Research Proposal and Dissertation Writing

by
Dr. Vibhuti Patel
Director, PGSR
Professor and Head,
University Department of Economics
SNDT Women’s University
Churchgate, Mumbai-400020

1
 Proposal & Dissertation Writing
as an Art & a Technical Craft

 Representation of a programme
 A request
 Instrument of persuasion
 Promise & commitment
 plan

2
Cycle of Research

Choose
Choose
Topic
Topic
Inform
Inform Design
Design
Others
Others Study
Study
(Research
(Research Plan
Planand
and
Report)
Report) strategy
strategy

Theory
Theory
Collection
Collection
Interpret
Interpret ofof
Data
Data Data
Data

Analyse
Analyse
Data
Data

3
Some starting points for a good
research proposal
•Provides a realistic plan for
investigation of your research question
•Provides justification of a
methodological perspective,
•& methods of investigation
•Provides data which has the capacity
to answer your research question
•Adequately considers relevant ethical
issues 4
Vital Concerns
 Objectives-SMART: Specific, Measurable,
Achievable, Relevant, Timely
 Contribution to human knowledge-
 USP- Unique Selling Point-innovativeness
 Clear thinking
 High level of motivation
 Substantiate goals with solid evidence
 Proper references
 Envisaged time scale
 Realistic budget
 Abstracts of proposal at the end

5
Method or Methodology?

 Methods are the techniques/

procedures used to collect and
analyse data
 Methodology refers to
discussions of how research is
done, or should be done, and the
critical analysis of methods of
research

6
 Important questions for consideration
 What’s my research question?
 What theories, concepts, models inform my
research?
 What kind of data will I need to answer my
question?
 How will I collect this data?
 What ethical issues are relevant to my research?
 What are the strengths and limitations of my
research?
 How much can I reasonably achieve in my
research?
 How will my work be judged?
7
 “a question well asked is a question
half answered”: the way the question
(or hypothesis) is stated shows what
data will be necessary to answer (or
test) it, and probably suggests also
how and from where or from whom
the data will be obtained
 Sharp, pointed and straight questions
to be asked

8
Types of research questions

These three types of questions

usually
form a sequence …
What ? Why ?  How ?
 What do you want to do?
 Why you will succeed?
 How much will it cost?

9
Developing a research question
 Having come up with some prototype
questions now refine.
 Examine the scope of your question/s
 Separate major and subsidiary
questions
 Is each question necessary?
 Refine the wording of your question/s

10
Consider carefully the verbs you use
in your question
 Explore (initial description)
 Describe (detailed account)
 Explain (establish the factors responsible)
 Understand (establish reasons)
 Predict (using an explanation to postulate
future outcomes)
 Change (to actively intervene)
 Evaluate (assess if desired outcomes are
achieved)
11
After finalising the research
question - two questions ...

 WHAT research strategy will be used?

 WHERE will the data come from?
Official documents/archives
Review of literature
Translation
Field survey/investigation/interviews/
FGD-Focus Group discussion

12
Induction
 Form of reasoning – bottom up
Theory

Tentative
Hypothesis or
proposition

Identifying
Patterns

Observations
Measures
13
Deduction
 Top down reasoning
Theory

Hypothesis
To test

Observations to address
the hypothesis
Test the hypothesis with specific data

Confirm/or disconfirm
the original hypothesis

14
Strategies for Answering
research questions
A Research Design needs to answer
3 basic questions:

WHAT will be studied?

WHY will it be studied?

HOW will it be studied?

15
Where does your method sit?

Field Research
Unstructured Structured

Literature/ Archive

16
Quantitative Research
 Quantitative researchers attempt to be
objective, meaning that they wish to develop
an understanding of the world as it is ‘out
there’, independent of their personal biases,
values and idiosyncratic notions.
 Quantitative research involves numbers.
 Usually large volume of participants/ records
 Eg. Survey Research, Analysis of existing
quantitative data sets
 Strength: Representivity
 Weakness: Depth of Understanding
17
Qualitative Research
 Qualitative researchers view themselves as primary
instrument for collecting data. They rely partly or
entirely on their feelings, impressions, and
judgments in collecting data.
 Qualitative research involves words
 Usually smaller volume of participants/records
Eg. Ethnographic research, life history interviews,
discourse analysis
 Strength: Depth of understanding, Reaching out
where other methods can’t reach to give meaning to
numbers
 Limitation: Representivity

18
Research Proposal
 Title
 Introduction (inc. statement of research
problem/ question/ aims & objectives)
 Background/ Literature Review
 Research Design
- Method of data selection
- Instruments/ techniques to be used
- Methodological limitations
- Methodological significance/ innovation
- Data analysis strategy
- Ethical issues
- Timeline
- Resources required-Budget
- Expected outcomes of research 19
Plan your Proposal
 Decide how long each section will be
 Some sections will be quite short (eg
limitations, timeline etc) while other
sections (eg literature review will be quite
long).
 The significance of sections will vary
according to your particular project. You
may even have some additional sections
that are needed for your proposal.

20
A MUST
 Finalise your research question/ problem
statement/ hypothesis
 Make sure your writing is logical.
 Identify possible weaknesses in your
research design, acknowledge them and
explain why they are there.
 Critically review/ edit your own writing, seek
others help with this
 Learn to read like a writer – examine
structure, style, organisation etc
21
Remember
 Write with authority (i.e. back up your
statements).
 Write for clarity not ‘impressiveness’.
 Show that you are planning your research
carefully (think about pragmatic issues –
agency support/ ethics/ resources you may
need/ potential hurdles).
 You are the expert on your topic. Help the
reader to grasp your ideas.
 Edit for clarity (don’t just proofread).
22
References
 If a list of references is to be included, it is placed at the
end of the text proper and before the sections on
personnel and budget. The items should be numbered
and should be in the order in which they are first
referred to in the text. In contrast to an alphabetical
bibliography, authors' names in a list of references
should not be reversed.
 In the text, references to the list can be made in various
ways; a simple way is to use a raised number at the
appropriate place, like this. Such numbers should be
placed outside any contiguous marks of punctuation.
 The style of the bibliographical item itself depends on
the disciplinary field. The main consideration is
consistency; whatever style is chosen should be
followed scrupulously throughout.
23
Some Ethical Issues:
 Reason & purpose of research/programme
 Competence in doing it
 Consent-How informed? How free?
 Benefits & Risks
 Privacy preservation
 Confidentiality
 Anonymity
 Ownership of date
 Feedback to participants
 Use & Misuse of Results

24
 Interrelationship between conceptual terms

Ontology Epistemology Methodology Methods Sources

What’s out
there to know?
What and how can
we know about it?
How can we go about
acquiring that knowledge?

Which precise procedures

can we use to acquire it?
Which data
can we collect ?

25
Budget
 Research Personnel/staff
 Equipments
 Books and Journals
 Consultancy
 Contingency
 Material
 Travel & Field Work
 Institutional Overhead

26
Remember that your evaluator will
check
 Perspective
 Objectives
 Literature Survey
 Design
 Tools
 Plan for Analysis
 Research Questions
 Ethical Issues-informed consent
 Time Line
 References

27
M.Phil. / Ph. D. Dissertation
 transform data into a thesis
 the purpose of the thesis and what it should
achieve;
 strategies for organizing your work as you write
your thesis;
 how to the incorporate a theoretical perspective-
logical consistency
 sound techniques of academic writing;
 how to benefit from your supervisors' experience;
 Meticulous referencing
 preparing for the oral examination/viva voce

28
Publication of Thesis/research report

 What to do about publishing

preliminary findings in professional/
peer-reviewed journals, newspapers
and periodicals, newsletter of the
institution ?
 Converting a thesis or research report
into a book- Preface, forward,
acknowledgments, chapterisation,
Executive summary, Bibliography,
index
29
Thank You

30