THE RESEARCH PROCESS STEPS TOWARDS RESEARCH PROPOSAL PREPARATION 1.

Find a topic of special interest to you or to your group (of three students). Once you find a topic that interests you, state in problem form. The best examples of how to state your research problem can be found in the theses you have been assigned to scan at the AMAIUB library. Problem statements consist of two parts: the general problem statement and the specific problem statements. The general problem statement is called the main problem statement, while the specific problem statements are called the sub-problems. 2. Once you have formulated your problem statement, discuss with your group how you may best secure or gather the data needed to answer your problem statement. There are many different ways of gathering data, depending on the nature of your problem statement. These include gathering data through administering a questionnaire (questionnaire survey), interviewing respondents (that is, people who are part of your research respondents or research subjects), observations from experiments (which will take usually a long time to complete), or pure library research (all the answers you need are to be gathered from books and other reference materials (such as articles from journals, theses, or on-line sources). 3. Once your group has decided on the problem statement and the method of gathering the data needed to answer the problem statement, prepare a research proposal. See the research proposal format that you have been sent. 4. After you finish preparing the research proposal, submit it to your professor for approval. 5. When your research proposal gets the stamp of approval from your professor, you can schedule when to gather the data. You must make it the soonest time that you can to allow you enough time to organize the data and collate them for presentation, analysis, and interpretation. This is why you MUST MAKE USE OF THE TIME GIVEN TO YOU FOR RESEARCHING IN THE LIBRARY.

CLARIFYING THE PARTS OF THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL: 1. TITLE PAGE: see the Title Page of one of the theses you have consulted in the library, and prepare your own title page following the format of the reference thesis. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS: also see the example in one of the theses you have consulted. 3. Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Background of the Study this informs why you have decided to write on the topic. But dont use the first person pronoun. Instead of using We, use The researchers Statement of the Problem you already know what this is all about Hypothesis if you need to prove a hypothesis in your research, you need to include a section on it; otherwise, skip this. Significance of the Study answer the question to whom will your research be important, and briefly explain why it is important to each of the specific persons or groups of persons Scope and Limitation of the Study inform what constraints you have that may affect the writing of your research (example: the scope of your topic, the availability of time, the availability of books and other sources of knowledge) Definition of Terms define words in your problem or sub-problem statements, so that your readers understand how you are using the terms in your research 4. Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES Related Local and Foreign Literature state each of the books published in Bahrain that can be used in your researchthat is, related to your research. Then, state each of the books published outside of Bahrain that are related to your research. (Any book is related to your research if it helps you learn new information about your topic). Related Local and Foreign Studies follow the procedure above for books, but instead of books, you are here reviewing theses (masters theses) or dissertations (doctoral theses). In reviewing a thesis (singular for theses), include the following information: the problem, the method of gathering data, the findings, conclusions, and the recommendations (usually, only the first two major ones). Theoretical Framework state what theory or theories your research is anchored on, and briefly explain the theory. Provide the source of your brief discussion for each theory. Conceptual Framework this refers to your research input, process, and output. Input means the problem statements; process means the method you used in gathering the data. Output means what you generated out of the data you have gathered and presented. An output usually involves solutions you offer, in view of the data you have gathered.

5. Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY Research Design this informs what method you will use in gathering data Sampling Design if your method of gathering data involves people who will answer questionnaires, you will need to compute how many of these people are needed to make your research valid or reliable Respondents of the Study inform who are the people involved in your study, and briefly give their characteristics (usually: their age, gender, educational attainment, and the like) Research Instrument if your group made your own questionnaire, discuss its major parts Validity of the Instrument this informs what your group did to ensure that your research questionnaire or instrument is appropriately constructed. Data Gathering Procedure this briefly explains the steps your group will do, in relation to data gathering. Data Processing and Statistical Treatment this will inform how your group will deal with the data you have gathered. You need to consult a statistician for this part of your study. In fact, right early on, when you feel you wish to use the questionnaire survey method, consult a statistician right away, so you can be helped in deciding who shall the respondents be, and how many they shall be, as well as how the gathered data will be treated statistically. 6. REFERENCES Books you know these parts here already. Obsrve the APA format at all times for each of the categories of references that you have consulted/will yet consult. The most recent APA format no longer use the overhanging style. (See the documentation format sent to your e-mail address). Articles Theses On-Line Sources 7. APPENDICES A Transmittal Letter a copy of the letter you will use to request for permission to gather data. B Research Instrument a copy of your questionnaire 8. CURRICULUM VITAE each of you shall prepare a curriculum vitae of your own. Follow the example in the thesis you have consulted. NOW, YOU ARE READY:-) GOOD LUCK AND FINISH STRONG!:-)

YOU WILL BE SENT THE COMPLETED RESEARCH REPORT FORMAT ON THE DAY YOU SUBMIT THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL. MAKE IT THE SOONEST TIME POSSIBLE, SO YOU CAN BE VERY THOROUGH IN PREPARING THE FINAL REPORT AFTER YOU HAVE GATHERED THE DATA :-)