How to write Research proposal?

Title of the research

A good title should be short, accurate, and concise. The title of your research proposal should state your
topic exactly in the smallest possible number of words. All words in the title should be chosen with great
care, and association with one another must be carefully managed and it must be original.
Chapter one
1. Introduction
1.1 Back ground of the study
Its purpose is to establish a framework for the research, so that readers can understand how it is related
to other research. It should be a brief review of the existing research leading to the research question. It
will contain the most recent leading research in the discipline/topic being proposed.
1. What should have to incorporate in Background of the study?
 Write general overview about your research title in respect to the case study
 come to specific level from the general over view about the title
 finally try to address the previous finding about your research title (if it is possible discuss about
previously addressed variables or suggested variables)
2. How to write background of the study?
 From general to specific
 On paragraph form
 exclude background of the organization
 do not leave any paragraph without citation
1.2 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. It should be stated in such a way that it would lead to analytical thinking on the part
of the researcher with the aim of possibly concluding solutions to the stated problem. This section may
also briefly indicate the originality of the research or the gap which your research will fill.
1. What should have to incorporate in statement of the problem?
 again an over view about your title with respect to case study but not more than two paragraph
 introduce your problem form overall world point of view
 introduce your problem form continental and country level point of view
 Introduce previous research finding in short related to your problem area and try to address the
limitation of those study.
 Finally based on limitation of theory and previous study introduce the intention of your study
andaddress the gap that filled by your study.
 Pose research question or put your specific objective in question form.
2. How to write statement of the problem?
 Sequence of writing: over view of the title, discuss about the problem form world point of view,
continental point of view, country level, address previous study finding, identify gap and
intention of your study
 Write as paragraph form
 do not leave any paragraph without citation except the last paragraph
1.3 Objective of the Study

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 How to write Research proposal?

The research questions or research objectives are broad statements of the goals of the research. The
objectives of a research delineate the ends or aim which the inquirer seeks to bring about as a result of
completing the research undertaken.
1.3.1 General objective of the study
 General statements specifying the desired outcomes of the proposed project.
 Rephrasing the title of study
1.3.2 Specific objective of the study
 Address the specific objective under general objective, it should have to be too specific
 Start with to identify, to assess, to investigate, to examine, to evaluate and etc.
 Always specific objective is the statement form of research question
1.4 Significance of the Study
 Here under your expected output the significance of your study with respect to different
stakeholder eg. Government, Policy makers, society, etc
 Putting the significance by using bulletsadvisable
1.5 scope of the study
Generally this part would set out the parameters of the research. It is important to specify what is within
and outside the scope of your research. You also need to explain why.
Under this section:
 Address the geographic scope of your study
 Extent of your research in respective title
 Period of time covered by your study
1.6 limitation of the study
Under this section address:The expected limiting factors of the research
1.7 organization of the proposal
Under this section address:The chapter included in this paper with respect to its content in short
Chapter Two
2. Related literature review
2.1 Introduction
 Under this specific section write the objective of this chapter and content of the chapter
2.2 Theoretical reviews
Under this section:
 Present critical review of alternative theories that can possibly help you as possible points of
view to look at your research problem.
 Summarizes the current status of knowledge and provides an up-to-date knowledge
 Present the theoretical level knowledge previously addressed.
 Do not leave any paragraph without citation
2.3 Empirical review
Under this section:
 Present the previous study related to your problem by summarizing and identify the weakness of
the study

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 Author, title, study area, objective of the study, research methodology adopted by the
study, major finding, conclusion and recommendation. (Not more than one paragraph).
2.4 Summary of literature review
Under this section:
 Summarize what you have addressed under this chapter.
 Shows drawback of previous works and how they will be avoided in your work
 Shows how the study moves beyond the literature
 A good literature review testifies that the author did enough preparatory work to make sure that
project will complement not duplicate other people's efforts.
Chapter Three
3. Methodology of the study
3.1 Introduction
 Under this specific section write the objective of this chapter and content of the chapter
3.2. Description of the study area
 Describe the study area location and if it’s possible include the map. Again refer from where you
find the information
3.3 Research Design
 By referring book say something about research design as an introduction
 Select the appropriate research design based on nature of the study and justify why you prefer
one design form other.
 By referring book say something about research approach as an introduction
 Select the appropriate research Approach based on nature of the study and justify why you prefer
the research approach you select form other.
3.4 Data Type, Source and Methods of Collection
3.4.1 Data Type
Under this section address:
 Identify the type of data you are going to use in order to achieve objective of the study
 Justify why you are using the data type you select
3.4.2 Source of data
Under this section:Discuss the source of your data and justify the reliability of the source.
3.4.3 Method of data collection
Under this section:
 Say something about method of data collection by referring research methodology.
 Identify the instrument you’re going to use to collect the data required for research
 Justification about method you’re selected
3.5 population and sample Design
Under this section:
 Say something about target population by referring research methodology book.
 Discuss about the target population under your study
 Finally explain how to address the target population of the study.
If you use sample

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 Say something about sampling and why sampling is needed to undertake research by referring
research methodology book.
 Discuss about what types of sampling design you are going to use
 Justification about sampling design you select.
 How you are determine the sample size and justification about the appropriateness of your
method of determination
3.6 Methods of Data Analysis
Under this section:
 Discuss the activity accomplished under this section as an introductory
 Based on the nature of the study discuss about the types of analysis you are going to use to
achieve the objective of the study.
 Finally discuss the ways you are going to you to present data analysis.
4. Budgeted cost and time schedule (New page)
4.1 Budgeted cost
 Budget format composed ofEquipment needed with cost, Expendable supplies, literature,
documentation, and information, local travel, extra manpower, and other costs.
4.2 Time schedule
 Under this section present the activity accomplished in respective of time. List the activity and
time duration has to be assigned to each of the activities.
Reference (New page)
 List the cited or referred material in your proposal by using APA referencing style*
Appendix
It’s place to put the data collection apparatus such as the questionnaire, interview and other very
important documents.
* Referencing style
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. On the other hand, bibliography refers to all materials consulted regardless of whether
they are in-text referenced or not. To write reference, there are a number of referencing styles such as
Harvard Style, Chicago Style, American Psychological Association (APA) Style and etcetera. In our
case we use American Psychological Association (APA) style of referencing because of its predominant
use in social sciences.

A. In-Text Citation using APA style

In-text citation in the APA style requires the author and the year method. Page numbers are required
for direct quotes. In-text citations rely on signal phrases that indicate the reader where you got
your information using such verbs as: stated, noted, found etc.You can also have in-text citation
without signal phrases using phrases such as: some authors explored, one study concluded, one
writer asserted etc. If you are summarizing or paraphrasing others’ work you need to put it
withinquotation. For example, you may cite as follows:According to Gebregziabher (2009b), self-

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initiated startup businesses follow the Pecking Order Hypothesis (p.333).Alternatively, the same
quotation can be rewritten as; self-initiated startup businesses follow the Pecking Order
Hypothesis (Gebregziabher, 2009b, p.333).

There are two types of quotations these are short and long quotation.A direct quotation of less than
40 words is called short quotation. For example, you may cite as follows: In his 2009 study,
Gebregziabher noted, “MSE owners that started their business based on self-initiation exhibit a strong
tendency to use internal sources before looking for external source of finance” (p.333).Long quotation
is direct quotation of more than 40 words. Long quotation can be cited as in the second paragraph of
Example 4 but page number has to be included at the end of the indented paragraph.In-text citation
from a research paper of two authors should always include last names of both authors. For
example, you may cite as:Gemechu and Amare (2008, p.15) emphasized ….If the in-text
citation is from a research paper of three to five authors simply list name of the first author and
add the phrase “et.al.”. For example, you may cite as: Alemtsehay, et.al. (2004), concluded ….

If the author is unknown, use the title of the work in the signal phrase or give the first word or two of
the title in the parenthetical citation. For example, you may cite as: one 2008 guide, “APA In-Text
Citation Guidelines” stated that an in-text citation should include author and year of publication.
Alternatively, this can be re-written without signal as follows: “In an APA style of In-Text Citation
author name and year of publication are written” (“APA In-Text Citation Guidelines”, 2008).

If the author is an organization or government agency, use the name of the organization in your
signal phrase or parenthetical citation. For example, you may cite as: according to Mekelle University
(2009), “BPR implementation resulted in improved research performance”. Alternatively, this can
be re-written without signal as follows: One study has shown that BPR implementation resulted in
improved research performance (Mekelle University, 2009).You can also use an abbreviation in your
in-text citation as follows: In its study, MU (2009) concluded that BPR implementation resulted in
improved research performance.

If your in-text citation involves citing memos, letters, emails, interviews etc you need to label the type
of communication and the exact date on which it occurred but you need not write it in your reference
list. For example, you may cite as follows: Meseret (Personal Interview, November 05, 2010) indicated
that her study on class participation of students verified the importance of active participation.

B. Referencing using APA style

a) APA Style of referencing Books

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: Gitman, L.
(2003). Managerial Finance. Dryden Press, Hinsdale Illinois. 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,

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journal, or any other online material for that matter has to include the date it was viewed. For
instance: Trochim, W.M. (2004). The research methods knowledge base, 2nd ed. Retrieved
November 14, 2009, from http://www.socialresearchmethods.met/kb/index.htm.

b) APA Style of referencing Journal Articles

A journal article can be referenced by writing name of the authors, year of publication, ‘title of article’
(in single quotation marks), title of the journal (in italics), volume number, issue number, and
page numbers. For example: Gebregziabher (2009b). ‘Financing preferences of micro and small
enterprise owners in Tigray: does POH hold?’ Journal of Small Business and Enterprise
Development, 16 (2), 322-334.If a journal article has no author then it can be cited as follows:
‘Building human resources instead of landfills’ 2000. Biocycle, 41 (12), 28–9.

c) APA Style of referencing Magazines and Newspapers

Magazine and newspaper articles can be used to support an empirical fact. Magazine articles are
cited similar to that of journal articles except that the date of publication should be written.

For example: Kluger, J. (2008, January 28). Why we love. Time, 171 (4), 54-60. Newspaper article
can be cited as: Tesfaye, K. (2010, September 10). Unchanged Trade Flows May Nullify Impact
of Devaluation. Addis Fortune, 11 (541).Retrieved from
http://www.addisfortune.com/economic_commentary.htm. Similarly, articles from web 2.0 services
such as wikipedia can also be cited as: Research Funding. (2010, August 27). In Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia. Retrieved, September 16, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_funding.

d) APA Style of referencing Audio-Visual Media

Sometimes, audio-visual media can also be referenced. Audio-visual references shall include the
following: name and function of the primary contributors (e.g., producer, director), date, title, the
medium in brackets, location or place of production, and name of the distributor. For example:
Anderson, R., & Morgan, C. (producers). (2008, June20). 60 Minutes[Television broadcast].
Washington, DC: CBS News.