WRITING THE RESEARCH

PROPOSAL
F. M. Kapepiso
 Learning objectives

At the end of the lecture, you should be able to:

• Define a research proposal
• Describe three general characteristics of a good research
proposal
• Plan a research project
• List the components of a research proposal
• Write a research proposal relevant to your study field
 Introduction
• A research proposal should be a clear and detailed description of
all the steps the researcher intends to follow to complete their
research project (du Plooy-Cilliers, Davis & Bezuidenhout, 2014).
• The research proposal must provide a cohesive picture, showing
how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together for the entire
proposed project.
• It should be well written to an extent that someone else should
be able to execute the proposed research study without ever
having to consult anyone.
• What must be included in the proposal?
• The exact content of the proposal will depend on whether the
study utilises a quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods
approach.
• However, all proposals regardless of their approach need to
provide information regarding:
– What you intend to study
 Introduction…
– The purpose of the study
– Why it is a topic worth studying
– The problem you wish to solve through your research
– The background of the topic, to assist your readers in understanding your
topic better
– Your proposed unit of analysis
– The context of the study
– What methods of sampling are going to be used
– What methods of data collection are going to be used
– What methods of data analysis are going to be used
– How the findings will be validated to avoid bias
– What ethical issues need to be considered
– The feasibility of the study from a resource perspective
– The possible limitations of the study; and
– The possible contributions to the body of knowledge that the study will
make
 A research proposal defined
• A research proposal is a document designed by a researcher to
obtain clearance from the regulatory authorities for undertaking
research.
– In case of sponsored research it is used to obtain the commitment and
resource support from the management.
• A research proposal is a comprehensive, (usually) written plan of
action compiled by the researcher. It clearly indicate how the
researcher proposes to undertake a particular research project
(Brynard, Hanekom & Brynard, 2014).
 Characteristic of a proposal
• A proposal is a straightforward document
– A proposal should not be cluttered with extraneous and irrelevant material.
– Whatever does not contribute directly to the delineation of the problem and
its solution must be omitted.
– Right off the bat, a proposal should open with a straightforward statement
of the problem to be researched.
– It needs no explanatory props such as no introduction, proloque or
discussion why the researcher became interested in the problem
• A proposal is not a literary production
– A proposal is not a creative production that strives to engage readers with
complex characters, vivid imagery and a spellbinding plot.
– The purpose is simply to communicate clearly, the language must be clear
• A proposal is clearly organized
– Proposal are written in conventional prose style, and thoughts are expressed
in simple paragraph form.
– The writer’s overall organizational scheme (the outline of your thoughts)
should be expressed in headings and subheadings
 Planning a Research
• Research is never a solitary activity. It involves many people
and requires access to and use of resources far beyond one’s
own. For that reason, it must be planned, described,
inspected and in nearly every instance, approved by others.
• Usually, business enterprises are faced with a variety of
situations that require decisions at various levels of
management. For example, there is ongoing feedback from
the supply chain, complaints from customers, need to
convince fund providers / bankers to lend funds, problems of
suppliers of inputs, need for updating internal processes,
internal control system, etc.
– Often, in such situations managers want to keep in touch with the
developments to understand the market response to their
products, services, programs, etc., so that appropriate policy may
be designed.
• Research may be required to be undertaken to meet this
requirement.
 Research plan
• In relation to any business problem in order that a
comprehensive view may be developed and appropriate
response may be suggested it is necessary that a research plan
is prepared.
• A research plan is an initiative to forecast and estimate the
requirement of research and put them in a documented form.
• A research plan depends upon what information need to be
collected in order to make major decisions about a product,
service, program, etc.
• This helps the researcher in planning the research activity.
 Significance of Research Plan
• The quality of research output depends upon the quality of research
plan.
• The more focused the research plan is about what is to be gained from
research, the more effective and efficient can be the research.
• Through planning, the time, cost and effort needed for research can
be minimized and at the same time more utility can be obtained from
given resources.
• There are also tradeoffs in the breadth and depth of information
obtained. The more breadth is emphasized, usually the less depth will
be gained (unless there is no limitation of resources to carry out the
research). On the other hand, if certain aspects of a product, service,
program, etc., are to be examined in great detail, as much information
about other aspects as well may not be obtained with the given
resources.
– For those who are venturing in research for the first time and for those
who have limited resources, various alternatives may have to be tried to
get a good mix of breadth and depth of information and obtain information
about products, services, programs, etc., in a cost effective manner.
 Key Aspects in Planning
1. Subject matter and scope: The subject matter and scope of
research must be clearly defined, so that the universe may be
identified. A universe or population defines the scope of
inquiry and while nothing outside it should be considered, at
the same time nothing, which forms its essential part, should
be left out. However, under special circumstances the
sampled population may be different from the targeted
population, like non-consideration of floating population in a
census of human beings.
2. Resources and constraints: To formulate a research problem
and determine the appropriate size and scope the researcher
should look into the resources available such as money and
research skills, and constraints on the organisation such as
time and cost. The size and scope have to be adjusted as per
the availability of time and the budget provided for research.
Often time is a constraint as the research is required to be
concluded by a certain time, so that the findings may be
available to decision makers at the right time.
 Key considerations in designing research plan
1. Purpose: For what purposes is the research being done, i.e., what is expected to
be decided from the results of the research?
2. Target Audience: Who are the audiences for the information from research,
whether fund providers, bankers, top management, employees, customers, etc.
3. Information needed: What kinds of information are needed to make the
decisions needed to be made and/or to enlighten the intended audiences, i.e.,
is the information needed to really understand the process, customers who buy
certain products, strengths and weaknesses of the product or service or
program, benefits to customers, how the existing product or service or program
could not serve the need of some of the customers and why, etc.?
4. Sources: From what sources should the information be collected, whether from
employees, customers, groups of employees or customers, certain documents,
etc.?
5. Method of data collection: How can that information be collected in a
reasonable way, i.e., whether using questionnaires, interviews, or examining
documents, observing employees and/or clients or from focus groups among
employees and/or clients, etc?
6. Time: When is the information needed and as such by what time it must be
ready for use?
7. Resources: What resources are available for research?
 Components of a research proposal
1. Tentative title of research
2. Introduction
• Background of research
• Statement of the problem
• Objectives of research
• Research questions
• Significance of research
• Limitations of research
3. Review of literature
• Theoretical foundation, conceptualization and literature on related work
4. Research methodology
• Research design
• Population
• Sample design
• Research instruments
• Data collection procedure
• Data Analysis
• Research ethics
5. References
 General guidelines and UNAM guidelines for Research
Proposal
1. Tentative Title
The title of the thesis/dissertation research proposals should be clear and concise (maximum 10-15 words). From
the title, one should be able to infer clearly the subject of the thesis/dissertation. This means that the title should
be self-explanatory and limited to the scope of the study.
• A title should preferably answer the following questions:
– What will be researched?
– How will the topic be researched?
– With whom? Describe the population and unit of measurement
– Where / in what context will the study be conducted
• Structure for a research topic= research design + population + geographical area
2. Introduction
2.1 Orientation/Background of the proposed study
– You need to build a preliminary picture for your reader and provide him/ her with some context to
understand the nature of the research topic.
– In a general overview and using key literature pieces, students should state research concerns,
disagreements, controversies, unanswered questions and gaps in knowledge that give rise to research
problems of their interest.
– Tell the reader, how the research could help solve a practical problem, influence a policy, change the way
things work, improve a system, etc.
2.2 Statement of the problem
– Students should concisely formulate their research problems by clearly indicating research issues they
would like to investigate in their studies.
– Thus, the researcher must explain what the problem is, why it is a problem, and why it needs to be solved.
– This should include the purposes of their studies
2.3 Objectives of the study and/or research questions
– Based on the statement of the problem, students should state either objectives or research questions of
their studies.
– They should do this unambiguously.
 General guidelines and UNAM guidelines for Research
Proposal…
2.4 Hypotheses of the study (where needed)
– Where applicable, particularly in the Natural Sciences, students should state
unequivocal and testable hypotheses that are based on theory and on the
statement of the problem.
– Each hypothesis should have a clear rationale.
2.5 Significance of the study
– Students should state the importance of their studies, the anticipated contribution
of such studies to knowledge and to socio-economic progress.
2.6 Limitation of the study
– Limitations are any potential problem you foresee for conducting your study.
– Students should indicate the scope, logistical and resource limitations of their
studies.
3. Literature Review and (where applicable) the theoretical framework
– In this section students should prepare critical, synthesized and integrated literature
reviews that should demonstrate the need and justification of their studies.
– The reviews should show gaps in knowledge, theoretical and methodological
shortcomings, need for further research, unanswered questions, disagreements in
literature and theoretical frameworks that may need to be revised to resolve
controversies.
– In addition, the reviews should demonstrate what has been done in research areas
of interest and what remains uninvestigated.
 General guidelines and UNAM guidelines for Research
Proposal…
4. Methodology
4.1 Research Design
– Students should provide clear statements on either quantitative or qualitative research designs they intend to use.
– They should specify how they intend to use particular research designs in their studies. They should not merely
provide the distinction between the two generic designs
4.2 Population
– Students should, where applicable, specify the population to which they would like to generalize their research
findings.
4.3 Sample
– Students should clearly explain how they intend to draw samples from the target populations.
– They should specify how they intend to appropriately use either quantitative or qualitative sampling techniques to
draw research samples.
– Merely describing what these sampling techniques are is inadequate.
4.3 Research Instruments
– Research instruments and measures that would be used to collect data should be clearly provided under this
section.
4.4 Procedure
– The manner in which data would be collected should be given here. How research instruments would be used to
collect data should be specified in this section.
4.5 Data analysis
– The data analysis method will depend on the method (s) you used to collect data and the type of data you have
collected.
– Analysis requires that you sift through the data collected and that you sort, select and organize information in order
to give you a better understanding of the phenomenon under study.
4.6 Research Ethics
– if your unit of analysis is individuals, you need to explain how you will ensure anonymity, confidentiality. Informed
consent should also be thought. You need to explain how you will uphold ethical principles
5. References
– Ensure that all the sources consulted and referenced in the text are included in the reference list.
– Do not bullet or number the sources in the reference list
Thanks