UNIT 3: PROCESS IN RESEARCH PROPOSAL

DEVELOPMENT

Contents
3.1 Selection of Research Topic
3.2 What is the Research Proposal?
3.3 Components of Research Proposal

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 OBJECTIVES
After completing this unit, you should be able to:
 Describe how to identify a research topic
 How to write the research proposal
 Discuss components/elements of research proposal
 Prepare a review of the literature related to the topic
 Produce a complete research proposal

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 INTRODUCTION
 A good research proposal is the key to successful research and must
begin with a clearly focused research proposal.
 A good research proposal has become a necessity not only for ensuring
a high quality of research but also for the practical reason of landing a
research grant.
 In order to attract a research grant, a research proposal must be
precise and convincing. The readers have to be convinced that you
have something there, and that you can do it.
 A good research proposal must be systematic, coherent and, above all,
‘do able’.

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 3.1 SELECTION OF A RESEARCH
TOPIC
There are different factors which you need to consider in choosing a research
topic:

1. Interest: a research endeavor is usually time consuming, and involves

hard work and possibly unforeseen problems. One should select topic of
great interest to sustain the required motivation.

2. Magnitude: It is extremely important to select a topic that you can

manage within the time and resources at your disposal. Narrow the topic
down to something manageable, specific and clear.

3. Measurement of concepts: Make sure that you are clear about the
indicators and measurement of concepts (if used) in your study.

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4. Level of expertise/competence: Make sure that you have
adequate level of expertise for the task you are proposing
since you need to do the work yourself.
5. Relevance/Usefulness: Ensure that your study adds to the
existing body of knowledge, bridges current gaps and is
useful in solving specific practical problems. This will help
you to sustain interest in the study.
6. Availability of data: Before finalizing the topic, make sure
that data are available.
7. Ethical issues: How ethical issues can affect the study
population and how ethical problems can be overcome should
be thoroughly examined at the problem formulating stage.

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 3.2 WHAT IS A RESEARCH PROPOSAL?
 Proposal writing is important to your pursuit of a undergraduate degree.
The proposal is, in effect, an intellectual scholastic (not legal) contract
between you and your committee.
 The objective in writing a proposal is to describe:
 what you will do,

 why it should be done,

 how you will do it and

 what you expect will result.

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 Being clear about these things from the beginning will help
you complete your thesis (research) in a timely fashion and
allocated resources.

 A vague, weak or fuzzy proposal can lead to a long, painful,

and often unsuccessful thesis writing exercise.

 A clean, well thought-out, proposal forms the backbone for

the thesis itself.

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Research proposal is a document written by a researcher that deals with
ideas of researcher about:
 what research he/she wants to do,

 what objectives and methodology he/she has set,

 how much time and resources are required to complete it,

 how the research finding are to be reported, and so on.

Various terminologies are used to mean a research proposal depending on
why the research is carried out?
 Research outline
 Synopsis of research
 Plan of research
 Research/project proposal
 Thesis plan, Etc

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To write a good research proposal first, you need to think what you
propose or intend to research. The next step is to explain why you
would do it. What do you hope to achieve?
You must justify your proposal in light of the existing literature,
theory, or practice about the state of knowledge in your field. This is
commonly known as the ‘gap’ in our knowledge. The next step is to
describe how you will conduct the research.
Simply, your research proposal should reflect:
1) Explanation of proposed research (what will be done)
2) Methods and techniques to be employed (how it will be done)
3) Novelty and/or importance of the study (why it should be done)

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 3.3 Components of Research Proposal
The basic components of a research proposal are the same in
many fields. The following components can be regarded as steps
in the writing of the research proposal.

1. Title page 9. Conceptual framework

2. Summary/Abstract 10. Objective/Aim of the study
3. Introduction/Background 11. Scope and limitations
4. Statement of the problem 12. Research methods, materials
5. Rationale of the research and procedures
6. Research significance 13. Work plan
7. Literature review 14. Budget
8. Hypotheses /Questions 15. References
16. Appendices/Annexes

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 1.TITLE PAGE
The title page contains the following information:
Title of the research;
Researcher’s name;
Name of institute/organization where the researcher belongs;
 Name of the sponsoring organization, name of the
supervisor, co-supervisor;
 Submission date; etc

The title page has no page number and it is not counted in any
page numbering.

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In selecting the title, the following points should be taken care of:
 Clear & concise to reflect the theme of the research

 Be self-explanatory

 Language be simple and unambiguous

 Be specific to a particular domain

 should never contain abbreviations, brackets, arithmetic figures,

etc.
 Avoid confusing meaning

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 2. ABSTRACT/SUMMARY

 The abstract outlines the proposed research, including

problem background, objectives, methodology, and
significance of the research.
 It should be self contained, concise, readable, and one
page or less (limited to 150 ‐ 200 words).
Do not put information in the abstract that is not in the main
text of your research proposal.
 Do not put references, figures, or tables in the abstract.

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 3. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
This section deals with the historic theory and current state of
research in your field. By addressing the literature, you will place
your research into its context and reveal what problem it is
attempting to address.
 Its purpose is to establish a framework for the research, so that readers can
understand how it is related to other research.
 You should begin with the basics of your research topic and then narrow the
focus of those details that are especially pertinent to the proposed work.
 Present what is currently known, and how these discoveries were made.

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 This is the place to show what is interesting and cutting-edge in the field
that led to your research idea.
 The introduction should cite those who had the idea or ideas first, and
should also cite those who have done the most recent and relevant work. You
should then go on to explain why more work is necessary (your work).
 Use various sources of literature especially primary sources such as journal
articles, Textbooks, web sites (with great caution) and personal
communications with professors can also be useful sources.

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 4. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
A problem might be defined as the issue that exists in the literature, theory,
or practice that leads to a need for the study.

The researcher must notice a problem in the existing literature, theory, or

practice that has not been previously addressed.

For this section, the following questions should be answered:

 Why does this research study need to be conducted?

 What specific issues does this study raise that have not been observed in other
research works pertaining to the topic?
Answering these questions will allow readers to understand why this particular study
is important and how the study will attempt to answer new, never-before asked
questions.

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 5.RATIONALE/JUSTIFICATION OF
THE RESEARCH
It is important to state clearly why there is a problem that needs to be
addressed.

You will need to show that the research fills a gap in the current research
by referring to the literature in the field. It should then be evident where
your research project fits in the overall context.

This is where you will explicitly state:

 how your proposed research will advance knowledge.

 What are the far-reaching effects?

 Will your study potentially change practices or policies?

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 6. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
RESEARCH
State clearly why this research is important, what the benefits will be and
how your work will contribute to knowledge in your field.
This may include commercial benefits, changes in current practice, a new
perspective on an old issue or other benefits to the community.
You need to indicate why it is significant and how it advances
understanding of the issues under discussion.

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7. LITERATURE REVIEW

The first phase of the literature review should be brief but give the reader
enough information to understand the context of the proposed research.

It may include references to previous findings and specific studies similar to

the current study, and to relevant methodology.

A good literature review:

1. includes all literature that is relevant to justifying the proposed

research;

2. does not include literature that is irrelevant to justifying the proposed

research;

3. supports undertaking the proposed research;

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4. avoids speculation and unsubstantiated statements;

5. is critical (a critical review does not merely accept previous authors’

conclusions, but weighs them carefully, examining them on the basis
of the weaknesses and strengths in the methodologies of the studies
being reviewed);
6. is organized under subheadings;
7. forms a connected argument; and
8. has a summary at the end.

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Relevant materials will probably comprise a range of media:
 books (monographs, text books, reference books);

 articles from journals, whether print or electronic (but make sure

electronic journals have been subject to the peer review process);
 newspaper articles;

 historical records;

 commercial reports and statistical information;

 government reports and statistical information;

 theses and dissertations;

 other types of information which may be relevant to your particular

discipline.

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 8. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES /QUESTIONS

Research questions ask what relationships exist between the different variables
in the study, while the hypothesis predicts the relationship between variables.

Research questions are unambiguous questions that the research is designed

to answer but hypotheses are clear statements that the research is designed to
test.

Deciding whether to use questions or hypotheses depends on factors such

as:
 the purpose of the study,

 the nature of the design and

 methodology of the research.

Make a clear and careful distinction between the dependent and independent
variables and be certain they are clear to the reader. Hypotheses are thus tentative
statements that should either be acknowledged or rejected by means of research.

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 9. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
 The theoretical or conceptual framework identifies variables impacting on
the research questions and their inter-relationships and/or identifies
theoretical and philosophical assumptions underpinning the study.
 The theoretical framework is often summarized as a flow-chart diagram,
which shows relationships between theories, concepts and variable of the
study.
 A conceptual framework is described as a set of broad ideas and principles
taken from relevant fields of enquiry and used to structure a subsequent
presentation.
 The theoretical framework usually forms the final part of the literature
review section. It describes the model that you are using in the research to
demonstrate your point.

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 10. OBJECTIVE/AIM OF THE STUDY

 The objectives of a research project summarizes what is to be achieved

by the study.
 Objectives should be closely related to the statement of the problem and
research questions.
 An objective may be thought of as either a solution to a problem or a
step along the way toward achieving a solution; an end state to be
achieved in relation to the problem.
Objectives should be
 simple (not complex),
 specific (not vague),
 stated in advance (not after the research is done), and
 stated using “action verbs” that are specific enough to be measured like
to ‘determine’, ‘to find out’, ‘to ascertain’, ‘to measure’, ‘to explore’,
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‘to develop’, ‘to compare’, ‘to describe’, ‘to identify’, ‘to calculate’, etc
Commonly, research objectives are classified into general objectives and
specific objectives.
General objective: an overall statement of the thrust of your study that
states what exactly will be studied?
Specific objectives: specific statements summarizing the proposed
activities and including description of the outcomes and their assessment
in measurable terms.
It identifies in greater detail the specific aims of the research project,
often breaking down what is to be accomplished into smaller logical
components to address issues which are considered in problem of
statement and research questions.

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 11. SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

Generally this part would set out the parameters of the research project.
It specifies what is within and outside the scope of your research.
Indicate the challenges encountered in the study that may have limited
the study. In general it indicates:
Boundaries of the research
Aspects and issues addressed
 Shortcomings of the research – resource and time constraints

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 12. METHODS, MATERIAL AND PROCEDURES

 The methods or procedures section is really the heart of the research

proposal.
 It indicates the methodological steps you will take to answer every
question, to test every hypothesis illustrated in the questions/hypotheses
section or address the objectives you set.
 State clearly:
 How you plan to conduct your research?

 What methodology are you using? Why?

 What information needs to be gathered?

 Will this data be applicable to the research questions?

 Who or what will you use as the data source?

 How will you collect data or construct experiments?

 What controls are in place? How will the data be analyzed?

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The methods in proposal should describe in detail the general research plan (may not
necessarily be true for all types of research).
Description of study area

 Description of study design

Description of study participants

Eligibility criteria ( if any)

Determination of sample size (if any)

Description of selection process (sampling method)

Methods of data collection

Description of the expected outcome and explanatory variables… (if any)

How data quality is ensured

Operational definition

 Presentation of the data analysis methods 28

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

It may include:
 The tasks to be performed;
 When and where the tasks will be performed;
 Who will perform the tasks and the time each person will spend on them;
 It describes the plan of assessing the ongoing progress toward achieving the
research objectives;
 The plan specifies how each project activity is to be measured in terms of
completion, the time line for its completion;

A GANTT chart is a planning tool that depicts graphically the order in which
various tasks must be completed and the duration of each activity. 29
 14. BUDGET AND FUNDING
The budget includes a reasonable estimate of the financial
support required to conduct the project, including
justification of budget expenses.
Typically, a proposal budget reflects direct and indirect costs.
Direct costs: Personnel, consumable supplies,
equipment, travel, communications, publication, etc
Indirect costs: overhead costs for institutions or associations,
general administrative cost, operational and maintenance,
depreciation, use allowance , etc

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 15. REFERENCES
The proposal should cite research material which supports your research.
Any text referred to or quoted from in the proposal needs to be listed and
attached. Formatting should follow the standard method advised by your
discipline.
References may be made in the main text using index numbers in
brackets (Vancouver style) or authors name (Harvard style). You will also
need to place a list of references, numbered as in the main text (or
alphabetically ordered), at the end of your research proposal.

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 16. APPENDICES/ANNEXES
Include in the appendices of your proposal any additional information
you think might be helpful to a proposal reviewer. For example, include:
 Questionnaire & other data collection forms
 Dummy tables
 Biographical data on the principal investigator
 The consent form (if any), etc

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Assignment-II: Prepare your own research proposal
1. Select your research topic
2. Write the background of your research topic
3. Write the statement of the problem
4. Rationale and significance of the research
5. Review literature for your identified topic
6. Formulate your own research question or hypothesis
7. Define clearly your general and specific objectives
8. Write the scope and limitations
9. Write clearly the research design/methods
10. Develop your work plan and prepare estimated budget
11. Choose one method of citing references and write all the
reference you used
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