Background

Provides necessary background information or context, which may include theoretical foundations, historical context, or relevant policy frameworks.

Think of this section as a catch-all space to establish whatever foundation your research will rest on. Different research questions will necessitate different backgrounds; some questions will require theoretical context, for example, while others may not. Tailor your background section to support your particular research question.

If the research question assumes a theoretical model of behavior (e.g., Cobb-Douglas consumption preferences, Median Voter Theorem, etc.), fully justify the relevant theories you will employ. If there’s a historical dimension to your research, highlight relevant events that affect or explain aspects of your issue. If there’s a particular regime—policy, institutional, or social—within which your subject operates in, highlight the relevant structures and patterns that affect your subject.

TL;DR: Your empirical model rests on your theoretical model. In your background, expand on whatever you need to expand on to justify your empirical model.