RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND PRESENTATIONS

BY: YIBELTAL A.(MSC)

Gafat Institute of Technology Department of ECE

Course code-

Chapter 4: Research Proposal and Thesis

Outline

1. Research Proposal
2. Purpose of Research Proposal
3. Components of a Research Proposal
4. Components of Research Reports
Research Proposal

 The research proposal is:-

➢ the detailed plan of study.
➢ a document which sets out your ideas in an easily accessible
way.
 A research proposal should be compiled before attempting
to
start with a research project.
 It is the most important aspect of the research project
Research Proposal…

❑ The objective in writing a proposal is to describe :

✓ what you will do

✓ why it should be done

✓ How you will do it and

✓ what result will you expect

Purpose of Research Proposal

❑ To inform the reader about the nature of your proposed research

➢ What is the problem?

➢ What is its extent?

❑ To convince the reader (supervisors and reviewers) of the value of your proposed
research.

➢ Is this project worth the time and money?

➢ Will it make a difference to the world?

❑ To request support from individuals and agencies

➢ What kinds of support does the project need?

Purpose of Research Proposal…

 To demonstrate your expertise and competency in a

particular area of study.
➢ Do you have the qualifications and necessary to conduct this research?

➢ Have you informed yourself of the existing theory and data relevant to your
topic?

 To plan and provide a step-by-step guide to the tasks

➢ What are the key stages of the work?

➢ What are the priorities?

➢ How do the various components fit together?

Purpose of Research Proposal…
Style and Formatting

1. Fonts
❑ All of the narrative in the research proposal should be written
in 12 point Times New Roman font size.

❑ The cover page of the thesis proposal is presented in 14-point

font size.

❑ The text in the cover page will be in bold face font

❑ The first level headings in the research proposal will be in 14-

point font size

❑ The first and second level headings are written in bold title case
letters
Purpose of Research Proposal…
Style and Formatting …

2. Margins and Line Spacing

❑ A margin of 1.5" (3.81cm) on the left is for binding

❑ A margin of 1" (2.54 cm) each on the right, top and bottom
of the page is required

❑ The line spacing for all of the narrative is 1.5

❑ Single line spacing is to be applied to captions of tables and

figures.
Purpose of Research Proposal…
Style and Formatting …

3. Pagination
❑ Each component of the preliminary section must start on a new
page.
❑ Each chapter of the narrative, the References and the
Appendix must start on a new page
❑ Roman numerals are used for the preliminary section
Components of a Research Proposal

1. Title Page 10. Objective/Aim of the study

2. Approval Page 11. Research Methods and

3. Abstract/ Summary Procedures

12. Scope
4. Acknowledgment
13. Significance of the Study
5. Abbreviations
14. Work Plan
6. Table of contents
15. Budget
7. Introduction/Background
16. References
8. Literature Review 17. Appendix
9. Statement of the Problem
Components of a Research Proposal…
Title Page

❑ First impressions are strong

❑ The title of your research proposal should state your topic

exactly in the smallest possible number of words

❑ Put your name, the name of your department ,name of your

university, Logo , the name of your advisor (s) and date of
delivery under the title

❑ The title page has no page number

Components of a Research Proposal…
Title Page…

❑ Title should be:

✓ Focused

✓ Highlighting the main contribution of the research work

✓ Use the keywords
✓ Avoid ambiguous or confusing word
Components of a Research Proposal…
Example:-
Components of a Research Proposal…
Approval Page

❑ It will be used to get formal approval of the proposal.

❑ The proposal should be approved by an advisor, chair holder

and head of the department
Components of a Research Proposal…
Approval Page …
Components of a Research Proposal…
Abstract/Summary

❑ The abstract is a one page brief summary of the proposal.

❑ It includes the background of the research proposal topic

❑ 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 references, figures, or tables in the abstract.

❑ Write Keywords
Components of a Research Proposal…
Acknowledgment

❑ Acknowledgments section recognizes the persons and/or

institutions

❑ The student extends thanks for special aid or support in the

preparation of the proposal
Components of a Research Proposal…
Introduction/background

❑ It provides a brief overview of the background to the project

and establishes a particular area, or problem, that needs to
be investigated further.

❑ It provides a clear statement of the topic of the proposed

work.

❑ you need to show how your work will build on and add to the
existing knowledge.

❑ It is recommended to do not exceed three pages in length

Components of a Research Proposal…
Literature Review

❑ The literature review asks how similar and related questions have been
answered before.

❑ It gives an overview of:

✓ what has been said

✓ what questions are being asked

✓ What methodologies are used

❑ It includes the strengths, the limitations and gaps of previous

studies.

❑ It should be relevant with recent citations

Components of a Research Proposal…
Statement of the Problem

❑ Effective problem statements answer the question "why does

this research need to be conducted.“
❑ Make sure the problem is restricted in scope
❑ Make sure the context of the problem is clear
❑ In 180-250 words (but not must) you need to convince the
reader that this study must be done
Components of a Research Proposal…
Objectives

➢ Specific
➢ Measurable
➢ Achievable
➢ Realistic
➢ Time-bounded
Components of a Research Proposal…
Objectives…

❑ Research objectives are classified into general objectives and

specific objectives.

❑ General objective is closely related to the statement of the

problem.

❑ Specific objectives are commonly considered as smaller

portions of the general objectives
Components of a Research Proposal…
Research Methods and Procedures

❖ In this section you need to describe your proposed research

methodology and methods and justify their use.

❖ To do this you need to ask the following questions:

➢ Why have you decided upon your methodology?

➢ Why have you decided to use those particular methods?

➢ Why are other methods not appropriate?

Components of a Research Proposal…
Research Methods and Procedures…

❑ The heart of the research proposal

❑ Methods/procedures show how you will achieve the objectives,
answer the questions
❑ Indicate the methodological steps you will take to answer
every question.
❑ Description of your materials
Components of a Research Proposal…
Significance of the study

❑ It describes what contribution your study will make to the

broad
educational problems you have to draft your Significance of
the Study by determining:
✓ what you hope will benefit others
✓ how readers will benefit or learn from your study
✓ how the study would be beneficial to society and specific
person
Components of a Research Proposal…
Work Plan

❑ A work plan informs the reader how long it will take to achieve
the objectives/answer the questions
❑ Different stages of the study should be stated
❑ Description of activities in each stages
❑ Time required to accomplish
Components of a Research Proposal…
Work Plan…
Components of a Research Proposal…
Budget and Resource

❑ what you will need for your research and how much this is
likely to cost.

❑ If necessary you can include from where you expect to obtain

these.
Components of a Research Proposal…
What Makes A good proposal?

 Relevance

 The research is unique, or offers new insight or development.

 The title and objectives are all clear

 Comprehensive and thorough research background and literature

review has been undertaken.
 Timetable, resources and budget have all been worked out
thoroughly,
Components of a Research Proposal…
Reasons why research proposal fail

 Objectives are unclear or vague.

 There is a mismatch between the approach being adopted
and the issues to be addressed.
 The overall plan is too ambitious and difficult to achieve in the
timescale.
 Problem is of insufficient importance.
 Unclear methodology
 Topic has been done before
Components of a Research Reports

▪ Title Page Chapter 1: Introduction

▪ Approval Page
1.1 Background/Overview
▪ Abstract/ Summary
1.2 Motivation
▪ Acknowledgment
1.3 Problem Statements
▪ List of symbols
1.4 Objective
▪ Abbreviations/Acronym
1.5 Methodology
▪ Table of contents

▪ List of Tables 1.6 Thesis/project Contribution

▪ List of Figures 1.7 Thesis/project Organization
Components of a Research Reports …

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 3: System Design, Computational studies...
Chapter 4: Results and Discussions
Chapter 5: Conclusions and Future Works
References
Appendix
Note: Identify the margin, line space ,font size and other format
styles
Components of a Research Reports
Parts of Report

 The entire report can be viewed as having three

basic parts:
✓ Front part

✓ Main (body) part and

✓ Back part
Components of a Research Reports
Front part

 It is used to help potential readers find the report.

 It will help the reader to quickly decide whether or not the

material contained within the report pertains to what they are
investigating.
▪ Cover (front and back) provides physical protection

▪ Title Page

▪ Abstract

▪ Table of Contents and

▪ List of Figures and Tables

Components of a Research Reports
Main part

 The author describes the methods, materials & assumptions.

 Presents and discusses the results ; draws conclusions, and
recommends actions based on the results.
▪ Introduction
▪ Methods, Materials & Assumptions
▪ Results and Discussion
▪ Conclusions
▪ Recommendations for future work
Components of a Research Reports
Back part

 Supplements and clarifies the body of the report

 Makes the body easier to understand, and shows where
additional information can be found.
▪ Appendixes
▪ Bibliography /reference
▪ List of Symbols
▪ Abbreviations
Components of a Research Reports
Title Page

 First impressions are strong

 The title of your research proposal should state your topic exactly in
the smallest possible number of words

 Put your name, the name of your department ,name of your

university, Logo , the name of your advisor (s) and date of delivery
under the title

 The title page has no page number

Components of a Research Reports
Abstract

 An abstract is the short summary of the project.

 Provides an overview of the purpose, scope, and findings

contained in the report.

 Purpose identifies the issue, need, or reason for the

investigation.

 Scope reviews the main points, extent and limits of the

investigation.

 Findings includes results, condensed conclusions and

recommend.
Components of a Research Reports
Abstract…
Components of a Research Reports
Acknowledgment

 Those persons who have professionally contributed to the work

in kind or in ideas must be acknowledged (like supervisors).
 Truthfully indicates to the reader who has played a part in
project.
 Next, you also need to acknowledge the institutions that have
provided funding, research space, manpower.
 Finally, you may want to mention individuals.
Components of a Research Reports
Introduction

 Introduction prepares the reader to read the main body of the

report.

 It provides a brief overview of the background to the project

and establishes a particular area, or problem, that needs to be
investigated further.

 It provides a clear statement of the topic of the proposed work.

 Generally, it includes background, motivation, problem statements,

objectives, methodology, thesis/project contribution and thesis/ project
organization.
Components of a Research Reports
System model, Materials, Methods & Assumptions

 Experimental design and system model will be discussed.

 You will describe in detail on how and with what means you
accomplished your work.

 The methods, materials & assumptions should be discussed.

 Assumptions describes what do you think, but cannot validate as

fact.

 The broad part of your document

Components of a Research Reports
Result

 This component is the core section of the scientific report.

 The results component answers the question: What did you

obtain from the experiments or computation you conducted?.

 Identifies the degree of accuracy related to your findings.

 Results include: assumptions, simulations, experiments and

limitation of your result.

 Results will usually be heavy on tables, figures/graphs, charts,

 etc.
Components of a Research Reports
Discussions

 Discussion basically answers the question: What do the results

mean?.

 Interpretation of your results

 Generalizations from your results

 Describes how accurate your findings are?

 What is the significance of the results of the research

Components of a Research Reports
Conclusion

 Summary of the work and the results.

What are the factual findings that resulted from your
research?

 What are your opinions based on the findings and results?

Components of a Research Reports
Recommendations for future work

 Suggestions for future work

 You are expected to put your future research area in context

of the existing body of scientific knowledge
Components of a Research Reports
References

 The references section is the place where the author cites all of
the secondary research sources that were used.
 The format in which references are cited varies from one
discipline to another.
 \Generally, you include the author/s, title of the article, the
journal name, the year of publication, the volume and number
of the journal and the page numbers in which the article cited
is found
Components of a Research Reports
Reference formant contents
Components of a Research Reports
References…

 Journal
B.K.Boss, Energy, environment, and advances in power
electronics, IEEE Trans. Power Electronics, vol.15, pp.688-701,
July 2000.
 Proceeding
B.K.Boss, Expert system, fuzzy logic,and neural network
applications in power electronics and motion control, proc. IEEE,
vol.82, pp.1301-1323, August 1994.
Components of a Research Reports
References…

 Book
G. K. Dubey, Power Semiconductor controlled Drives, Prntice
Hall, Englewood, NJ, 1989.
 Thesis
Murray, N. Communication Language Teaching and Language
Teaching Education, Ph.D thesis, University of London, 1996
Components of a Research Reports
Appendices

 Anything that cannot be left out of a report, but is too large for the
main part of the report
 Examples:
➢ Large tables of data
➢ Flowcharts
➢ Program codes

➢ Mathematical analysis

➢ Technical drawings and

➢ etc