Writing Research

Proposal

Dr.Mastura Jaafar

7.9.2005
 When do we prepare a research
proposal?
 Apply for Msc or PhD by research
 Show your idea or to determine research area to
your supervisor
 Before you proceed with your proposal
presentation.
 What is research proposal?
 Is a detailed outline for your research project.
 Is a mini version of the research article, thesis,
or dissertation.
 Not yet final, there is ample opportunity to
revise & improve.
 Describes what you intend to do
 A well organized and well written proposal is
easily read and makes gathering suggestions for
improvement relatively easy.
Why do we need a research proposal?
 To convince other people (supervisors).
-How your research will make a difference to the world or
-by identifying a dilemma in existing theory which your
research will help resolve.
 To demonstrate expertise.

-You have enough understanding of the research topic &

able to do the research properly.
 To demonstrate competency.

-You have all the necessary skills to carry out the

proposed study.
 What is the purpose?
 To show that the problem you propose to
investigate is significant enough to warrant
the investigation, the method you plan to use
is suitable and feasible, and the result are
likely to prove fruitful and will make an
original contribution.
 By writing it forces you to think about your
topic, to see the scope of your research, and to
review the suitability of your methodology.
 What does it shows?
 Generally it should contain all the key
elements involved in the research process and
include sufficient information for the readers
to evaluate the proposed study.
 It must address the following questions:
1.What you plan to accomplish
2.Why you want to do it
3.How you are going to do it.
4.What you expect will result.
 HINT:

BECAUSE THE MAIN PURPOSE OF

THE RESEARCH PROPOSAL IS TO
CONVINCE READER, IT IS
IMPORTANT THAT YOU ADOPT A
WRITING STYLE THAT IS CLEAR
AND PROFESSIONAL.
 How to start?
 You need a clear research questions. May
come from:
1. Previous research: No study ever answer all
the questions that we want to ask about a
particular subject.
2. Practical concerns: Facing problems in their
own lives or become aware of the problems
facing other people in their community.
3. Personal interest: The researchers have their
own special areas of interest which inspires their
research topic.
 How do you choose?
 A good idea to generate several possible research questions &
then choose the best one.
 Every research question has strengths & weaknesses.
 Some of the criteria's you might ask:
-Do you have access to the info needed to answer the questions?
-Does your questions have suitable theoretical background?
-How might this research contribute to research methodologies
used in the area?
-How interesting is the question to you?
-Do you have the skills to find an answer to the questions?
-Is the question suitably challenging to meet your study
requirement?
 Literature search & reading.
 Read broadly and deeply so that you can be sure that
you have established the best possible foundation for
your research.
 Try to find suitable references by:-
1. Speaking to your supervisor/advisor.
2. Speaking to other researchers working in the same
or related fields
3. Speaking to researchers from other disciplines
who can give you interesting perspectives
4. Searching the journals that relate to your topic
5. Searching the internet
 When can l begin to write?
 After you:-
1.Read broadly & deeply in the area
2.Spent time thinking critically
3.Spent time discussing your research topic
4.Found out how people in other disciplines think
about your research topic
5.Feel ready to begin writing research prop.
 How to organize proposal?
 Title
 Introduction includes research problems,
objectives and questions
 Significant

 Limitation

 Literature review

 Proposed method

 Bibliography
 Introduction
 Begin with a general statement of the problem
area and conclude with a specific research
question.
 Provide the necessary background or context for
your research problem.
 Explain why you are interested in selecting a
particular topic.
 Basically it should cover:-
1.A general statement or description of the
research problem, could be an empirical or
theoretical issue.
 Introduction (con’t)
2. The background of the problem. Should
provide both the historical background and the
contemporary scene, encompassing all the key
players and their major publications.
3. A clear statement of the purpose and
rational of your research, indicating why the
study is worth doing
 Interesting and informative introduction
depends on your creativity, your ability to think
clearly and the depth of your understanding of
problem areas.
 Literature review.
 The purpose is to demonstrate your knowledge and
understanding of the problem area, as well as justify
your study.
 Provides a more detailed and critical review of the
literature directly bearing on the proposed research.
 You should examine the relevant literature related to
the key variables.
 Try to use sub-headings to organize your literature
review in a logical and meaningful way.
 Each subsection should represent a major aspect of
your proposed research
 Literature review (con’t)
 Basically it should cover:-
1.A brief description of the major theoritical
models or issues related to the research
problem
2.Identification of the key independent and
dependent variables
3.A statement of hypothesis and an explanation
for your predictions.
 Methodology.
 Tell your readers how you plan to tackle your research
problem.
 Demonstrate your knowledge of alternative methods
and be sure that your approach is most appropriate
for your research questions.
 Describes:
1.The design of the proposed study
2.Your population and sampling procedure
3.Measuring instrument or questionnaires to be used.
Why do you choose them? Are they valid and reliable?
4. Procedure and the time frame of data collection
5. How you will analyze the data
 Common mistakes in proposal writing.
 Failure to provide the proper context to frame
the research questions
 Failure to delimit the boundary conditions for
your research
 Failure to cite landmark studies
 Failure to accurately present the theoretical and
empirical contributions by other researchers
 Failure to stay focused on the research question.
 Failure to develop a coherent and persuasive
argument for the proposed research
 Common mistakes in proposal writing.
 Too much detail on minor issues, but not
enough detail on major issues
 Too many citation lapses and incorrect
references
 Too short or too long
 Sloping writing
Thank you