The Research proposal

Elements of Research proposal

By : Mrs . Najmunnisa Siddiqui
What is a research proposal?

 A research proposal sets out the broad topic you

would like to research (substance), what the
research would set out to achieve (aims and
objectives), how you would go about researching
it (methodology), how you would undertake it
within the time available (outline plan) and what
the results might be in relation to knowledge and
understanding in the subject (potential
outcomes).
 Purpose of a Research Proposal
 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.
 The purpose of a proposal is to sell your idea to the funding
agency. This means that the investigator must convince the
funding agency that:
 The problem is significant and worthy of study
 The technical approach is novel and likely to yield results
 The investigator and his/her research team is/are the right
group of individuals to carry out and accomplish the work
described in the research proposal.
Elements of a Research Proposal
 Title
 Abstract
 Table of Content
 Section A: Introduction
 Section B: Review of the Related Literature
 Section C: Methodology
 Section D: Ethical/ Legal Consideration
 Section E: Time Schedule
 References
Title
 Abstract
 Is a summary of the whole research;
 Main purpose is to summarize the research (particularly the
objective and the main finding/conclusion), NOT to
introduce the research area.
 Has a maximum word limit;
 An abstract should briefly:
 Re-establish the topic of the research.
 Give the research problem and/or main objective of the
research (this usually comes first).
 Indicate the methodology used.
 Present the main findings and conclusion.
Section A :Introduction
 Background of the study
 Statement of the problem
 Research Objectives
 Research questions
 Significance of the study
 Scope of the study
 Delimitations of the study
 Assumptions of the study
 Definitions of key terms
Background of the study
 “The introduction is the part of the paper
that provides readers with the
background information for the research
reported in the paper. Its purpose is to
establish a framework for the research,
so that readers can understand how it is
related to other research” (Wilkinson,
1991, p. 96).
 In an introduction, the writer should
 create reader interest in the topic,
 lay the broad foundation for the problem that leads
to the study,
 place the study within the larger context of the
scholarly literature, and
 reach out to a specific audience. (Creswell, 1994,
p. 42)
Statement of the Problem
 “The problem statement describes the context
for the study and it also identifies the general
analysis approach” (Wiersma, 1995, p. 404).
 A problem statement is a clear description of
the issue(s), it includes a vision, issue
statement, and method used to solve the
problem.
 The 5 'W's can be used to spark the discussion
about the problem.
 A problem statement expresses the words that
will be used to keep the effort focused and it
should represent a solveable problem.
FORMING A PROBLEM STATEMENT
I wish I knew how to eliminate drug use amongst
youth in the community.”
 Who… anyone under the age of 18 who is using drugs in my
community
 When… after school, sometimes during school, on the
weekends
 Where… in the parks, in parking lots, at shopping malls, at
home when
 parents are gone

 What.… marijuana, stimulants, ecstasy, sniffing glue

 Why… bored, everyone else is doing it, makes me feel better,
gives me energy, it’s no big deal, it doesn’t hurt
 The answers generated make me reconsider the problem. After
I look more
 Example

Taken from Umbach, P. D. (in press). The contribution of faculty
of color to undergraduate education. Research in Higher
Education.
 At the same time that the United States is becoming more diverse,
colleges and universities find they must defend themselves against
attacks on affirmative action. In response to lawsuits brought
against affirmative action in college admissions, many have argued
that diversity is a ‘‘compelling interest’’ in that it enhances higher
education through the benefits it brings to individual students
(Astone and Nunez-Wormack, 1990; Duster, 1993; Hurtado et al.,
1998; Liu, 1998; Smith and Associates, 1997; Tierney, 1993). In a
climate where affirmative action is under increased scrutiny, it is
important that researchers extend this line of inquiry to all levels of
higher education. One avenue that is beginning to emerge is the
positive impact that diverse faculty have on student experiences.
Example
 Taken from Umbach, P. D. & Kuh, G. D. (in press). Student
experiences with diversity at liberal arts colleges: another claim for
distinctiveness. The Journal Higher Education.
 Hu and Kuh (2003) found that students in private institutions more
frequently interacted with students from different backgrounds and that
students at large doctoral-extensive universities and liberal arts colleges
had more experiences with diversity than their counterparts at other
types of institutions. It is not surprising that students at large universities
would have more exposure to diversity, given that these institutions
typically enroll more students from different racial, ethnic and cultural
groups. Somewhat unexpected is that students at smaller liberal arts
colleges would report equally frequent experiences with diversity.
Historically, small liberal arts colleges have claimed to have distinctive
missions, especially when compared with large public universities
(Clark, 1970; Kuh, Schuh, Whitt, & Associates, 1991; Townsend,
Newell, & Wiese, 1992). But they also tend to be located in rural and
less racially diverse locations. Even so, it appears that a distinctive
dimension of contemporary liberal arts colleges is their ability to expose
students to diversity in educationally purposeful ways. How they do this
is not clear.
Example
 Problem Statement by Michelle Kraft © 2000
 Through a historical/legal analysis of the Least
Restrictive Environment (LRE) clause of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) amendments of
1997 (PL 105-17), and its intersection with a Free
Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), I will compare the
intent of the mandate to its actual practice in a five-
month case study of a junior high art class. A theoretical
frame consisting of values of equality, liberty, and
efficiency guide data collection, analyses, and
interpretation of the relationships and disparities that
exist between the legal statute's intent and its actual
practice.

 “I wish young people in my community were
more aware of the dangers of drugs and had
some place to go after school and on weekends
that offered beneficial recreation to keep them
feeling energetic and good about themselves
which, when combined may decrease the use of
drugs amongst them and their peers." My new
problem statement will help me come up with
solutions that address the root of the cause not
just the symptoms.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
 The OBJECTIVES of a research project summaries what is to
be achieved by the study.
 Objectives should be closely related to the statement of the
problem. For example, if the problem identified is low
utilization of child welfare clinics, the general objective of the
study could be to identify the reasons for this low utilization,
in order to find solutions.
 The general objective of a study states what researchers
expect to achieve by the study in general terms.
 It is possible (and advisable) to break down a general objective
into smaller, logically connected parts. These are normally
referred to as specific objectives.
 Specific objectives should systematically address the various
aspects of the problem as defined under ‘Statement of the
Problem’ and the key factors that are assumed to influence or
cause the problem. They should specify what you will do in
your study, where and for what purpose.
 General Objectives
 A study into the cost and quality of home-based
care for HIV/AIDS patients and their
communities in Zimbabwe, developed at an HSR
workshop, for example, had as its general
objective:
 To explore to what extent community home-
based care (CHBC) projects in Zimbabwe
provide adequate, affordable and sustainable care
of good quality to people with HIV/AIDS, and to
identify ways in which these services can be
improved.
It was split up in the following specific objectives:

 To identify the full range of economic, psychosocial,

health/nursing care and other needs of patients and their
families affected by AIDS.
 To determine the extent to which formal and informal support
systems address these needs from the viewpoint of service
providers as well as patients.
 To determine the economic costs of CHBC to the patient and
family as well as to the formal CHBC programmes
themselves.
 To relate the calculated costs to the quality of care provided to
the patient by the family and to the family/patient by the
CHBC programme.
 To determine how improved CHBC and informal support
networks can contribute to the needs of persons with AIDS
and other chronically and terminally ill patients.
 To use the findings to make recommendations on the
improvement of CHBC to home care providers, donors and
other concerned organisations, including government .
Research Hypotheses
 Based on your experience with the study
problem, it might be possible to develop
explanations for the problem, which can then
be tested. If so, you can formulate hypotheses
in addition to the study objectives.
 A HYPOTHESIS is a prediction of a
relationship between one or more factors and
the problem under study that can be tested.
 a hypothesis represents a declarative
statement of the relations between two or more
variables (Kerlinger, 1979; Krathwohl, 1988).
Example
 In example concerning the cost and quality of
HBC in Zimbabwe it would have been possible
to formulate and test the following hypotheses:
 The role of first-line relatives in the provision of
care to AIDS patients is more substantial in rural
than in urban areas.
 The silence and stigma surrounding AIDS
makes the formation of self-help groups of AIDS
patients and their relatives next to impossible,
which in turn maintains the high level of stigma
on HIV/AIDS.
Research Questions
 Questions are relevant to normative or census
type research (How many of them are there?
Is there a relationship between them?).
 They are most often used in qualitative
inquiry, although their use in quantitative
inquiry is becoming more prominent.
 A research question poses a relationship
between two or more variables but phrases the
relationship as a question; (Kerlinger, 1979;
Krathwohl, 1988).

Examples of research questions
 What is the impact of a study skills
program on student achievement?
 What is the effect of teaching keyboarding
skills to sixth grade students on word
processing skills and quality of writing?
 · How does an elimination of number and
letter grades throughout the year (with the
exception of quarter and semester grades
Significance of the Study
 Indicate how your research will refine, revise,
or extend existing knowledge in the area under
investigation. Note that such refinements,
revisions, or extensions may have either
substantive, theoretical, or methodological
significance. Think pragmatically (i.e., cash
value).
 This can be a difficult section to write. Think
about implications—how results of the study
may affect scholarly research, theory, practice,
educational interventions, curricula,
counseling, policy.
Contd…
When thinking about the significance of your study, ask
yourself the following questions.
• What will results mean to the theoretical framework that
framed the study?
• What suggestions for subsequent research arise from the
findings?
• What will the results mean to the practicing educator?
• Will results influence programs, methods, and/or
interventions?
• Will results contribute to the solution of educational
problems?
• Will results influence educational policy decisions?
• What will be improved or changed as a result of the
proposed research?
• How will results of the study be implemented, and what
innovations will come about?
Limitations and Delimitations
 A limitation identifies potential weaknesses of the
study. Think about your analysis, the nature of self-
report, your instruments, the sample. Think about
threats to internal validity that may have been
impossible to avoid or minimize—explain.

 A delimitation addresses how a study will be

narrowed in scope, that is, how it is bounded. This is
the place to explain the things that you are not doing
and why you have chosen not to do them—the
literature you will not review (and why not), the
population you are not studying (and why not), the
methodological procedures you will not use (and why
you will not use them). Limit your delimitations to the
things that a reader might reasonably expect you to
do but that you, for clearly explained reasons, have
decided not to do.
Operational Definitions of Key Terms
 An operational definition is a demonstration of a
process – such as a variable, term, or object – in terms
of the specific process or set of validation tests used to
determine its presence and quantity.
 This section provides operational definition of terms that are
unusual or unfamiliar. It identifies precisely the names of
concepts, tests, or participants introduced in the Statement of
the Problem and employed in the Hypotheses
 Properties described in this manner must be sufficiently
accessible, so that persons other than the definer may
independently measure or test for them at will

Example
 Corporate Social Responsibility
Operational Definition:
 CSR is about how companies manage the
business processes to produce an overall
positive impact on society.
 Accommodated independent person
Operational Definition
 accommodated independent person is an
independent person living in the parental home
Review of the Related Literature
• “The review of the literature provides the background and
context for the research problem. It should establish the need
for the research and indicate that the writer is knowledgeable
about the area” (Wiersma, 1995, p. 406).
 The literature review accomplishes several important things.
 It shares with the reader the results of other studies
that are closely related to the study being reported
(Fraenkel & Wallen, 1990).
 It relates a study to the larger, ongoing dialogue in
the literature about a topic, filling in gaps and
extending prior studies (Marshall & Rossman, 1989).
 It provides a framework for establishing the
importance of the study, as well as a benchmark
for comparing the results of a study with other
findings.
 It “frames” the problem earlier identified.

 In a proposal, the literature review is generally brief

and to the point. Be judicious in your choice of
exemplars—the literature selected should be
pertinent and relevant (APA, 2001). Select and
reference only the more appropriate citations. Make
key points clearly and succinctly.
Section C: Methodology
 Design of the study
 Population and sampling
 Research Instruments
 Pilot study
 Instrument Reliability and Validity
 Method of Data Collection
 Plan of Data Analysis
Research Design
 Design – a description of the approach to be
used to reach objectives.
 Clearly indicate the methods of data collection
either within a quantitative or qualitative
methodology; as well as the techniques for data
collection, e.g. questionnaires, and
measurement (the validation of the techniques).
Indicate whether field workers will be used to
collect data and whether computer programmes
will be employed to analyse the data.
Population and Sampling
 A population can be defined as including
all people or items with the characteristic
one wishes to understand
 Population sampling refers to the
process through which a group of
representative individuals is selected from
a population for the purpose of statistical
analysis.
Apparatus and/or Instruments

 In this subsection of the method section you describe

any apparatus and or instruments you propose to use
in your research study.
 The following information should be included:

 General description of the apparatus or instruments.
 Variables measured by instruments.
 Reliability and validity of instruments.
 Why the instruments or apparatus are used.
 Reference indicating where apparatus or instruments
can be obtained.
Data Collection

Outline the general plan for collecting the data. This

may include survey administration procedures,
interview or observation procedures. Include an
explicit statement covering the field controls to be
employed. If appropriate, discuss how you obtained
entré.
 .
Data Analysis

 Specify the procedures you will use, and label them

accurately (e.g., ANOVA, MANCOVA, HLM,
ethnography, case study, grounded theory). If coding
procedures are to be used, describe in reasonable
detail. If you triangulated, carefully explain how you went
about it. Communicate your precise intentions and
reasons for these intentions to the reader. This helps
you and the reader evaluate the choices you made and
procedures you followed.
 Indicate briefly any analytic tools you will have available
and expect to use (e.g., Ethnograph, NUDIST, AQUAD,
SAS, SPSS, SYSTAT).
 Provide a well thought-out rationale for your decision to
use the design, methodology, and analyses you have
selected.
Section D: Ethical/ Legal Consideration

 Human research participants need:

 • Informed consent
 • Voluntary participation
 • Restricted use of deception
 • Debriefing
 • Confidentiality
Section E: Time Schedule
 This section indicates exactly what will be done, the
sequence of the various activities, and the products of
deliverables that will be prepared. Specify the tasks,
deliverables, and schedule in some detail, although there
is usually some latitude for offerers.
 In preparing grant proposals, there is more freedom to
define the tasks. In both cases, it is important that the
proposed task structure includes all of the activities
necessary for completing the project.
 Planning a viable schedule for carrying out the tasks is
often as important as developing a comprehensive list of
tasks.