Chapter Four

The Research Proposal

3.1. Meaning and Purpose of Research proposal?
A research proposal is a written document requesting
both authorization and funds to undertake a specific
research project.
It always includes a statement explaining the purpose of
the study or a definition of the problem.
It systematically outlines the particular research
methodology and details the process that will be utilized
at each stage of the research process
3.2. Functions of the Research Proposal
Research proposal may function at least in three ways,

namely, as a means of communication, as a plan and as a

contract.
1. Proposal as a means of communication serves to communicate
research plan to those who give consultations and/or disburse fund.
2. Research proposal as a plan helps the researcher to organize his
idea in a systematic manner and to look for strengths and flaws. A
successful proposal sets out the plan in step by step detail.
3. Proposal also functions as a contract. A Completed proposal
approved for execution and signed by all members of the sponsoring
committee, constitute a bond of agreement between the researcher and that
committee.
3.3. The Purpose of Proposals
The general purpose for writing a proposal includes:
1. To present the problem that will be researched and show
its importance
2. To discuss the research efforts of others who have worked
on related problems
3. To identify the data that are necessary for solving the
problem and how these data will be gathered, treated, and
interpreted.
3.4. Why Research Proposal Fails?
 The research proposal may fail by sponsoring institutions or advisor because of the
following reasons:
• Aim and objectives of the research proposal are unclear
• 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 time table
• The researcher does not seem to have conducted enough in-depth
background research
• Problem is of insufficient importance
• Information about data collection is insufficiently detailed
• Information about the data analysis method is insufficiently detailed
• Time scale is inappropriate or unrealistic
• Resources and budget have not been carefully thought out
• If the topic selected has been done too many times before
3.5. General Format and Elements of Proposal
 Cover Page 3. Research Methodology
 Declaration 3.1 Research Design
 Certification
3.2. Research approaches
 Table of Contents
3.3. Population and sample
 Abbreviations and Acronyms
3.3.1. Target population
 Abstract (Optional)
3.3.2. Sample size
I. Introduction
3.3.3. Sampling Techniques
1. Background of the study
3.4. Data collection Methods
2 Statement of the problem
3. Objective of the study 3.4.1. Data sources
3.1. General objective 3.4.2. Data collection Tools
3.2. Specific Objectives 3.4.3. Data collection procedure
4 . Research Questions/Hypothesis 3.5. Data Analysis Methods
5. Significance of the Study 3.6 Data Quality Assurance
6. Scope (delimitation) of the study 3.7. Ethical Issues
II. Literature review VI. Work plan
2.1 Theoretical Review
4.1 Time budget
2.2 Empirical Review
4.2. Cost Budget
2.3 Conceptual framework
V. References
 Elements of Proposal…
Cover Page
Cover page contains introductory information for the proposal:
 the names of the proposed project or title of the research, the
author of the proposal or principal investigator and the
institution which funds the research, and date. Some funding
agencies have standardized cover page that may contain additional
information.
 Title
The title is one of the most important parts of a proposal. It will
immediately attract or lose the interest of any potential donor.
 The title should be as explicit as possible and transparent
 It should be clear and short.
 It should capture and reflect the content of the proposal. It
should enable the readers to understand the concepts of the study
Table of Contents
All of the headings and entries in the Table of

Contents should correspond exactly in wording,

font and case with the headings or entries as they
appear in the text of the proposal.
Subdivisions of headings should not exceed four

levels.
You may use the built-in style of Microsoft Word or

other word processing program to create the Table

of Contents
 List of Tables (if any)
 The list of tables illustrates how the list is prepared
in the dissertation or thesis research proposal.
 It should be noted that a list of tables rarely occurs
in a research proposal.
 List of Figures
 The list of figures comes next to the List of Tables.
 However, if there isn’t any List of Tables, it comes
immediately after the ‘Table of Contents’ page.
 This should contain information on the various
figures on the text of the proposal.
Abbreviations and Acronyms
 The Abbreviations and Acronyms must be
presented in alphabetical order,
 It lists the items first written in the abbreviation
or acronym followed by the full name.

 In the narrative, each abbreviation other than

S.I. units and each acronym should be defined in
full when it is first used and then followed by its
abbreviation or acronym in parentheses.
 Standard units and internationally known
abbreviations do not need to be listed.
 Abbreviations and symbols such as, i.e. and etc.
should not be italicized.
Abstract (Optional in Proposal)
 It is summary, which reflects the whole content of the proposal
(most of the time less than 300 words).
 Abstract should be concise (to the point), informative and
should provide brief information about the whole problem to
be investigated.
 The abstract of a proposal should contain the following
points
• Purpose of the study
• Methods of investigation
• Key facts that demonstrate the need for the study, outline
specific activities that will be undertaken
• Key elements that you believe make your proposal
extraordinary
• Amount you are requesting from the particular funding
source, and the total cost of the program
• Expected result (tentative only if a researcher starts with
a formulated hypothesis)
 Background of the Study
• This section in research proposal should give the
general background of the study and the need for
undertaking the study.
• It reviews the previous works to reveal what is
known of the subject.
• Some question to be addressed in this part may
include:
 What are current and previous studies that
have been made on the issues to be
studied?
 What is the present gap in knowledge and
current trend?
 What makes the topic worth studying?
 Why has the problem not been solved yet?
 How do we intend to fill the gap or solve the
 Statement of the problems
• A problem statement is the description of an issue
currently existing which needs to be addressed.
• It provides the context for the research study and
generates the questions which the research aims
to answer.
• is the focal point of any research
• is a move that a document makes to help the reader
realize why that document is important.
• A good problem statement is just one sentence with
several paragraphs for elaboration.
• The paragraph could cover preset persuasive
arguments that make the problem more important
enough to study.
 Objectives of the Study
 in this section, the proposal
 indicates what is expected to occur and why,
 suggests the variables with their relationships, or
 provide an explanation for a phenomenon that has been
observed, which strengthens the proposal and research agenda.
 Generally this section should focus on the points listed
below:
 What is to be achieved by the proposed investigation has
to be stated plainly and concisely
 Should be to the point and logically arranged
 Should be stated in a form which shows the relations
between variables
 Must clearly state the target of the research activity, i.e.
what kind of results are expected or sought from
 Setting Investigative Questions

 Based on the objectives of the research, there

comes the next level, i.e., investigative
questions
 These sub-questions are set up for each of
specific research objectives.
 These questions guide the details of the research
effort, including the development of concepts,
operational definitions and measurement devices.
 There may be several sub levels of investigative
questions, each being progressively narrower in
scope and more specific.
 Hypotheses
• The hypotheses are tentative propositions relating to
investigative questions.
• A hypothesis is simply an educated and testable guess about
the answer to your research question.
• Hypotheses are derived from the observations and
relationships accepted as facts
• A hypothesis is a statement of what you think is true based on
available evidence. Your research will then set out to support
or reject the validity of this hypothesis.
Hypothesis
 A well stated hypothesis has four
requirements
1. It must provide a reasonable explanation
for the event that has occurred or will
occur
2. It must be consistent with prior research
or hypothesis
3. It must be stated clearly and concisely
4. It must be testable via the collection and
analysis of data
Research Question Hypothesis
Is not tested Can be testable
Relationship between Relationship between
variables in problem variables in
statements: hypotheses

Is A related to B? If A, then B.
How are A and B If A & B then C.
related to C?

How is A related to B If A, then B under

under conditions C conditions C and D.
and D?
Examples: Research Question and Hypothesis
1. RQ: How does worker’s feelings relate to
productivity?
• H1: Happier workers are more productive than
unhappy workers.
• Ho: Happier workers are not more productive than
unhappy workers.
2. RQ: what is the effect of increasing the
happiness of workers on their productivity?
• H1: Increasing the happiness of workers does not
increase productivity.
• Ho: Increasing the happiness of workers increases
productivity
 Significance of the study
 Indicate how your research will refine, revise, or extend
existing knowledge in the area under investigation.
 Note that such refinements, revisions, or extensions may
have substantive, theoretical, or methodological significance.
 When thinking about the significance of your study, ask
yourself the following questions.
 What will results mean to the theoretical framework that
is used for the study?
 What suggestions for subsequent research arise from the
findings?
 Will results influence programs, methods, and/or
interventions?
 What will be improved or changed as a result of the
proposed research?
 How will results of the study be implemented, and what
innovations will come about?
 Delimitation/ Scope of the Study
 This means demarcation of the scope and
dimensions of the study.
 A beginner is especially over-ambitious. .
 For example, a student may say that he
wants to study the problem of unemployment
in his Region for his Master thesis.
 But this study maybe difficult for her/him to
complete within a period of time specified
(such as one year or less) and limited budget.
 The problem is complex and it is related to
various categories of occupational groups.
 Operational Definition of Terms
 provide clear operational definitions of
the variables and concepts involved in the
title, objectives, investigative questions
and hypotheses.
Give attention to the variables and the
measurements.
 Literature Review
 Literature review examines recent (or
historically significant) research studies,
company data, or industry reports that act as a
basis for the proposed study
 Essential preliminary task in order to acquaint
your self with the available body of knowledge
in your area of interest.
 The review describes theoretical
perspectives and previous research
findings regarding the problem at hand.
Literature …
It is desirable to examine both theoretical,
empirical and conceptual literatures.
Theoretical is general description (concepts,
components---) of issues under study
Empirical literature is that which contains
studies made earlier and so it consists of many
facts and figures observed in the earlier studies.
The conceptual literature is one which deals
with variables considered under the study.
Literature…

 Reasons for Reviewing Literature

Conducting a literature review is a means of
demonstrating an author’s knowledge
about a particular field of study, including
vocabulary, theories, key variables and
phenomena, and its methods and history.
Conducting a literature review also informs
the student of the influential researchers
and research groups in the field.
Benefits of literature review
 In addition to helping you pin down your own research
problem , literature review has the following benefits
1. It can offer new idea, perspective, and approaches
that may not have occurred to you
2. It can inform you about other researchers who
conduct work in this area- individuals whom you
may wish to contact for advice or feedback
3. It can show you how others have handled
methodological and design issues in studies
similar to you
4. It can reveal sources of idea that you may not
have known existed
 Research Design and Methodology

• The methodologies are the core and the largest part of

the scientific research proposal.
• This section is an essential prerequisite for validating
the results and hence acceptability of the proposal.
• Methodology should give full details to show how the
research activity is going to be carried out.
Contents of Methodology
Research Design
Data source and Collection Tools
Population and Sample
Data Analysis
Data Quality Assurance
Ethical Issues
Time Table
A time table explains how the researcher expects to carry out his
project and when each of the important phases will be
completed is helpful to both the researcher and the reviewer.
It is a plan in terms of number of weeks or months and expected
completion dates.
Commonly Gantt chart or table form can be used.
The length of time required for postgraduate study (doctoral
study) is determined by the budget of the time presented by
students. Thus researcher should be realistic in budgeting his/her
time.
11. Cost budget
Most proposals are put together with the
expectation what funding will be necessary and
an itemized list of the costs needed to carry out
the study is listed in some detail.
 References/Bibliography
 All works cited in the proposal are listed
either alphabetically or numerically at the
end of the document.
 Some conservative authors would like to
make distinction between references and
bibliography as mentioned below:
 References: are lists of literature, which
have been cited in the text of a document

 Bibliography: includes also items, which

were not cited but are relevant to the
document
End of Chapter