ERA UNIVERSITY

ERA COLLEGE OF NURSING

ASSIGNMENT
ON
Developing And Presenting A
Research Proposal.
(Subject: Nursing Research And Statistics)

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Ms. Sonia A Singh Jyoti sunar
Assistant professor MSc (N) 1st YEAR
Era College of Nursing Era College of Nursing
Lucknow Lucknow

Submitted on: / /
INTRRODUCTION:

DEVELOPING AND PRESENTING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A research proposal is an outline of the research idea, which helps in communicating this idea to
faculty or the funding agency, so that an approved project can be implemented. Development of
the research proposal starts when the research problem is sufficiently specified to begin work and
the researcher is satisfied that the problem is feasible. Research proposal serves strong foundation
for the actual research study, which is conducted after a due approval by the experts from faculty
or funding agency.

A well-written research proposal should convince members of the scientific community that the
research is significant. The clearer and more precise the research proposal the smoother is the
actual conduct of a research project. In academic institution, the research proposal is commonly
known as synopsis.

Meaning of Research Proposal:

A research proposal is a written document specifying what the investigator proposes to study,
and is, therefore, written before the project has commenced. Proposals serve to communicate the
research problem, its significance, and planned procedure for solving the problem to the
interested party. That party may be a funding agency, a faculty advisor, or institutional officers
depending upon the circumstances.

A research proposal is a comprehensive summary of what the researcher intend to do, how it will
be done, and why it is important. Some agencies view written research proposal as an actual
commitment on the part of the researcher that the study will proceed as originally outlined.

Purposes Of Proposal:

 Research proposal provides an opportunity to the researcher and the experts to think through
project carefully, and clarify and define what exactly to study.
 It serves as a blueprint and guiding path for the researcher to carry out the research project.
 Research proposal helps the researcher to communicate to the supervisor, faculty, department,
and funding agency what he or she is going to study, so that the desired suggestions and
support to carry out the research project can be obtained.
 Proposal also helps the department to make a right decision about allotment of guide for the
candidate pursuing a particular project.
 It also gives an opportunity to receive feedback from supervisor and others in the academic
community as well as possible funders.
 Research proposal also serves as a contract between researcher, guide, and university.
 Research proposal also can be used to seek ethical approval from the institutional, regional, or
national-level research ethical committee.
 Research proposals are generally submitted to a scholarship committee or other funding
agency to seek the financial grants for implementations of the research project.

Developing The Proposal: Development of the research proposal involves:

1) Choosing a topic.
2) Narrowing down and focusing on the topic.
3) Formulating research objectives or questions and ideas for analysis.
4) Outlining the key literature in the topic area.
5) Deciding on research methodology, research design, and methods.
6) Proposing an approach to data analysis.
7) Proposing a format, for example how many chapters and suggested chapter headings.
8) Developing a timeline.
9) Developing a budget and resources required for the project.
10)Organizing references and bibliography.

Format of Research Proposal:

Different funding agencies or colleges may have different guidelines/format requirements. Where
this is the case, the principal investigator should prepare the proposal in the required format,
provided that the format used gives all or most of the details as contained in the guidelines of the
particular institute.

A research proposal usually consists of the following elements:

1. Title

This should be specific and precise. It should not be more than two to three lines long, and should
indicate what one intends to do or find out. For example, Validation of an algorithm on the
management of urethral discharge in All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh,
Uttarakhand.

The title is usually only formulated after the research problem and sub-problems have been
started in a more-or-less final format. The research project title should demarcate the following:

 Who or/and what will be researched

 Where
 When
 How
 An indication of the envisaged solution or possible new product

2. About Investigators

Full names, qualifications, academic titles of all the investigators, including trainees (assistant
lecturers or postgraduate students), and their institutional/departmental affiliation(s).

The principal/main investigator (responsible for the work) should be the first one. If there are
co-investigators, these should be indicated as appropriate with their qualifications, academic
title, and institutional affiliations.

Brief up-to-date curriculum vitae of each of the investigators and co-investigators should be
provided.

INSTITUTION(S) UNDER WHOSE UMBRELLA THE RESEARCH PROJECT WILL

BE CONDUCTED:

For example:

 World Health Organization

 College of Nursing, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh or
 Indian Council of Medical Research

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND INTRODUCTION

This should include:

 A review of the relevant literature. It should be most recent. (Majority being in the past 5-
10 years at most.)
 Locally available information published or unpublished. It may include clinical or
laboratory observations (e.g. increasing number of adult males presenting with urethral
discharge at the AIIMS, Rishikesh).

RATIONALE/JUSTIFICATION FÖR THE RESEARCH PROJECT

There should be a statement explaining why the researcher(s) feels the research project is
important and, therefore, should be carried out (i.e. the potential significance to health care
delivery, or otherwise). It should not be more than a paragraph or two.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Broad objectives: The main issues that are being looked at/for are laid down in the broad
objectives (e.g. to survey the socio-demographic and reproductive profiles of patients with acute
gonococcal urethritis.

Specific objectives: The specific issues that are being looked at/for. These must be
measureable, either qualitatively or quantitatively, and form a guide to the research
methodology, data analysis, and presentation of results. For instance:

 To survey the age distribution of patients presenting with acute gonococcal urethritis.
 To assess the sexual behaviours of such patients.

FORMULATING HYPOTHESES

 Because hypotheses give structure and direction to research, the following aspects should
be kept in mind when formulating a hypothesis:
 Hypotheses can only be formulated after the researcher has gained enough knowledge
regarding the nature, extent, and intensity of the problem.
 Hypotheses should figure throughout the research process in order to give structure to the
research.
 Hypotheses are tentative statements/solutions or explanations of the formulated problem.
Care should be taken not to oversimplify and generalize the formulation of hypotheses.
 The research problem does not have to consist of one hypothesis only. The type of problem
area investigated and the extent to which it enhances the research field are the determining
factors on how many hypotheses will be included in the research proposal.

METHODOLOGY

This should be very detailed as it is your guide on how the study will be done as well as the data
analysis. It should provide relevant information on:

The type of research study: For example, randomized clinical trial, descriptive, cross-sectional,
etc. This should reflect exactly what the researchers intend to do.

Location of study/study setting: Where the study is going to be conducted (e.g. 10 secondary
schools in Dehradun district and/or the AlIMS, Rishikesh). All the areas in/at which the
survey/study will be carried out must be indicated.

Study population: The subjects who are to be included in the study or from which group[s] of
people is the study group going to be drawn, for example patients presenting with multiple
pregnancy at the AlIMS, Rishikesh, Utarakhand.
Study period:

 The entire period of the study including preparation or the proposal, submission and approval,
training (where necessary), pretestin8 (or the questionnaire), data collection, data analysis,
report preparation, and dissemination of the findings.
 If the study is in phases, each must be specified and the time for each given.

Sample size:

 Details on the sample size and how it has been arrived at/worked out.
 Its justification.
 The selection/inclusion/exclusion criteria, for example
 Every 10th client
 Randomized (and how random)
 Every patient who consents
 The need for, and type of, consent must be specified, and how it will be obtained for
example written or verbal consent.

Data collection: The following details should be provided:

 What information is going to be looked for/collected?

 How that is going to be done (e.g. laboratory test or with provision of appropriate details)?
 Requirements for study should be listed (e.g. Reagents, culture media, or blood samples
and their relevant tests). It should include the name of the people who will take
responsibility for of the aspects of data collection (e.g. who will draw blood, perform the
tests, do the physical examination, interview the study group, etc.

Data management and analysis:

 Details should be provided on how the collected data is going to be to be managed (e.g.
coding).
 Details on data analysis, such as the computer package to be used in data entry and
analysis, for example SP'SS 25, EPI-INFO 6.0, etc.
 The type of statistical tests to be used, for example regression analysis or student 't’ test of
significance.

Results presentation: A brief explanation of the format of the results as they will be presented,
for example

 Pie charts
 Histograms
  Line graphs
 Tables

Dissemination of the results:

 Indicate the person or institution to whom the report is going to be submitted and why.
 How does/do the investigator(s) propose to disseminate their research findings, such as
 Attendance at local, regional, or international conferences/seminars, workshops
 Holding of a dissemination seminar/workshop
 Publications in peer-reviewed journals, etc.

Ethical considerations:

 What ethical issues need to be addressed?

 How are they going to be addressed?
 This should include protection of human subjects (clients' rights).

Possible constraints:

 Any envisaged problems in undertaking the study.

 How these will be addressed, by whom, and when?

Requirements: Details should be provided on the requirements of the research for example:

 Personnel: All the people who will be involved and their individual roles
 Training: Of whom, why, when, where, by whom
 Paper: For the questionnaires, reports, etc.
 Transport: What form and for what
 Reagents: Which, how much of each, and for what
 Drugs: Which, how much of each, for what, their source(s)
 Space: How that will be obtained, where, when

BUDGETARY ESTIMATES

 Each line item should be quantified in monetary terms.

 The investigator should indicate the amount to be asked for and for what the institutions
under which the research project will be conducted will contribute.
 Each item should be quantified, if possible. If it is not possible (eg. premises or space), it
should just be mentioned as an institutional contribution. However, small the institutional
contribution is, it should be indicated.
 'Subtotals for each group should be indicated and then the grand total.
 JUSTIFICATION OF THE BUDGET

The investigators must indicate how they arrived at the amount of money being asked for, how
it is going to be disbursed. For example, a budget proposal for two principal investigators for
overall supervision of the project, data analysis, report production, and dissemination: 10% of
their time for 24 months @ Rs. 30,000 x 24 = Rs. 14,40,000.

REFERENCES

 The cited literature should be as current as possible and include locally available
information.
 These should be in the internationally accepted format (e.g. vancouver style).

SUMMARY:

A research proposal is an outline of the research idea, which helps in communicating this idea
to faculty or the funding agency, so that an approved project can be implemented. Development
of the research proposal starts when the research problem is sufficiently specified to begin work
and the researcher is satisfied that the problem is feasible. It has many purposes and a particular
formate to be followed in this process.

CONCLUSION:

Developing a research proposal involves the following preliminary steps: identifying potential
ideas, choosing ideas to explore further, choosing and narrowing a topic, formulating a research
question, and developing a working thesis. Defining and narrowing a topic helps writers
conduct focused, in-depth research.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

 Sharma. K . Suresh, “Nursing Research and Statistics”, 3 rd edition, Elsevier publications

2017, page no. 423- 429.
 https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ivytech-engl112/chapter/steps-in-developing-a-research-proposal/