Preparing a Research

Proposal
Cycle of Research

Choose
Choose
Topic
Topic
Inform
Inform Design
Design
Others
Others Study
Study
(Research
(Research Plan
Planand
and
Report)
Report) strategy
strategy

Theory
Theory
Collection
Collection
Interpret
Interpret ofof
Data
Data Data
Data

Analyse
Analyse
Data
Data
Some starting points for a good
research proposal

•Provides a realistic plan for investigation of

your research question
•Provides justification of a methodological
perspective,
•& methods of investigation
•Provides data which has the capacity to
answer your research question
•Adequately considers relevant ethical issues
 Method or Methodology?
 Methods are the techniques/ procedures
used to collect and analyse data
 Methodology refers to discussions of how
research is done, or should be done, and
the critical analysis of methods of research
(Blaike, 2000:8)
 Some questions you may be
pondering
 What’s my research question?
 What theories, concepts, models inform my research?
 What kind of data will I need to answer my question?
 How will I collect this data?
 What ethical issues are relevant to my research?
 What are the strengths and limitations of my research?
 How much can I reasonably achieve in my research?
 How will my work be judged?
 “a question well asked is a question
half answered”: the way the question
(or hypothesis) is stated shows what
data will be necessary to answer (or
test) it, and probably suggests also
how and from where or from whom the
data will be obtained

 Punch, K. (1998). Introduction to Social Research:

Quantitative & Qualitative Approaches. London: Sage.
Types of research questions

These three types of questions usually

form a sequence …

What  Why  How

Developing a research question
 Having come up with some prototype
questions now refine.
 Examine the scope of your question/s
 Separate major and subsidiary questions
 Is each question necessary?
 Refine the wording of your question/s
 Refining your Questions
Beware of the tendency toward bigger and more questions
 Consider carefully the verbs you
use in your question
 Explore (initial description)
 Describe (detailed account)
 Explain (establish the factors responsible)
 Understand (establish reasons)
 Predict (using an explanation to postulate future
outcomes)
 Change (to actively intervene)
 Evaluate (assess if desired outcomes are
achieved)
After finalising the research
question - two questions ...
 WHAT research
strategy will be
used?

 WHERE will the

data come from?
 Induction
 Form of reasoning – bottom up

Theory

Tentative
Hypothesis or
proposition

Identifying
Patterns

Observations
Measures
 Deduction
 Top down reasoning

Theory

Hypothesis
To test

Observations to address
the hypothesis
Test the hypothesis with specific data

Confirm/or disconfirm
the original hypothesis
 Strategies for Answering
research questions
A Research Design needs to answer
3 basic questions:

WHAT will be studied?

WHY will it be studied?
HOW will it be studied?
Where does your method sit?

Field Research
Unstructured Structured

Literature/ Archive
 Quantitative Research
 Quantitative researchers attempt to be objective,
meaning that they wish to develop an understanding
of the world as it is ‘out there’, independent of their
personal biases, values and idiosyncratic notions.
 Quantitative research involves numbers.
 Usually large volume of participants/ records
 Eg. Survey Research, Analysis of existing
quantitative data sets
 Strength: Representivity
 Weakness: Depth of Understanding
 Qualitative Research
 Qualitative researchers view themselves as
primary instrument for collecting data. They rely
partly or entirely on their feelings, impressions,
and judgments in collecting data.
 Qualitative research involves words
 Usually smaller volume of participants/records
 Eg. Ethnographic research, life history
interviews, discourse analysis
 Strength: Depth of understanding
 Limitation: Representivity
 Research Proposal
 Title
 Introduction (inc. statement of research problem/ question/ aims
objectives)
 Background/ Literature Review
 Research Design
- Method of data selection
- Instruments/ techniques to be used
- Methodological limitations
- Methodological significance/ innovation
- Data analysis strategy
- Ethical issues
- Timeline
- Resources required
- Expected outcomes of research
 Plan your Proposal
 Decide how long each section will be
 Some sections will be quite short (eg
limitations, timeline etc) while other
sections (eg literature review will be quite
long).
 The significance of sections will vary
according to your particular project. You
may even have some additional sections
that are needed for your proposal.
 Some tips
 Finalise your research question/ problem
statement/ hypothesis
 Make sure your proposal is logical.
 Identify possible weaknesses in your research
design, acknowledge them and explain why they
are there.
 Critically review/ edit your own writing, seek
others help with this
 Learn to read like a writer – examine structure,
style, organisation etc
 Some more tips
 Write with authority (ie back up your statements)
 Write for clarity not ‘impressiveness’
 Show that you are planning your research
carefully (think about pragmatic issues – agency
support/ ethics/ resources you may need/
potential hurdles).
 You are the expert on your topic. Help the
reader to grasp your ideas.
 Edit for clarity (don’t just proofread)
Questions??
 Interrelationship between conceptual terms

Ontology Epistemology Methodology Methods Sources

What’s out
there to know?
What and how can
we know about it?
How can we go about
acquiring that knowledge?

Which precise procedures

can we use to acquire it?
Which data
can we collect

Figure adapted from Hay, C. (2002)

Political Analysis: A Critical Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave. p. 64