Purpose of a Research Proposal?

• The purpose of a research proposal is to communicate your intentions –

the purpose of your intended study as well as its importance together with
a step-by-step plan for conducting the research.

• Problems are identified and questions are stated.

• The participants for the study and how the data will be analysed should be
clearly stated.

• In addition you will have to include a partial review of previous related

research.
 What is the Purpose of a Research Proposal?

• A research proposal is a written PLAN for a study.

• It shows in detail what you intend to do.

• It allows others to see what you intend to research and to offer suggestions
for improving the study.

• It also assists you to clarify what needs to be done.

 What is the Purpose of a Research Proposal? (cont’d)

• Any built environment research study should have a proper proposal in

written form before it is actually carried out.

• It is like a blue print of a building plan before the construction starts.

• Writing a research proposal is both science and art

• A good research proposal is based on scientific facts and on the art of clear
communication
Proposal Outline
• INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
• RATIONALE / MOTIVATION FOR THE STUDY
• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
• PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
• VALUE OF THE STUDY
• LITERATURE REVIEW
• ……………….
• ……………………
• ………………………….
• ………………………………
• RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
• RESEARCH APPROACH AND DESIGN
• RESEARCH AREA AND TARGETED RESPONDENTS
Proposal Outline (cont’d)
• SAMPLE AND DATA COLLECTION
• DELIMITATIONS
• RESEARCH LIMITATION
• ENVISAGED FINDINGS
• ETHICAL CONSIDERATION
• OVERVIEW OF CHAPTERS
• RESEARCH TIME FRAME / DURATION
• BUDGET
• CONCLUSION
• REFERENCES
 Background
• The background will identify a specific purpose for the conduct of the
research.

• It will contain the most recent leading peer-reviewed research in the

discipline/topic being proposed

• The background gives an overview of the research project you propose to

carry out.

• It explains the background of the project, focusing briefly on the major issues
of its knowledge domain and clarifying why these issues are worthy of
attention.
• The background should endeavour, from the very beginning, to catch the
reader’s interest and should be written in a style that can be understood easily
by any reader.

• It should cite all relevant references pertaining to the major issues described,
and it should close with a brief description of each one of the chapters that
follow

• The background reflects extensive review of literature done by the investigator

• In this section what is already known about the topic is written including the
gap in literature

• It is usually one to two pages long

• It is written in present tense (After you propose, then it will become past
tense)
 Statement of Research Problem
• This is the problem that the research hopes to solve.

• A research problem is a definite or clear expression [statement] about

• an area of concern,
• a condition to be improved upon,
• a difficulty to be eliminated, or
• a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or within
existing practice
that points to a need for meaningful understanding and deliberate
investigation

• It is important to formulate the research problem prior to the commencement

of the research
• A research problem statement is the foundation of the research itself.

• It gives insights into what the research questions should be.

• It is important to have a clear idea with regard to what it is that you want to
find out but not what you think you must find.
Research Questions
• The particular question(s) to be investigated are stated. Usually but not
always, this is a more specific form of the problem in question form.

• Research question is a statement that identifies the phenomenon to be

studied
• --- Have been discussed!

• Key questions to ask yourself at this point

• Have I asked the specific research question I wish to pursue?

• Do I have a hypothesis in mind? If so, have I expressed it?
• Do I intend to investigate a relationship? If so, have I indicated the
variables I think may be related?

• The particular question(s) to be investigated should be clearly stated.

• Why did the chicken cross the road?
Research Objectives

• In writing, the research objective is the “action form” of the research question.

• The research objectives are broad statements of the goals of the research.

• Research objectives may be linked with a hypothesis or used as a statement of

purpose in a study that does not have a hypothesis.

• Even if the nature of the research has not been clear to the layperson from the
hypotheses, s/he should be able to understand the research from the
objectives.
• Note: The aim of the study (purpose) is long term and your objectives are
short term.

• Objectives must be:

• Measurable
• Realistic
• Specific
• Time bound
Significance of the Study
• Here you should clarify why this particular subject is important to
investigate.

• You must present an argument for the ‘worth’ of the study.

• You must make the case that such a study is important – that people in the
field are or should be concerned about it.

• This section typically include an explanation of the potential benefits and

overall impact of the research.

• The significance of a study, attempts to explain to the reader why the

research is worth to be conducted.
• This section should explains which specific groups of people can/ will benefit
from the research.

• It should typically indicates how the specific project fits within the
developing body of knowledge

• This should be a statement (not more than one page) of why it is important
to undertake this research, in terms of the field of study involved and
anticipated benefits to the wider community.
 The Rationale (motivation) and Purpose of the Study

• This provide the ‘why’ (rationale) and the purpose of the study.

• The purpose should be a concise statement providing a framework, which

can be expanded by the addition of detail.

KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF AT THIS POINT

• Have I clearly stated my rationale?

• Have I identified the specific research problem I wish to investigate?
• Have I indicated what I want to do about the problem?
• Have I presented an argument as to why this problem should be
investigated?
• Have I made my assumptions explicit?
 The Value of the Study

• This is the contribution of your intended study to the existing body of

knowledge.

• The value of the study lies in the gap in knowledge that your study hope to
fill
Review of Literature
• This is a partial summary of previous work related to the focus of the study.

• You are trying to show here that you are familiar with the major trends in
previous research and opinion on the topic and that you understand their
relevance to the study being planned.
•
• This review may include theoretical conceptions, directly related studies and
studies that provide additional perspectives on the research question.

• Remember to CITE the relevance or implications for your planned study.

 KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF AT
THIS POINT

• Have I surveyed and described relevant studies related to the problem?

• Have I surveyed expert opinion on the problem?
• Have I summarised the existing state of opinion and research on the problem?
Note that writing the literature review allows you to understand:

• How other scholars have written about your

topic.

• The range of theories used to analyze materials

or data

• How other scholars connect their specific

research topics to larger issues, questions, or
practices within the field.

• The best methodologies and research

techniques for your particular topic.
An Effective Literature Review should

• Flesh out the background of your study.

• Critically assess important research trends or areas of interest.
• Identify potential gaps in knowledge.
• Establish a need for current and/or future research projects.
Writing Literature Reviews: Key Point

• You are entering a scholarly conversation already in progress. The literature

review shows that you’ve been listening and that you have something valuable
to say.

• After assessing the literature in your field, you should be able to answer the
following questions:

• Why should we study (further) this research topic/problem?

• What contributions will my study make to the existing literature?
 Tips on drafting a literature review
• Categorize the literature into recognizable topic clusters:

• stake out the various positions that are relevant to your project;
• build on conclusions that lead to your project, or
• demonstrate the places where the literature is lacking.

• Avoid “Smith says X, Jones says Y” literature reviews.

• Avoid including all the studies on the subject.

• Avoid polemics (pleas, attack, praise, and blame).

 Literature Review: Example #1
• Other studies also support the conclusion that traditional teaching methods
hinder learning calculus. Selden, Selden, and Mason (1994) conclude that
isolated, trivial problems, the norm in many classrooms, inhibit students
from acquiring the ability to generalize calculus problem-solving skills.
Similar results are reported by Norman and Prichard (1994). They
demonstrate that many learners can not interpret the structure of a problem
beyond surface-level symbols. They show that novices have inaccurate
intuitions about problems which lead them to attempt incorrect solution
strategies (Norman and Prichard 1994). Because they cannot see beyond
high-level features, they can not develop correct intuitions. On the other
hand, successful problem solvers categorize math problems based upon
underlying structural similarities and fundamental principles (Silver 1979),
(Shoenfeld and Herrman 1982). These categories are often grouped based
upon solution modes, which the experts use to generate a forward working
strategy (Owen and Sweller 1989).
Literature Review: Example #2
Increasingly, the research community is turning to coupled land-
surface-atmosphere-ocean models with dynamic modules to
achieve the realism necessary for climate studies. Most of the
studies to date have incorporated equilibrium vegetation models
into climate change simulations (e.g., Neilson and Marks 1994,
VEMAP Members 1995 . . . ; but see Foley et al. 1998 for an
example of climate simulations with a DGVM). It is recognized that
the next stage is to include dynamic representations of the
terrestrial biosphere. In this context, VEMAP Phase 2 model
experiments will provide a unique opportunity to assess the effects
of climate change on the hydrologic cycle and the water balance of
regions on a continental scale, and how vegetation dynamics
mediate those responses.
Methodology
This section includes the:
• type of research approach you have chosen to use for your investigation,
• research design,
• sample,
• instrumentation,
• procedural detail,
• internal validity if necessary and
• data analysis.
• Introduce the overall methodological approach.

• Indicate how the approach fits the overall research design.

• Describe the specific methods of data collection.

• Explain how you intend to analyze and interpret your results (i.e. statistical
analysis, descriptive statistics, theoretical framework).

• If necessary, provide background and rationale for unfamiliar

methodologies.

• Address potential limitations.

 Tips on Drafting Methodology

• Break down your methodology into subsections.

1. Research approach and design

2. Research method
3. Research area and targeted population
4. Sampling
5. Sample size
6. Data collection
7. Data analysis
• Remember that your methods section may also require supporting literature.

• Anticipate and pre-empt the audience’s methodological concerns.

• Acknowledge major problems.
• Justify your approach by showing how benefits outweigh potential
problems.
 Methodology:
Example #1 (Social Science)
The research plan will proceed in two phases. During the first phase, the study
will select a 60-household purposive sample, create and test interview
protocols, choose key informants, and train a research assistant. . . . During the
second phase, in-depth interviews with key informants and four ethnographic
interviews with each household in the sample will be conducted. At the end of
the second phase, a series of experimental economic games to determine the
norms of trust and reciprocity in the community shall also be conducted. . . . The
research design has several strengths. First, ethnographic study will yield data
with high internal validity about how responses to water scarcity evolve over
the wet-to-dry cycle (Kirk and Miller 1986). Second . . . (After providing a
rationale for the research design, the author goes on to describe in detail the site
selection and methods of data collection and analysis).
Overview of Chapters
Timeline/Plan of Work
Some things to keep in mind:
• Consult your SUPERVISOR.
• Be aware of important dates for submitting and defending your proposal etc.
• Do not be overly ambitious.
• Remember that your proposed timeline demonstrates your awareness of the
various elements of the study (approval, travel; design, testing, and length of
data collection; negotiation of entry into the study site; drafting; redrafting).

• The proposal should include the sequence of tasks to be performed, the

anticipated length of time required for its completion and the personnel
required
References
• Include a working reference list of all citations that inform your study and
methodology.

• Bibliographies not required..

More Proposal “Nuts and Bolts”

• Length
• Varies by field; most are roughly 20 pages, but they can be
much longer.

• Style Considerations
• Tone
• Coherence

• Voice
Style Considerations: Tone

• When conveying your attitude in your

writing:
• Try to strike a consistently confident
tone.
• Avoid an apologetic or arrogant tone.
 Style Considerations: Coherence

• Move from “old” information to “new” information.

• Put the most important information at the end of the sentence
(stress position).
• Keep the subject and verb together.
• Start sentences with short, easily understood phrases.
• Use “stock” transitional phrases (connecting words)..
Coherence: Example
Example: When rocks erode, they break down into sediment—smaller
pieces of rock and minerals. These sediments may eventually travel in water
to new sites such as the sea or river beds. The water deposits the sediments
in layers that become buried and compacted. In time, the sediment particles
are cemented together to form new rocks, known as sedimentary rocks. The
layers of sediment in these rocks are often visible without microscopes (Lay
et al., 2000).
 Voice and Visual Aids

Voice
• Active: I will conduct the bulk of the research during the six-month
fieldwork period.
• Passive: The bulk of the research will be conducted during fieldwork.

Reasons to use Passive Voice:

• Your field may prefer its use, especially in describing research design and
experimental activities.
• You need to preserve coherence from sentence to sentence.