process

Transition

These themes focused not only on the persuasiveness and content of the stories, but also the channel and visual aspect of how these stories were presented.

IV. Results (5 pages)

The goal of this section is to explain and provide examples of each theme (Not sure how many themes I will have but it is looking to be around 5). This section will begin by describing the texts that were used as reference points for focus group participants.

A. Theme 1

1. description and definition
2. example for transcripts

B. Theme 2

1. description and definition
2. example for transcripts

C. Theme 3

1. description and definition
2. example for transcripts

D. Theme 4

1. description and definition
2. example for transcripts

E. Theme 5

1. description and definition
2. example for transcripts

Transition

V. Discussion (6-7 pages)

The goal of the section is connect the themes and provide the "so what" element to the results.

A. Use theory to explain the results

B. Describe the persuasive effect occurring and the reasoning behind the focus group responses

C. Provide practical advice for undergraduate admissions offices to consider when developing recruitment material

D. Thread ROL information to remind the reader of the theoretical foundation these results are based on

E. Provide the "why" to the results

F. Include the limitations and contribution section for the paper.

1. point out the theoretical contributions
2. provide practical contributions
3. discuss future research

Transition

Conclusion (1 page)

The goal of this section is to wrap up the paper and give a concise executive summary. I like to call this the red bow on top of the research package.

A. Where we started

B. What we found

C. Where we can go.