Assignment 3

Research Proposal

Your proposals should have the following entries:

Title

Background of the problem

Present the background – the issues, the problem,
opportunity, or situation that brings about the
proposed research. Get the readers concerned
about the problem, excited about the opportunity, or
interested in the situation in some way.
Explain why the topic important and give your
rationale(s). Shape the argument so that the readers
see the rationale for the proposed research.
Answer such questions as: “Why is it important to
conduct the study or carry on the assignment?”
Provide specifics so that the readers see the
important of your research.
 Problem Statement
Include a clear statement that outlines details of the
proposed research. Elaborate on the problem.

The problem provides the context for the research

study and typically generates questions which the
research hopes to answer. In considering whether or
not to move forward with a research project, you will
generally spend some time considering the problem.
In your paper, the statement of the problem is the
first part of the paper to be read. The problem
statement should "hook" the reader and establish a
persuasive context for what follows.
You need to be able to clearly answer the question:
"what is the problem"? and "why is this problem
worth my attention"? At the same time, the problem
statement limits scope by focusing on some
variables and not others. It also provides an
opportunity for you to demonstrate why these
variables are important.
Problem Importance
The importance of the problem should receive
considerable and persuasive attention [note that
importance is inevitably subjective and will vary from
person to person and agency to agency]. Clearly
indicate why your problem is an important one by
answering questions such as these:
 Is the problem of current interest? Is it
topical?
 Is the problem likely to continue into the

future?
 Will more information about the problem

have practical application?

 Will more information about the problem

have theoretical importance?

 How large is the population affected by

the problem?
 How important, influential, or popular is

this population?
 Would this study substantially revise or

extend existing knowledge?

 Would this study create or improve an

instrument of some utility?

 Would research findings lead to some

useful change in best practice?

 Is there evidence or authoritative
opinion from others to support the need
for this research?
The problem statement should persuasively indicate
that major variables can be measured in some
meaningful way. If you can identify likely objections
to the study, identify and respond to them here.
Problem Statement Question
The problem statement should close with a question.
Typically, the question contains two variables, a
measurable relationship, and some indication of
population. The purpose of the literature search that
follows is to answer the research problem question.
If the literature cannot answer the question, the
research is needed to do so. An example question
might be:
"What is the relationship between the grade point
average of UTK juniors and their use of the library"?
The information needed is
(1) grade point average and
(2) some measure of library use.

A bad example might be: "What is the best way to

teach bibliographic instruction"? This is insufficient
because:
 1. What are the variables?
2. What will be measured?
3. What relationships will be
examined?
4. What is the population?
The title and the problem statement question are
often nearly identical. For example, in the good
example above, the title of this research project
would be something like this:
"Library Circulation Use by University of Tennessee
Juniors and Their Grade Point Average"

Purpose/Objective of the Research

State what you purpose to do about the problem,

how you plan to help the readers take advantage of
the opportunity and how you intend to help them
with the situation.
Identify your reason to do the research by answering
the question why are you doing this research. The
objectives statements are very straightforward,
normally brief but specific in identifying the aims or
goals of the study.

Hypotheses/Research Questions

List questions that you need to find the answer to.

Research Questions
• Should be stated as a question, e.g., "Is there a

relationship between a person's age and their

favourite day of the week?"
• Should involve the relationship or difference

between two or more variables (i.e., an

independent and a dependent variable), e.g., IV
= age, DV = favourite day of the week.
• In the Introduction, you should clearly define

each of the target constructs (IVs and DVs) and

in the Method explain how each of them is
operationalised (measured).
• Introduce the RQ within the first two pages of

the Introduction, then go on to review relevant

theoretical and research literature, and then
restate/justify the RQ towards the end of the
introduction and use this to lead in to the
statement of hypotheses.
 • Should relate to the research literature and a
problem/issue to be solved.
• Serves to provide an overall focus the study - it
is the study's goal.
• Leads into specific, testable hypotheses.
Hypotheses
• Follows on from the overall RQ(s).

• A clear, testable statement, not a question.

• Concise and to the point.

• Is readily understood by others.

• States specific predictions.

• Usually in future tense.

• Each hypothesis should be able to be tested via

one analysis (or one set of related analyses).

• Identifies specific relationships between
variables.
• Can be:

o It is predicted that female participants will

nominate their favourite sense as smell

more frequently than male participants.
o or

o It is predicted that female and male

participants will differ in the frequency with
which they nominate smell as their favourite
sense.
 • Technically, each hypothesis should be stated
using:
o null (H0) and

o alternative hypotheses (H1)

• In practice, social science researchers often just

state H1.
• Number or letter each of your hypotheses (e.g.,
1, 2, 3; 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b) and use this as
organising device for your Results and
Discussion.
• For the lab report, you should have at one
hypothesis for each of the major analyses you
undertake (and more likely several hypotheses
for each of the ANOVA and MLR analyes).
• Sometimes, e.g., for exploratory research or
qualitative research, a RQ may not lend itself to
having an accompanying hypothesis - in this
case, just ask a RQ.

Significance of the study

Discuss the benefits of doing the proposed research,

the advantages that come from approving it.

Scope
Outline the scope of the research. If your research
too large you will not be able to handle the
assignment during the term. If the research is too
small, you will not be able to produce an acceptable
research.

Limitation
Discussion on the limitations of the research may
include:
• focus on answering the research questions
• the kind of research proposed
• the available time to collect data/information
• the narrowness of the subject
• the kinds and numbers of respondents to be
studies
• the cost in carrying out the research

Literature Review
The purpose of writing a literature review is for you
to take a critical look at the literature that already
exists in the areas you are searching. It guides you
through the kind of work that others in your field of
study have done. It is also to convey to your readers
the information and ideas that have been
established on the topics as well as to see the
strengths and weaknesses of previous studies. With
the information, you will be better prepared to start
your research.
Elaborate on the information that you have and use
your own words. There are many reasons for writing
the literature review. The most important ones are
• to provide a context for the research
• to justify the research
• to illustrate how the subject has been studies
previously
• to outline gaps in previous research
• to show the researchers understanding of the
topic area being studied
 Methodology

Explain the processes that you plan to use to gather

the information that supports the thesis statement,
answer the research questions, or achieve the
stated objectives. Give enough information so that
the lecturer/supervisor can understand how to
researchers will collect the data or the needed
information.
In writing the research method section, you need to
consider the following questions based on the
research that you have to conduct:
• What was the design of the research?
• Who were the subjects or respondents?
• How were the subjects/respondents selected?
(Random sampling or non random sampling)
• What are the instruments used? (observation,
interview, questionnaire, experiment)
• Were the instruments adapted from previous
study or newly developed?
 • What sequence of events did you follow when
you collect the data?
• What were the steps in the data analysis?
The main elements that need to be included in the
research method section are:
• Purpose or objectives of the research
• Short description of the issues or problem to be
investigated
• Location of the data collection
• Population and sample or respondents of the
research
• Data collection methods
• Data analysis methods (percentage, using
SPSS software, tabulated in tables)

References (APA style)

APA stands for the American Psychological

Association. The APA publishes a book called, “The
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association”. This 300-page book is
a critical reference for students who are writing research papers. Because many
researchers use APA format for preparing papers for publication, many universities
have adopted the APA guidelines for all academic papers.

Appendix
Sample of questionnaire