CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH PROPOSAL
3.1 Introduction
Before any research study is undertaken, there should be an agreement between the person who
authorizes the study (the sponsor or advisor if the study is for academic purpose) and the
researcher as to the problem to be investigated, the methodology to be used, the duration of the
study, and its cost. This ensures that there are no misunderstandings or frustrations later for both
parties. This is usually accomplished through the research proposal, which the researcher submits
and gets approved by the sponsor or advisor, who issues a letter of authorization or allows
proceeding with the study. Proposals are informative and persuasive writing because they
attempt to educate the reader and to convince that reader to do something. The goal of the writer
is not only to persuade the reader to do what is being requested, but also to make the reader
believe that the solution is practical and appropriate. A research proposal is usually required
when the research project is to be commissioned and the researcher is expected to compete with
other researchers to get research fund or else when the research proposal is a requirement for
partial fulfillment of an academic degree such as BA, MBA, MSc, or PhD. For example, a senior
essay research proposal is intended to convince your advisor that your senior essay is a
worthwhile research proposal and that you have the competence and the work plan to complete
it.The form and content of student research proposal differs according to complexity of the
student research.
3.2 What is research proposal?
Research proposal describes why and how you “propose” to carry out your research idea.
Research proposal is a written document of research plan intended to convince specific readers.
Sections contained in the document typically include the significance of your idea, justification
for the need for your research using supportive literature, a statement as to your specific research
question or query, specific hypotheses if applicable, your procedures, the analytical plan, ethical
considerations, and the informed consent process. A research proposal is a document of the
research design that includes a statement explaining the purpose of the study and a detailed,
systematic outline of a particular research methodology (Zikmund, 2000). The 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.

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A proposal tells us:
 What will be done?
 Why it will be done
 How it will be done
 Where it will be done
 To whom it will be done, and
 What is the benefit of doing it?
Importance of research proposal
Why do you need a research proposal? A research proposal is a useful
document to you, your advisor, your funders, and the broader research
community. For you, the student, it is helpful in that it outlines your thinking
about what you will be investigating - the focus, the limits, the logical
development of your investigation and the methods you will be using to
investigate the topic. The better you are planning, the better your research
undertaking will be organized. For your advisor, a proposal is an indication of
whether you have done adequate thinking about the topic and sufficient
preparation for the study. It also gives your advisor an indication of your
ability to put your ideas into clear and logical writing.
Research proposal is valuable to both the researcher and the sponsor. The
specific values of proposals to both clients and researchers are described
below.
Value to the sponsor:
• Allows the sponsor to assess:
– the sincerity of your purpose,
– the clarity of your design,
– the extent of your background material, and
– your fitness for undertaking the project
• Provides a basis for the sponsor to evaluate the results of a research
• The discipline or research ethics it brings to the sponsor
Value to the researcher
– A tentative work plan that charts the logical steps

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 – Allows the researcher to plan and review the project’s steps
– To assess the various approaches to the problem
– A guide for the researcher throughout the investigation
– The proposal forces time and budget estimates for young
researcher
Basic Principles in writing a research proposal
There are five basic principles for writing a research proposal: clarity, precision, parsimony,
coherence, and attention to structure. Each of these should guide how you write, regardless of the
specific purpose of the proposal.
 By “clarity,” we mean that the proposal needs to be easily understood regardless of the
reviewer. If a report is vague, verbose, or overly complex in writing style, your research
ideas will not be successfully conveyed.
 By “precision,” we mean explicating each thinking and action plan. As long as you do not
exceed the page limit imposed by the funder, err on the side of detail. Consider adding tables,
illustrations, and timelines, if allowable, to explicate further your thinking and action.
Precision also applies to appearance, grammar, and spelling. Be consistent in headings and
subheadings, be vigilant in checking and correcting grammatical errors and spelling, and
create a document that is easily legible.
 Parsimony is another important principle that should guide your proposal writing. Even
when detailing your thinking and action, if the proposal is too lengthy or too wordy, it will be
difficult for reviewers to understand your key points. So it is important to be “pithy” and
keep your proposal to the point. A proposal is written using simple, direct statements. It is
not a place to experiment with a creative writing style or prose.
 Coherence refers to consistency among and within sections of your proposal (content and
format). This element if often overlooked but critical, because you do not want to contradict
yourself. For example, in a proposal to conduct research on a cognitive-behavioral approach
to treating depression, if you define depression exclusively as a chemical imbalance, you
would not have a rationale for your intervention. Or suppose you plan to travel by airplane to
disseminate findings of your work. If you do not include a budget item for out of-state travel,
reviewers would question if the resources that you are seeking would be sufficient to support
your objectives and promises.

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 The fifth principle involves the need for“ attention to structure,” such as ensuring that all
references are correctly cited, that proposal instructions are carefully followed, and, as we
noted earlier, that the proposal is easy to read, with no typos, incorrect spellings, or glaring
grammatical errors. We cannot emphasize enough the critical need to follow instructions so
that reviewers do not have to hunt for required information. Use techniques such as cross
referencing sections and evaluative criteria to show the reviewers that you value their time
and effort
3.3 Major components of the research proposal
Component of a research proposal varies from one type of research proposal to the other. In
addition, for practical reasons many research-funding agencies prefer their own research
proposal format and many universities, colleges or departments may have their own formats.
The most common elements of a large-scale research proposal are hereunder: Each of the
following elements is also flexible internally so that its content and length may be adapted to
specific needs. An outline of the major components a research proposal
Preliminaries/Prefatory
i) Title page
 Name of the university
 Title of the Research
 (A Case Study of ……..)
 Purpose why the Research is conducted
 Name and ID No of the investigator
 Advisor name
 Month, year and Place where the proposal is written
ii) Abstract
iii) Acronyms and abbreviations alphabetically arranged)
iv) Table of contents
v) List of tables
vi) List of figures
Title of the study
The title of your research study captures the main idea or theme of your proposal in a short
phrase. It should not be so brief that it says nothing or so long that a person reading your

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proposal has to work to determine the point of your study. It should be researchable and should
give a clear indication of the variables or the content of the study. It should use the fewest
possible words that adequately describe the content of the paper.

In selecting a title for investigation, the researcher should consider the following points:
A. The title should not be too lengthy: It should be specific to the area of study. For example,
the following topic appears to be long.
– “A study of academic achievement of children in pastoral regions whose parents had
participated literacy classes against those whose parents didn’t”
B. The title should not be too brief or too short: The following sentence is too short
“Marketing in Japan” or “Unemployment in Ethiopia”
For example, the research topic on “Determinants of export performance in Ethiopia” is good
because it is concise and at the same time contains the three basic elements of a topic:the thing
that is going to be explained, the thing that explains, and a geographical scope. The thing that is
going to be explained in the aforementioned topic is export performance because your research is
expected to draw conclusions pertaining to export performance. The thing that explains export
performance is the word determinants. The actual factors that determine export performance are
not stated in the topic because it has to be very concise. Hence, the key word “determinants” is
used.And finally,” Ethiopia” the phraseputs a geographical delimitation of the proposed research.
Generallythe title of a research study must be as short and clear as possible, but sufficiently
descriptive of the nature of the work:
 Have a concise and focused title.
 Be short and clear preferably not more than one line.
 Avoid unnecessary punctuation (commas, colons, semi-colons).
Abstract
The abstract is a brief description of each element contained in your proposal. It represents an
executive summary of the study you propose. Generally, the abstract contains a statement of the
purpose of your study or project, the measurable objectives, the procedures for implementation
of the project, the anticipated results, their significance, and their beneficiaries. The text of the
abstract must be single spaced, only in one paragraph. If you are submitting your proposal to an
external agency, there may be word limitations (250 to 300 words). In either case, the abstract

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must be clear and succinct but comprehensive. An abstract that is not clearly written, that is not
comprehensive, or that has typographical, spelling, or grammatical errors can be misleading and
can give the reviewer a poor impression, potentially influencing how the entire proposal is
evaluated. Because the abstract represents an executive summary of the entire project, it should
actually be the last section you complete. In general, abstract should summarize the main idea of
the given title in the form of;
 Statement of the problem
 Objectives
 Methodology
 Expected output
Acronyms and abbreviations; alphabetically arranged
There is a great deal of overlap between abbreviations and acronyms. Every acronym is an
abbreviation because the acronym is a shortened form of a word or phrase. However, not every
abbreviation is an acronym, since some abbreviations - those made from words - are not new
words formed from the first few letters of a series of words.
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase, as N.Y. for New York. There are
millions of common abbreviations used every day. When you write out your address, most
people write "St. or Ave." instead of "street" or "avenue." When you write the date, you may
abbreviate both the day of the week (Mon, Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., and Sun.) and the
month of the year (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.). There are also tons of industry
specific abbreviations that you may be unaware of unless you are in the industry, such as medical
abbreviations or dental abbreviations. Shortening the word "Avenue" to "Ave." is an
abbreviation, because it is the shortened version of the word. However, it is not an acronym since
the word AVE is not a new word comprised of the first few letters of a phrase.
Acronym
Acronyms: A word formed from the initial letters of the several words in the name. Example
“AIDS is an acronym for acquired immune deficiency syndrome“. An acronym, technically,
must spell out another word. NY is the acronym for New York. Since this acronym is a
shortened version of the phrase, by definition the acronym is also an abbreviation. Like
abbreviations, acronyms are used daily, and most people can interpret the meaning of common

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acronyms without much thought. For example, you go to the ATM instead of to the automatic
teller machine you give your time zone as EST, CST or PST instead of as Eastern Standard
Time, Central Standard Time or Pacific Standard Time. All of these new acronyms are also
abbreviations because they are all shortened versions of phrases that are using frequently.
Abbreviations and acronyms are shortened versions of words and phrases to speed up our
communication. Be sure to use them correctly - since, a misuse can lead to a big
miscommunication.
Table of Contents with List of Tables and/or Illustrations
It should locate each section and major subdivision of the proposal. In most circumstances, the
table of contents should remain simple; no division beyond the first subheading is needed. If
several illustrations or tables appear in the body of the proposal, they, too, should appear in the
list of tables/illustrations, which is incorporated into or follows the table of contents.
Chapter I
Introduction
The introduction part summarizes background of the study, problem statement, hypothesis or
research question, and objective of the study, significance of the study, scope and limitation,
definition of terminology and organization of the study.
1.1 Background of the Study/deductive order/ (within one or one and half page)
The background of the study is to provide readers with the background information for the
research. In the background of the study, you need to give a sense of the general field of research
of which your area is a part. In background of the study, the researcher should create reader
interest in the topic, lay the broad foundation for the problem that leads to the study, place the
study within the larger context of the scholarly literature, and reach out to a specific audience.
You then need to narrow to the specific area of your concern. This should lead logically to the
gap in the research that you intend to fill. Its purpose is to establish the issues or concerns or
motivations leading to the research questions and objectives, so that readers can understand
the significance and rationale underlying the study.
Generally, background of the study should be in deductive order i.e.
 Global issues and trends about the topic
 Situations in less developed countries or in an industry
 National level/basic facts

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  Firm/regional level/basic facts
Background of the study (not more than one and halfpage)
1.2 Statement of the Problem

The most important task of researcher or investigator is to identify the problem. The statement of
the problem is the focal point of your research. This section needs to convince the
sponsor/advisor to continue reading the proposal. In the statement of problem section, the
investigator should present a detailed analysis of the problem, which he/she intends to explore, a
statement of the work to be undertaken more explicitly. While the problem statement itself is just
clear-cut, it is always accompanied by several paragraphs that elaborate on the problem. Present
persuasive arguments why the problem is important enough to study. Include research finding
done by others. A problem should be identified and defined in a clear-cut form, if it is not
identified clearly, it creates confusion. It is said 50% of the research is completed if the problem
is well identified. Therefore, Statement of the problem reflects the gap and justifies that the issue
is worth researching. Statement of the problem should illustrate the research gaps, the gap can be
gap in the theories, gap in researches made by others, and gaps between theory and practices.

Moreover, it should show issue that motivated a need for the study and it should serves as a
guide in formulating research questions and the specific objectives. Note that not all of the
problems are fit for research. Think of your research title as trying to address a problem, a gap in
the literature, a puzzle, a muddle, an ambiguity or a tension. Writing about something that is
straightforward and unproblematic does not constitute an investigation. Mere description is not
research. Let us see one example how not all “problems” are researchable. For example, the
government may have a “problem” of not enough money to implement the new policy of low-
cost housing. The solution to this “problem” would be simply: more money!However, there may
be all sorts of other kinds of researchable problems underlying this issue: Should the government
cut back on health provision in order to provide housing? Should housing be the government’s
priority? Could provision of housing be privatized? How can low-cost housing promote
economic justice? The answers to these kinds of questions are not obvious and are often much
contested. These kinds of questions are, therefore, problematic ones.
Statement of the Problem

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  Identifies the research gaps
 Refers to the research issue that motivated a need for the study
 Justifies the conduct of the study
 States the questions that the study hopes to answer
 Serves as a guide in formulating the specific objectives
 In a proposal, the problem should stand out for easy recognition:
o “Why does this research need to be conducted?”
o Make sure that you can provide clear answers to this question.
 The objectives and methodology presented in subsequent section are strongly linked to
the problem statement.

A situation of research arises when the following conditions exists. First, a perceived
discrepancy between what is and what should be; second a question about why the discrepancy
exists; third at least two possible and reasonable answers to the questions. Of the above-
mentioned conditions, the last one is important. It is said that there should be at least two
possible answers to the questions. If there is only one answer to the question, there is no need of
research. Moreover, Problem statements too broadly defined cannot be addressed adequately in
one study. Be sure your problem statement is clear without the use of idioms.After reading this
section, the potential sponsor should know the research question, its significance, and why
something should be done to change the status quo.The objectives and methodology presented in
subsequent section are strongly linked to the problem statement.
Consider your study on the health conditions of homeless men. You would briefly discuss the
increasing number of persons who are homeless, the type of health conditions that have been
documented by previous research, and the gap in knowledge that your study will address. You
might conclude with your purpose statement and articulate how it meets the mission and values
of the agency from which you are seeking funding.

1.3 Research Questions or research hypothesis

Research questions are questions to be answered to bring about solutions to the problem or
implications for the hypothesis. When the gap is identified, a research question can then be

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raised. The research question asks something to address the gap. A research is only likely to be
as good as the research question it seeks to answer. A research question is not the same as a
research title. Research titles are typically broad, situating the project in the wider field. Research
questions are much more focused and highlight a gap in knowledge or a problem to be solved. A
good research question can also be re-stated as a hypothesis, i.e. formulating a tentative answer
that can be tested by further investigation.
In quantitative research, a research question typically asks about a relationship that may exist
between or among two or more variables. It should identify the variables being investigated and
specify the type of relationship to be investigated. For example what effect does playing football
have on students’ overall grade point average during the football season? In qualitative research,
a research question asks about the specific process, issue, or phenomenon to be explored or
described. For example, how does the social context of a school influence perseverant teachers’
beliefs about teaching? What is the experience of a teacher being a student like?

Hypothesis is a statement about an expected relationship between two or more variables that
permits empirical testing. If the research is expected to be based on, only descriptive analysis
there will be no need of testing hypothesis. If someone is wants to examine the relationship
between dependent and independent variables, the hypothesis must be formulated. Before
formulating hypothesis, we should have a clear-cut ideas about dependent and independent
variables. The independent variable cause or influence the dependent variable. Dependent
variable is variable affected by the other variable (independent variable) or it depends on others.
For example, women’s education, age at marriage, occupation of women, religion and the use of
contraception can be treated as independent variables that will have direct or indirect effect on
fertility. After the selection of dependent and independent variables hypothesis are formulated.
The example of some hypothesis is given below:
 Educated parents have less number of children compared to their counterparts
 Higher the use of contraception, lower will be desired family size.
1.4 Research Objectives
Objectives work as the guideline for conducting a research. Objectives should be clearly stated.
It is ends to be met in conducting the research. Adequately reflecting the problem statement are
the objectives showing what will be done to solve the problem. Objectives are anticipated

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outcomes of a project. This section should describe what the investigator hopes to accomplish
with the research. After reading this section, the reader should be clear about the kinds of and the
nature of the information to be provided by the proposed research. In research, there are two
types of Objectives. These are general objective and specific objectives. Both objectives are
logically connected to each other.
1.4.1 General objective
 The general objective of a study states what researchers expect to achieve by the study in
general terms. It is directly related with the title of the research.
1.4.2 Specific objectives
 The specific objectives are smaller portions of the general objectives
 should be consistent with the problem
 should be clearly stated and logically presented
 Objectives should be simple
 specific (not vague)
 stated in advance (not after the research is done),
 Use action oriented word Like To determine, To identify, To ascertain, To investigate, To
assess, To check, To Describe, To Compare etc.
 May be written in the form bullets for different objectives
1.5 Significance of the study- Benefit of the study (Who may use the findings)
This section allows you to write about why the research has to be done. In this section; you
describe explicit benefits that will accrue from your study. The importance of “doing the study
now” should be emphasized.
 User organizations
 The society/the community/the country
 Other researchers
1.6 Scope and limitation of the study
1.6.1 Scope of the study
Scope provides the boundary or framework- clearly defines geographical, conceptual, and
methodological scope. Delimitation/scope addresses how a study will be narrowed in scope, that
is, how it is bounded. This is the place to explain the things that you are not doing and why you
have chosen not to do them, the population you are not studying (and why not), the

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methodological procedures you will not use (and why you will not use them). Limit your
delimitations to the things that a reader might reasonably expect you to do but that you, for
clearly explained reasons, have decided not to do.
1.6.2 limitation of the study
No study is free from its limitations. If the time and funds are very limited, the data collected
may be of questionable in quality. In this circumstance, the quality of the research will be also
questionable. However, the data should be reliable and valid thus the researcher should recognize
and identify the major limitations of his/her study. Therefore,by taking in to account the time and
finance constraints researchers must do great job in demarcation of the scope of the study to
reduce the limitation of the study. Limitation is the implication or effect of the scope- does not
mean weakness.Although a researcher tries his best to design his research as properly as
possible, there are externals (uncontrolled) variables that confront his/her investigation and affect
his/her conclusion. In his/ her research proposal, the researcher has to specify such factors that
hinder the attainment of his/her objectives. Such anticipated restrictions are referred as
limitations of the study. This limitation is emanated from the scope of the study i.e. limitation is
the implication or effect of the scope
1.7 Definition of key Terminologies and Concepts (Operational & Conceptual
definitions)
 Conceptual definitions – general and related to their contextual meaning
 Operational – in the context of the research paper and in measurable terms
1.8 Organization of the study
State the study is organized into how many chapters/parts/sections. For instance, you can write
like this; this study will include five chapters. chapter one is an introduction chapters and it will
includes background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, significance
of the study, scope of the study, limitation of the study, conceptual and operational definition of
terms and organization of the study. Chapter two will be deals with literature review; chapter
three, methodology of the study and the fourth chapter will include analysis and interpretation.
Finally, the fifth chapter will include conclusion and recommendation.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

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Literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge
about your research topic. Literature work is an evolving and ongoing task that is updated and
revised throughout the process of writing the research. A research literature review is a
systematic, explicit, and reproducible method for identifying, evaluating and synthesizing the
existing body of completed and recorded work produced by researchers, scholars, and
practitioners.
Initially we can say that a review of the literature is important because without it you will not
acquire an understanding of your topic, of what has already been done on it, how it has been
researched, and what the key issues are. In your written project, you will be expected to show
that you understand previous research on your topic. This amounts to showing that you have
understood the main theories in the subject area and how they have been applied and developed,
as well as the main criticisms that have been made of work on the topic. This is where you
provide more detail about what others have done in the area, and what you propose to do. This
section will review published research related to the purpose and objectives described above. Its
purpose is to establish a framework for the research, so that readers can understand how it is
related to other research. It includes the major issues, gaps in the literature (in more detail than is
provided in the introduction); research questions and/or hypotheses which are connected
carefully to the literature being reviewed; definitions of key terms, provided either when you
introduce each idea, or in a definition sub-section. It should be noted that references may be
found throughout the proposal, but it is preferable for most of the literature review to be reported
in this section. It should summarize the results of previous studies that have reported
relationships among the variables included in the proposed research. An important function of
the literature review is to provide a theoretical explanation of the relationships among the
variables of interest. The review can also provide descriptive information about related problems,
intervention programs, and target populations. A well-structured literature review is
characterized by a logical flow of ideas, current and relevant references with consistent and
appropriate referencing style; proper use of terminology, and an unbiased and comprehensive
view of the previous research regarding your research topic. Theoretical and empirical literature
reviews
Literature review can be broadly classified into theoretical and empirical literature review.
The theoretical literature review builds the detailed theoretical framework for your research that

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is an elaborated version of the one in the introduction part. Empirical literature is literature that
you got from empirical research. Empirical research refer to research studies that have been
undertaken according to an accepted scientific method, which involves defining a research
question, identifying a method to carry out the study, followed by the presentation of results, and
finally a discussion of the results. Empirical research studies are normally the most important
types of literature that will be incorporated into a literature review. This is because they attempt
to address a specific question using a systematic approach.
Generally, literature review should be written as follows;
 Deductive Order (General to specific)
 Concepts and definitions of terminologies directly related to the topic.
 Global issue and trends
 Regional or continental or industrial facts
 Best experiences, if relevant
 Problems and challenges related to the topic
Important points in the literature
 Adequacy- Sufficient to address the statement of the problem and the specific objectives in
detail
 Logical flow and organization of the contents
 Adequate citations
 The variety of issues and ideas gathered from many authors
 Exhaustive (complete) - cover the main points
 Fair treatment of authors (do not overuse one author)
 It should not be outdated
 Rely on academic sites (usually .ac or .edu), government sites ( .gov), not-for-profit
institutions (.org),
 Dictionaries and encyclopedias are not recommended
 With proper citation of sources
 A source is, usually, referenced in two parts:
 the citation, in your text at the point of use;
 full publication details, in a reference list, or bibliography, at the end of your dissertation
or report

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  Use: APA Citation orHarvard referencing Guide
 BUT MAKE SURE TO BE CONSISTENT!!!!
Warning
Do not forget the issues of Plagiarism; Plagiarism means pretending that we, ourselves, wrote
what others actually wrote. Plagiarism might be accidental or not using quotation marks for
direct quotes or it might be careless rather than deceitful. On the other hand, it may be
forgetting to cite a source in the text Plagiarism is always a crime, since it destroys the efforts of
others. Institutions vary in terms of the seriousness with which they view the crime; punishment
can range from resubmission to expulsion, but reputation is always lost.

CHAPTER THREE
Methodology of the Research
Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It is a science of
studying how research is done scientifically. The methodology section of your research proposal
answers mainly “how” questions since it provides your work plan and describes the activities
necessary for the completion of your project.Researchers should understand the assumptions
underlying various techniques and they need to know the criteria by which they can decide that
certain techniques and procedures will be applicable to certain problems and others will not. This
means that it is necessary for the researcher to design his methodology for his/her problem as the
same may differ from problem to problem. For example, an architect, who designs a building,
has to consciously evaluate the basis of his/her decisions, i.e., he/she has to evaluate why and on
what basis he/she selects particular size, number and location of doors, windows and ventilators,
uses particular materials and not others and the like. Similarly, in research the researcher has
to expose the research decisions to evaluation before they are implemented.He has to specify
very clearly and precisely what decisions he selects and why he selects them so that they can be
evaluated by others also.In this section, it is vital to include the following subheadings while
expanding on them in as much detail as possible.
3.1 Background of the study area
This particular sub section of the research proposal maybe write in chapter one or it might be
part of research methodology it depends up on the institutions or the department’s guidelines. In
our department, it is parts of research methodology in the working proposal guideline.

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Background of the study area also known as background of the organization it deals with the
background information of the study area or organization. The information that may wrote in the
section may depends up on your purpose of the study, particularly if it is relevant for you data
analysis you need to have more information.
3.2 Research design
According to Sekaran (2003) a research design is set up to decide on issues like how to collect
data, analyze and interpret them, and finally, to provide an answer to the problem.Research
design constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data (Cooper,
2014).Research Design…More explicitly:
 What is the study about?
 Why is the study being conducted?
 Where will the study be carried out?
 What type of data is required?
 Where can the required data be found?
 What period of time will the study include?
 What will be the sample design?
 What techniques of data collection will use?
How will the data be analyzed?

As we shall see later in the next chapter, there are different classifications of research design
congregated based on various bases. Some of the bases are based the purpose of the study, the
types of investigation, the extent of researcher interference, the study setting, the unit of analysis,
and the time horizon of the study.Moreover, the researcher would determine the appropriate
decisions to be made in the study design based on the problem definition, the research objectives,
and the extent of rigor desired, and cost considerations. Sometimes, because of the time and costs
involved, a researcher might be constrained to settle for less than the ―ideal research design. For
instance, the researcher might have to conduct a cross-sectional instead of a longitudinal study,
do a field study rather than an experimental design, choose a smaller rather than a larger sample
size, and so on, thus sub optimizing the research design decisions and settling for a lower level of
scientific rigor because of resource constraints. Therefore, a research design depends on the
purpose and nature of the research problem. Thus, one single design cannot be used to solve all
types of research problem, i.e., A particular design is suitable for a particular problem. Therefore,
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a researcher can choose among various research design based on his/her research problem or
objectives. Some of the designs are exploratory study, descriptive study, hypotheses testing, case
study, filed setting, lab experiment, and causal, correlational, cross-sectional, longitudinaland
e.tc.

Sample design: A sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample from a given
population. It refers to the technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting
items for the sample. Sampling is the process of selecting a sufficient number of elements of the
population. Sample design may as well lay down the number of items to be included in the
sample i.e., the size of the sample. Sample design is determined before data are collected. There
are many sample designs from which a researcher can choose. Some designs are relatively more
precise and easier to apply than others are. The researcher must select/prepare a sample design,
which should be reliable and appropriate for his research study.
Steps in sample design: While developing a sampling design, the researcher must pay attention
to the following points:
 Determine the universe/target population
 Determine source list/sample frame
 Determine the size of sample
 Determining the sampling design technique
 Universe/Population refers to the entire group of people, events, or things of interest that the
researcher wishes to investigate. For instance, if the CEO of a computer firm wants to know
the kinds of advertising strategies adopted by computer firms in the Silicon Valley, then all
computer firms situated there will be the population. A research population is generally a
large collection of individuals or objects that is the main focus of a scientific query. It is for
the benefit of the population that researches are done. However, due to the large sizes of
populations, researchers often cannot test every individual in the population because it is too
expensive and time-consuming. This is the reason why researchers rely on sampling
techniques
 An element is a single member of the population.
 The sampling frame is a listing of all the elements in the population from which the sample
is drawn. Each member of sampling frame is called sampling unit. A roster of class students
could be the population frame for the study of students in a class. It contains the names of all

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 items of a universe (in case of finite universe only). If source list is not available, the
researcher has to prepare it. Such a list should be comprehensive, correct, reliable, and
appropriate. It is extremely important for the source list to be as representative of the
population as possible.
 The sample is a subset of the population to represent the population. A sample is thus a
subgroup or a subset of the population. If 200 members are drawn from a population of 1,000
students, these 200 members of the sample for the study. That is, from a study of these 200
members, the researcher would draw conclusions about the entire population of the 1,000
students.
 A subject is a single member of the sample, just as an element is a single member of the
population.
 Sample Size: this refers to the number of items to be selected from the universe to constitute
a sample. While deciding the size of sample, the researcher must determine the desired
precision as also an acceptable confidence level for the estimate.
(Use the sample size determination formula as a base and make adjustments with due regard to
the target population and the homogeneity or heterogeneity of the population characteristics)

Now how to get our desired sample group is important. Well, there are two types of sample
designs based on the representation basis. Thus, the sample may be a probability sampling or it
may be non-probability sampling. Probability sampling is based on the concept of random
selection. In case of probability sampling, the elements in the population have some known
probability of being selected as sample subject. Whereas non-probability sampling is ‘non-
random’ samplingandthe elements do not have a known chance of being selected as sample
subject. Probabilistic sampling design can be further classified into the following techniques
simple random sampling, systematic random sampling, stratified sampling, cluster sampling.
While, non-probabilistic classified as judgmental sampling, convenience sampling, quota
sampling.
3.3 Data Type and Source (Decide one of them or both by giving justifications)
Data can be obtained from primary or secondary sources. Primary data refer to information
obtained firsthand by the researcher on the variables of interest for the specific purpose of the
study. Secondary data refer to information gathered from sources already existing. Some

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examples of sources of primary data are individuals, focus groups, panels of respondents
specifically set up by the researcher. Data can also be obtained from secondary sources, as, for
example, books, journals, company records or archives, government publications, industry
analyses offered by the media, web sites, the Internet, and so on.
Data can be classified into quantitative and qualitative data types. Qualitative types of data are
concerned with subjective assessment of attitudes, opinions and behavior and such types of data
generates either in non-quantitative form or in the form which are not subjected to rigorous
quantitative analysis. It is usually obtained through interview, open-ended questions, and focus
group discussion. Quantitative data involve the generation of data in quantitative form, which
can be subjected to rigorous quantitative analysis in a formal and rigid fashion
3.4 Methods of data collection instruments
Data can be collected in a variety of ways, in different settings—field or lab—and from different
sources. Data collection instruments include interviews—face-to-face interviews, telephone
interviews, computer-assisted interviews, and interviews through the electronic media;
questionnaires that are personally administered, sent through the mail, or electronically
administered; observation of individuals and events with or without videotaping or audio
recording. Interviewing, administering questionnaires, and observing people and phenomena are
the three main data collection methods in survey research.
3.5 Data processing, presentation and Analysis
After data are obtained through questionnaires, interviews, observation, or through secondary
sources, they need to be edited. The next step is to analyze them, to test the research hypotheses.
The analysis of data requires a number of closely related operations such as establishment of
categories, the application of these categories to raw data through coding, tabulation, and then
drawing statistical inferences.Thus, researcher should classify the raw data into some purposeful
and usable categories. Coding operation is usually done at a stage through which the categories
of data are transformed into symbols that may be tabulated and counted. Editing is the procedure
that improves the quality of the data for coding. With coding, the stage is ready for tabulation.
Tabulation is a part of the technical procedure wherein the classified data are put in the form of
tables. Computers tabulate a great deal of data, especially in large inquiries. Computers not only
save time but also make it possible to study large number of variables affecting a problem
simultaneously.

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Analysis work after tabulation is generally based on the computation of various analysis
techniques. Basically we do have two kinds of data analysis i.e. descriptive and inferential.
Some of the descriptive data analyses are frequency distribution, measure of central tendency
like (mean, median, and mode), measure of variability (range, standard deviation), etc. T- test,
analysis of variance (ANOVA), chi-square are some of the examples of inferentialanalysis. The
analysis can be done by applying various well-defined statistical formulae data analysis is now
routinely done with software programs such as SPSS (statistical package for social science),
Excel, etc. Moreover, the data may be presented in different forms formfor example narrative or
textual, tables and graphs. Finally, interpretation is the process of making pertinent inferences
and drawing conclusions concerning the meaning and implications of a research investigation
3.6 Ethical consideration
Business ethics is the application of morals to behavior related to the business environment or
context. Generally, good ethics conforms to the notion of “right,” and a lack of ethics conforms
to the notion of “wrong.” Highly ethical behavior can be characterized as being fair, just, and
acceptable. Ethical values can be highly influenced by one’s moral standards.General rights and
obligations of concerned Parties.
Everyone involved in business research can face an ethical dilemma. For this discussion, we can
divide those involved in research into three parties:
1. The people actually performing the research, who can also be thought of as the “doers”
2. The research client, sponsor, or the management team requesting the research, who can be
thought of as “users” of research
3. The research participants, meaning the actual research respondents or subjects
 Rights and Obligations of the Research Participant
 A respondent or subject have the responsibilities to provide truthful information
 The right to privacy is an important issue in business research. It has been suggested that
subjects be informed of their right to be left alone or to break off the interview at any time.
 Informed consent means that the individual understands what the researcher wants him or her
to do and consents to the research study.
 Confidentiality means that information involved in the research will not be shared with
others

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 Deception/The-right not to be deceived: Deception occurs when the respondent is told only a
portion of the truth or when the truth is fully compromised.
 Rights and Obligations of the Researcher
 Points that deserve attention in the efforts of the researcher in relation to ethics
 The purpose of Research is Research
 The purpose should be explained clearly
 The researcher should not misrepresent himself/herself for the sake of getting admission
or information.
 Research should not be politicized for any purpose.
 Objectivity
 Researchers must not intentionally try to prove a particular point for political purposes.
 The researcher should not try to select only those data that are consistent with his/her
personal intentions or prior hypothesis.
 Protecting the Right to Confidentiality of both Subjects and Clients
 The privacy and anonymity of the respondents are preserved.
 Both parties also expect objective and accurate report from the researcher.
 Dissemination of Faulty Conclusions
 Researchers and clients should be reserved from disseminating conclusions from the
research project that are inconsistent with or not warranted by the data.
 Rights & Obligations of the sponsor (Client/User)
 An Open Relationship with Researchers
 The obligation to encourage the researcher to seek out the truth objectively, this requires
a full and open statement of
 the problem,
 explication of time and money constraints, and
 any other insights that may help the supplier,
 An open relationship with interested parties
 Conclusions should be based on the data. Violation of this principle may refer to
justifying a self-serving, political position that is not warranted from the data poses
serious ethical questions.
 Right to Quality Research

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  Ethical researchers provide the client with the type of study he/she needs to solve the
managerial question.
 The design of the project should be suitable for the problem
 The ethical researcher reports results in ways that minimize the drawing of false
conclusions.
 References/Bibliography
The term ‘reference’ refers to those consulted materials that are actually cited in-text, that is,
when your research includes paraphrased empirical and theoretical quotations from published
papers of other writers. In short, reference presents only the references cited in the text are
included in the reference list. On the other hand, bibliography refers to all materials consulted
regardless of whether they are in-text referenced or not.
Referencing Styles
There are a number of referencing styles such as Harvard Style, American Psychological
Association (APA) Style and etcetera.
A. APA Style of referencing
In-Text Citation using APA style: In-text citation in the APA style requires the author and the
year method. For instance; if the citation is at the end of the paragraph or the sentence you can
write in this way (Zikmund, 2000) whereas if you are going to mention it at the beginning of the
sentence or the paragraph you can state like this ; according to Zikmund( 2000)……….
Last name, first name, 2nd name, .year.Title of the book.Edition. Country, city, state: Publisher
details
A book is referenced by writing name of the authors, year of publication in bracket, title of the
book (in italics), edition, publisher, and place of publication respectively. For example
Author, A. A. (Year of publication).Title of work: Subtitle. Place of publication: Publisher..
Ballenger, B. (2007). The curious researcher: A guide to writing research papers. Toronto:
Pearson Longman.
If the book has no author then you need information regarding title of the book, city where the
book was published, and publisher.
 Oxford Dictionary, (2nd ed.), (1991). Oxford University Press, USA.
Similarly, citation of an online book, journal, or any other online material for that matter has to
include the date it was viewed. For instance:

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  W.M. (2004).The research methods knowledge base, 2nd ed. Retrieved November 14,
2009, from http://www.socialresearchmethods.met/kb/index.htm.

B. Harvard Style
In this, the author's surname and year of publication are cited in the text, e.g. (Bond, 2004) and a
reference list (of these citations) is included at the end of the study, in alphabetical order by
author with date. When referring to an author’s work in your text, their name is followed by the
year of publication of their work, and page reference, in brackets (parentheses) and forms part of
the sentence. If it is at the beginning of paragraph or sentence, Cormack (1994) states that 'when
writing for a professional readership…………….if it is at the end of the sentence or the
paragraph…..(Cormack, 1994, pp.32-33).
In reference list: Author, Initials/First name., Year. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication:
Publisher
Please note
 Author: Surname with capital first letter and followed by a comma.
 Initials: In capitals with full stop after each and comma after full stop of last initial
 Year: Publication year (not printing or impression) followed by full-stop.
 Title: Full title of book/thesis/dissertation in italics with capitalization of first word and
proper nouns only. Followed by full stop unless there is a sub-title.
 Sub-title: Follows a colon at end of full title, no capitalization unless proper nouns.Followed
by full-stop.
 Edition: Only include this if not first edition and use number followed by abbreviation ed.
Followed by full-stop.
 Place of publication: Town or city, follows by colon. If there may be confusion with UK
place names, for USA towns include the State in abbreviated form, e.g. Chester(CT).
 Publisher: Company name followed by full stop.
Redman, P., 2006. Good essay writing: a social sciences guide. 3rd ed.
London: Open University in assoc. with Sage.
For e-books the required elements for a reference are: Author, Year, Title of book. [type of
medium] Place of publication: Publisher. Followed by “Available at:” include e-book source and

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web site address/URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and routing details if needed. [Accessed
date].
Fishman, R., 2005. The rise and fall of suburbia. [e-book] Chester: Castle Press.
Available at: University Library/Digital Library/e-books
http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk E-books
[Accessed 5 June 2005].

Time and Budget Schedule

TIME SCHEDULE
Budget of time: A timetable explaining how the researcher expects to carry out his project and
when each of the important phases will be completed is helpful to both the researcher and the
reviewer. It is a plan in terms of number of weeks or months and expected completion dates.
Commonly researcher presents it in a table form.
 You should prepare a realistic time schedule for completing the study
 Divide the tasks to sub-parts and assign starting and completion time
 The scope of the study
 The research objectives to be achieved
 The methods and techniques to be used
 Description or Activity
 Duration
 Final Date
 Remark
 You can use Gant chart
COST SCHEDULE
Realistic and detailed to reflect the activity schedule and convincing for the reader or possibly
the financier;
 reflect real budget
 Must be realistic ,may be based on pilot study or pretesting
 Description or Activity
 Unit
 Unit Price

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  Computations
 Total Cost
 Remark
Break down of the activities to be performed and materials needed with their estimated cost
Time and cost budget
Cost break down
Cost Budget: Most proposals put together with the expectation that funding be necessary and an
itemized list of items needed to carry out the research is listed in some detail. Personal needs,
including the principal researcher’s time are included.These are items like:
 Field expenses for data collection
 Pay for consultants where they are necessary
 Travel and all such items needed to be detailed.
 A sum of money for contingencies etc
Table one Cost break down
SN Description Unit(s) Quantity Unit cost Total Costs
(in Birr) (in Birr)
1 Paper Ream Xx xx Xx
2 Pen Dozen Xx xx Xx
3 CD Number Xx xx Xx
4 Flash Number Xx xx Xx
5 Cost of printing page Xx xx Xx
6 Secretarial service Page Xx xx Xx
(writing
7 Questionnaire duplication Page Xx xx Xx

8 Transportation Trip Xx xx Xx
9 Telephone cost Number Xx xx Xx
10 Total Xx

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Table 2 Time break down
Durations in months, 2014/15
Activities Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apri May June
l

Proposal Writing
Proposal
presentation
Questionnaire
Development
Data collection
Data processing
Data analysis and
interpretations
Submission of first
draft
Submission of
Final Report

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