Journal Academica, Vol. 1. No. 1, pp.

1-5 | July 2010 | ISSN: 2026-559X

©2012, African Institute for Researching and Development
www.journalacademica.com

BASIC ELEMENTS OF RESEARCH PROPOSAL AT THE TERTIARY

EDUCATION INSTITUTION IN GHANA
Albert Amoah SAAH* and Joseph Adia MENSAH
Centre for Distance and Continuing Education, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST),
Kumasi

This exploratory study was to highlight the importance of research proposal in academic research work in
general, and at the tertiary education institution level in Ghana particularly. It focussed on basic element of
research proposal. Situated in research environment student thesis often were engaged by supervisors without
any previously submitted research proposal by student. Students plunged into their work without it. It was
observed that students neither had the skills for it nor submitted one at all. Generally, they were ignorant of a
format. The study applied literature survey to gather typical formats and its components from some academic
institutions. Qualitative factor analysis was employed. Results of study showed the existence of research
proposals, and that each institution had their own customised to meet their in-house style. Common elements
existed and were listed in a format. Researchers concluded from the findings that elements of formats existed,
and that the application engaged supervisors decisively, and further enhanced thesis format.

Keywords: components of a research proposal format

INTRODUCTION

What is the purpose of a Research proposal, its
components and how should it be presented? In
the following we briefly consider all these issues
which have been a challenge to students who are
to submit no research proposal before embarking
on a Research Project for a partial fulfilment of
conditions for the award of a degree by their
respective institutions.
Research proposal is an engagement strategy the
candidate uses to get the attention of the academic
advisor or prospective thesis supervisor;
and market their research project for prospective
supervisor to buy into it, and consider if they
would be willing to supervise your piece of work.
The process of proposing a research project helps
candidate to conceptualize their research project,
crystallize their own thoughts about their thesis,
and give evidence of some independence, capacity
(resource) and capability (readiness) to work.
Research proposal may be described as
an executive summary of your project endeavour
without which a research may not start. Indeed, no
proposal no project. The research proposal
document should be produced in a hardcopy and
comb bound. Keep a soft copy. You will need it
for further work when your proposal has been
accepted by your academic advisor or tutor,
approved by academic department’s thesis
committee, and assigned to a supervisor. They
would very much be interested in how you
conceptualize your work and how researchable it
is within whatever time, cost, risk and quality
constraints they may have set. This they would
decide in 1-3 minutes of encountering your
research proposal. The rest is between you and
your supervisor

METHOD AND MATERIALS

The study employed literature survey method for
MPhil and PhD degree application forms of
University of Ghana (UG), Legon, University of
Cape Coast (UCC), Cape Coast, and Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
(KNUST), Kumasi. Further, KNUST’s School of
Graduate Studies guide for Master and doctoral
Degree Thesis Format was also considered. Thesis
proposal format of Payap University (PYU)
Thesis Proposal Form for Master of Arts in
Linguistics/Department: Linguistics Faculty was
included in the materials used for the study.

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 Journal Academica, Vol. 1. No. 1, pp. 1-5 | July 2010 | ISSN: 2026-559X
Thesis Proposal Template belonging to Faculty of
Business and Enterprise Australian Graduate
School of Entrepreneurship (AGSE) was also
used. These were all used answer the following
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Every academic department of a university will
have their own research proposal format. Do
contact your academic advisor for one. Study
however, established the main components of the
research proposal to include candidate’s
information, research conceptualization, and
supervisor details. May we consider the elements
of such a proposal?
Candidate’s Information
Five lines will be adequate. This information
concerns the candidate submitting the proposal,
and may be on the front cover page or top part of
the first page. Full Name and academic number of
the candidate, e.g., Margaret Gee, 1039790.
Program being pursued, e.g., BA Communication.
Department, e.g., Department of Communication
Sciences, Institute of Journalism, University of
Ghana, Legon. Scheduled dated of completion of
program, e.g., May 2010. Contact information
(telephone, email), e.g., 021-220-
2223352, knem@j8j.zs.
Research Synopsis (Conceptualization)
Here we have the body of the proposal. The
output of the synopsis is the research
conceptualization. It will help your academic
advisor determine how feasible the project is. This
may cover 2-3 pages and should be brief and
concise. Working title (this must be of a
researchable topic or area prescribed or acceptable
to your academic institution).
Background of study
Research Problem
Identify a problem. no problem no research.
Research must be problem solving). This will
include, (i) Research problem context and (ii)
Research problem statement.
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©2012, African Institute for Researching and Development
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questions in the quest for identifying and
establishing basic elements of research proposal at
the tertiary education level in Ghana.
Research Objective of study
What do you want to find about the problem by
your research?)
Research questions and/or Hypotheses
(Problems should lead to question which when
answered will solve the problem).
Concepts, theories (and key terms/words) to be
used in the study
(These should relate the theoretical foundations
and framework related to the problem, questions,
objectives and expected results. If your work were
indexed or identified in a library, or engine
searched on the worldwide web, what key words
would you identify with your piece of work?
These are leads in conceptualizing your work, and
would require that you cite any authorities
referred to or associated with any of the concepts,
theories, terms or words. This will be helpful for
your Review of literature).
Significance and scope of study
You need to show the uniqueness of your study in
contributing knowledge in the field of study or
some critical aspect of it.
Materials & Methodology of Study
(This affects your results and depends on whether
your research approach is quantitative or
qualitative or a mix of the two. If one wanted to
replicate or verify the authenticity of your work
and test the validity of your piece of work and
results how would the one have to objectively
proceed? How would you have as your unit of
study? How would you get your research
questions answered by others?). Expected
results of study considered.
Plan of Study
The prospective supervisor need to you time
schedule for the intended research project (Payap
University, 2008). The candidate also needs to be
 Journal Academica, Vol. 1. No. 1, pp. 1-5 | July 2010 | ISSN: 2026-559X
©2012, African Institute for Researching and Development
www.journalacademica.com

clear in the in mind and stay within the resources
for the research activity. This is best presented in
a tabular format. All involved in the project
should know what time, risk, cost and quality
constraints the research project will place on
them. This does not have to be elaborate,
however, should contain reasonable estimates
even if you would not receive any financial
support but your own as shown below in Table 1.

Table 1: sample plan of study showing information required

Item # When What to do Responsible Cost Remarks
(GHC)
i. Nov 2009 prepare proposal Candidate, academic advisor 20.00 done
ii. Dec 2009 Submit proposal candidate 10.00 done
iii. Jan 2010 Prep & submit Chapter 1 -3 Candidate, supervisor 60.00 --
iv. Feb 2010 Collection of data, submit chapter Candidate, supervisor 70.00 --
4-5
v. Mar 2010 Submit comb bound draft Candidate, supervisor 60.00 --
vi. Apr 2010 Submit final draft/thesis Candidate, supervisor, head of 80.00 --
department
Total 280.00

Commitment: I, ………………………………………………………………….., do commit myself to abiding by the schedule in

this plan of action submitted herein, and diligently work to fulfil it, fully conscious that in note doing so, my work may be delayed
beyond the 4 months granted by the school of graduate studies, KNUST with grave consequences.
Signed:……………………………………… this ……………day of …………………………………. 2012.

(After Colin Fisher, Gantt Chart for Research Project, in “Researching and Writing A dissertation—A Guidebook for business students 2nd
edition”, Pearson Education ltd. England, 2007, p. 73)

Proposed Thesis Supervisor(s) Appendix: Evidence of Research Project

Candidate has the option to propose supervisor(s)
for consolation by the thesis committee of the
department. This should cover not more than 6
lines. This should cover the (i) Name, (ii)
Academic qualification, (iii) Research interest,
(iv) Occupation and profession, (v) Name and
contact of employer, and (vi) Contact information
(phone, email).
Academic Advisor or Tutor Information
It is important to show that you are in touch with
you academic advisor or tutor. 3 lines will be
adequate for this information: (i) Name, (ii)
Department, and (iii) Contact information (phone,
email).
Name/Signature of Candidate and Date,
Name/Signature of Academic Advisor or Tutor
Show your ownership of document and who has
accepted the document and when; to recommend
for its approval to be sure that I satisfies all the
requirements of department. 2 lines should be
okay.
Your research project supervisor, remember is
only a supervisor not the researcher or co-
researcher. Evidence which demonstrates
researcher’s competence (manifested in their
capacity and capability) will be assuring to both
the department and a prospective supervisor. It
should not be a fresh start show but some ongoing
and concrete activity. 4-6 pages of this appendix
as part of this research proposal are okay.
Working Title
(Up to 25 words) (Working title will be refined at
a later stage to be the Title for the Thesis report)
Introduction
Introduction will in the thesis report correspond to
Chapter 1. The Introduction covers i. Background
to study (up to 4 pages) (survey the context of the
problem giving the historical and situational
backgrounds to the study), ii. Problem statement,
iii. Objective or Research question (½ a page). In
qualitative research proposals, the research
objectives might be sufficient to provide a
conceptual framework for the study. However, in

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 Journal Academica, Vol. 1. No. 1, pp. 1-5 | July 2010 | ISSN: 2026-559X
studies which are quantitative in nature, the
candidate might be expected to develop
hypotheses to be examined in the study. iv. Thesis
statement (expected result of study), v. Definition
of terms/key words, and description of concepts,
vi. Scope of the study, vii. Significance of
study (up to1 page), and viii. Milieu of study.
Review of literature
One (1) page for this may be considered adequate.
Review of literature corresponds to Chapter 2 of
thesis report. This is the theoretical framework
for the thesis (Australian Graduate School of
Entrepreneurship, 2005). The theoretical
framework is sometimes called the conceptual
framework, and describes the theories or concepts
to be covered or addressed in the research. The
framework is often presented as a diagram and
includes a depiction of the variables to be
examined and their hypothesized relationships to
each other. The framework will include a
consideration of the dependent and independent
variables and any moderating or intervening
variables that may be considered. Reference of all
authorities cited in your research proposal (main
body and appendix include the name(s) of
author(s) or editor(s), date of the work, title of the
work, name of publisher and city, date of
publication, and year of publication).
Methodology
Consider two (2) pages for this section.
Methodology will correspond to Chapter 3 of the
thesis report and should cover your research
design, collection and editing/collating of data,
analysis of data: i) State what research
approach(s) being employed for the research
design: qualitative or quantitative? ii) Data
collection strategy: Questionnaire and interview
schedule, literature or experience survey as
appropriate, iii) Social unit and study area, iv)
Sample description and sample scope, v)
Sampling method, vi) sample treatment where
necessary for experimental research, vii)
Statistical tools and analysis, validities to test, and
viii) Presentation of data and results. Two (2)
pages for this may be considered adequate.
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Bibliography
All the literature consulted and cited up to the
time of writing the research proposal. Consider, i.
Author, title of book, publishers address and year
of publication, and ii. 5-7 books mentioned will be
adequate at this stage.
Research Proposal Handling
Deliver your proposal to appropriate authorities
(Focht, 2000). The draft proposal should be
delivered to the committee chair first for a first-
cut review and revision. After preliminary
approval, the student should distribute copies of
the proposal to all members of the committee no
less than two weeks before the date that the
students wishes to defend the proposal. It is the
student’s duty to personally deliver the proposal to
each committee member and to find a time when
all members can meet.
Defend your proposal.
60-90 minutes should be scheduled for the
defence with a PowerPoint presentation. The place
for the meeting will be set by the advisor. The
student may or may not be provided comments
before the defence, at the discretion of each
committee member. The student should present a
10-15 minute presentation at the beginning of the
meeting, with graphical aids if possible. The
members will follow with comments and
questions to the student. The student may be asked
to leave the room to allow frank discussion among
committee members. The members will sign the
cover sheet and the advisor will deliver the
proposal to the student. Any follow-up comments
will be made directly to the student, if necessary.
Conclusion
The rundown done above helps student
researchers to conceptualize their work and also
market it. By the Research Proposal, researcher
engages the attention of potential supervisors for
their work. Definitely a Research Proposal is a
must for student’s research work and students
must adhere to its basic elements. Academic
departments must also develop a format if they
don’t have one and make it available to student
long before they embark In Conclusion we may
say that, Research proposal is an engagement
 Journal Academica, Vol. 1. No. 1, pp. 1-5 | July 2010 | ISSN: 2026-559X
©2012, African Institute for Researching and Development
www.journalacademica.com

strategy the candidate uses to get the attention of
the academic advisor or prospective thesis
supervisor; and market their research project for
prospective supervisor to buy into it, and consider
if they would be willing to supervise your piece of
work. The process of proposing a research project
helps candidate to conceptualize their research
project, crystallize their own thoughts about their
thesis, and give evidence of some independence,
capacity (resource) and capability (readiness) to
work. Research proposal may be described as an
executive summary of your project endeavour
without which a research may not start. Indeed, no
proposal no project. The research proposal
document should be produced in a hardcopy and
comb bound. Keep a soft copy. You will need it
for further work when your proposal has been
accepted by your academic advisor or tutor,
approved by academic department’s thesis
committee, and assigned to a supervisor. They
would very much be interested in how you
conceptualize your work and how researchable it
is within whatever time, cost, risk and quality
constraints they may have set. This they would
decide in 1-3 minutes of encountering your
research proposal. The rest is between you and
your supervisor. Prospective supervisors look for
clarity in your proposal and not completeness or
correctness per se. The rundown done above helps
student researchers to conceptualize their work
and also market it. By the Research Proposal,
researcher engages the attention of potential
supervisors for their work. Definitely a Research
Proposal is a must for student’s research work and
students must adhere to its basic elements.
Academic departments must also develop a format
if they don’t have one and make it available to
student long before they embark on their research
work itself. To embark on a research project
without a research proposal is a blind leap into a
maze. Have your research proposal done and done
well to proceed confidently!

ABBREVIATIONS
UCC, University of Cape Coast; UG, University of Ghana; KNUST, Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology; PYU, Payap University; AGSE, Australian
Graduate School of Entrepreneurship.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Support given by Centre for Distance and Continuing Education, Institute of Distance
Learning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

REFERENCES

Australian Graduate School of Entrepreneurship. Focht, W. J. (2000). Instructions for Preparing a Thesis or
(12/1/2005). AGSE Faculty of Business and Enterprise Dissertation Proposal. Accessed on 3rd April, 2009, from
Thesis Proposal Template. Accessed on 3rd April, 2009, http://environ.okstate.edu/staff/wfocht/Res_Proposal_Pr
from ep.pdf
http://www.swinburne.edu.au/business/current- Khan, A. (2008). Research Methodology. New Delhi: APH
students/documents/forms/pg/Research_ThesisProp Publishing Corporation
osalTemplate.pdf Payap University. (2008). Payap University Thesis Proposal
Fisher, C. (2007). Researching and Writing a Dissertation— Form for Master of Arts in Linguistics/Department:
A Guidebook for Business Students, 2nd Edition. Linguistics Faculty: Arts; Academic Year: 255.
England: Pearson Education Accessed on 4th January 2010 from
http://ic.payap.ac.th/pdf/wkb03.1_PYU_Thesis_proposal
_template_Jun_2009.doc

*Corresponding author. Email: alasaah@yahoo.com. Tel. +233202999484, +233244667570.