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LECT-2-Writing A Proposal PDF
LECT-2-Writing A Proposal PDF
ResearchMethodology&
DesignofExperiments
Lect.#2
Writing a Research
Proposal
Dr.NazeerAhmadAnjum
MechanicalEngineeringProgram
EngineeringUniversityTaxila
What is Research, overview Pre. Lect3
Research refers to a search for knowledge
Research means a scientific and systematic
search for pertinent information on a specific
topic
In fact, research is an art of scientific
investigation.
The purpose of research is to discover
answers to questions through the application
of scientific procedures
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/evidence?
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Research Proposal? 5
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Importance of a research proposal? 7
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Research Proposal Definitions - 1 9
1. Suggestion of proposal
2. Future plans
3. Research related Problems/issues
4. Conduction of Research
5. Detail of research resources both
factual and instrumental
6. How to achieve desired results
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Research Proposal Definitions - 311
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Sections of Proposal 12
Summary
Need
Budget
Plan
Evaluation Method
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Developing Research Questions 13
List research questions or objectives
Are the research objectives feasible?
(Time? Sample size? Technical expertise?)
Are the questions novel? Interesting? Useful?
(Will the answers open up new areas of research?)
Should be action-oriented
Relate to identified needs
Is the scope of the study well focused?
(Collecting too much data wastes time and money)
Is it ethical to ask these research questions?
(Unacceptable physical risks or invasion of privacy?)
Relate objectives to sponsor agencys goals and priorities
Clear and concise
Feasible
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Budget Your Time
Solid partnerships Communicate
Avoid Plagiarism 16
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What Makes a Good Proposal? 17
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Start of Research 19
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TheIssue
Whatproblemdoes
yourresearch
address?
Research
Benefit
Design Whatwillthe
Howwilltheresearch researchcontribute?
achieveitsobjective?
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Factors We Cant Control 23
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Objectives 25
This is a very important and pivotal section and
everything else in the study is centered around it.
The objective of the proposed study should be
stated very clearly.
The objective stated should be specific,
achievable and measurable.
Too many objectives to be avoided.
Even just one clearly stated relevant objective for
a study would be good enough.
If there is more than one objective, the objectives
can be presented in the appropriate order of
importance.
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For example:
Understanding the role of Hydro forming in
manufacturing.
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Title of Research Proposal 29
Reject
Too long and technical of a title will not gain the
reviewers attention or interest.
Too short and broad a title will make the reviewer too
critical of grant.
Example:
A Study to Investigate the Effect of temper, specimen
orientation and test temperature on tensile and fatigue
properties of wrought and PM AA6061-alloys under
different conditions also to investigate the Mechanical
Characterization through SEM.
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Referees 30
GOOD
Choose referees in your field of research
Choose a scientist/colleague that will be
objective but not too critical of the science.
Reject
Do not choose close collaborators
Do not choose competitors in your field with
divergent views.
Do not choose the top scientists in your field
since they will not respond and will be too
critical in general.
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Co-Applicants 31
GOOD
This could be strength if you are a junior
investigator with a limited track record.
If the investigator lack specific skills, a co-
applicant can bring these skills to the
research project.
Reject
It is a weakness to add a co-applicant if they
just give you a reagent
Co-applicant will do most of the project in
their laboratories.
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Background 32
(Review of Literature)
This section reflects extensive review of literature
done by the investigator
In this section what is already known about the
topic is written including the lacunae (gap)
Just quoting the literature verbatim (precise) will
not serve the purpose
It is important to make it coherent, relevant and
easily readable knowledge
It helps the investigator to gain good knowledge
in that field of inquiry
It also helps the investigator to have insight on
different methodologies that could be applied
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Review of Related Literature 33
Important Information
Information concerning theory findings
Information concerning methods
Information concerning data analysis
Strengths and weaknesses
[Research summary note for each study]
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Purposes of Literature Review - 2 35
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Stage
4th
SPD Techniques
Traditional Techniques
Stage
3rd
Industrial Rev.
Stage
2nd
Iron Age
1st Stage
Bronze Age
Stone Age
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Introduction 41
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Attributes Associated with the Statement45
of the Problem
1. Clarity and precision
2. Identification of what to study
3. Identification of an overarching question
4. Definition of key concepts / terms
5. Articulation of studys boundaries/parameters
6. Some generalizability
7. Conveyance of studys importance, benefits,
and justification
8. Conveyance of more than descriptive data
providing a snapshot
(Study for related articles)
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Purpose statement - Guidelines 47
1. Begin with signaling words such as the purpose or
intent of
2. Indicate the overall intent of the study such as The
intent is to examine the role of school teacher in
promoting reading habit
3. Indicate the research design and strategy such as
survey, experiment, etc.
4. Identify the independent and / or dependent variables
5. Use words that connect the variables such as the
relationship between or the comparison of two or
more variables
6. Position or order the variables from left to right in
purpose statement with independent variable followed
by the dependent variable
7. Make reference to the participant (unit of analysis) and
mention the research site
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Research Methodology 50
It is necessary for the researcher to know not
only the research methods/techniques but also
the methodology.
Researchers not only need to know how to
develop certain indices or tests but also how to
calculate the mean, the mode, the median or
the standard deviation etc.,
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Research Methodology 51
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Methods of Research 52
This section of your proposal has multiple
parts
Design
Sample/Sample size
Setting
Protocol
Analysis Plan
Detailed enough so that the reviewers
could conduct the study
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Methods - Design 53
1. Describe your study design
2. Design examples
Prospective vs. Retrospective
Descriptive
Observation
Intervention clinical trial
Surveys, interviews, questionnaires
Focus groups, field studies
Others
Example
We plan a prospective randomized controlled
trial of meditative music vs. no music
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Methods Sample/Sample Size 55
How will participants be recruited?
Convenience sample
Flyers in research offices
Advertisements
Electronic Records search
How many participants are needed?
How will you justify the sample size?
Has there been a power analysis?
Do you have a comparison or control
group?
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Setting 56
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Protocol 57
What are you going to do to study participants?
Detailed, step by step explanation
Include how you will identify participants,
obtain consent, and collect data
If there is an intervention, describe it in detail
Will you use measurement tools? Describe the
tools, including reliability and validity and
include a copy of the tools with your proposal
Include the time frame for implementing the
study
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Data Analysis 58
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Time line 59
Describe how long it will take to do your
study
Provide timeline benchmarks
Example:
Months 1 3 Prepare study tools
Months 4-8 Collect data (Sources)
Months 9-10 Analyze data
Months 11-12 Writing Thesis
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20 point
24 point
28 point
36 point
Sans Serif
Serif font
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