RESEARCH PROPOSAL WRITING GUIDELINES

The proposal comprises three chapters namely;

1. INTRODUCTION
 Introduction to the chapter.
 Background to the study (how did you come to know about the
problem/issue of your study?).
 Statement of the problem (a statement describing the problem. The
question to answer here is ‘what is the problem you want to investigate?’ it
can be in a question form but it MUST be clear. Anyone reading your
proposal should know what the problem is.)
 Purpose of the study (state the purpose of your study in line with your
topic).
 Objectives of the study (show what your study is trying to achieve. The
objectives can be split into General objective which usually mirrors the
title of the study and Specific objectives which are other factors of interest
to the researcher that will help find an answer or solutions to the general
objective.)
 Research Questions (questions whose answers provide the solution to the
identified problem. These are usually a mirror of the research objectives.)
 Significance (this shows the importance of the study findings. For
example, the findings may fill an existing knowledge gap or it may inform
policy making etc. Clearly state who may benefit or be affected by the
outcome of the study.)
 Delimitation (it outlines the scope or boundaries of your study. For
example, the study will focus on secondary schools in Lusaka urban or 6
private VCT clinics in Kabwe.)
 Limitations of the study (a prudent researcher should plan and ahead and
take into consideration all possible factors that may constrain the smooth
carrying out of the study. However, even the most carefully planned
project may encounter challenges due to unforeseen circumstances. This
aspect requires you to report factors that may affect the generalisation of

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 your research findings or factors that affected the carrying out of your
research study which you did not anticipate.)
 Operational definition of key terms (define terms that are not usually
used in everyday situations or that have a particular meaning in relation to
your research study. You must provide sources for the definitions used.)

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
 Review literature relevant to your study. Arrange your literature review
into sub-headings which will be in line with the objectives, that is, the
themes of your objectives must be the sub-topics. This will help you to be
systematic in your writing and also during the discussion of findings. The
review of literature should focus on data that was generated after studies
were conducted, that is empirical data. However in certain situations, you
may utilise non empirical data. You are advised to read widely and consult
various types of literature from Zambia, Africa, and the world. Endeavour
to include literature from studies that were locally done.

3. METHODOLOGY
 Research design (indicate your research design, for example, a case study,
survey, etc)
 Study Population (Target population. This focuses on everyone that is
eligible to be a participant. For Example, if your topic is on students with
intellectual disabilities at DMI, your target population will be all students
with Intellectual disabilities at DMI)
 Study Sample (sample size. Indicate how many people you will be
working with. For example, in the example above, your target population
is all students with intellectual disabilities at DMI and you find out that
there are 930, you can trim this number down by selecting only 50 of these
students and you state why you have chosen only that number.)
 Sampling Procedure(s) (show how you selected the sample you will be
working with. What procedures did you use? This is important as it helps
to understand why you picked only 50 out of 930 students in our example
above.)

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  Research Instruments (explain the instruments you will use to collect
your data for example, questionnaire, and state the reasons you chose the
instrument(s) by explaining the advantages and disadvantages of the
instrument in line with your topic and the nature of data to be collected.
These instruments must be attached as appendices when you submit your
proposal)
 Data Collection Procedures (describe how you will collect your data.
Indicate major processes to be followed.)
 Data Analysis (give a detailed account of how you will analyse your data.
What will you do to the data to turn it into the results you will present in
your report?)
 Ethical Considerations (ethics ought to be adhered to in research.
Describe how you will observe ethical issues during the whole research
period but especially at data collection and analysis stages.)
 Work plan/Time Schedule (line) (Show the period you will carry out the
research from the proposal stage to the submission of the final report. You
must indicate the duration that is how long each task will take you to
complete. E.G. Data Collection from 2nd January, 2018 to 12th January,
2018, Duration, 11 days)
 Budget (indicate the budget by showing how much will be spent on what).
References (use the Harvard style of reference writing).

Appendices (sample of data collection instruments)

Note:

 All Chapters must have an introduction and a conclusion paragraph. The conclusion
in between chapters should summarise what the chapter was all about and introduce
the main issues to be discussed in the next chapter.
 References and appendices are not part of Chapter three. They stand on their own and
must be written separately. Your layout must be as outlined above.
 The proposal preliminary pages include, Cover Page, Title Page, and Table of
contents. These MUST be written before the contents of three chapters.
 concerns on the same.