PROPOSED GUIDELINES FOR WRITING RESEARCH

PROPOSAL AND REPORT

 FOR

HND MEDICAL AND BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES

PREAMBLE

This document is a general guide for undergraduate health students

undertaking research, particularly, for the first time. The guide is created

as a tool to enhance research formulation and development as well as

maintain quality supervision. This is only possible if the students and

supervisors work hard and in an enabling environment. It is therefore

expected that the provided structures for the research proposals and

reports will be adapted by all departments of the institution, thereby

ensuring uniformity in the process.

A. CRITERIA FOR SUPERVISION

❖ HND level

• Supervisors must be holders of at least a Bachelor’s Degree.

• However, holders of HND or equivalence with a minimum of two

years teaching experience may co-supervise.

❖ Supervision

• In principle, every student will have a minimum of one supervisor

and a maximum of two supervisors.

 • In exceptional cases, a supervisor may be drawn from another

department, endorsed by the student’s head of department (HOD).

B. RESPONSIBILITIES OF SUPERVISORS

❖ As principal resource persons, supervisors shall:

• Be available for consultation at least once a week.

• Respond to any written materials from their students within at most

two days of submission.

• Guide students to relevant literature and their sources.

• Discuss and critically evaluate the student’s findings and ideas.

• Ensure that students comply with the provided outline and

structure of projects.

• Enhance the quality of a student’s work.

• Ensure that students respect deadlines for submission of proposals

and projects.

• Guide students on the preparation of slides for oral presentations.

NB:
 In the absence of a supervisor for more than two weeks,

arrangements must be made by the HOD to ensure continuity in

supervision.

By placing his/her name and signature on the title and certification

page of the project, the supervisor is certifying that the project

represents the work of the student that was carried out under

his/her supervisor and is ready for official evaluation.

C. CRITERIA FOR SUBMISSION OF FINAL RESEARCH

PROPOSAL AND RESEARCH PROJECT

• Deadlines should be set and respected by each institution.

A. RESEARCH PROPOSAL FORMAT/STRUCTURE

❖ Cover Page ( see appendix 1)

❖ Certification ( see appendix 2)

 ❖ Table of Contents: (See Appendix 3A).

TIPS ON WRITING THE PROPOSAL

FORMATTING:

❖ Use TIMES NEW ROMANS.

❖ Font size: 16 for each chapter and its title, 14 for subtitles, 12 for

subheadings and text.

❖ Use font size 12 double spacing or font size 14 with 1.5 spacing.

❖ A research proposal should not exceed 30 pages.

❖ A research project should not exceed 50 pages.

❖ Page Numbering:

• From title page to list of abbreviations (Roman figures e.g i ii, etc)

• From chapter one ( Introduction) to appendices (Numbers 1, 2, 3

etc)

TITLE:

• Should be short, informative and complete.

• Should indicate variables, target population, study area.

ABSTRACT:

• Brief summary containing: the Research Problem (I sentence),

gap, Purpose of the study, Methodology (study design, study

area, study population, instruments for data collection, data

analysis).

NB:

Results and conclusion to be included in the abstract of the final

report).

No paragraphing & no references.

Not more than one page & Single line spacing.

CHAPTER ONE -INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND:

• This is a very brief summary of 1 to 2 pages.

• Provides the reader with relevant information on the research

problem. i.e. The magnitude ( how big is the problem- Globally,

regionally, locally)

• Who is affected by the problem?

 • Contributing factors to the problem?

• Possible solutions from published works, knowledge gaps, etc.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

• Is a statement of the research problem as it affects the target

population in the study area?

• It should highlight the magnitude, consequences or impact.

1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ( SYNONYMS TO

RATIONALE OR JUSTIFICATION)

• Why is the study important? How will the result/findings of your

study be of benefit to the Government/Ministry of Health,

community, patients or participants, researchers, etc.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• Are derived from the statement of the problem

• Guide the remainder of the design process

a) Formulating A Qualitative Research Question:

• WHY, WHERE, WHO, HOW, what, questions

• The research question should address the variables, population

their relationship, where applicable.

Examples:

i. Why do some Adults in Nkwen community prefer alternative

medicine to Conventional medicine?

ii. How do elderly people living with Diabetes perceive their

situation?

iii. How does the attitude of Nurses influence the utilisation rate of

health services among the adult population?

iv. What are the special health challenges that retired persons face in

rural settings of Cameroon?

v. What factors motivate individuals to take part in mass

immunisation in the urban settings of Cameroon?

b) Formulating A Quantitative Research Question And

Hypothesis

▪ The research question and hypothesis should address the

variables, population their relationship, where applicable.

 ▪ Research Hypotheses is the hallmark of a quantitative study.

▪ It is a tentative prediction of the answer to the research question.

▪ A tentative prediction or explanation of the relationship between

two or more variables.

▪ Considering PICO and FINER criteria for developing a research

question :

▪ Examples:

i. In children with acute otitis media (P), is cefuroxime (I) is

effective in reducing the duration of symptoms (O) as compared to

amoxicillin (C)?

ii. H0: cefuroxime is more efficient in reducing symptoms ofacute

otitis media than Amoxicillin.

iii. Does the use of insecticide treated nets reduce the incidence of

malaria in children 0 t0 5 years?

iv. H0: The use of insecticide treated nets reduces the incidence of

malaria in children 0 t0 5 years?

v. Does treatment with amoxicillin increase the risk of developing

resistance in children suffering from otitis media?

vi. H0: Treatment of otitis media in children with Amoxicillin

decreases the risk of resistance.

vii. Do pregnant women age 18-30 gain more post-partum weight than

those above 30 years?

NOTE: Use either research question or hypothesis and never both.

1.5RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:

• The main objective or Aim/ goal of a research project

summarize what is to be achieved by the study in general terms.

• The specific objectives provide an accurate description of the

specific actions you will take in order to reach the aim.

• In writing a good objective use active words that are specific

enough to be evaluated: to determine, to compare, to verify, to

calculate, to describe, to establish. to identify, etc.

• Avoid use of vague non-action verbs such as to appreciate  to

understand  to study/to know.

a) Main Objective:

• Single sentence and in simple present tense that includes the

central phenomenon (what will be studied), participants (who: if

any), the research site (where).

• Should be closely related to the statement of the problem.

• The main objective may start with, the purpose of this study is to

(understand, describe, develop, discover, explore, etc) the ____

(central phenomenon of the study) for __ (the participants) at (the

site).

b) Specific objectives:

• A clear statement of the specific purposes of the study, which

identifies the key study variables and their possible

interrelationships as well as the nature of the population of interest.

• Must be SMART OBJECTIVES: Measurable 

Achievable/attainable  Realistic/time bound

• Stated in active words depending on the purpose of the study.

 Example:

Research question:

• Is the level of knowledge on recommended nutritional practices

related to the nutritional status of pregnant women attending

antenatal care in Northern Cameroon?

Main objective:

• The purpose of the study is to analyze the association between

nutritional knowledge and the nutritional status of pregnant

women attending antenatal care (ANC) in Northern Cameroon.

Specific objectives: -

i. To assess the knowledge level among ANC attendees on the

recommended nutritional practices during pregnancy.

ii. To assess the nutritional status of pregnant women attending ANC.

iii. To analyse the statistical association between nutritional

knowledge level and nutritional status in pregnant women

attending ANC.
NB:Well-defined research objectives will help you

Identify the type of study design.

Focus the study activities.

Organise the study in clearly defined parts or phases.

Facilitate the development of your research methodology.

Help to orient data collection  facilitate data analysis.

Facilitate interpretation and utilisation of result.

Avoid collection of data that are not strictly necessary for

understanding/ solving the problem.

1.6 RESEARCH SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

1.7 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK (OPTIONAL)

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS

• All major /key terms/ variables must be given an operational

definition.
CHAPTER TWO-LITERATURE REVIEW

• This is a critical summary of research topic , generally prepared to

put a research problem in context, identify gaps and weaknesses in

prior studies so as to justify a new investigation

• Be thorough and complete

• Include recent research and primary sources

• Keep the Review Focused on your specific objective.

• Be Critical and Consistent:

• Find a Logical Structured way to link the various sections of a

review

NB:

Reviewing the literature is not cutting and pasting text.

DO NOT use abstracts as your source of information, you must

consult the full text of the article before using it as a cited

reference.

DO NOTinclude references in your abstract.

CHAPTER THREE-METHODOLOGY

3.1 STUDY DESIGN:

• The overall plan for obtaining an answer to the research question

or for testing the research hypothesis.

• Select and justify the design that is most suited to your study.

• Will have been chosen based on: Research question/hypothesis,

Strengths and weaknesses of alternative designs, Feasibility,

resources, time frame, ethics and ype of study: Qualitative,

quantitative, or mixed

• The designs are:

Exploratory

Descriptive (e.g. cross-sectional surveys, ecological, case report,

case series)
 Analytic observational (e.g. cohort and case-control:

retrospective/Prospective),

Experimental (e.g. RCT (clinical trial, quasi experimental, etc).

3.2 STUDY AREA AND SETTING

• WHERE will the study be carried out?

• Brief description of the study area

• Geographical location, population

• Rural or urban/ or community or hospital-based?

• Say how this is suitable for your study

• Etc

3.3 STUDY POPULATION

Clear description of study population (who will be studied)

• Specify eligible participants (inclusion/exclusion criteria:

demographic characteristics (age, gender, condition, occupation

etc.)
 • Specify accessible population: geographic characteristics (rural,

urban, hospitalised, community, etc).

3.4 STUDY DURATION

• Give the time taken to carry out the research project internship.

3.5 SAMPLING (HOW WILL THEY BE SELECTED?)

3.5.1 SAMPLE SIZE CALCULATION

• Make reference to your biostatistics notes and calculate the

sample size.

3.5.2 SAMPLING METHOD

• Clear description of sampling methods and how you will select

them ( e,g Drawn from a hat, Random number table, Computer

generated etc)

• Sampling methods:

i. Random/probability sampling designs; : each element in the

population has an equal, independent chance of being selected:

 Simple random sampling, Stratified random sampling, Cluster

sampling, Systematic sampling multi-stage

ii. Non-random/probability sampling designs:

purposive/Convenience, Snowball Judgmental)

iii. Mixed’ sampling designs.

3.6 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES AND SAMPLE

ANALYSIS:

Variables:

• Identify all variables to be measured: Dependent and independent.

NB:

Variables are not inherently independent or dependent.

MEASUREMENT/INSTRUMENTS/TOOLS:

• Anything that becomes a means of collecting information for your

study is called a research tool or an instrument (observation forms,

interview schedules, questionnaires, and interview guides, clinical

examination, laboratory tests, screening procedures, records, etc.).

• To collect primary data, you need to either construct a research

instrument or select and adapt an already constructed one.

• For secondary data (information already collected for other

purposes), develop a form to extract the required data. .

• Field testing (Pilot study) a research tool is an integral part of

instrument construction.

• As a rule, the field test should not be carried out on the sample of

your study but on a similar population.

• For quantitative studies data SAMPLE ANALYSIS should be

included for example in pharmaceutical, biochemical,

microbiological, etc.

3.7 DATA MANAGEMENT AND ANALYSIS:

• Detail your planned procedures for:

✓ Processing: Recording, coding, cleaning, storing and reducing

data manually or by a computer.

✓ State the descriptive and inferential analysis and identify

Statistical test (s) for research hypothesis

• The way you plan to analyse the information to be collected

largely depends upon the type of information-descriptive,

quantitative, qualitative

• in Descriptive studies, you can write your report on the basis of

your field notes, manually analyse the contents of your notes

(content analysis ) or use a computer

• Use Descriptive statistics to summarise important feature of

numerical data ( mean, median, range, proportion), characterise

participants and determine distribution of variables

• USE analytic/inferential statistics: Looking at associations

among two or more variables, estimate pattern and strength of

associations among variables and test hypotheses

• Quantitative analysis:

✓ Decide upon the type of analysis required (i.e., frequency

distribution, cross-tabulations, regression analysis, factor analysis,

analysis of variance) and how it should be presented

 ✓ Also identify the variables to be subjected to these statistical

procedures. Detail your planned procedures for:

3.8 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS:

• Ethical Principles: Respect for persons (autonomy), Non-

maleficence (do not harm),Beneficence (do good) and Justice

(exclusion)

• Ethical Considerations:

o Ethical approval by various authorities

o Recruitment – how and by whom are participants recruited?

o Participation – what does participation in the study involve?

o Harms and benefits – what are real potential harms and

benefits of participating in the study?

o Informed consent – have the participants appropriately been

asked for their informed consent?

o Confidentiality: How will this be ensured?

 NOTE: Include budget and calendar of activities at the end of

chapter three research of proposal.

PLAN OF ACTIVITIES:

• This should be designed in line with the duration to be taken to

complete the entire project. It can be arranged under headings such

item, month and year in a tabular form.

BUDGET:

• A concise budget should be provided with focus on quantity, price

per unit quantity, total income and expenditure in a table.

REFERENCES:

❖ A list of only the workssummarised, paraphrased, or quoted in

your work,

❖ References should be written in 'APA style'

❖ Arrange in alphabetical order (do not Number references)

a) When citing authors in the text:

 • Authors may be cited at the beginning, within or at the end of a

sentence.

• State the author(s) before the Year and put the year in

bracket.

• Where there are two authors cite both

e.g. Jones and Smith (2013) reported that ....

• Where there are three or more authors, Acknowledge only the

first author,

e.g. According to Williams et al., (2004) .....

• For End of text a reference: No coma or full stop between the

sentence and the author.

E.g. The prevalence of malaria among school girls in Cameroon

is 5% Nji and Neba,(2006).

b) How To Format Various Reference Sources at the end of the

proposal or report

a) Journals: Harrison Kings (2012). Research methods. Aust J Med

Sci; 17: 45-47.

b) Author(s) of a book:Murray-Smith S. Right Words: A Guide to

Research for Beginners. 2nd ed. London: Oxford books; 2007.

c) Author(s) of a chapter in a book:Bogduk N. Spinal pain: In:

Gandevia SC, Burke D, Anthony M, editors. Science and practice

in clinical Medicine. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press;

2008; 39-57.

d) Internet referencing:

Document/Individual Work:

Tyner R. Sink or Swim: Internet search tools and techniques

(version 3) [WWW document]. Okanagan University College, 7

November 2015.

http://oksw01.okanagan.bc.ca/libr/connect96/search.htm [accessed

19 October, 2015 at 8 AM].

Journals

Zorn P, Emanoil M, Marshall L, Panek M. Advanced searching:

Tricks of the trade. Online [WWW]. 2014 May; 9 pages.

 http://www.onlineinc.com/onlinemag/MayOL/zorn5.html

[accessed 19 November 2015 at 2 PM].

APPENDIXES OR ANNEXES:

Examples of additional information that can be presented in

annexes are:

▪ Informed consent form and data collection instrument/tool e.g

questionnaire.

▪ Map of study area.

B. RESEARCHPROJECT FORMAT/STRUCTURE

1. COVER PAGE: Same as in proposal.

2. CHAPTER 1 and CHAPTER 2: Same as in research proposal.

3. CHAPTER 3 (MATERIALS AND METHODS):

 • Same as in proposal BUT change from future tense to past

tense.

• Start with materials.

• Include “LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY” at the end of

chapter 3if you have deviated from the original study design

presented in your research proposal AND explain to what extent

you did so and why.

4. CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS

▪ This chapter should present the finding in a logical manner,

preferably, following the sequence of specific objectives

▪ MAKE USE OF TABLES AND FIGURES (pie charts, bar charts,

histograms, maps etc.)

▪ Titles of tables should come before the table and titles for figures

after the figures.

▪ Labelling of ables& Figures: Applicable to all Chapters.

 ✓ E.g Chapter 1: Table.1.1, Table.1.2, etc, Chapter 2: Table 2.1,

Table. 2.2, etc

✓ Chapter 1: Fig. 1.1, 1.2 etc, Chapter 2: Fig 2.1, 2.2 etc, Chapter

3: Fig. 3.1, Fig.3.2, etc.

NB:

A Legend: An interpretation of table or figure is written in

italics below the table or figure.

THE LEGEND IS NOT A DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS

Where a figure or tablehas been transcribed from published works,

the source (reference) should be indicated below e.g.Source: Nun

et al., 2006.

5. CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1DISCUSSION:

• Follow a logical sequence as results in chapter 4.

 • Analyse and interpret your findings, showing the differences and

similarities with cited works in the literature review.

5.2 CONCLUSION:

• Should be short and focused firstonALLspecific objectives and

then, the MAIN OBJECTIVE.

5.3RECOMMENDATIONS:

• This should address each objective then, recommendation for

further research.

REFERENCES: Same as in proposal.

APPENDICES OR ANNEXES:

Examples of additional information that can be presented in

annexes are:

▪ Approval/Clearance from the school, Delegation Public Health,

DMO, etc.
 ▪ Informed consent form and data collection instrument/tool e.g.

questionnaire.

▪ Sample size calculation formula.

▪ Tables referred to in the text but not included in order to keep the

report short.

▪ Map of study area.

▪ Any other relevant materials made referenced in the text.

APPENDICES (SUMMARY OF FORMATS FOR WRITING

RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND RESEARCH PROJECT)

APPENDIX I:COVER PAGE SAMPLE FOR RESEARCH

PROPOSAL AND RESEARCH PROJECT

1. Name of the country

Motto of the country

Ministry of Higher Education

Ministry of Public Health

 NB: It should appear on both sides on the paper in both English and

French.

2. Name of institution

Logo of institution

Department

3. Title of project: The title of the project should be capitalised.

4. The title is followed by: A research project or proposal submitted to the

department of ………… in partial fulfilment of the requirements for

the award of higher national diploma (HND) in ………………… (this

should appear in capital letters).

5. Name of student and HND registration number.

6. Name and qualification of supervisor.

7. Month and year of publication.

===================================================

==

APPENDIX II: CERTIFICATION SAMPLE FOR RESEARCH

PROJECT ONLY

This is to certify that the work titled “------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------“is the original work of ---

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name and signature of supervisor(s)

Appendix III:TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR RESEARCH

PROPOSAL AND REPORT

Appendix IIIA: TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR RESEARCH

PROPOSAL

PRELIMINARY PAGES

Abstract…………………………………………………………………

…………………………………iv

Table of

Contents…………………………………………………………………

………………………..v

List of

Figures……………………………………………………………………

………………………..vi
List of

Tables……………………………………………………………………

………………………...vii

List of

Abbreviations……………………………………………………………

……………………….viii

Appendix IIIB: TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR RESEARCH

PROJECT

PRELIMINARY PAGES

Certification………………………………………………………………

…………………....i

Dedication………………………………………………………………

…………………….ii

Acknowledgements………………………………………………………

…………………..iii
Abstract…………………………………………………………………

……………………iv

Table of

Contents…………………………………………………………………

…………..v

List of

Figures……………………………………………………………………

…………..vi

List of

Tables……………………………………………………………………

…………...vii

List of

Abbreviations……………………………………………………………

………….viii
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

(SAME FOR BOTH RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND RESEARCH

PROJECT)

1.1 Background…………………………………………………………

…………………………………1

1.2 Statement of the

problem………………………………………………………………

…page number

1.3 Significance of the

study……………………………………………………………….....p

age number

1.4 Research questions or

hypothesis………………………………………………………...page

number
1.5 Research

objectives………………………………………………………………

………..page number

1.5.1 Main

objective……………………………………………………………

…………....page number

1.5.2 Specific

objectives…………………………………………………………………

…….page number

1.6 Research scope and

delimitation………………………………………………………….pa

ge number

1.7 Conceptual framework

(optional)………………………………………………………….page

number
1.8 Definition of terms and

concepts……………………………………………………….....page

number

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

(SAME FOR BOTH RESEARCH PROPOSAL AND RESEARCH

PROJECT)

2.1 Introduction…………………………………………………………

……………………..page number

2.2 ............................................................................................................

..................................page number

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY (RESEARCH PROPOSAL ONLY)

3.1 Study

Design……………………………………………………………

…………….page number

3.2 Study area and

setting………………………………………………………............

....page number

3.3 Study

population…………………………………………………………

……………page number

3.4 Study

duration……………………………………………………………

…………...page number

3.5 Sampling……………………………………………………

…………………………page number

3.5.1 Sample size

calculation…………………………………………………

……page number
 3.5.2 Sampling

method………………………………………………………

…….page number

3.6 Data collection procedures and sample

analysis……………………………………...page number

3.7 Data management and

analysis……………………………………………………….page

number

3.7.1 Data

management…………………………………………………

…………page number

3.7.2 Data

analysis………………………………………………………

…………page number

3.8 Ethical

considerations……………………………………………………

…………....page number
BUDGET…………………………………………………………………

…………………...page number

PLAN OF

ACTIVITIES……………………………………………………………

………..page number

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………

……………………page number

APPENDICES (NO PAGE NUMBERING)

CHAPTER THREE

MATERIALS AND METHODS (RESEARCH PROJECT ONLY)

3.1 Materials……………………………………………………

…………………………page number

3.2 Methods………………………………………………………

……………………….page number
3.2.1 Study

Design………………………………………………………

…………page number

3.2.2 Study area and

setting………………………………………………………..

page number

3.2.3 Study

population……………………………………………………

………..page number

3.2.4 Study

duration……………………………………………………

…………..page number

3.2.5 Sampling……………………………………………………

………………..page number

3.2.5.1 Sample size

calculation………………………………………………

…page number
 3.2.5.2 Sampling

method…………………………………………………

……..page number

3.2.6 Data collection procedures and sample

analysis……………………………..page number

3.2.7 Data management and

analysis………………………………………………page

number

3.2.8 Data

management…………………………………………………

………….page number

3.2.9 Data

analysis………………………………………………………

…………page number

3.2.10 Ethical

considerations………………………………………………

………..page number
 CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS (RESEARCH PROJECT ONLY)

4.1…………………………………………………………………

…………………...page number

4.2…………………………………………………………………

…………………...page number

CHAPTER FIVE:

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

(RESEARCH PROJECT ONLY)

5.1.

Discussion…………………………………………………………

……………...page number
 5.2.

Conclusion........................................................................................

......................page number

5.3.

Recommendation…………………………………………………

……………...page number

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………

……………..page number

APPENDICES (NO PAGE NUMBERING)