Chapter Three

Process in Research Proposal

Development

By Ahmed A.
2/6/2020 1
 3. Process in Research Proposal
Development
What is a Research Proposal
Research Proposal is a detailed plan that the researcher
intends to follow and which will give an evaluator a clear
idea of what the researcher plans to do and how he or she
intends to complete the research.

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It contains a description of the
research topic and the literature
survey, motivation for the
research, a statement of the
problem, a hypothesis, the
research methodology to be
used, clarification of terms, and
the sources consulted to
demarcate the research
problem.

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What is the need for a Written Research Proposal
 forces the students to clarify their thoughts
and to think about all aspects of the study;
 is a necessary guide if a team is working
on the research;
 is an essential component submitted for
funding

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Limitations on Research Proposal
 Once a proposal for a study has been
developed and approved, and the study has
started and progressed, it should be adhered to
strictly and should not be changed.

Violations of the proposal can discredit the

whole study!!!!!

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 Identifying a Research Topic

 Defining the problem is the first

step and one of the most difficult
task in research planning and
conduct.

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Basic Components of a research proposal:
1. Title page
2. Summary/Abstract
3. Introduction/Background
4. Statement of the problem
5. Literature review
6. Rationale/Motivation
7. Hypotheses /Questions
8. Conceptual framework
9. Objective/Aim of the study
10. Research methods, materials and procedures
Study area
Study design
Study subjects
Eligibility Criteria (if any)
Sample size
Sampling methods
Method of data collection
Description of variables
Data quality assurance
Operational definitions
Plan of data analysis
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11. Work plan
12. Budget
13. References
14. Appendices/Annexes

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Title 1.Title Page
 ought to be well studied, and to give, so far as its limits permit, a definite
and concise indication of what is to come.
 should state your topic exactly in the smallest possible number of words.
 A good title is defined as the fewest possible words that adequately
describe the contents of the study.
 Title is a label: it is not a sentence.
 Titles should almost never contain abbreviations.
 The title page has no page number and it is not counted in any page
numbering.
 Put your name, name of your department /institute/ university, the name of
your advisor(s) and date of delivery under the title

First impressions are strong impressions:

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make your title an attention grabber. 1
Topic of the research should be
•Max info in least words
•<20 words/ <100 characters
• The title is a label
• Should almost never contain abbreviations
• Question: easier to understand, more impact
• State results
 2 Summary/Abstract
 The abstract is a one page brief summary of the research
proposal.
 it needs to show how your work fits into what is already known
about the topic & what new contribution your work will make.
 Specify the question that your research will answer, establish
why it is a significant question; show how you are going to
answer the question.
 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.
Though it appears at the front of the proposal, it is
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written last
ABSTRACT
What your research aim was.
• Key background theory.
• What data were collected from whom, and how.
• How it was analysed.
• Key findings.
Purpose:-To highlight key points from the major sections of the
abstract

Note:- The abstract will be the first (for busy decision makers most
likely the only) part of your study that will be read
Writing abstracts demands thorough reflection and is time
consuming
•Abstract should be
•Precis writing
• Informative, not descriptive
• Some numbers, but not in excess
• Determines if paper will be read
• Is distributed freely in databases
Component of abstract Abstracted from
Brief description of the problem (Why Introduction
this study was needed)

Main objectives of the study Introduction

Place of the study Methods

Type of the study & methods used Methods

Main findings Results

Conclusions and recommendations Discussion

 Abstract can be structured or unstructured (always check the
instruction of the journal)
 Remember that only few words are allowed to be included in
the abstract (usually 250-300 words)
 Emphasize on what is new and useful
 3 Introduction/Background
The introduction should address the following points:
 Sufficient background information to allow the reader to
understand the context and significance of the question you
are trying to address
 Proper acknowledgement of the previous work on which
you are building.
 Sufficient references such that a reader could, by going to
the library, achieve a sophisticated understanding of the
context and significance of the question.
The introduction should be focused on the
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Research Question(s). 8
 All cited work should be directly relevant to the goals of
the research.
 Explain the scope of your work, what will and will not
be included.
 A verbal “road map” or verbal “table of contents”
guiding the reader to what lies ahead.

Basically, you have to convince people that you know what

you’re talking about and that the research is important.

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 4. Statement of the Problem
 Statement of the problem encapsulates the
question you are trying to answer.
 Research may be considered as responses to a
problem.
 The prospective researcher should think on what
caused the need to do the research (problem
identification).
“Why does this research need to be
conducted” 2
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 5. Literature Review
 The literature review asks how similar and related questions have
been answered before.
 It is not a compilation of every work written about a topic.
 It is a description of the literature relevant to a particular field or
topic.
 It gives an overview of what has been said, who the key writers are,
what are the prevailing theories and hypotheses, what questions are
being asked, and what methods and methodologies are appropriate
and useful.

It is not in itself primary research, but rather it

reports on other findings 2
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 6. Conceptual Framework
 A conceptual framework is a set of broad ideas and
principles taken from relevant fields of enquiry and used to
structure a subsequent presentation.
 When clearly articulated, a conceptual framework has
potential usefulness as a tool to structure research and,
therefore, to assist a researcher to make meaning of
subsequent findings.

Every research activity is conceptualized and will be carried

out within some contextual framework. 2
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 7 Objective/Aim of Study
 The objectives of a research demarcate the ends or aim which
the researcher seeks to bring about as a result.
 An objective may be thought of as either a solution to a
problem or a step along the way toward achieving a solution.
 Objectives should be closely related to the statement of 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 2
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 Commonly, research objectives are classified into
general objectives and specific objectives.
 General objective:
– summarizes what is to be achieved by the study
– should be clearly related to the statement of the
problem
 Specific objectives:
– are logically connected parts of the general objective
 Objectives should be stated using “action verbs” that are
specific enough to be measured:- - determine -verify
-identify
-describe - assess - compare
– calculate - establish -explore
 Do not use vague non-action verbs such as:
 To appreciate … To understand… To believe
 Research objectives can be stated as:
A) Questions: “The objectives of this study are to
answer the following questions …”
B) Positive sentence: “The objectives of this study
are to determine …”
C) Hypothesis: “The objective of this study is to
verify the following hypothesis...”
The format chosen depends on the type of study
 If the study is descriptive or exploratory in nature,
then objectives are stated in the form of questions
or positive sentences.
 If the researcher knows enough to make
predictions concerning what s/he is studying, then
hypotheses may be proposed.
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 8. Methods, Materials & Procedures
 Methods/procedures show how you will
achieve the objectives, answer the
questions.
 You must decide exactly how you are going
to achieve your stated objectives.

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 What belongs in the "methods" section of a research proposal?
 Informationto allow the reader to assess the believability of
your approach.
 Information needed by another researcher to replicate your
experiment.
 Description of your materials, procedure, theory.
 Calculations, technique, procedure, equipment, and
calibration plots.
 Limitations, assumptions, and range of validity.
 Descriptionof your analytical methods, including reference
to any specialized statistical software.

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 Work plan summarizes (in a table, chart, graph)
the various components of a research project and
how they fit together.
 Includes:
– Tasks to be performed
– When the task will be performed
– Who will perform the task (identify human resource
needed for each task)
– Number of staff needed to perform the task
Ways of presenting a work plan
Work schedule
GANNT chart
PERT chart.
The Work Schedule
 Is a table and also Summarizes:- tasks to be performed --
duration of each activity, and staff responsible.
 The work schedule does not show how various tasks are related,
nor give a visual picture of the time schedule.
The GANTT Chart
 Depicts graphically the order in which various tasks must be
completed and their duration of activity.
The PERT Chart
 PERT - Program Evaluation Review Technique
 PERT chart involves identifying the various “steps” necessary
for implementing a project and then planning the optimal
feasible schedules for completing a study.

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 10 Budget and Funding
 The Budget section will show how much it will cost to answer the
question.
 When drawing up a budget, be realistic.  Do no attempt to be too careful
to demonstrate how cheaply you can run the project. At the same time,
do not be too expensive so as not to discourage the fund providers
 Typically, a proposal budget reflects direct and indirect costs.
 Direct costs:- ex. Personnel, Consumable supplies, Equipments, Travel,
Communications, Publication...ect
 Indirect costs:- includes:
 Overhead costs for institutions or associations
 General administrative cost
 Operational and maintenance
 Depreciation and use allowance
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 11 References
 You must give references to all the information that you
obtain from books, papers in journals, and other sources.
 References may be made in the main text using index
numbers in brackets (Vancouver style) or authors
name (Harvard style), APA (American Psychological
Association) style
 N.B: - The exact format for depicting references varies
from one discipline to another.

 Refer the style from the official sites

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 For
a journal paper give:
the names of the authors,
the year of publication,
the title of the paper,
the title of the journal,
the volume number of the journal,
the first and last page numbers of the
paper.

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 For a book give:
the author,
the year of publication,
the title, and the edition number if there is
one,
the name of the publisher,
the page numbers for your reference.

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 For
an internet reference give:
the author of the web page,
the title of the item on the web page,
the date the item was posted on the web
page
the date the item was accessed from the web
page
the complete and exact URL

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 12 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 collection forms
 codes
 Some Algorithms
 Dummy tables
 Biographical data on the principal investigator
 The consent form (if any) 3
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 Funded!
Write & Revise

Conceptualize

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 Assignment
Write a research proposal in your area of
specialization to satisfy the issues discussed so far
1. Research topics are already communicated with their
principal investigators.
2. In your research proposal include the possible
components with description and proper citation.
3. For citation use Howard style of referencing.
4. PI needs to divide task among the group members as per
their own convenience.
5. Download the articles from the google scholar and
prepare the separately the reference detail of
downloaded articles.
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 Thanks
Thank You!

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