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How to write a Strong Research Proposal

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 How to write a Strong
Research Proposal

Masters and PhD

Prof. Jayne Mugwe

School of Agriculture and Enterprise Development
Kenyatta University
 Outline
 Brief overview of research process
 Role of supervisor
 Components of research proposal
 Title
 Statement of the problem
 Objectives/Hypothesis
 Literature Review
 Methodology
 Research funding
 Checklist for evaluating proposal
Brief overview of
research process
How does research start and end?
Research begins when a researcher
identifies a research problem/question

Ends with a solution/answer

 The Research process
No Steps Phase
1 Identifying the Topic area
2 Formulation of research
problem PREPARATORY
3 Formulation of objectives and PHASE
hypothesis
4 Designing Research
5 Developing a research proposal
6 Collection of data
7 Data Management and analysis
and Interpretation IMPLEMENTATI
ON
8 Reporting
 The Research Process

Preparatory phase Implementation phase

JOURNAL
PROPOSAL THESIS PAPER
 What is a research proposal?
 Document proposing a research project
 Statement of intent
 Three key components
1. What you plan to research (i.e. your research topic)
2. Why it is important (your justification)
3. How you plan to investigate (your practical approach).
 Purpose: convince your research supervisor,
university board
1. Suitable (for the requirements of the degree program)
2. You have the Expertise
3. Manageable (given the time and resource constraints
you will face)
 Importance of a research
proposal?

 PROPOSAL IS A SERIOUS MATTER

 A GOOD THESIS HINGES ON A GOOD

PROPOSAL

 A GOOD JOURNAL ARTICLE HINGES

ON A GOOD PROPOSAL
 Importance of a research
proposal?...
1. Makes your intentions known
2. Provides justification for funding
3. Guides research throughout
4. Allows you to plan and identify steps that
will be undertaken in the research study
5. Helps you to determine time and resources
needed
 Characteristics of a good
research proposal

1. Adequate background information: Have sufficient

information to convince your readers that you have an
important research idea
2. Clear Research problem: Justifies the need to carry out
the study
3. Relevant Literature: Show good good grasp of the
relevant literature and the major issues
4. Adequate Resources: Show that that you have the
competence, work-plan and resources to complete it.
5. Achievable objectives: Proposal must state what you plan
to accomplish, why you want to do it and how you are going
to do it.
 Characteristics of a good
research proposal …
 6. Continuity among sections of the
proposal: Show continuity among proposal
sections; objectives must logically conclude the
introduction and justification
 7. Clear objectives: Objectives must be few,
clearly stated and lead to well worded
hypotheses
 8. Testable hypothesis: Hypotheses must be
stated such that treatment selection and
important measures are obvious
 Characteristics of a good
research proposal …
 9. Clear methodology: Methodology must
be related to the objectives and individual
working hypotheses: methodology should
clearly show how each objective will be
achieved.
 10. Written properly: Quality of your
proposal writing matters. Your writing should
be coherent, clear and compelling
Components of a research
proposal
Note: Components may differ based on your discipline
Always check for format and structure with your
Department and University
Components of a Research Proposal
Preliminary pages
Title Front matter
Declaration page
Abstract
Table of contents
1. CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
• Background
• Statement of the Problem
• Research Questions Middle (15
• Research Objectives
• Research Hypotheses
pages)
• Significance/justification of the study
• Conceptual or Theoretical Framework
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER THREE: MATERIALS &METHODS

References
Appendices
Back Matter
Workplan
Budget
The Role of Supervisor
Start Here Write and Present Proposal
(Topic)

Collect Data
Examination

SUPERVISOR

Analyse Data and write Report/Thesis

Journal Articles
Role of your Academic supervisor

 Faculty will appoint academic supervisory team

consisting of two supervisors or more
 Roles
1. Coach, mentor, trainer
2. Guide and advice
3. Help refine your proposal by asking you critical questions
4. Help develop appropriate plans, design and strategies
5. Guide you on suitable literature
6. Connect you to other researchers
 Always remember, you are the driver of your
research project
 Role of supervisor
 Students: Concern: delays in response by
supervisors

 Supervisors: Concern: Students failure to

attend comments within given time

 CULTIVATE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP

WITH YOUR SUPERVISOR
 Characteristics of a Supervisor

 Expert in your academic field

 Has experience in research
 Most cases have supervised other
students
 Check and review your progress
 Title page: has Title and Rubric

Integrating in-situ rain water harvesting and

organic manure for improved soil moisture Title
and maize yields in Morogoro, Tanzania

A research proposal submitted in partial

fulfillment for the award of the Degree of
Master of Science in …………in the School of
Rubric
Agriculture and Enterprise Development of
Kenyatta University
 Title
 Concise and appealing
 Not more than 20 words, “Avoid filler
words” (eg An investigation of …..A study of..)
1. Specific and informative
2. Nature of the study
3. Principle species involved
4. Geographical location
What informs the title in proposal?

 Content of the proposal should be

reflected in the title
 Start with a tentative title and write final
title after proposal is complete
 Examples of good titles

Integrating in-situ rain water harvesting and

organic manure for improved soil moisture
and maize yields in Morogoro, Tanzania (18
words)

Identify nature of study, species

involved and geographical area
 Examples of good titles
1. Adoption intensity, perception and
profitability of organic based soil fertility
management technologies in Tharaka-
Nithi and Murang’a counties, Kenya (18
words)
2. Farmers Perceptions and adoption of
micro catchments for Agroforestry
Trees establishment in East Shewa
Zone, Ethiopia (16 words)
 Abstract
 One paragraph summary of the proposal (250 to
300 words)
 Write it last
 Should contain
 Overview of the problem (one to two

sentences
 Objectives of the study (write completely)

 Methodology (data collected, how

collected+analysis)
 Outputs/Significance (one to two sentences)
 Background
 Topic of interest
 global, regional and national overview of the
research topic is briefly discussed.
 Flow from broad to specific – narrow a broad area
into a manageable problem
 Contain
 Brief overview of the problem
 Rationale for choosing this problem
 Magnitude of the problem: use numbers or
figures to show the extent of the problem
 Review of the other work carried on the subject
with authoritative citations
 Organisation of
Background
 Background should be organised under:-
 (i) Globally, what key debates and (gaps) exist
 (ii) Regionally, what key debates (and gaps)
exist
 (iii) Nationally; (The research problem is found
here)
 BROAD TO SPECIFIC (FUNNEL SHAPE)
 Declining yield of maize
Broad topic area due to low soil fertility

General problem Nitrogen is the major

nutrient limiting production
Research identified
legumes but…….

Specific problem
 Statement of the problem
 Nerve centre of any research
 SOP clearly describes the research problem
already identified
 Brief description of the issue, difficulty, problem
that will be addressed in the study
 Summarizes “the context for the study” by
briefly describing the problem and clearly
showing the knowledge gap
 SOP should be brief and precise (Not more than
2 paragraphs)
 What is Knowledge gap?

 Gap/void that the research intends to

close.
 Unknown or poorly understood
 Gap provides direction and clarifies what
is to be investigated
Link between SOP and objectives

Deficiencies What is missing?

What is not Known?
What do we need to know?
Intent of study/ What is the purpose?

Research objectives
 Components of statement of the
problem

Topic Subject area

Research problem Issue of concern, Problem
Controversy
Difficult situation
Evidence for the Literature
issues Practical experiences
Statistics
Deficiencies What is missing?
What is not Known?
What do we need to know
Intent of study/ What is the purpose?
 SOP Example
The major development goal of KARLO-Embu is to increase
production of soybean by providing high yielding varieties
to farmers (Topic). Over the years, KARLO has made
concerted efforts to facilitate promotion of improved
varieties of soybean. Recent studies, however, report low
adoption of the varieties (Research problem). Estimates
indicate that currently, only about 40% of the smallholder
farmers are using the improved varieties. In addition yields
are low averaging 0.5 tha-1. (Evidence and justification).
Factors responsible for these low adoption are not clearly
understood (Deficiency). The purpose of this study is to
determine factors influencing adoption of improved mango
varieties in Embu County. (Intent)
 SOP example 1
 Agriculture is the main economic activity for people living
in Adama district, East Shewa Zone. Crop production is
dominated by teff (Topic). Despite widespread preference
for the crop, reports from the district agricultural office
indicate that the productivity of teff is very low (Research
problem). Farmers get less than 40% of the potential
yield and most households in this region are food
insecure. Production constraints and poor farming
methods are some of the factors that affect crop
production in other regions (Ref) Evidence and
justification. Factors causing low teff production are not
clearly understood (Deficiency). The purpose of the study
is to determine the factors contributing to low productivity
of teff in Adama district (Intent/purpose)
 Example of problem statement
(Exercise)
 The humid highlands of central Kenya are characterized by high
population pressure, coupled with a growth rate of about 2.9%,
therefore rising demand for more food (Topic).. Production of more food
is constrained by declining soil fertility and the high costs of inorganic
fertilizers. (Research problem). Emerging evidence indicate that
integrated soil fertility management involving the judicious use of
combinations of organic and inorganic resources is a feasible approach to
overcome soil fertility constraint and increase yields within the
smallholder farms. (Evidence and justification). The major obstacle
hindering their use by farmers is lack of proper guidelines on their use.
This is because there is limited understanding of their effect on crop
yields and soil characteristics in this region. Further, the small scale
farmers are heterogeneous in terms of their household and farm
characteristics and there is limited information on how these factors
influence adoption of new soil fertility management options. (Deficiency).
This study will therefore evaluate the effect of organic and inorganic
inputs on yields and soil properties as well as factors that influence
adoption of an integration of organic and inorganic inputs by smallholder
farmers of central Kenya (Intent/purpose)
 Research objectives

 Statement indicating what is to be

achieved
 Map the pathway for the
investigation
 Mantra (Objective drive the study)
Stating the hypothesis
 Should be stated using action words
 Action words are used
 To determine

 To examine

 To evaluate

 To assess

 To compare

 Avoid: To understand, To study

 Examples of poorly stated
objectives
 To evaluate four mango varieties
 To determine effects of soil fertility
decline
 To evaluate food security
 To evaluate the effect of market
liberalization
These objectives are incomplete…lacks
variables
 Main objective and specific
objectives
 Main objective (aim); overall statement
of the thrust of your study
 The main objective is broken down into
small logically connected parts to form
specific objectives
 Close to Title

Issue of concern with students: Main

objective fails to match with the specific
objectives
 Objectives drive the study
Linking of objectives with activities

General objective

Specific Specific Specific objective

objective objective

Activity activity activity activity activity

1
 Example of general objective and
specific objectives
General Objective
 To evaluate the influence of communication on uptake of integrated soil
fertility management and soil water conservation technologies by farmers
in Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya
 Specific objectives
1. To assess farmers’ perceptions of the effectiveness of selected
communication channels for disseminating information on combined
organic and inorganic fertilizer, mulch and zai pits technologies;
2. To determine socioeconomic factors influencing farmer’s level of
knowledge on the use of combined organic and inorganic fertilizer, mulch
and zai pits technologies;
3. To establish the influence of information packaging on uptake of
combined organic and inorganic fertilizer, mulch and zai pits technologies;
4. To assess the effect of communication factors on uptake of combined
organic and inorganic fertilizer, mulch and zai pits technologies.
Types of objectives
 Descriptive
 Causal objectives
 Comparative Objectives
 Descriptive objectives
1. To describe the types of horticultural crops grown by
farmers in Region A
2. To characterize farmers participating in collective
marketing of Avocado in Region B
3. To find out the opinion of farmers about availability of
markets for bananas in Region C
4. To determine nitrogen fertilizer equivalency values of
Tithonia diversifolia, Senna spectabilis and Calliandra
calothyrsus
 Weak objectives: Difficult to publish; does not appeal to
international audience
 Causal objectives
1. To investigate the effect of organic,
inorganic, and combined N sources on
maize yield and nitrogen use efficiency
2. To determine the effects of different soil-
incorporated organic inputs on soil
chemical properties and maize yields

Clear independent and dependent variables

Strong objectives: Easy to publish, comparisons and
relationships
 Comparative Objectives
1. To determine socio-economic factors influencing
utilisation of rain water harvesting and saving
technologies in Tharaka South, County

2. To determine household and farm characteristics

influencing farmers’ decision to adopt or not to
adopt introduced integrated soil fertility
replenishment technologies
Use causal-comparative design; Compares two groups
Assumes cause effect relationship
Types of objectives
 Biophysical Objectives
 Social objectives
 Examples of research questions
(Biophysical)
 What are the effects of the different
soil-incorporated organics (with and
without inorganic fertilizers) on soil
chemical properties and maize yields?

 What is the magnitude of N leaching

following different soil fertility
amendment options in varied soil
fertility status?
 Causal objectives
1. To investigate the effect of protein
supplemental diets on milk yields of
dairy cows
2. To assess the effect of nitrogen levels
on growth and yield of fodder
sorghum
Identify the independent and dependent
variable
 Examples of research questions
(Social)
1. What are the farmers perceptions towards
collective marketing of tissue culture bananas?
1. Descriptive
2. What is the impact of farmers adopting tissue
culture bananas on annual income?
1. Assumes cause effect relationship
3. What socio-economic factors influence
adoption of tissue culture bananas by farmers
in region A?
1. Relationship based; Predictive
 Hypothesis
 A research hypothesis is a statement of
expectation or prediction that will be
tested by research
 Educated guess
 Proposed explanation
Characteristics of a good hypothesis

1. Clear: States clearly and concisely the researcher's

expectations concerning the relationships/differences;
between the variables in the research problem
2. Measurable Variables: Defines the selected variables in
operational and measurable terms
3. Testable and verifiable ; methods available to collect
data
4. Data availability: Possible to support or not support
hypothesis by collecting and analysing data
5. Logical: Gives logical arguments to justify hypothesis
6. Consistent with Theory: Consistent with the existing
body of knowledge
 Null and Alternative
1. Null hypothesis (Ho):
 Assumes and states no relationship
between the independent and dependent
variables
 No differences in means
 Most valuable: tested using statistical
analysis
2. Alternative hypothesis (HA): opposite of
the null hypothesis. states there is a
difference
 Null and Alternative
NULL
 Feeding goats with supplemental diet
of fodder trees has no significant
effect on milk production
ALTERNATIVE

 Feeding goats with supplemental diet

of fodder trees significantly increases
 No difference in incomes between farmers
participating in milk cooperatives and non
participants

 Farmers participating in milk cooperatives

have significantly higher annual incomes
than non participants
Objective and hypothesis are
related
 Objective: To evaluate the effect of
different levels of Nitrogen on growth and
yield of fodder sorghum
 Null hypothesis

Different levels of nitrogen cause no

significant effect on growth and yield of
fodder sorghum
No difference in growth and yield of fodder
sorghum among different levels of nitrogen
 Significance of the study
 Provides an explanation of who will benefit
with the outcome, how they will benefit
and therefore links the research to the end
users.
 In Agriculture stakeholders mainly include;
 Farmers
 Policy makers
 Extension agents
 Other scientists
Significance of the study
 What is the expected end product?
 How will the results be used?
 Who will benefit from the results?
 How does it stand to inform policy?
 How is it significant to our body of
knowledge?
 Why should a donor support it?
Example 1; Significance of the
study
This study will provide information on most effective
ways of disseminating soil fertility management
technologies. The information will be most useful to
the stakeholders in agriculture sector (policy
makers, extension, researchers) who will use it to
improve communication channels for scaling up soil
fertility management on smallholder farms.
Improved communication should increase adoption
of soil fertility management technologies that will
result in increased crop production and contribute to
reduction of extreme poverty.
Example 1: Significance of the
study
The information generated from the study will
provide useful feedback and recommendations to
the farmers and the extension agents on
implementation of water harvesting technologies. In
addition, the findings of the study will provide an
insight to policy makers, government institutions
and other development agencies in planning,
designing and implementing future programmes
geared towards water harvesting. Also, this study
will provide reference material for further research.
Conceptual Framework
 CF is the schematic diagram which
shows;
 variables in the study
 concepts under study and their
relationship.
 independent and dependent variables
 Hypothesized relationships are
explained in the text
 Importance of CF
 Presents the BIG PICTURE
 House for the research problem

 Provides links Problem and

interventions
 Proposed relationships

 helps researcher organise thinking

 CF
 Keeps the research on track by;
 Helping the reader to quickly see the proposed
relationships
 Provides clear links from literature to the
research goals and questions
 Contributes to trustworthiness of the study
 helps researcher organise her or his thinking
and complete an investigation successfully.
 It is like a building a house for the research
problem
y. Demographic
characteristics
- Gender and age
of household
head
- Size of
household

Socio-
ADOPT
Introductio economic
n and characteristics Awareness/ Adoptio
disseminati - education knowledge Formation n
on of water behavio
level of of water of attitude r REJECT
harvesting harvesting and
household head technologie decision
NOT-ADOPT

technologi - Role of perceptio

s
es. n
extension
technologi
agents es
-Farm
availability of
characteristics
- Farm
off farmsizeincome
-farm ownership
--agri
ability
rural to hire
labour
development policies
-Social and
cultural factors
-Farmers’ access
to credit
-Farmers’
involvement in
group activities
 Stakeholders’ participation
•Ministry of agriculture
•Input suppliers
•NGO’s
•CBO’s
1 •Policy makers 3

5 6

Researcher soil fertility options Communication pathways Farmer

Mineral fertilizer Face to face communication
Green manure Electronic communication
Crop rotation Publication
Legumes Demonstration
Erosion control measures

4
8

Adoption of soil fertility

technologies
More improved technologies suited for 7
farmers’ needs are generated

-Increased agricultural production

-Reduced poverty
-Increased environmental benefits
 Tips on CF
 CF should always be explained clearly in
the text
 Give citations of all concepts and theories
 Caption: always at the bottom of the
figure
 Excellent Computer skills
 CHAPTER 2: Literature review

 Generally helps you to;

 Know what has been done

 Deepen theoretical understanding of the topic

 Identify research gaps

 Refine variables and procedures

 Give credit to past authors

 Borrow suitable methodology and approaches

Literature review (Researcher) is for you and

readers
 Literature review
 Very important
 Secret to Good Research
 Selective and Critical review of written works
 Librarian (First Search engine)
 Information literacy classes by Library
 How to get literature
 How to organisze
 How to cite
 How to use file management system (Zotera,
Mendeley)
Literature review…
 Many sources of literature
 Review literature
 Synthesize and identify knowledge gaps
 Do not just report findings BUT
 An analysis of the information to reveal the
gaps that need attention and also to
 show how existing literature ties in with
objectives of the proposed study
Literature review…
 Write in sections focusing on problem
being investigated, objectives and
hypothesis
Enhancing Communication for Effective up Scaling
of Soil Fertility Management Technologies in Meru
South and Mberee South Districts in Kenya

 LITERATURE REVIEW
 2.1 Overview
 2.2 Soil Fertility Management Technologies
 2.3 Communication Strategy and Knowledge Sharing
 2.4 Participation of stakeholders in dissemination of
research outputs
 2.5 Social Economic Factors that affect farmers’
preference on communication methods
 2.6 Scaling Up soil fertility
 Quality of resources of literature
 Books
 Thesis and dissertations
 Peer reviewed journal articles
 Non-reviewed journal papers (Be careful…Predatory)
 Technical reports
 Newspaper
 Professional magazines
 Recordings
 Online articles; Wikipedia
 Annual reports
 Chapter 3: Methodology
Purpose
 Provides a description of the exact (specific)
actions, plan, or strategies to be used to
achieve the research objectives
 Link each of the specific objectives to the
methods so as to account for all activities of
the project
 Chapter 3: Methodology
Concern from supervisors
 Link each variable you will measure to
methods, apparatus, instruments and
procedures to be used

 The Research Methods should be detailed

enough to let the reader decide whether the
methods you intend to use are adequate for
the research at hand
 Ensure data analysis flows
logically from objectives
 Use a data analysis matrix
Objectives Type of data to be collected Method of Method
Dependent Independen data of data
variable t variable collection analysis
 Research funding
 Research requires time and funds
 Resources; funds, laboratory, equipment,
land etc
 Faculty staff (projects)
 Research organisations, NARIs, international
(IPNI/APNI)
 TF: School Grant
 External donors: DAAD
 National Research funding
Checklist to evaluate your proposal

Aspect Key evaluation criteria

Background to the Have you adequately described background to
study the study/problem (Tip: Relevant authoritative
literature)
Problem Is the problem clearly articulated and defined?
identification Is it brief, focussed and concise?

Objectives/hypothes Are objectives precise and they achievable ;

is/research Are hypothesis and research questions suitable
questions: (Tip: do you have testable hypothesis)
Significance of the Are the expected outcomes clearly identified?
study Are the benefits and beneficiaries clear?
 Check list to Evaluate your proposal

Aspect Key evaluation criteria

Conceptual Is the big picture clear?; Are concepts, variables

framework logically connected with problem and objectives
Literature review Is there clear evidence of a thorough review of the
literature? Relevant, recent
Methodology Is the research design well structured and outlined?
Is it in line with objectives?; Are methods for
measuring each of the variables clearly explained ?
Feasibility: Is the problem researchable and is it feasible? Do
the preliminary data and available resources support
its feasibility?
Formatting Is the proposal well structured and formatted? Has
the research proposal been proofread and edited
(Tip: scientific writing skills)
 Word of advice
 Research is a task and
requires
 Wide and targeted reading
 Dedication

 Continuous and critical thinking

 Linking components

 Logical reasoning
 References
 Patel B, Kay Muir-Leresche, Richard Coe and Susan D
Hainsworth (2004). The Green Book: A guide to effective
graduate research in African Agriculture. The African Crop
Science Society, Kampala, Uganda
 Creswell JW (2009). Research design. Qualitative,
Quantitative and Mixed methods approaches. 3rd Edition.
SAGE publishers, California, USA.
 Locke, L.F., Spiduso, W. and Silverman, S.J. (2007)
Proposals that Work: A Guide for Planning Dissertations and
Grant Proposals. 5th ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks.
 THANK YOU

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