Chapter Three

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

3.1. WHAT IS RESEARCH PROPOSAL

The research proposal is the detailed plan of study. The term research proposal indicates that a
specific course of action will be followed. It is a document which sets out your ideas in an easily
accessible way. The intent of the written proposal is to present a focused and scholarly
presentation of a research problem and plan.

3.2. FUNCTIONS OF RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Any proposal offers a plan to fill a need; your reader will evaluate your plan according to how
well your written presentation answers questions about
 WHAT you are proposing,
 HOW you plan to do it,
 How long it is going to take, and
 HOW MUCH it is going to cost.    
One's research is only as a good as one's proposal. A research proposal is intended to convince
others that you have a worthwhile research project and that you have the competence and the
work-plan to complete it. A research proposal should contain all the key elements involved in the
research process and include sufficient information for the readers to evaluate the proposed
study.

All research proposals must address the following questions:

 What you plan to accomplish,

 why you want to do it and
 How you are going to do it.
The proposal should have sufficient information to convince your readers:

 That you have an important research idea,

 That you have a good grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and
 That your methodology is sound

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The quality of your research proposal depends on the quality of your proposed project and on the
quality of your proposal writing

3.3 GENERAL FORMAT OF PROPOSAL

The general format of research proposal looks like the following
1. Title page
2. Summary/abstract
3. Introduction/background
4. Statement of the problem
5. Literature review
6. Hypotheses/questions
7. Objective/aim of the study
8. Research methods, materials, and procedures
9. Work plan and budget
10. References
11. Appendixes/annexes

Title page
An effective title:
 Pricks the reader's interest,
 Predisposes the reader favourably towards the proposal.
 Is concise and
 Is descriptive
If possible state the title in terms of a functional relationship, because such titles clearly indicate
the independent and dependent variables or think of an informative but catchy title

Abstract
Abstract: a brief summary of approximately 300 words, include the following.
 The research question,
 The rationale for the study,
 The hypothesis (if any),
 The method and

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 Descriptions of the method may include
 The design,
 Procedures,
 The sample and
 Any instruments that will be used
 The main findings or conclusions
Introduction
Introduction provides the necessary background or context for your research problem.
Framing the research problem is the main challenge
Framing the research question depends on your creativity, ability to think clearly and the
depth of your understanding of problem areas.
For framing your research question,
 Place your research question in the context of either a current "hot" area, or an older area
that remains viable
 Provide a brief but appropriate historical backdrop
 Provide the contemporary context in which your proposed research question occupies the
central stage identify "key players" and refer to the most relevant and representative
publications

The introduction begins with a general statement of the problem area, with a focus on a specific
research problem, to be followed by the rational or justification for the proposed study. The
introduction generally covers the following elements:
State the research problem, which is often referred to as the purpose of the study.
Provide the context and set the stage for your research question in such a way as
to show its necessity and importance.
Present the rationale of your proposed study and clearly indicate why it is worth
doing.
Briefly describe the major issues and sub-problems to be addressed by your
research.
Identify the key independent and dependent variables of your experiment.
Alternatively, specify the phenomenon you want to study.

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 State your hypothesis or theory, if any. For exploratory or phenomenological
research, you may not have any hypotheses. (Please do not confuse the hypothesis
with the statistical null hypothesis.)
Set the delimitation or boundaries of your proposed research in order to provide a
clear focus.
Provide definitions of key concepts. (This is optional.)

Statement of the problem

The research problem should be stated in such a way that it would lead to analytical thinking on
the part of the researcher with the aim of possibly concluding solutions to the stated problem.
The problem statement describes the context for the study and it also identifies the general
analysis approach. Effective problem statement answer the question ‘‘why does this research
need to be conducted?’’ If the researcher is unable to answer this question clearly, the statement
of the problem will come off as ambiguous and diffuse.

Hypotheses/questions
Hypotheses and questions are linked to the speculative proposition of the problem statement, can
be inferred from the overall conceptual framework of the study, and are of critical importance to
data analysis and interpretation.

Objective of the study

The objective of the research summarizes what is to be achieved by the study. Objective should
be closely related to the statement of the problem. Research objectives can be classified into
general and specific objectives.
Objective should be:
 Simple (not complex)
 Specific (not vague)
 Stated in advance (not after the research)
 Stated using action verb that are specific enough to be measured.

Literature review
A brief summary of previous research should be given so that the researcher and reader may be
familiar with what is already known and with what is still unknown and untested.

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  The literature review serves several important functions:
 Ensures that you are not "reinventing the wheel".
 Gives credits to those who have laid the groundwork for your research.
 Demonstrates your knowledge of the research problem.
 Demonstrates your understanding of the theoretical and research issues related to your
research question.
 Shows your ability to critically evaluate relevant literature information.
 Indicates your ability to integrate and synthesize the existing literature.
 Provides new theoretical insights or develops a new model as the conceptual framework
for your research.
 Convinces your reader that your proposed research will make a significant and substantial
contribution to the literature (i.e., resolving an important theoretical issue or filling a
major gap in the literature).

Most students' literature reviews suffer from the following problems:

 Lacking organization and structure
 Lacking focus, unity and coherence
 Being repetitive and verbose (wordy)
 Failing to cite influential papers
 Failing to keep up with recent developments
 Failing to critically evaluate cited papers
 Citing irrelevant or trivial references
 Depending too much on secondary sources
Methods
This part of the proposal outlines the entire research plan. Under this part of the synopsis
method, sample, population, tools and statistical analysis techniques are described in view of
testing the formulated hypotheses. It describes just what must be done, how it will be done, what
data will be needed, what data-gathering devices will be employed, how sources of data will be
selected, and how the data will be analyzed and conclusions be drawn.

A method tells how you plan to tackle your research problem. It will provide your work plan and
describe the activities necessary for the completion of your project. The guiding principle is that

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it should contain sufficient information for the reader to determine whether methodology is
sound. It should contain sufficient details for another qualified researcher to implement/replicate
the study. You need to demonstrate your knowledge of alternative methods and make the case
that your approach is the most appropriate and most valid way to address your research question

Your method might be ‘Quantitative’ or “Qualitative’

If quantitative, the method section typically consists of the following sections:
 Design -Is it a questionnaire study or a laboratory experiment? What kind of
design do you choose?
 Subjects or participants - Who will take part in your study? What kind of
sampling procedure do you use?
 Instruments - What kind of measuring instruments or questionnaires do you use?
Why do you choose them? Are they valid and reliable?
 Procedure - How do you plan to carry out your study? What activities are
involved? How long does it take?

If qualitative, there are no well-established and widely accepted canons in qualitative analysis,
your method section needs to be more elaborate than what is required for traditional quantitative
research. More importantly, the data collection process in qualitative research has a far greater
impact on the results as compared to quantitative research. That is another reason for greater care
in describing how you will collect and analyze your data.

Discussion of research proposal helps to:

 Convince your reader of the potential impact of your proposed research
 Communicate a sense of enthusiasm and confidence without exaggerating the merits of
your proposal
 Mention the limitations and weaknesses of the proposed research, which may be justified
by time and financial constraints as well as by the early developmental stage of your
research area.

Results or findings:

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Obviously, you do not have results at the proposal stage. However, you need to have some idea
about what kind of data you will be collecting, and what statistical procedures will be used in
order to answer your research question or test you hypothesis.

Common Mistakes in Proposal Writing are the following.

 Failure to provide the proper context to frame the research question.
 Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for your research.
 Failure to cite landmark studies.
 Failure to accurately present the theoretical and empirical contributions by other
researchers.
 Failure to stay focused on the research question.
 Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive argument for the proposed research.
 Too much detail on minor issues, but not enough detail on major issues.
 Too much rambling - going "all over the map" without a clear sense of direction. (The
best proposals move forward with ease and grace like a seamless river.)
 Too many citation lapses and incorrect references.
 Too long or too short.
 Sloppy writing.

Work plan
Work plan is a schedule, chart or graph that summarizes the different components of research
proposal and how they will be implemented in a coherent way within a specific timespan.
Budget and funding
It is important to cover the cost of conducting a research project. When drawing up a budget, be
realistic. Different costs with their justification should be included.
References
You must give references to all the information that you obtain from books, journals, and other
sources. References may be made in the main text using index numbers in brackets (Vancouver
style) or authors name (Harvard style). You will also need to place a list of references, numbered
as in the main text (or alphabetically ordered), at the end of your research proposal.
For journal paper give:

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 - The name of the authors
- The year of publication
- The title of the paper
- Title of the journal
- The volume number of the journal
- The first and last page number of the paper

For a book give:

- The author
- The year of publication
- The title and the edition number if there is one
- The name of the publisher
- The page numbers for your reference
For an internet reference give:
- The author of the web page
- The title of the item on the web page
- The date the item was posted on the web page
- The date the item was accessed from the web page
- The complete and exact URL

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Various agencies establish their own criteria for evaluating proposal of research project. The
following are the same criteria which are commonly used for this purpose:
1. Significance of the proposed research including:
a) Importance of the problem area from the standpoint of basic knowledge of problems
b) Likely magnitude of the addition that will be made to knowledge if the project is
successful, including the generalizability of the results.
2. Quality of the proposed research project, including such considerations as:
a) Extent to which the application exhibits through knowledge of pertinent previous work
and relates the proposed research to it.
b) Likelihood of success of the project.

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 c) Adequacy of design, methodology and tools, where appropriate.
3. Qualifications of the investigator and professional personnel as evidenced by:
a) Experiences and previous research productivity.
b) Quality of the discussion and analysis in the application.
4. Adequacy of the facilities and arrangements available to the investigator to conduct the
proposed study.
5. Reasonableness of the budget for the work to be done and the anticipated results. These
criteria should be incorporated in preparing a research proposal.