Writing a Research Proposal

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 What is a research proposal

 A written document that describes what specific study a researcher

intends to accomplish and how
 is a document that presents a plan for a project to reviewers for
evaluation
 It can be a supervised project submitted to instructors as part of the
educational degree or it can present a project proposed to a funding
agency

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 Purposes of research proposal

 To convince reviewers that you, the researcher, are capable of

successfully conducting the proposed research project
 Reviewers have more confidence that planned project will be
successfully completed if the proposal is well written and organized,
and if you demonstrate careful planning

 To obtain the funding necessary to carry out the study

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 Components of a Proposal

Title and cover page

Acknowledgment
Table of contents
List of tables
List of figures
List of annexes
Abbreviations and Acronyms
Summary

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 1. Introduction
2. Objective
3. Methods
4. Work plan
5. Budget
6. References
7. Annexes

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 Title and Cover Page
Cover page
 The first page of the proposal/scientific paper
 Cover page must include:
 Name of organization/Logo
 Research Title
 Investigator(s) name
 Advisor(s) name
 For whom the proposal is going to be submitted
 Date of submission
 Place of submission

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 Tittle
Purpose: to provide a brief, informative summary that will
attract your target audience
 Should be in line with your general objective
 Should tell readers what your study is about, where, when and on
whom it will be done
 The Title should include:
 The main research problem
 The specific issue to be addressed
 Target population
 Place
 Time

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Example:
Factors Associated with Needle Stick and Sharp Injuries among
Health Care Workers in Dessie Town Public Health Facilities, North
East Ethiopia, 2008

 The main research problem: Needle Stick and Sharp Injuries

 Specific issue: Associated factors

 Target population: Health Care workers

 Place: Dessie town public health facilities

 Time: 2008

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Title sometimes includes methods (optional)
• Methods used
E.g.
Modern health services utilization and its predictors in Dessie city, North east
Ethiopia, 2008: A Cross Sectional Study
 Method: study design (Cross sectional study)

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 Acknowledgements
 Those individuals, groups, organizations who put their
contribution in your research work should be acknowledged
 You need to acknowledge them by mentioning their
contribution

E.g. Financial support, material support, provision of constructive

idea, facilitating the research process, permitting research work,
etc.

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 Abbreviations and Acronyms
Abbreviations
 A shortened form of a word or name that is used in place of the
full word or name in your research work
E.g. Amount = amt.
WHO= World health organization
Acronyms
 Type of abbreviation in which the letters are readable
E.g.
 AIDS= Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
 UNESCO= United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural organization

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 Table of Contents
 This section includes main topics from acknowledgement to
Annex

 The format should include contents and page number

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 List of Tables
 Tables used in your proposal should be listed in this section
 The format should include contents with clear table number, title and
page number

List of figures
 Figures used in your proposal should be listed in this section
 The format should include contents with clear figure number, title and
page number

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 Summary
• Summary is the first (and for busy decision makers most likely the
only) part of your study that will be read

• Writing summary demands thorough reflection and is time

consuming
• It purpose is to highlight key points from the major sections
of the proposal.

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• Summary can be structured or unstructured (always check
the instruction of the institution)

1. Structured summary: has headings and each heading starts in a new

paragraph.
2. Unstructured summary has no headings and it is finalized in only a
single paragraph

• Summary emphasizes on what is new and useful

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Summary should reflect
 Problem Statement
 Research objectives
 Methods
 Work plan
 Total Budget

• Remember that only few words are allowed to be included in the

abstract (usually 250-300 words)

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Example of proposal summary

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 Introduction

 Can be divided into 4 sections/concepts of the 4 sections can be

merged together
 Sections:
 Background (1 page)
 Statement of the problem (2 pages)
 Literature review (4-6 pages)
 Significance of the (half a page)

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 Objectives

 A research objective summarize what is to be achieved by the

study

 Identify general and specific objectives

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 Methods
Possible sub-sections of the methods
 Study design and period
 Study area
 Source and Study population
 Eligibility criteria (inclusion and exclusion criteria)
 Sample size determination
 Sampling procedure
 Variables of the study
 Operational definition of variables
 Plan for Data collection procedures
 Plan for Data quality control
 Plan for Data processing and analysis:
 Ethical considerations
 Plan for Dissemination of result
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 Method…
 Study design:
 The appropriate study design with its justification should be stated
clearly.
 The study period is when the data will be actually collected.
 Study area: the setting where the research will be conducted.
 Its location, population size and composition, climatic condition,
health services, and any special characteristics related to the research
topic should be described precisely.

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 Method…
 Source and study population
 Who are the target population?
 Who are the accessible population from which the sample will be
drawn?
 Eligibility criteria
 Inclusion criteria: who will be included in the study?
 Exclusion criteria: who will not be included in the study? This
should be among subjects who fulfill the inclusion criteria

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 Method…
 Sample size determination
 How many participants will be included?
 How these number of participants are determined?
 Show the assumptions, formula, and the calculations
 Sampling procedure:
 How the participants will be selected?
 If possible use a flow chart to show the selection procedure

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 Example of sampling procedure

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 Method…
Study variables
 State the dependent variable(s)
 List all the independent variables that we are going to study
 The list of the variables should be in line with the literature review
and the conceptual framework
Operational definitions
 How the dependent variable is measured?
 What do mean some of the concepts as of this study?
 If the definition is taken from other sources, don’t forget to cite the
source

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 Method…
 Data collection procedures
 what type, how (tools/procedure), who (enquires/responds), where
(geography/enquiry place), when (period/time)
 Data quality control
 How the data quality will be assured?
 Possible measures may be: training of data collectors, supervision,
regular checkup of completeness of questionnaires, repeated
measurement, …
 Data processing and analysis
 Coding, entering, cleaning, storing, recoding (software to be used),
choice of statistical methods, interpretation of statistical outputs,
presentation of descriptive and analytic results

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 Method…
 Ethical considerations
 Ethical approval letter from the college
 Letter of permission from the concerned institution where the study will
be conducted
 Informed consent, autonomy
 How confidentiality will be kept?
 Any support to be given for respondents with a certain problem
 Plan for dissemination of results
 How the result will be disseminated, for whom?
 Submission of copies of the report, Public presentation, publication, …

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 Project Work plan
 Work plan summarizes (in a table, chart, graph) the various
components of a research project and how they fit together

 Includes:
 What tasks to be performed
 When the task will be performed
 Who will perform the task including number of staff needed to perform
the task

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A work plan can serve as:
 a tool in planning the details of the project activities and
later the project funds.
 a visual outline or illustration of the sequence of the
project operations.
 a management tool for the principal investigator and/or
members of his/her team,
 a tool for monitoring and evaluation, when the current
status of the project is compared to what was foreseen in
the work plan.

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 Ways of presenting a work plan
1. Work schedule
2. GANNT chart
3. PERT chart.

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1. The Work Schedule
 Is a table which 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.

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 Example of work schedule

S.No Activities Responsible Time Table

(Tasks) body QY 1 QY 2 QY 3 QY 4
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

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2. The GANTT Chart
 Is a planning tool which depicts graphically the order in which various tasks
must be completed and their duration of activity.
A typical Gantt chart includes the following information:
 The tasks to be performed
 Who is responsible for each task; and
 The time each task is expected to take.
 The length of each task is shown by a bar that extends over the number of
days, weeks or months the task is expected to take.
 The Gantt chart doesn’t show how various tasks are related.

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 Example of GANNT Chart

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 Budget proposal
How should a budget be prepared?
 It is necessary to use the work plan as a starting point.
 Specify, for each activity in the work plan, what resources are
required.
 Determine for each resource needed the unit cost and the
total cost.
 The budget for the fieldwork component of the work plan will
include funds for personnel, transport and supplies.

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 Budget cont…
The Budget Format and Justification

 The type of budget format to be used may vary

 Most donor organizations have their own special project

forms, which include a budget format.

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 Budget cont…
Advice on Budget Preparation
 Include a 5%-10% contingency fund
 If inclusion of a contingency fund is not allowed, an
alternative is to slightly over-budget in major categories.

 Do not box yourself in too tightly with very detailed

categories and amounts, especially if regulations do not
allow adjustments afterwards.

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 Example of budget proposal

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 Budget cont…
 Ask the supervising agency to agree that, if necessary
there may be some transfer between „line items‟ in the
budget.

 If the budget is for a period longer than a year, build in

allowances for inflation before the project begins and in
subsequent years by increasing costs by a set percentage.

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 Budget cont…
Budget justification
 It is not sufficient to present a budget without explanation.
 The budget justification follows the budget as an explanatory
note justifying briefly why the various items in the budget
are required.
 Emphasis during justification:
 items that may seem questionable
 items that are costly
 how complicated expenses have been calculated.
 If a strong budget justification has been prepared, it is less
likely that essential items will be cut during proposal review.

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 Annexes
 Include in the appendices of your proposal any additional
information you think might be helpful to a proposal
reviewer.

 For example, include:

 Biographical data on the principal investigator
 The consent form
 The study questionnaire
 Information sheet
 Dummy tables
 Assurance of the investigator

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 Thank you!

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