This document provides guidance on developing an effective research proposal. It explains that a proposal must convince reviewers of the project's merits and the researcher's capabilities. It emphasizes grabbing the reviewer's attention with a clear research question and compelling introduction. The proposal should include a literature review, theoretical framework, research design, objectives, importance, and timeline. Following these guidelines can help create a proposal that persuades reviewers to approve and fund the proposed research project.
This document provides guidance on developing an effective research proposal. It explains that a proposal must convince reviewers of the project's merits and the researcher's capabilities. It emphasizes grabbing the reviewer's attention with a clear research question and compelling introduction. The proposal should include a literature review, theoretical framework, research design, objectives, importance, and timeline. Following these guidelines can help create a proposal that persuades reviewers to approve and fund the proposed research project.
This document provides guidance on developing an effective research proposal. It explains that a proposal must convince reviewers of the project's merits and the researcher's capabilities. It emphasizes grabbing the reviewer's attention with a clear research question and compelling introduction. The proposal should include a literature review, theoretical framework, research design, objectives, importance, and timeline. Following these guidelines can help create a proposal that persuades reviewers to approve and fund the proposed research project.
• Prepared to present a plan for a research project to reviewers for evaluation. • Can be a supervised research project or a project proposed to funding agency. • Convince the reviewers about the capability of the researcher. • For funded projects the researchers need to show the track record of past success. Proposal development • Research proposal to be developed in accordance with the expectations of the advisor, advisory committee, and funding agency as the case may be. • Model guideline may be point of departure for discussion. Proposal’s Overt Functions • Persuade a committee of scholars that the project shines with three kinds of merit: • - Conceptual innovation; • - Methodological rigor; and • - Rich, substantive content. Grab the attention • Say what you have to say immediately, crisply, and forcefully. • The opening paragraph, or the first page at the most, is your chance to grab the attention of the reviewer. • Overstate, rather than understate, your point or question. • Questions that are clearly posed are excellent way to begin. Was the decline in environmental pollution the result of corporate social responsibility? Or make a hypothesis. Questions like • Why is there an increase in cases related to sexual harassment at place of work? • What is the effect of temporary assistance to the needy families on the children of recipients? • How do the leaders use their emotional intelligence at their place of work? • What is the level of prevalence of emotional labor in the job performance of airline staff? • Is there a relationship between CSR and OCB? • What are the emotional consequences of divorce on job performance? Capture reviewer’s attention • Proposal reader looks for answers to three questions: • 1. What are we going to learn as a result of the proposed project that we do not know now? • 2. Why is it worth knowing? • 3. How will we know that the conclusions are valid? Include a title on your proposal • Don’t leave the title for the end. • A good proposal has a good title. First thing to help the reader begin to understand the nature of work. • Use it wisely. Work on your title early and revisit it often. A good title means: • Having the most important words appear toward the beginning of the title • Limiting the use of ambiguous or confusing words. • Breaking your title up into a title and subtitle when you have too many words. [12 words recommended] • Include key words that will help researchers in the future to find your work. Describing the research problem • Begin with a clear and simple formulation of the research question: • This research project tries to find out the extent to which vigilantism is growing within different sectors of the Lahore population. In particular the research focuses on the factors which promote and maintain vigilantism in Pakistani society. • Where does this question come from? • Clarify the concepts. Problem definition • From broad to specific concern. • Present problem statement in clear and precise manner. Problem could be: • An existing business problem identified by the Manager. • Scope for future improvement. • Areas needing conceptual clarity. • Curiosity of the researcher. Specify the objectives • Summarize the introduction into specific objectives, preferably number each objective. • On completion of study, make sure that the stipulated objectives have been achieved. Importance of the study • Rationale for the study. • Basic research. • Applied research. Make sure that your proposal has a comprehensive review of literature • Never say that your area is so new that no research exists. • Demonstrate that you are aware of the breadth and diversity of relevant literature. • Show awareness of the important theories, models, studies, and methodologies. • Time to get informed and to learn from others. Conceptual/theoretical framework • Debate in quantitative and qualitative research. • Review of literature should help. • Establish the context. Situate the problem in terms of its relevance to live theoretical currents. • Demonstrate awareness of alternative view points. • Use a fresh approach. Surprises and puzzles can persuade the reviewer. Research design • Discipline specific. Written in future tense. Two important requirements: • 1. Must specify the research operations + how the results will be interpreted. • 2. RD is not just a list of research tasks but an argument why these tasks add up to the best attack on the problem. • Any innovative parts of RD. • Specify the archives, the sources, the respondents, and the proposed techniques of analysis. • Ethical issues. Sponsored Researches • Symptoms of issues identified – tip of the iceberg – underlying factors to be identified. • Management dilemmas to be translated into research questions. • Terms of reference. • Some steps may not get emphasis. • Management’s research decisions based on the urgency of the study, time available, existing information, and cost-benefit equation. Research proposal sections • Introduction: background, objectives, significance • Review of Literature • Theoretical Framework • Hypothesis (es)/ research question(s) • Research design (data collection technique, population, sample, tools, fieldwork, data processing and analysis) • Report writing • Time schedule • Research Team • Budget