Chapter Three

Research Proposal And Guide To

Prepare a Proposal

1
What is a Research Proposal?

A research proposal is a written statement 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).

 A research proposal is intended to convince

others that you have a worthwhile research
project and that you have the competence and the
work-plan to complete it
2
• It is a comprehensive compilation of
– what, why, how, when, and where in research.

• Its organization and clarity is the first opportunity to

measure/evaluate your ability to successfully execute
a project.

• It is a written statement of the research design that

makes the research process operative for the specific
problem

• It is a plan of future research and an explanation of

how it will be achieved

3
According to Emory (1991), the purpose of a
research proposal is:
To present the problem to be researched
and its importance
To discuss the research efforts of others
who have worked on related problems.
To set forth the data necessary for solving
the problem
To suggest how the data will be gathered,
treated and interpreted
4
Regardless of your research area and the
methodology you choose, all research
proposals must address the following
questions (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?

5
 Give yourself a chance . . .
• Start early
– Give yourself time to think
– As you have ideas, write them down
– Keep track of relevant literature
– Test your ideas on colleagues … even before you
write them down
– Critique yourself … play devil’s advocate (what if
I’m wrong; what if it doesn’t work?, etc)
– Read/review proposals of others whenever you have
a chance
– Allow time to revise
6
 Function of the research proposal
 Proposal as a means of communication
– It serves as a basis for determining the feasibility of the
research project
– It serves to communicate
» what information will be obtained,
» where it will be obtained, and
» how it will be obtained
 Research proposal as plan
– It sets out the plan in step­by­step detail and helps
to organize idea in a systematic manner
– It reduces the probability of costly mistake

7
 Proposal also functions as a contract
– It constitute a bond of agreement between the
researcher and the funding sources or sponsors
– It gives the research supervisor a basis for guiding the
researcher while conducting the study

Other Benefits:
Improved record-keeping
Enhanced credibility
Better program evaluation
Better financial management

8
 Specific Values of Research Proposal
Value 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

9
 Value to the Researcher
• A tentative work plan that charts the logical
steps
• 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

10
 Ethical Issues in Research
What is Ethics?
• Ethics is a state of good or bad
• Ethics Vs Rules and Regulations
• Rules are formal and ethics is societal law
• Research demands ethical behavior from its
participants.
• The goal of ethics in research is to ensure that
no one is harmed or suffers adverse
consequences from research activities.

11
• Ethical questions are philosophical questions that are
based on the perceptions of a society.
• Societal norms are codes of behavior adopted by a
group, suggesting what a member of a group ought to
do under given circumstances.
• Ethics bridges the gap between laws and actual
practices.
• In research ethical issues are concerns of the three
major stakeholders:
– the researcher or investigator
– the subject or respondent, and
– the sponsor or client or financier
• Therefore ethical issues in development research are
explained by the interaction of the rights and
obligations of these three stakeholders. 12
13
 Rights and Obligations of the Respondent
Obligation:
• to provide truthful information.
Rights:
i) Privacy
• Collecting and giving out of personal information
of respondents without their knowledge can be a
serious violation
• This involves the subject’s freedom to choose
whether or not to comply with the investigator’s
request.
• Field interviewers indicate their legitimacy by
– passing out business cards,
– wearing nametags, or
– identifying the name of their company.

14
ii) 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.
• Some suggest two reasons to legitimate deception:
– to prevent biasing the respondents prior to the
survey and
– to protect the confidentiality of a third party (e.g.,
the client).
• However
a) The benefits to be gained by deception should be
balanced against the risks to the respondents.
b) Once the research is completed, the subjects who
were deceived should be “debriefed.”

15
c) Debriefing explains the truth to the participants and
explains why deception was used.
d) Researchers are not expected to create a false
impression by disguising the purpose of the research
iii) The right to be informed
– The right to be informed of all aspects of the research
including: its purpose and sponsorship
– not to exaggerate/Neither overstate nor understate
– Explain to the respondent that their rights and well­
being will be adequately protected and indicate how
that will be done.
E.g. maintaining confidentiality

16
• Ensure that interviewers obtain informed
consent from the respondents.
• Debriefing Respondents ­ it is a good practice
to offer them follow­up information.
• Consent must be voluntary and free from
coercion, force, requirements, and so forth.
• Respondents must be adequately informed in
order to make decisions.
• Respondents should know the possible risks or
outcomes associated with the research.
projects.

17
 Rights and Obligations of the Researcher
• A code of ethics may also be developed by
professional associations.
• Code of ethics is a statement of principles and
operating procedures for ethical practice.
• Points that deserve attention in the efforts of the
researcher in relation to ethics.
i) 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.

18
ii) 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.
iii) Misrepresentation of Research
• To analyze the data honestly and to report correctly
the actual data collection methods.
iv) 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.
19
v) 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)
i) Buyer-seller relationship
• The general development ethics expected to exist
between a buyer and a seller
• It is unethical to solicit competitive bids that have no
chance of' being accepted just to fulfill a corporate
purchasing policy stating that a bid must be put out
to three competitors.

20
 ii) 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,
iii) An Open Relationship with Interested Parties
• Conclusions should be based on the data.
• Violation of this principle may refer to justifying a
self­serving, political position that is not warranted
from the data poses serious ethical questions.

21
 iv) Commitment to Research
• This involves requesting research proposals
when there is a low probability that the
research will be conducted.
• Researchers believe that the client has the
obligation to be serious about considering a
pro­ject before soliciting proposals.
v)Pseudo-Pilot Studies
• Tell the researcher that it is a pilot study and
that if a good job is performed during the pilot
study stages there will be an ad­ditional major
contract down the line.

22
 vi) Right to Quality Research

• 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.

23
 MAJOR COMPONENTS Of
A RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Preliminaries/Prefixes
i) Cover page
Title of the Research
(A Case Study of ……..)
Purpose why the Research is conducted
Name and Address of the investigator
Advisor/Reader
Month and Place where the proposal is written
ii) Acronyms (if any, abbreviations
alphabetically arranged))
iii) Table of Contents
iv) List of Tables
v) List of Figures
24
 INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the study –Deductive order
Definitions and Concepts Related to the topic
Global issues and trends about the topic
Situations in Less Developed Countries or in
an industry
National level
Firm/Regional level
Related with your study area

25
 1.2 . Statement of the Problem or
(Justification for the study)
 Facts that motivated the investigator to conduct the
research
 Exactly specifying and measuring the gap
 Hard facts or quantitative data about the topic for
some previous years, for example three years

1.3 Research Objectives, Research Questions, and

Research Hypothesis (optional)
1.3.1. Research Objectives – Ends to be met in
conducting the research
 What the investigator will analyze and how;
 what comparisons to make and at what level
General objective
 often one statement directly related to the topic

26
 Specific Objectives

what the researcher wants to achieve

about she/he wants to collect data;
what to analyze and compare

1.3.2.Research Questions - Questions to be

answered to meet the research objectives
or produce implications for the hypothesis

1.3.3.Research Hypothesis ( Optional) -

tentative propositions to be tested in the
research

27
 3. Research Methods and
Data Collection
3.1. Data Type and Source (Decide one of them or
both by giving justifications)
Qualitative V/s Quantitative ( Give reasons)
Primary Sources (Decide on which method or
methods to use by stating justifiable reasons
Questionnaires
Interviews
Observations
Focus group discussions, etc.

28
Secondary Sources (Decide which method or
methods to use by stating justifiable reasons)
and exactly state the sources from which you
will get the data
 Reports, manuals, Internal publications, data base
systems
 Journals and Publications for assessing existing
findings and
 Internet
 Books for assessing theories and principles related to
the topic etc.

29
 3.2. Study Design
Census Vs Survey( Decide which one to use
and why)
Survey design ( Decide on the survey designs to
be used by clearly stating the reasons for your
decision
Sample Size( 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
Sampling Design( Show how and why you are
going to use the different techniques of
probability and/or nonprobability sampling
techniques
Sampling Procedure( clearly state the steps in
sampling)

30
 Steps in Sampling Design
Determine the universe/target population
Sampling unit
Source list/Sampling frame
Size of sample ( 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)
Parameters of interest
Sampling procedure ( Show how and why you
are going to use the different techniques of
probability and/or nonprobability sampling
techniques)

31
 3.3. Data collection
State the data collection tool or tools to be
used with necessary Justifications.
– Interview,
– Questionnaire,
– Observation,
– Focus group discussion
Questionnaire design
Questionnaire testing or pretesting if
necessary

32
Data collection Procedures ( show in detail)
How the Questionnaire will be administered
Who will be involved?
How many people will be involved?
When will data be collected?
Where will data be collected?
How Data collection will be administered?
How other methods will be applied in
combination (Triangulation)
Focus Group discussions
Interviews
Observation

33
 3.4. Data processing and Analysis
Manual Vs Mechanical
Editing: Field Vs in-house editing ( include
reasons)
Recording /Data entry/ or keyboarding
Methods of Analysis
Qualitative V/s Quantitative
Descriptive (tools to be used)
Explanatory

34
1.5 Significance of the study- Benefit of the
study (Who may use the findings)
User organizations
Other researchers
The society or the community
1.6 Definition of key Terminologies and
Concepts
Conceptual definitions – general and related
to dictionary meaning
Operational – in the context of the research
paper and in measurable terms

35
 Scope and Limitation of the study

Scope provides the boundary or framework

Limitation is the implication or effect of the
scope- does not mean weakness or problems
to be faced

36
 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE.

Deductive Order (General to specific)

Concepts and definitions of terminologies
directly related to the topic.
Global issue and trends
Regional
Regional or continental or industrial facts
Best experiences, if relevant
Problems and challenges related to the topic

37
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

38
 Time and Budget Schedule
TIME SCHEDULE
Try to put reasonable and realistic time on the basis
of
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

39
 BUDGET
Realistic and detailed to reflect the activity
schedule and convincing for the reader or possibly
the financier;
reflect real budget
Description or Activity
Unit
Unit Price
Computations
Total Cost
Remark

40
 Basic Questions­ Problem definition
• What is the purpose of the study?
• How much is already known?
• Is additional background information
necessary?
• What is to be measured? How?
• Can the data be made available?
• Should research be conducted?
• Can a hypothesis be formulated

41
 Basic Questions­ Research Design

• What types of questions need to be answered?

• Are descriptive or causal findings required?
• What is the source of the data?
• Can objective answers be obtained by asking
people?
• How quickly is the information needed?
• How should survey questions be worded?
• How should experimental manipulations be
made?
•
42
 Basic Questions­ Sample selection
• Who or what is the source of the data?
• Can the target population be identified?
• Is a sample necessary?
• How accurate must the sample be?
• Is a probability sample necessary?
• Is a national sample necessary?
• How large a sample is necessary?
• How will the sample be selected?

43
 Basic Questions­ Data Collection

• Who will gather the data?

• How long will data gathering take?
• How much supervision is needed?
• What operational procedures need to be
followed?

44
 Basic Questions­ Data Analysis & Evaluation

• Will standardized editing and coding. procedures be

utilized? How will the data be categorized?
• Will computer or hand tabulation be utilized?
• What questions need to be answered?
• How many variables are to be investigated
simultaneously?
• What are the criteria for evaluation of performance?

45
 Basic Questions­Type of report

• Who will read the report?

• Are managerial recommendations requested?
• How many presentations are required?
• What will be the format of the written report?

46
 Basic Questions­ Overall Evaluation

• When should the research be scheduled to

begin?
• How much will the study cost?
• Is the time frame acceptable?
• Do we need outside help?
• Will this research design attain the stated
research objectives?

47