DEVELOPING A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A research proposal is essentially a road map, showing clearly the location from which a journey
begins, the destination to be reached, and the method of getting there.

Contents of the Research Proposal

Cover Page
It should contain the research title, Unit of analysis (organization up on which the study is
conducted), name of researcher and advisor, the name of university and the program that you are in.

Title

It is one of the most important parts of a proposal. It will immediately attract or loss the interest of
any potential donor. The title should use the fewest possible words that adequately describe the
content of the paper. In titles, a researcher has to use specific, familiar, and short words. Use of
‘waste words’ should be avoided.

It is highly recommended your title at this level to be more descriptive with one variable such as a
title dealing with assessment of practice, challenges and prospects, status and the like

Table of Contents
Some sponsors require a table of contents that lists page numbers of all major sections of the
proposal. Agencies can be very specific about labeling, pagination, etc; obviously, a Table of
Contents cannot be created until all elements of the proposal have been prepared in final form.

Abstract

It is a short summary of the research proposal. It allows any body to understand quickly the thrust of
the proposal. It should be informative, giving readers the chance to grasp the essentials of the
proposal without having to read the details. It should include:

 A brief statement of the problem,

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  Types and sources of data to be gathered for the research
 Research design/ procedure/ to be applied to gather data, tools to be used to analyze the
collected data, and the benefits of the approach.

Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1. Background of the study

In the background, the researcher presents the background of what he wants to do and say briefly
why he thinks the works should be done and relate it to what is already known about the problem.
This part of the research provides some general theoretical basis or justifications for conducting a
research. It tells to the reader from what perspective that the research is to be conducted or the
overall justification as to why it is needed to conduct the study.

1.2. Statement of the problem

The statement of the problem typically comes very early in the research proposal. Here a researcher
has to capture the reader’s attention by stating the problem, and its consequences. It is important
that the problem is distinct from related problems and that the sponsor can see the delimitations
clearly. It may focus on literature based disagreements concerning the issue under investigation.
The researcher is expected to state this problem clearly without the use of idioms or clichés. Each
word of the statement must be expressive, sharp, and indispensable. A statement of the problem
should provide clear description of the problem to be investigated by the research, and the questions
that will subsequently guide the research process. This section should therefore include background
information on aspects such as:

i) The problem area and major research gaps in terms of policy and development issues
related to the research;
ii) The social, scientific and development relevance of the problem to be investigated both
institutionally, locally, regionally and/ or nationally:
iii) A brief and preliminary overview of the literature and/or research done in the field related
to the problem, and
iv) The statement has to how the research project will contribute to the solution of the problem
identified

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1.3. Definition of Terms/ Operational Definitions
Some important terms pertinent to the research should have an operational definitions at this section
of the research proposal, for example the definition for organizational change, compensation,
organizational performance and the like

1.4. Research Objectives

This part addresses the purpose of the investigation. It is here that the researchers lay out exactly
what is being planned by the proposed research. The objectives flow naturally from the problem
statement, giving the sponsor specific, concrete, and achievable goals. It is best to list the objectives
either in order of importance or in general terms first, moving to specific terms. The research
objectives section is the basis for judging the remainder of the proposal and, ultimately, the final
report. Verify the consistency of the proposal by checking to see that each objective is discussed in
the research design, data analysis, and result sections.

The objective of the research should be formulated in operational terms in reference to the issues
upon which the research will focus the research questions to be answered and the types of results
expected to be achieved. This section should include:

a) General objective/s/: These are understood as the overall objectives of the research project;
b) Specific objectives: These are understood as the elements of the research which are directly
addressable by the methodology and which are followed in order to achieve the general
objectives; and
1.5. Research Questions/ Research hypothesis

The research questions should be a direct replica of the specific objectives of the research.
Alternatively, the research questions can be replaced by research hypothesis.

The researcher has to clearly state a working hypothesis whenever it is necessary. A hypothesis is a
tentative predictive statement that represents a very specific proposed answer to the problem
statement. They are a tentative solution or proposition about the expected relationships between two
or more variables as the basis for investigation. Hypothesis are important to determine the nature of
data needed, to offer the basis for selecting the samples, the research procedures and method of
analysis, to restrict the scope of the study thereby preventing it from being too broad, and to set a
framework for reporting the conclusions of the study.

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1.6. Significances of the research

This part shows the explicit benefits and the beneficiaries of the results of the research being
conducted. It states the importance or contribution that the study will have for different bodies. The
importance could be to create awareness about the problem, to provide basis for other researchers,
or to extend the scope of knowledge. Usually, this section is not more than a few paragraphs.

1.7. Delimitations (Scope) of the study

This part indicates the scope (coverage) of the study. It should be delimited to manageable size.
This should be done in relation to the area coverage as well as to the treatment of the variables in
the study. In stating the scope, clearly show what is going to be investigated and what not.

1.8. Limitations of the study

This is a part that you will include some constraints or difficulties you think that they have influence
on the results of your study. This may be in relation to the weaknesses in the methodology, lack of
access to data, faulty instruments, sampling restrictions, lack of recent literature in the area etc. Any
restrictions or areas of the problem that will not be addressed must be indicated.

1.9. Research Methodology

Here, the researcher is expected to clearly state what he is going to do in technical terms. This
section should describe details of the research design and the procedure to be followed to achieve
each research objective. It should be sufficiently detailed to enable a scientific assessment of the
proposals. As such, this section should include as many subsections as needed to show the phases of
the project depending on the type of the project to be carried out. The following information are
among the most important ones that are worthy to be included:

1) A brief statement describing the general research methods to be followed in relation to the
research problems and hypothesis to be tested or research questions to be answered;
2) A description and explanation of the elements, variables or factors to be measured or otherwise
addressed by the research
3) A description of the subjects of our study i.e. study population and sample or target groups to
be used as sources for data gathering, including explanations of sampling or selection
procedures or technique, sampling units, sampling criteria, and sample size; and

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4) A description of the types and sources of data, approaches/methods/ procedures/ to be applied
in collecting primary and secondary information; procedures and techniques for processing and
analyzing information.

1.10. Budget/logistics and Work plan

Budget requirement

In order to carry out a given research you need to have money. The sources may be from
government budget or from supporting agencies. Whatever the source may be, we are expected to
assign a reasonable amount of money for the study in a form the sponsor requests. In addition, the
money we have, need to be planned on how to spend it. Budget breakdown has to be prepared for
all activities. It may include the details of:

 Personal Costs - Principal researcher- subsistence and boarding

 Support Services - Secretarial Costs/ data input and analysis

1.11. Work plan (Time Schedule)

We should also prepare a realistic time schedule for completing the study within the time available
dividing a study into phases and assigning dates for the completion of each phase. The work plan
(schedule) should include the major phases of the project together with their timetables. Major
phases may be questionnaire preparation, pre-testing, field interviews, editing and coding, data
analysis, and report generation.

Reference/ Bibliography

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In a research proposal we should give a list of books, journals, and other documents that we have
used in selecting the problem and which we may use while we conduct the study. For all projects
that require literature review, a bibliography is necessary. In this section, the researcher should
include a list of publications he/she actually read and cited in the text-arranged in alphabetical order.

Every reference you cite must appear in the list of references at the end of the proposal. Reference
should be written and organized in alphabetical order by the names of the authors and the year of
publication. Where no name of author is given, give the name of the sponsoring organizations as the
author. To be specific, use Harvard Style of referencing.

Appendices/ Annex

This section should include:

o Sample questionnaire, interview questions or other data collection instruments

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