Chapter Three: Developing A Research Proposal

3.1 Defining a Research Proposal

Every researcher has to write a research proposal before he/she undertakes any research work. A
proposal is known as a work plan, prospectus, outline, statement of intent, or draft plan. So the
proposal tells us what, why, how, where, and to whom the research will be done. It is the detailed
plan of study. The term "research proposal" indicates that a specific course of action will be
followed. It is a document which sets out the researchers’ ideas in an easily accessible way. The
intent of the written research proposal is to present a focused and scholarly presentation of a
research problem and plan. The objective in writing a proposal is to describe what the researcher
will do, why it should be done, how the researcher will do it and what the researcher expect will
result. A clean, well thought-out, proposal forms the backbone for the research itself.

3.2 The Purpose Research Proposal

Research proposal may function at least in three ways,
i. Proposal as a means of communication serves to communicate the investigator’s
research plan to those who-give consultations and / or disburse fund. Proposal is the
primary source on which the graduate students’ thesis or dissertation committee must
base the function of: review, consultation and more importantly, approval for
implementation of the research project
In general, the quality of assistance and the probability of financial support will all depend
directly on the clarity and justification of the proposal.
ii. Research proposal as blueprint/plan helps the researcher to organize his idea in a
systematic manner and to look for strengths and flaws. A successful proposal sets out the
plan in step-by-step detail. That is, it provides an inventory of what must be done and
which materials have to be collected as a preliminary step.
Generally, the acceptability of results is judged exclusively in terms of the adequacy of the
methods employed in recording, analyzing and interpreting the data in the planned study.
iii. Proposal also functions as a contract. A completed proposal approved for execution and
signed by all members of the sponsoring committee, constitute a bond of agreement
between the researcher and that committee. An approved grant proposal results in a
contract between the investigator (and often the university) and funding sources.
A research proposal should convince your research supervisor or a reviewer that your proposed
methodology is commendable, valid, appropriate and workable in terms of obtaining answers to
your research questions or objectives. Proposal for thesis and dissertation should be in final form
prior to the collection of data. Once document is approved in final form, neither the student nor
the sponsoring faculty members should be free to alter the fundamental terms of the contract by
unilateral decision.

3.3 Structure of a Research Proposal

There is no a hard and a fast format in scientific research proposal writing. It varies from one
organization to anther and from one country to another. Some universities and funding agencies
make very specific demand for the format of proposals. Others provide general guidelines for
form and content. Though the format varies, the essence expressed in different proposal remains
the same.
 The title
 Cover page
 Abstract
I. Introduction
Background of the study
Statement of the problem
Research questions
Objectives of the study
The Hypothesis
The Significance of the Study
Scope of the study/ delimitations of the study
Limitation of the study (optional)
Definition of key terms
Organization of the study
II. Literature Review
III. Research Methodology
 IV. Work plan and budget/logistics
 Reference
 Appendixes
Each of them can have their own separate section in research proposal. Some can be merged
some on the other hand can be split in to separate section or into further subsections.

A. Preliminary
I. Title:
 The title should be as explicit as possible and transparent
 It should be clear and short
 It should capture and reflect the content of the proposal. It should enable the readers
to understand the concepts of the study. Try to get the title down to one line or two

II. Cover page

The cover page contains the name of the investigator, the name of your department, college,
university, the name of your advisor(s) and date of delivery under the title.
The title page has no page number and it is not counted in any page numbering.
III. Summary/Abstract:
The abstract is a one-page brief summary of the research proposal (most of the time less than
300 words). It should be concise, informative and should provide brief information about the whole
problem to be investigated. The abstract should not include any information that is not in the main text of
the research proposal. Do not put references, figures, or tables in the abstract.

The abstract of a proposal should contain the following points

 Title or topic of the research
 Statement of the problem and objective
 Methodology of investigation
 Expected result (tentative only if a researcher starts with a formulated hypothesis)

IV. Table of Content

After accomplishment of research proposal writing table of content which comprises title
and page number can be developed manually or automatically from the computer references
menu.
B. Body of the proposal
I. Introduction
3.3.1 Background of the Study
The first part of any research proposal is background of the study. It is of special importance on
account of its strategic location. It is the part of the proposal that provides readers with the
background information for the research proposal. Its purpose is to establish a framework for the
research, so that readers can understand how it is related to other research. Be sure to include a
hook at the beginning of it. This is a statement of something sufficiently interesting to motivate
the reader to read the rest of the proposal, it is an important/interesting scientific problem that the
study either solves or addresses. This section should cite those who had the idea or ideas first,
and should also cite those who have done the most recent and relevant work. The researcher
should then go on to explain why more work is necessary (his/her work of course). The
background of the research should identify the variables of the research problem, discuss the
variables which are selected for the research study. Other important variables which are not
included in the research study should also be briefly discussed. It should also be made clear that
which criteria were used for the selection of the variables. This part of the research proposal
should be written in simple language and should also be précised. Areas to cover in the
background are:

i. The domain of the study. That is background theory, for example: financial
accounting, taxation, Auditing.
ii. The sector or business segment. That is forcal theory. For example, Banking
industry, government sector, textile industry and
iii. The obligation why the study is to be conducted in the domain, in relation to the
previous studies. The last paragraph must explain the primary purpose of the study.

3.3.2 Statement of the problem

Most research proposals are considered as responses to a problem. A problem might be defined
as the issue that exists in the literature, theory, or practice that leads to a need for the study. The
prospective researcher should think on what caused the need to do the research (problem
identification). The research problem should be stated in such a way that it would lead to
analytical thinking on the part of the researcher with the aim of possibly concluding solutions to
the stated problem. The problem statement describes the context for the study and it also
identifies the general analysis approach. It is important in a proposal that the problem stand out
—that the reader can easily recognize it.
 What information should be included in the problem statement?

1. A brief description of socio-economic and cultural characteristics in the country/district

in as far as these are relevant to the problem. Include a few illustrative statistics, if
available, to help describe the context in which the problem occurs.
2. A concise description of the nature of the problem (the discrepancy between what is and
what should be) and of the size, distribution and severity of the problem (who is affected,
where, since when, and what are the consequences for those affected and for the
services). For a descriptive or evaluation study you will elaborate the different
components of the problem.
3. An analysis of the major factors that may influence the problem and a discussion of why
certain factors need more investigation if the problem is to be fully understood.
4. A brief description of any solutions to the problem that have been tried in the past, how
well they have worked, and why further research is needed (justification for your study).
5. A description of the type of information expected to result from the project and how this
information will be used to help solve the problem.
6. If necessary, a short list of definitions of crucial concepts used in the statement of the
problem.
Effective problem statements answer the questions:
Why does this research need to be conducted?
Are there questions about this problem to which answers have not been found up to the present?
3.3.3 Research Questions

Once a statement of the research problem is defined, the next step is to pose the research
question which forms the basis of the inquiry.
A research question is a statement which depicts the relationship between two or more
variables of interest to the researcher. The relationship is presented in question form.

Example:
The following are a set of possible research questions on a study of ‘capacity building linkages
at the community level’:
 What are the grassroots initiatives of community based
organizations? What are the decision making processes at the
community level?

How are the linkages at the community level important to the promotion of capacity
building?

3.3.4 Research Objectives

The objectives of a research delineate the ends or aim which the inquirer seeks to bring about as
a result of completing the research undertaken. An objective may be thought of as either a
solution to a problem or a step along the way toward achieving a solution; an end state to be
achieved in relation to the problem. The objectives of a research project summarize what is to be
achieved by the study. Objectives should be closely related to the statement of the problem.

Generally, this section should focus on the points

 What is to be achieved by the proposed investigation has to be stated plainly and
concisely
 Should be to the point and logically arranged
 Should be stated in a form which shows the relations between variables
 Must clearly state the target of the research activity, i.e., what kind of results are
expected or sought from conducting research.
It should be SMART; Specific/not vague, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound. Objectives should
be stated using “action verbs” that are specific enough to be measured:
Examples: To determine …, To compare…, To verify…, To calculate…, To describe…, etc.
Do not use vague non-action verbs such as: To appreciate … To understand… To believe.
 Steps and strategies for writing a literature review. They are:
Steps Strategies
1. Identify key authors a. Locate relevant literature
b. Use state of the art articles
c. Use computerized searches
d. Use Google scholar
e. Use reference list from sources and
f. Read Primary Sources.

2. Critically Read the literature a. Identify themes in the literature

b. Identify strengths and weaknesses of
individual articles and fields as a whole and
c. Collect photocopies of articles
3. Prepare to write a. Investigate the length and
format of the literature review
b. Make a preliminary outline
c. Organized the literature you will
cover and
d.Limit the scope of the review to
the topic at hand

4. Write the review and a. Write the introduction

b. write sub-section
c. be careful not to plagiarize and
d. Practice summarizing and
paraphrasing (that is, using different
words) activities.
5. Indicate the gap a. Use the review to lead to your
Study and research question(s)
The theoretical part of the review is based on group of assumptions

I. Research methodology
The methods or procedures section is really the heart of the research proposal. The researcher
must decide exactly how he/she is going to achieve the stated objectives: i.e., what new data is
need in order to shed light on the problem the researcher have selected and how he/she is going
to collect and process this data. The activities should be described with as much detail as
possible, and the continuity between them should be apparent. Indicate the methodological steps
the researcher will take to answer every question, to test every hypothesis illustrated in the
Questions/Hypotheses section or address the objectives set.

i. Research Design:
Decisions regarding what, where, when, how much, by what means concerning an inquiry or a
research study constitute a research design. A research design is the arrangement of conditions
for collection and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research
purpose with economy in procedure.
In fact, the research design is the conceptual structure within which research is conducted; it
constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement and analysis of data. As such the design
includes an outline of what the researcher will do from writing the hypothesis and its operational
implications to the final analysis of data.

ii. Population, Sampling Technique and Sample Size:

In concluding a research study, it is hardly possible to include all members of a given population
in the investigation. All the items under consideration in any field of inquiry constitute a
population. The method of sampling should be specified in the research proposal. If the sample is
not thoroughly analyzed and precisely described, faulty generalizations may be made. The
sample should be made the true representative of the population. The sampling plan should also
be described in the proposal. It should describe how the units in the target population will be
selected and used. Thus, the more the samples involved in the study, the more the power of
generalization on the entire population and the less the level of biasness.

i. Source and Method of Data Collection:

In this subsection of the methodology, information required to attack the problem is explained.
The source of the data, the site (location) of the study and time that will be included (relevant
time period) should also be specified.

The research proposal should identify the schedules and procedures to be used for acquiring the
data and recording it accurately. All available methods are expected to be considered by a
researcher and the best one is selected. The researcher explains and justifies how his selection of
a method is relevant and appropriate to his study. If they are lengthy, they should be placed in an
 appendix and reference be given in the body of the proposal.

iii. Method of Data Analysis:

The researcher should specify how the data will be ordered and reduced to relate directly to the
research problem. The statistical procedure to be used in the analysis of data should be described. It will
be done hypothesis wise or not, it should be indicated in the research proposal.

II. Work plan and Budget /

Logistics Work Plan

Work plan is a schedule and chart that summarizes the different components of a research
proposal and how they will be implemented in a coherent way within a specific time-span.

It may include:

 The tasks to be performed;

 When and where the tasks will be performed;
 Who will perform the tasks and the time each person will spend on them;
 It describes the plan of assessing the ongoing progress toward achieving the research
objectives;
 The plan specifies how each project activity is to be measured in terms of completion, the
time line for its completion;
Cost Plan
Most often than not, you will require to secure funds from a funding organization to cover the
cost of conducting a research project. The items to consider when drawing up a budget requirement are
outlined below. In addition, it is important to remember that the funding agency will invariably also read
through the whole proposal (not just the budget requirement). Therefore, it is critical that the entire
proposal document is well thought out and written to effectively communicate the aim of the
research and how you plan to achieve it. Budget breakdown has to be prepared for all activities. It may
include the details of:
 Personal Costs - Principal researcher- subsistence and boarding
- Research assistants- salary/per-diems
 Support Services - Secretarial Costs/ data input and analysis
 Fieldwork costs - Transport/ other relevant expenses/ subsistence
 Overheads - Stationery/ photocopy/ printing/ computer media
 Books/journal costs - Books and journals to be purchased
  Equipments - Equipment to be bought/ hired ( if any)
 Other relevant costs
References
The researcher must give references to all the information that he/she obtained from books,
papers in journals, and other sources. References may be made in the main text using index
numbers in brackets (Vancouver style) or authors name (Harvard style). The researcher will also
need to place a list of references, numbered as in the main text (or alphabetically ordered), at the
end of the research proposal.

For a journal paper give:

 The names of the authors,
 The year of publication,
 The title of the paper,
 The title of the journal,
 The volume number of the journal,
 The first and last page numbers of the paper.
For a book give:
 The author,
 The year of publication,
 The title, and the edition number if there is one,
 The name of the publisher,
 The page numbers for your reference.

For an internet reference give:

 The author of the web page,

 The title of the item on the web page,
 The date the item was posted on the web page,
 The date the item was accessed from the web page,
 The complete and exact URL.
Appendices/Annexes
Include in the appendices of the proposal any additional information that the researcher think
might be helpful to a proposal reviewer. For example, include:

 Questionnaire & other collection forms

  Dummy tables
 Biographical data on the principal investigator
 The consent form (if any)
Steps in the development of a research proposal