Chapter 3

Research Proposal Development

Research Methods in Computer Science

Research Proposal - MEANING

 It’s a detailed plan of a scientific study.

 It’s a document which sets out the ideas of a researcher in an easily
accessible way.
 The intent of a written proposal is to present a focused and scholarly
presentation of a research problem and the plan on how the overall
research process will proceed.
 The objective is to describe:
 what the researcher will do
 why it should be done
 how the researcher will do it; and
 what results are expected

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Research Proposal - CONTENTS

A research proposal needs to contain:

 What do you want to do?  Research question
 Why do you want to do it?  Any information gap
 Why is it important?  any practical importance or knowledge advancement
 Who has done similar work?  background/Literature review
 How are you going to do it?  Methodology
 How long will it take?  Plan of work

Research Proposal – TOPIC SELECTION

Note on these points when identifying a research topic:

 Relevance/significance
 Avoidance of duplication
 Urgency of data needed
 Feasibility of study
 Applicability of results
 Your Interest and knowledge to the area
 Ethical acceptability

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Research Proposal – MAJOR COMPONENTS
 Title/research topic
 Abstract
 Introduction/background, Motivation,…
 Problem statement
 Questions and/or Hypothesis
 Objectives
 Research method: Materials, Methods and procedures
 Literature review
 Work plan, Schedule
 Budget and funding
 References
 Appendices/Annexes

Research Proposal – MAJOR COMPONENTS …cnt’d

• Title
• has the fewest possible words that adequately describe the contents
of the study i.e. it’s a label; not a sentence
• It shouldn’t contain any abbreviations
• The title page has no page number and is not counted.
• Abstract
• is a brief summary of the proposal in few sentences
• it shows what contribution the study will make
• it specifies the research question and how it’s going to be answered
• It comes first but written last.
• MUST NOT contain any information not stated in the main text.
• Never contain references, figures and tables.

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 Research Proposal – MAJOR COMPONENTS …cnt’d

• Introduction/Background
• background information of the research proposal
• It establishes a framework for the research
• It should motivate the reader to read the whole paper
• Should indicate the most recent and relevant works, and should
explain why work is required.

• Statement of the problem

• the issue that leads to a need for the study
• It answers the question ‘Why does this research be conducted?’
• The foundation for everything to follow in the proposal.

DIFFERENCE: Topic, Problem, Purpose and Questions

Example

General Topic Distance Learning

Research Lack of students in distance classes

Problem

To study why students do not attend

Statement of distance education classes at a
the problem community college.

Research Does the use of web site technology in

Question/ the classroom deter students from
Specific enrolling in a distance education class?
Hypothesis

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Research Proposal – MAJOR COMPONENTS …cnt’d

• Objective/aim of the study

• aim which the enquirer seeks to bring about as a result of
completing the research.
• Objectives should be simple, specific, stated in advance, stated
using action verbs, measurable
• Objectives can be classified into:
• General objective
• showing what exactly to be studied, and states the desired
outcomes from the study.
• Specific objectives
• shows in greater detail the specific aims of the research
project.

Research Proposal – MAJOR COMPONENTS …cnt’d

• Literature review
• a description of the literature relevant to the study.
• gives an overview of what has been done before, who the key
authors in the area are, what the prevailing theories and hypothesis
are, etc.
• Relevant materials could be from books, Conference papers, journal
articles, thesis and dissertations, government reports, etc.
• Be very careful to check your sources when doing your literature
review.

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The Process of Conducting a Literature Review

• Identify key terms

• Locate literature
• Critically evaluate and select the literature
• Organize the literature
• Write a review
• Literature review is done not only during the proposal but
throughout the research

Research Proposal – MAJOR COMPONENTS …cnt’d

• Questions and/or Hypothesis

• the speculative proposition of the problem statement
• Hypothesis is a derivation of a particular assertion or prediction.
Tentative wise guess to the solution. It is subject to test for
confirmation or reject.
• Example:
“Does e-learning technology deter students from
Question 
enrolling in a distance education class?”

Hypothesis  “The use of web site technology in the classroom deter

students from enrolling in a distance education class.”

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Research Proposal – MAJOR COMPONENTS …cnt’d

• Materials and methods, and procedures

• includes a detail description of the activities and the methodological
steps that will be taken to achieve the objectives.
• Depending on the type of study, it includes:
• Description of study area, study design and study participants
• Methods of data collection
• Sampling technique and sample size used
• Method (s) of data analysis, etc.

Research Proposal – MAJOR COMPONENTS …cnt’d

• Work plan
• a schedule that summarizes the different components of a research
proposal and how they will be implemented. And here:
• Different phase/components of the study should be stated (literature
review, design instrument, data collection, analysis, evaluation,
etc…)
• Describe the activities in each phase.
• Indicate time frame to accomplish the various aspects of the study.
• Could be presented in table, chart or graph (eg.: Gantt chart)

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Research Proposal – MAJOR COMPONENTS …cnt’d

• Budget and funding

• the cost of conducting research.
• Budget items need to be explicitly stated with justification
• Costs are typically:
• Direct costs: personnel, consumable supplies, stationary
materials, equipment, travel, per-diem, publication, etc.
• Indirect costs : overhead and administrative costs.

Research Proposal – MAJOR COMPONENTS …cnt’d

• References
• citation of all the information that you obtain in the cost of
conducting research.
• The style of writing list of references varies from one discipline to
another. (IEEE format, APA, Harvard, etc.)
• Appendices/annexes
• additional information provided for the reader.
• These include, for example: forms/formats, Biographical data,
Questionnaire, etc.

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 Summary

Cycle of Research Choose

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

Theory

Collection
Interpret
of
Data
Data

Analyse
Data

Before starting to write a proposal:

• The researcher needs to ask:

• Do I have the clear research question?
• Have I read broadly and deeply in that area?
• Have I discussed the topic with peers?
• Have I enough time and fund to start?
• Do I feel support from faculty and friends?

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 In proposal writing, be prepared for

• The researcher needs get prepared:

• To make mistakes and to learn.
• To write and rewrite many times.
• To spend many hours looking for information.
• To have your writing criticized.
• To feel confuse and hopeless some times.

TIPS for successful proposal writing

• Make it simple
• Avoid showy language, unnecessary jargon, and double speak by
cutting down every unnecessary word.
• Read your work loud
• A sentence that is difficult to say will be difficult to read.
• Revise, revise, revise.
• Check spelling and grammar.
• Each sentence must be logically ordered: chain of ideas.
• Every sentence must contain one idea only.
• Put an end to it
• The faster you finish the proposal and submit it the less time you have
wasted thinking about writing it

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