Concept Paper

A concept paper enables in putting thoughts and ideas into paper for consideration for research.

It is from the concept paper that one develops the research proposal which can either be business or

academic oriented. Most students, and especially the postgraduate students who have a mandatory

requirement of undertaking research, usually goes direct to the research proposal. Some quotas also

have professed the school of thought that a concept paper and research proposal are the same. As good

as they may seem similar, they are different in the process and presentation. The concept paper aim is

to capture the thoughts and ideas while the research proposal captures the ideas in a structured

manner for approval to research.

The concept paper is the initial writing step of the research project in which you gather your

initial thoughts. The concept paper allows you to think about and record what the core questions and

focal components of your research project are.

Depending on the research you are carrying out, your concept paper can range from 2-3 pages

for a small research project to up to 20 pages for massive research projects. As for the formatting, the

spacing should be double, the font size should be 12, and the font style should preferably be Times New

Roman. If you refer to any sources while drafting your concept paper, it is important that you cite them

at the end of your document or whenever the citation may be necessary for the process of concept

paper writing.

Purposes of Concept Paper

The purpose of a concept paper is to lay out the basics of a grant proposal so that everyone

involved in planning and implementation (from your organization or a partner’s) agrees on what will be

in the proposal. Also, from the funding agency’s point of view, is to help applicants develop more

competitive proposals and to save time by eliminating proposals that are not likely to be funded. The
applicant’s purpose in developing a concept paper is to capture the interest of the funding agency and

demonstrate that the idea they are proposing is worthy of further consideration.

Types of Concept Paper

1. Implicit – “implied or understood though not plainly or directly expressed.” Something is,

therefore, implicit when it is not directly stated but is either suggested in the wording or

necessary to effectuate the purpose.

For example:

- There is a morality implicit in his writings.

- She implicitly said she likes white shoes by saying she likes all colors but tan.

- The writer may not have clearly or directly laid out a moral vision, but it is understood through

the characters, their actions, and their experiences.

- The woman states that she likes all shoe colors but tan. While she doesn’t directly say she likes

white shoes, she implicitly does because white is not tan.

2. Explicit – “to fully and clearly express something, leaving nothing implied.” Something is explicit

when it is cleared stated and spelled out and there is no room for confusion, as in the writing of

a contract or statute.

For example:

- The law was explicit in whose tax rates were to be raised.

- He said explicitly, you will not attend that concert

 - In both of these examples, the word explicit is used to demonstrate something that has been

clearly and unambiguously expressed or stated. There is no room for doubt because everything

is clearly and directly communicated.

- This is what separates these two words. Something is implicit when it is implied but not directly

stated. Something is explicit when it is directly stated and leaves no room for uncertainty.

Conclusion:

- It’s not about how you introduce your research paper, as long as you delivered convincingly to

the audience, it’s enough

Main Elements of a Concept Paper

1. Title page — provides a tentative title for the dissertation. The title of the Concept Paper should

be a stand-alone statement that can fully describe the project by summarizing the main idea of

the manuscript. The title of the Concept Paper may become the title of the dissertation.

2. Statement of the Problem — provides the purpose for the research. This section of the Concept

Paper introduces the problem under investigation, addresses why the researcher wants to

investigate this problem, and how the research findings may help address the problem. The first

few sentences of the Concept Paper should intrigue the reader to pique his or her interest and

encourage further reading.

- As you begin to write the problem statement of your Concept Paper, consider your research.

First consider why the problem is important. Consider how your study relates to previous work

in the field, how you will link your hypotheses and objectives to theory, and how the hypotheses

relate to the research design. Finally, consider the theoretical and practical implications

involved in your research project (APA, 2010). A well-developed, concise, and clear problem

statement will lay the foundation for a strong Concept Paper and the dissertation that follows.

3. Preliminary Literature Review — provides identification of major literature that supports and

validates the topic. The literature review focuses on areas that offer support for new research

and offers the student an opportunity to analyze and synthesize past research in the context of

their present problem. A strong Concept Paper is based on a wide-range literature review that

is condensed into a summary of key points.

4. Goal Statement — provides a broad or abstract intention, including the research goals and

objectives. This part of the Concept Paper tells the reader “who, what, and when” regarding the

research goal.

5. Research Questions — provides a preliminary view of the questions the student will investigate.

Questions are based on theory, past research, and need. These questions will direct the

research methodology; their inclusion in the Concept Paper links the research problem with the

methodology. The questions will direct everything that will be done; therefore, it is important

that they are focused to the main research problem. These research questions will specifically

direct the research and the type of analyses conducted; as such, their compatibility is essential.
 6. An Abridged Methodology — provides the student’s best idea on how to conduct the research

and analyze the data. The goals identified in previous sections of the Concept Paper should

relate to the research methods described in this section. For the Concept Paper, the

methodology is simplified or summarized, serving as a general outline of the methods that will

be employed.

7. Timeline — provides a range of time for completion of the project, highlighting key elements for

each stage of the project. This element is unique to the Concept Paper and provides the student

structure for managing sections of the project within a realistic time frame.

8. References — provides references to the material cited in the literature review and elsewhere in

the Concept Paper.

How to write a concept paper

1. Come up with a research topic that genuinely interests you.

- The research topic should span areas that interest you as an individual and are still relevant

to your area of study or course.

- List all the ideas you can remember or think of that you would be interested in doing a

research on. Afterward, choose the area that interests you most in the list you made as the
 one in which you will carry out your research. Ensure it is a topic that is academically

relevant and researchable.

2. Write down the research questions.

- You can come up with as many questions as possible. The more the questions, the longer

your research paper will be, as it will seek to answer to each of them.

- Exploratory questions, where you want to find out more about the topic under study,

- Explanatory question, where your aim is to explore the relationship or lack thereof between

two or more variables, and

- Descriptive questions such as determining the averages, means, and modes of a variable or

variables in the topic under study.

3. Develop a research hypothesis.

- The hypothesis is what you will either prove or disprove when the research is done and

therefore, be able to draw your conclusion.

4. Gather the data.

- Identify the kind of data you need to answer these hypothetical questions and how you will

gather the data depending on the type of research you are carrying out, data that you may

need may include actual numbers, averages, and so on.

- Primary data is first-hand information obtained from the ground, for example, by carrying

out interviews and site visits.

 - Secondary data is second-hand information obtained from reading books, watching news,

videos, the internet, and other already documented material.

- Qualitative data is based on subjective factors such as people’s opinions, while quantitative

data is based on actual numbers and is, therefore, more objective.

5. Present the data.

- Come up with conclusive and tangible evidence to prove or disprove all the hypotheses you

had stated earlier.

Group Members

- Parreno, Daniela

- Prejola, Damzel

- Pura, Neecarl

- Rabina, Amery

Definition and Purpose of the Concept Paper – azel

Main Elements of Concept Paper – amery and pura

How to write concept paper – ella

Types of Concept Paper – amery and pura