2432	Assessment
Research Question	The research question is fairly clear, but why it takes this form is not.  Also, it will help to restructure the introduction so that it gets to the point quicker.   Remember, people who read proposals expect them to be proposals.
Relevant Literature	Starting with a specific article is fine, but you need to use it as that starting point, not an end point.  Here, for example, if you use the relevant article to search for later publications that cite it using the Social Science Citation Index and Google Scholar, you will find how others assimilated the work, assessed its value, and pointed toward improvement.  These works will lead you to others.  After you have reasonably absorbed this, will you have a clearer sense how to develop your research design.   While the American Dream is relevant, it needn't be presented at this length.  It is a good idea to remember that proposals commonly have page limits and even when they don't, proposal readers have impatience, so we want to avoid spending time on things that do not move the proposal forward.
Causal Interpretations	This is a fair start on the relevant causal concerns, but you will find you can elaborate deeper and more refined arguments once you have looked more at the relevant literature.
Data	Using data at the state level has attractions, but it also has pitfalls.  You need to become familiar with these.  You want to be able to argue why using such aggregate data offers insights not accessible using individual level data.  Also, if you use aggregate data, you want to look at the possibilities for using it at a lower level, such as within cities.  The bigger the aggregation, the more remote we are from individual actions and the greater leaps we must make in inferences about those actions.
Research Value	The reasoning presented is okay, but we need to hear how the research is valuable in terms of offering a contribution beyond what other research has already achieved.
Timetable	A really vague timetable is no timetable at all.
Priorities for Developing a Full Draft	Get on top of the literature, figure out how to refine the research questions as a result, see what that then tells you about the data.
Miscellaneous Notes